阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。
We humans have an
outsize influence on this planet, and our winged, finned, and four-legged
neighbors are in their tough time. Many animals have died out in response to
the pressures, but some survivors are adapting. Some animals are showing off
never-before-seen behaviors, shifting their diets, and even evolving different
shapes, sizes, and colors.
The shifts can't be
avoided and are likely permanent: There's no going back to when wildlife was
still completely wild. "There's no place anywhere on the planet in its
original condition. There are micro plastics at the bottom of the ocean, and
Antarctica is melting. The world has changed because we're in it," says
Tag Engstrom, a biologist at California State University.
African elephants in
Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park are some daring members of the animal
kingdom, who have found a will and a way to change right along with it.
Normally elephants use
their 6-foot-long tusks to dig wells in search of water, lift objects, rip bark
off trees, and even battle lions. In other words, the ivory appendages (附属品) are not just impressive to look at — they are highly useful tools.
So it might seem strange that a significant number of African elephants in
Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, once an illegal hunting wildlife area,
are now being born without tusks.
According to a 2021
DNA analysis published in the journal Science, that the elephants are born
without tusks is no coincidence. After decades of being shot by ivory brokers,
the leading elephants in some herds have passed down a trait that prevents the
females' prize possessions from growing in — and helps them avoid being hunted.
No one knows yet how widespread these genes might be in the greater population
of African elephants, or how the loss of tusks might affect the mammals'
survival overall. But the findings are a powerful, if depressing, reminder of
the extremes a species might endure to escape from extinction.
(1)
How do the animals respond to humans influence?
A . Many animals have evolved four legs.
B . Animals can survive despite the tough time.
C . Some animals are developing different shapes.
D . Animals live in harmony with human beings.
(2)
Why are the shifts likely permanent?
A . We human beings are evolving.
B . Wildlife are not going back to the wild.
C . Plastics appear at the bottom of the ocean.
D . The planet is no longer what it was like before.
(3)
What can we infer from the 2021 DNA analysis?
A . The elephants evolve the new trait by chance.
B . Elephants in some herds are all born without tusks.
C . Genes will be widespread in the greater population.
D . The new trait may help elephants survive the extinction.
(4)
In which column of a magazine can we most likely to find the text?
A . Travel.
B . Science.
C . Puzzles.
D . Well-being.
答案: C
D
D
B