The past fifty years or so have seen the gradual disappearing of animals from this earth, fishes from the sea, trees and plants from the land.

    Many factors result in this on pleasant phenomenon(现象). Among them, hunting is the main factor that endangers wild life. Some people kill wild life for sport. They take pleasure in collecting heads and hides. Yet others specialize in commercial hunting like killing whales.

    Apart from this, the rapidly growing human population threatens wild life on land, too. Towns expand and roads have to be built, so forests are burnt and trees are cut down. It seems that man needs every inch of land within his reach, so he moves on to the natural habitat of wild life. Tigers lions and leopards slowly die off without the food arm shelter that the forests provide.

    In addition, rapid urbanization (城市化) means industrial expansion. Very often, poisonous chemicals, industrial wastes and oil are dumped into the rivers and seas. Fish and birds are threatened.

    Man depends greatly on animals for survival. He needs their flesh, hides and furs. Thus, man cannot, to without wild life; or he himself would die out. The public should be made aware that it would be better to shoot the animals with a camera than with a gun. In this way, they can preserve and help wild life to continue living rather than to remove all signs of it.

    Man must learn to farm the sea as he does the land. He should control the amount and the frequency of his catch. Man also needs to build reserves, and to pass laws to stop the killing of animals, especially those that are already rare. To keep the present animal kingdom, the least that man can do is to clean the seas and to prevent pollution.

52. How many causes are mentioned that result in the unpleasant phenomenon?

   A. 2              B. 3                C. 4.               D. 5

53. The underlined word "habitat" probably means          .

   A. life            B. home             C. land              D. condition

54. The writer's purpose in writing the text is to          .

   A. call people's attention to the danger of wild life

   B. explain how important wild life is to human beings

   C. call people's attention to serious problems of pollution

   D. explain the relationship between wild life and human beings

55. It is implied that man           .

   A. should not hunt wildlife

   B. will disappear if wild life dies out

   C. needs land more than wild life does

   D. has little knowledge of sea fanning