16．Longer Lives for Wild Elephants
Most people think of zoos as safe places for animals，where struggles such as difficulty finding food and avoiding predators don't exist．Without such problems，animals in zoos should live to a ripe old age．
But that may not be true for the largest land animals on Earth．Scientists have known that elephants in zoos often suffer from poor health．They develop diseases，joint problems and behavior changes．Sometimes，they even become unable to have babies．
To learn more about how captivity（監(jiān)禁） affects elephants，a team of international scientists compared the life spans of female elephants born in zoos with female elephants living outdoors in their native lands．Zoos keep detailed records of all the animals in their care，documenting factors such as birth dates，illnesses，weight and death．These records made it possible for the researchers to analyze 40years of data on 800African and Asian elephants in zoos across Europe．The scientists compared the life spans of the zoo-born elephants with the life spans of thousands of female wild elephants in Africa and Asian elephants that work in logging camps（伐木場(chǎng)），over approximately the same time period．
The team found that female African elephants born in zoos lived an average of 16.9years．Their wild counterparts who died of natural causes lived an average of 56years--more than three times as long．Female Asian elephants followed a similar pattern．In zoos，they lived 18.9years，while those in the logging camps lived 41.7years．
Scientists don't yet know why wild elephants seem to live so much better than their zoo-raised counterparts．Georgia Mason，a biologist at the University of Guelph in Canada who led the study，thinks stress and obesity（肥胖） may be to blame．Zoo elephants don't get the same kind of exercise they would in the wild，and most are very fat．Elephant social lives are also much different in zoos than in the wild，where they live in large herds and family groups．
Another finding from the study showed that Asian elephants born in zoos were more likely to die early than Asian elephants captured in the wild and brought to zoos．Mason suggests stress in the mothers in zoos might cause them to have babies that are less likely to survive．
The study raises some questions about acquiring more elephants to keep in zoos．While some threatened and endangered species living in zoos reproduce successfully and maintain healthy populations，that doesn't appear to be the case with elephants．
72．According to the first two paragraphs，unlike other zoo animals，zoo elephantsD．
A．have difficulty eating food． B.1ive to a ripe old age．
C．a(chǎn)re not afraid of predators． D．develop health problems．
73．Which of the following about the international scientists'research on the life spans of elephants is NOT true？（See paragraph 3）？B
A．They compared zoo elephants with wild elephants．
B．They kept detailed records of all the elephants in their care．
C．They analyzed the records of the elephants kept in zoos．
D．The zoo-born elephants they studied are kept in European zoos．
74．What do the scientists find in their research？C
A．Female elephants live longer than male elephants．
B．Female zoo elephants live longer than their wild counterparts．
C．Female zoo elephants die much earlier than their wild counterparts．
D．Elephants in zoos and those in the wild enjoy the same long life spans．
75．Which of the following does the author suggest in the last paragraph？A
A．It may not be a wise policy to keep elephants in the zoo．
B．Elephants are no longer an endangered species．
C．Zoo-born elephants should be looked after more carefully．
D．Zoos should keep more animals except elephants．
分析 本文主要講述了科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)動(dòng)物園里的大象面臨著許多健康問(wèn)題．研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，野外生活的大象比動(dòng)物園飼養(yǎng)的大象活得更好．因此，把大象養(yǎng)在動(dòng)物園里是不明智的．
解答 72．D細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第二段Scientists have known that elephants in zoos often suffer from poor health．可知科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)動(dòng)物園內(nèi)的大象面臨著很多的健康問(wèn)題．故選D．
73．B細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第三段Zoos keep detailed records of all the animals in their care，可知?jiǎng)游飯@保留了所有動(dòng)物的詳細(xì)記錄，而不是科學(xué)家．故選B．
74．C推理判斷題．根據(jù)第六段Scientists don't yet know why wild elephants seem to live so much better than their zoo-raised counterparts．可知科學(xué)家們還不知道野生象為什么會(huì)比動(dòng)物園飼養(yǎng)的象活得更好．由此推知，科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)動(dòng)物園的雌象會(huì)比野生象死得更早．故選C．
75．A細(xì)節(jié)推斷題．根據(jù)最后一段The study raises some questions about acquiring more elephants to keep in zoos．While some threatened and endangered species living in zoos reproduce successfully and maintain healthy populations，that doesn't appear to be the case with elephants．可知該項(xiàng)研究提出了是否應(yīng)該把更多的大象關(guān)在動(dòng)物園內(nèi)的問(wèn)題．雖然一些受威脅和瀕危的物種在動(dòng)物園里生活，成功的繁殖了后代而且很健康，但似乎大象并非如此．由此推知，把大象養(yǎng)在動(dòng)物園里或許是不明智的．故選A．
點(diǎn)評(píng) 本文考察學(xué)生的理解推斷能力以及細(xì)心程度，只要抓住文章的關(guān)鍵詞，采用尋讀的方法查找細(xì)節(jié)，就能找到正確答案．
