非洲大象数量大幅下降

Researchers: Huge Drop in African Elephants

慢速 | 高考 偏难 | 465词 | 5min9s

刘立军供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. What is the main finding of the recent study on African elephants?

A. Elephant populations have remained stable.

B. Elephant populations have sharply decreased.

C. Elephant populations have increased significantly.

D. Elephant populations have not been affected by human activities.

Q2. What are the two main reasons for the decline in African elephant populations according to the study?

A. Poaching and loss of habitat.

B. Climate change and disease.

C. Natural disasters and predation.

D. Competition with other species and food scarcity.

Q3. Which region in Africa has seen a rise in elephant populations?

A. Northern Africa.

B. Central Africa.

C. Eastern Africa.

D. Southern Africa.

Q4. Why does the study not provide a continent-wide population count for African elephants?

A. The researchers did not have enough time.

B. There was no interest in a continent-wide count.

C. The methods used for counting were inconsistent over different periods.

D. The elephant populations were too small to count.

Q5. What can be concluded about the study on African elephants?

A. African elephants are no longer endangered.

B. African elephant populations have declined, but there are successful conservation efforts.

C. African elephant populations are increasing due to conservation.

D. African elephants are unaffected by human activities.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

Researchers: Huge Drop in African Elephants

African elephants are Earth’s largest land animals. They are very intelligent and highly social. (Q1) A recent study also says that numbers of African elephants sharply decreased over about fifty years.

The researchers described their work as the most comprehensive study of the two African elephant species ― the savanna elephant and forest elephant. The study used data gathered at 475 areas in 37 countries from 1964 through 2016.

savanna n. 热带草原

It found that savanna elephant populations fell by about 70 percent on average and forest elephant populations dropped by about 90 percent on average. (Q2) The researchers mainly blame the decline on illegal hunting and the loss of the animals’ natural environment.

However, the report also says populations of each species increased in other places because of wildlife protection programs.

“A lot of the lost populations won’t come back, and many low-density populations face continued pressures. We likely will lose more populations going forward,” said George Wittemyer. He is a Colorado State University professor who works with the conservation group Save the Elephants. Wittemyer helped lead the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Illegal hunting of animals is also called poaching. Elephant poachers usually kill the animals in order to remove their tusks. These prized objects are then sold on illegal markets.

poach v. 偷猎，窃取

tusk n. 长牙

The research says agricultural expansion is mainly responsible for the loss of elephant habitat, meaning the natural areas where the animal lives.

Poaching has mostly affected forest elephants. Its population is estimated to be about one-third that of savanna elephants. Poaching has especially damaged populations in northern and eastern Africa, such as Mali, Chad and Nigeria. (Q3) But, in southern Africa, elephant populations rose at 42 percent of the studied areas.

“We have seen real success in a number of places across Africa, but particularly in southern Africa, with strong growth in populations in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia,” Wittemyer said. He credited conservation efforts by governments and independent organizations for the growth.

(Q4) The study did not provide a continent-wide population count. It says the different methods used for counting over different periods made it impossible to keep a unified count of the African elephants. Instead, it estimates population trends in each of the studied areas.

unified adj. 统一的，一体化的

A separate report from conservationists places the population of African elephants at between 415,000 and 540,000 as of 2016, the last year of the study period. It remains the most recent comprehensive continent-wide estimate.

Colorado State’s Wittemyer said, “(Q5) While the trends are not good, it is important to recognize the successes we have had and continue to have. Learning how and where we can be successful in conserving elephants is as important as recognizing the severity of the decline they have experienced.”

Part III. KEY

Q1. B. 细节题。题目出处为：A recent study also says that numbers of African elephants sharply decreased over about fifty years. 意为：最近的一项研究还表明，非洲象的数量在大约五十年间急剧减少。因此答案是B。

Q2. A. 细节题。题目出处为：The researchers mainly blame the decline on illegal hunting and the loss of the animals’ natural environment. 意为：研究人员将这种下降主要归因于非法狩猎和动物自然栖息地的丧失。因此答案是A。

Q3. D. 细节题。题目出处为：But, in southern Africa, elephant populations rose at 42 percent of the studied areas. 意为：但是，在南部非洲，象群在42%的研究区域中出现了增长。因此答案是D。

Q4. C. 细节题。题目出处为：The study did not provide a continent-wide population count. It says the different methods used for counting over different periods made it impossible to keep a unified count of the African elephants. 意为：该研究并未提供全非洲大陆的象群数量统计。研究指出，由于在不同时间段使用了不同的计数方法，导致无法对非洲象进行统一的数量统计。因此答案是C。

Q5. B. 主旨题。题目出处为整篇文章的总结：While the trends are not good, it is important to recognize the successes we have had and continue to have. 意为：尽管当前的趋势不容乐观，但重要的是，我们要认识到有些努力已经取得成果，并将持续取得成果。因此答案是B。

（本文图片来源于摄图网，版权归摄图网所有)