Paragraph 1: Dingoes first reached Australia about 4,000 years ago, arriving with Southeast Asian sea travelers.【2A】 These animals were a barely domesticated variety of the Indian wolf. Unlike domestic dogs in western Asia, 【2B】which by then had been intensivelybred for a variety of unwolflike characteristics, dingoes looked, and often acted, like their wild ancestors. Aboriginal people adapted to the new arrivals, keeping them as pets and helpers in kangaroo hunts.【2C】 Meanwhile, other dingoes quickly went feral(wild) and began to compete with Aboriginal hunters for kangaroos and other prey.【2D】
1. The word “intensively" In the passage is closest in meaning to
A. vigorously B. occasionally C. carefully D. gradually
2. According to paragraph 1, which of the following was NOT true of the first Australian dingoes?
A. They were initially brought to Australia by humans thousands of years ago.
B. They resembled the unwolflike domestic dogs of western Asia.
C. Some of them were domesticated by the Aboriginal people.
D. Some of them became wild animals and began hunting animals themselves.
【1】
vigorously / ˈvɪɡərəsli / adv.精神旺盛地，有力地，活泼地；坚决地
intensively / ɪnˈtensɪvli / adv.强烈地；集中地
A ✅
【2】蓝色高亮部分
B ✅
Paragraph 2: When the dingo arrived, long after the mass extinction of Australia's megafauna (large animals), the continent held one last large marsupial predator, the thylacine. A wolfish-looking beast with stripedhindquarters, the thylacine was also known as the marsupial tiger. It vanished from the mainland soon after the dingo was introduced, but survived into the twentieth century on the island of Tasmania. Historical records describe thylacine behavior and document the intense hunting that destroyed the last populations. Students of ecological history have long assumed that the dingo drove thylacine to extinction in mainland Australia. The key part of this argument is a bit of circumstantial evidence: the thylacine disappeared at about the time the dingo arrived but survived in Tasmania's dingo-free landscape. For ecologist Chris Johnson, who has made a specialty of studying Australia's mammal extinctions, this picture is too simple.
Paragraph 3: Twentieth-century accounts of thylacines portray them as solitary creatures that hunted alone. Yet these are records of the last of their kind, members of an intensely persecuted population. Older reports, from early in the days of Tasmania's settlement, describe thylacines hunting in groups, "with the tenaciousness of a pack of wolves on the steppes of frozen Russia ." They were fast, nimble, and big-more massive than a dingo and strong enough that, in at least one case, seven domestic hunting dogs could not kill a lone individual. A recent analysis of the bite force thylacines exerted, based on studies of their skull and jaw bones, suggests that thylacines took prey bigger than themselves. All these conflicts with the idea that the dingo pushed the thylacine into oblivion.
翻译：
Twentieth-century accounts of thylacines portray them as solitary creatures that hunted alone.
20世纪对袋狼的描述将它们描绘成独自狩猎的孤独生物。
A recent analysis of the bite force thylacines exerted 最近对袋狼咬合力的分析
生词：
persecuted v.（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害（~sb. for sth.）（ persecute 的过去式和过去分词）；烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人
P3 段落大意：袋狼是孤独的生物，也是被迫害数量的生物。袋狼十分灵活，足够强壮，比dingo大的多，七个家养猎狗无法杀死一只袋狼。对其咬合力进行分析，对其颅骨和颌研究，袋狼可以捕猎比自身大的猎物。所有的争论伴随dingo使thylacine灭亡的想法（个人理解的不太准确）。All this conflicts with the idea that the dingo pushed the thylacine into oblivion所有这些都与野狗将袋狼推入遗忘的观点相矛盾。
3. The word "persecuted" in the passage Is closest in meaning to
A. clever B. specialized C. hunted D. efficient
4. In paragraph 3, Why does the author discuss the fast speed, large size, and forceful bite of thylacines?
A. To explain why thylacines were not well suited for domestication.
B. To explain why older reports from the early days of settlement in Tasmania are not reliable.
C. To present evidence against the theory that thylacines were solitary creatures that hunted alone.
D. To present evidence against the idea that dingoes were responsible for the extinction of thylacines.
【3】
hunted adj.被捕猎的；受迫害的；惴惴不安的；疲惫的
v.狩猎；追捕（hunt 的过去式和过去分词）
被迫害～～被捕猎
错选 A ✅
正解 C ❎
【4】
dingoes were not responsible for the extinction of thylacines
Paragraph 4: The researcher Chris Johnson suggests that intensified human hunting severely reduced thylacine populations in northern Australia before the dingo ever became established, pointing out that while both dingoes and thylacines were often depicted in rock art in the north, the Aboriginal people who first painted dingoes worked in a distinct style, more recent than any known image of the thylacine. //The dingo may have played a minor role in the thylacine’s disappearance; perhaps dingoes and humans hunting together became a truly formidable enemy. Regardless of how exactly the thylacine died out, says Johnson, the beast is gone, and the dingo is the only large predator left on the continent. He argues that native wildlife, and perhaps even outback cattle ranchers, are far better off with dingoes than without them. (In the absence of dingoes, kangaroo populations can skyrocket, leading to overgrazing on pastureland.)
intensified adj.加强的 v.增强；加强（intensify 的过去式与过去分词）
established adj.确立已久的，早已投入使用的；资深的，知名的；（植物）已生根的，长势良好的；<英>已被认可的，已被接受的（尤指英国国教）
v.建立，设立；证实，确定；发现，找出（establish 的过去式和过去分词形式）
depicted adj.用（草图、设计或线条等）图像形式呈现的
v.描述，描绘（depict 的过去式和过去分词）
/ dɪˈpɪkt /
rock art 岩石艺术；岩画
formidable adj.可怕的，令人敬畏的；（形状、数量）巨大的；难对付的
enemy n.敌人，反对者；敌国，敌军；大敌，危害物 adj.敌人的，敌方的
outback n.内地 adv.在内地；往内地 adj.内地的
rancher / ˈræntʃər / n.大农场经营者；大农场工人；牧场住宅
n.（Rancher）（美、法）兰凯尔（人
better off adj.有较多钱的，较宽裕的；更好的
skyrocket / ˈskaɪrɑːkɪt / n.流星烟火；冲天火箭
v.（价格）飞涨，猛涨；（使）……猛然上涨
overgrazing n.过度放牧 v.过度放牧（overgraze 的现在分词）
pastureland n.牧场；牧草地
翻译：
the Aboriginal people who first painted dingoes worked in a distinct style, more recent than any known image of the thylacine.
第一个画野狗的土著人以一种独特的风格工作，比任何已知的袋狼的形象都要晚。
CJargues that native wildlife, and perhaps even outback cattle ranchers, are far better off with dingoes than without them. (In the absence of dingoes, kangaroo populations can skyrocket, leading to overgrazing or pastureland.)
5. Why does the author provide the information that the Aboriginal people who first painted dingoes worked in a distinct style, more recent than any known image of the thylacine？
A. To compare two distinct Aboriginal painting styles in northern Australia
B. To provide evidence that dingoes became established in Australia only after thylacines had declined in population
C. To describe changes that occurred in Aboriginal rock art at the time dingoes became established in Australia
D. To support the argument that the dingo played a role in the thylacine’s disappearance
6. Paragraph 4 suggests which of the following about Johnson’s views of the consequences of the thylacine's disappearance?
A. The thylacine extinction increased the importance of dingoes in Australian ecology.
B. The thylacine extinction was the last known decrease in large native wildlife predators.[未提及]
C. The thylacine extinction made the combination of dingoes and humans hunting together a difficult enemy.[因果倒置]❌
D. The thylacine extinction led to an undesirable decline in kangaroo populations.
【5】B
【6】
BC明显错误
错选 D ❎ undesirable decline in kangaroo populations.过度推理，文中仅仅表带了kangaroo会带来过度放牧的不良影响
正解 A ✅
Paragraph 5: In an analysis of threatened and extinct marsupial species across the continent, Johnson found that small mammals survived much longer in areas with healthy dingo populations. Where dingoes have been removed, 90 percent of ground-dwelling mammal species have gone extinct due to predation by foxes and cats (introduced to Australia much later by Europeans). Johnson's interest in the protective effect of dingoes began years ago when he was studying wallabies at an outback cattle station in northeastern New South Wales. The station was a safe place for bettongs and rat kangaroos, threatened small marsupials. The landowners believed the bettongs thrived because of a decision not to poison local dingoes. and the dingoes kept the foxes away. Soon after this experience, one of Johnson's colleagues was in the Tanami Desert researching a threatened species, the rufoushare-wallaby. Dingoes in the area were occasionally eating hare wallabies, so the local parks and wildlife service decided to poison them. “Within two weeks,” says Johnson, “there were foxes on the site, and they killed off the hard wallabies. That species is now extinct on the mainland. ” The sad fate of the rufous hare-wallaby is a classic example of what can happen as a result of Mesopredator Release, the idea that if the top predator is eliminated (in this case, dingoes), middle predator populations increase, sometimes with harmful consequences.
mammals / ˈmæm(ə)lz / n.哺乳类；哺乳类动物；哺乳纲（mammal 的复数）
ground-dwelling 地表节肢动物
protective adj.保护的，防护的；呵护的，有保护欲的；有贸易保护倾向的，
实行关税保护的
n.<英>保护物，防护物；<旧>避孕套
wallaby / ˈwɑːləbi / n.[脊椎] 小袋鼠；澳洲土人（尤指女人）
复数wallabies或wallaby
bettong / beˈtɒŋ / n.草原袋鼠
复数bettongs
rat n.老鼠；<非正式>卑鄙小人（尤指欺诈或变节者）；<非正式> 常客，常待在某处的人；<美>（为头发定型做出饱满效果的）女用发垫
In an analysis of threatened and extinct marsupial species across the continent, Johnson found that small mammals survived much longer in areas with healthy dingo populations.
7. According to paragraph 5, which of the following was the most likely reason why the outback cattle station in New South Wales was a safe place for bettongs?
A. The area had a healthy population of dingoes.
B. The rufous hare-wallabies in the area became extinct.
C. There were foxes on the site.
D. The local landowners protected the bettongs from the dingoes.
8. According to paragraph 5, which of the following is an example of the Mesopredator Release?
A. The extinction of bettongs and rat kangaroos
B. The dingoes’ pattern of occasionally preying on hare-wallabies
C. The dingoes' protection of hare-wallabies and foxes
D. The poisoning of dingoes and the resulting expansion of the fox population.
【7】蓝色高亮部分 段落第一句话为答案
错选 D ❎
正解 A ✅
【8】 D ✅
Paragraph 2: When the dingo arrived, long after the mass extinction of Australia's megafauna (large animals), the continent held one last large marsupial predator, the thylacine. A wolfish-looking beast with striped hindquarters, the thylacine was also known as the marsupial tiger. It vanished from the mainland soon after the dingo was introduced, but survived into the twentieth century on the island of Tasmania. ■Historical records describe thylacine behavior and document the intense hunting that destroyed the last populations.■ Students of ecological history have long assumed that the dingo drove thylacine to extinction in mainland Australia. ■The key part of this argument Is a bit of circumstantial evidence: the thylacine disappeared at about the time the dingo arrived but survived in Tasmania's dingo-free landscape. ■For ecologist Chris Johnson, who has made a specialty of studying Australia's mammal extinctions, this picture is too simple.
9. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
But not all researchers agree.
Where would the sentence best fit?
D ✅ 后面提比如生态学者 Chris Johnson disagree
10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answers that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.
The role of dingoes in Australian ecology has been a subject of debate.
A. When dingoes reached Australia, the powerful thylacine was the only large predator there, but it soon became extinct on the mainland.
B. Sea travelers brought dingoes to Australia because they were very similar to the domestic dogs of western Asia in that they had unwolflike features.
C. Ecologists had believed that dingoes were the main cause of the extinction of thylacines, but the researcher Chris Johnson has shown that there were probably other reasons for their extinction.
D. Studies have shown that the majority of thylacine populations hunted alone, which was probably why dingoes were able to easily hunt thylacines and eventually cause their extinction.
E. Johnson's research revealed that dingoes have a protective effect on a few species of marsupials, like bettongs, but not others, a finding confirmed by similar observations in the Tanami desert.
F. Research suggests that the removal of dingo populations from their established environments can have lasting damaging effects on small ground-dwelling mammals like the hare-wallabies.
