24 - ] Comprehension
Upper Intermediate & Advanced
Read
the following passage , then answer the questions below . Do not look back at
the passage . Compare your answers to the Answer Key . Check any incorrect
answers by reading the passage .
Two hundred years ago ,
passenger pigeons were the most numerous birds in the world . A flock of
passenger pigeons might include over two million birds . When they flew
overhead , they darkened the sky for hundreds of miles . Today , not a single
one of these birds exists . Incredible as it may seem , all those millions of
birds were hunted down for food , feathers , and sport .
The story of the
passenger pigeon is just one of many sad stories about animals that have
disappeared . At least 461 species of birds and mammals have become extinct in
the past 400 years . Many more species - about 555 mammals and 1,073 birds -
are now at risk of extinction . Among reptiles , fish , and invertebrates , at
least 2,961 are at risk . And among plant species the number at risk reaches
25,000 .
The cause of this terrible
destruction is always the same : humankind . Sometimes people have killed off
species directly by hunting them , as with the passenger pigeon . In other
cases , people have caused extinction indirectly , as with the dodo bird of
Mauritius ( an island in the Indian Ocean ) . Though brutally hunted by the
first European settlers , some dodos managed to survive in the interior forests
. However , these were soon eliminated by the cats , dogs , pigs , and rats the
European brought with them.
The most frequent cause of
extinction , however , is the human destruction of the environment . On the
Hawaiian Islands , for instance , European and American settlers cut down the
forests for farmland . This killed off many of the Hawaii’s unique species of
birds and plants . Even more dramatic , today , is the situation in the Amazon
rain forest . Here , each square mile of the forest contains thousands of plant
and animal species . These species depend on each other and on their special
environment . When the trees are cut down , the environment changes or is
destroyed altogether . And many species disappear forever .
Scientists are very
concerned about the many species that are disappearing around the world . The
loss of our fellow creatures is a loss for us as well . Not only do we lose the
chance to learn more about ourselves and our environment . We also lose
valuable economic or scientific resources . Many wild plants , such as the wild
tomato and the wild sunflower , are useful in genetically improving food crops
. Other plants or animals are useful in medical research . In this way ,
medicines have been found to help fight leukemia , cancer , and many other
diseases .
Aside from the uses that
research has already discovered , there may be countless more . Who knows what
we are losing in the forests that are being cut down ? Every year , as more
plants and animals disappear , we lose opportunities for science and medicine .
That means opportunities to improve our lives . The loss of species also means
a narrower range of genetic possibilities in the world . Scientists do not know
what that will mean , but they are worried .
Circle
the best answers to the following questions . Do not look back at the passage .
1 .
This passage is about
( A
) many kinds of plants and animals .
( B
) the extinction of plants and animals .
( C
) how Europeans destroyed species on Mauritius .
( D
) how hunting causes animals to become extinct .
2 .
The passenger pigeon became extinct because
( A
) there were too many of them .
( B
) people destroyed its environment .
( C
) there was not enough food for it .
( D
) people killed them all .
3 .
In the past 400 years ,
( A
) only a few kinds of animals have become extinct .
( B
) millions of animals have become extinct .
( C
) over 461 species of birds and mammals have become extinct .
( D
) no new kinds of birds or animals have become extinct .
4 .
The importation of animals by humans may cause
( A
) some native species to become extinct .
( B
) those animals to die .
( C
) some native species to increase in number .
( D
) hunters to kill native species .
5 .
The Hawaiian Islands are a good example of how
( A
) cutting down forests causes extinction .
( B
) people have taken care to save plants
and animals .
( C
) native plants and animals can be
killed by imported species .
( D
) islands make good farmland .
6 .
When people cut down large areas of rain forest they
( A
) are likely to kill the dodo birds .
( B
) help many species of plants and animals .
( C
) discover useful species of plants and animals .
( D
) eliminate many species of plants and animals .
7 .
We can infer from this passage that people
( A
) have often been concerned about the survival of species .
( B
) have rarely been concerned about saving species .
( C
) have eliminated species whenever possible .
( D
) do not like wild animals very much .
8 .
Scientists believe that many species
( A
) are useless for humans .
( B
) are genetically unable to survive .
( C
) could be useful to humans .
( D
) are useful only after they are extinct .
Answer Key
1 . B 2 . D 3 . C 4 . A 5. A 6 . D 7 . B 8 . C
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