揽瓜阁做题小分队 第26天 保护沙漠龟

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Despite its 1989 designation as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, has declined in numbers by ninety percent since the 1980s. Although federal protection made it illegal to harm desert tortoises or remove them from the wild of the southwestern North American deserts, this measure has been insufficient to reverse the species’ decline, and further intervention is required.

Recovery has been slow, partly due to the desert tortoise’s low reproductive potential. Females breed only after reaching full size at fifteen to twenty years of age, and even then may only lay eggs when adequate forage is available. Although the number of eggs in each clutch varies, and each female might lay a few clutches in one season, the average mature female produces only a few eggs annually. From these precious eggs, hatchlings emerge wearing soft shells that will harden slowly into protective armor over the next five years. The vulnerable young are entirely neglected by adult tortoises, and only five percent ultimately reach adulthood.

Predators are blamed for most tortoise deaths; ravens, specifically, are estimated to cause more than half of the juvenile tortoise deaths in the Mojave Desert. Tortoise eggs and juveniles, with their delicate shells, can fall prey to many birds, mammals, and other reptiles. For protection from predators, as well as from desert temperature extremes, tortoises of all ages burrow into the earth. However, if rabbits and rodents are scarce, larger mammalian predators may dig tortoises out of their burrows, devouring even mature tortoises despite their hardened shells.

Even with current protections from human interference, the desert tortoise faces a tough recovery, so additional measures must be taken. First, the limited habitat of desert tortoises, with soil suitable for their burrows, must be protected from development. Next, urban expansion often has the unintended effect of increasing raven populations, so aggressive measures to control the birds are necessary to increase desert tortoise hatchling survival rates. Finally, released captive tortoises typically perish, and can pass upper respiratory tract disease into the wild population with devastating consequences.

Though desert tortoises are well adapted to arid habitats, and adults can survive a year without access to water, they rely heavily on moisture in the vegetation consumed in spring, when they surface from their hibernal dormancy. The loss of native plants to grazing livestock and invasive plant species, then, may lessen the tortoise’s resistance to pathogens, though the tortoises do also dig precipitation basins in the soil and linger near one when rain is impending.

1.1. It can be inferred from the passage that the desert tortoise mortality rate would be most likely to decrease if which of the following were true?

(A) Desert tortoise burrows were cooler.
(B) Male and female tortoises mated more frequently.
(C) Adult tortoises provided better care for their young.
(D) Forage plants were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.
(E) Rabbits were abundant in the habitat of the desert tortoise.

2. The passage mentions each of the following as reasons that the desert tortoise is a threatened species EXCEPT
(A) expansion of urban areas near the desert tortoise habitat
(B) the low reproductive rate of desert tortoises
(C) desert temperature extremes
(D) predation by ravens
(E) the release of captive tortoises by pet owners

3. The primary intent of the passage is to do which of the following?
(A) Describe the lifecycle of a species
(B) Advocate future actions
(C) Discuss a problem
(D) Evaluate past actions
(E) Criticize the government

4. Previous efforts to protect the desert tortoise are regarded by the author with
(A) weary skepticism
(B) complete satisfaction
(C) implied opposition
(D) qualified approval
(E) overt disdain

5. The passage implies that precipitation in the desert tortoise’s habitat
A. falls approximately once a year
B. increases the tortoise’s resistance to pathogens
C. falls mainly in the spring
D. is consumed primarily by grazing livestock
E. is collected by the tortoises intentionally

参考答案：

ECBDE

yyking625

CCBEB

断了的弦

DCCDB

Sibaiyuan

ECCAE
3. 第四段首句so additional measures must be taken.
4. Qualified approval means that author would accept a point if certain conditions are met

Dianita

20210425 11分40秒 e c b d? e
1.沙漠龟数量减少；现有保护措施不够，仍然需要更多干预。
2.繁殖慢，繁殖条件：雌性达到15-20岁，adequate forage；平均每年产蛋量少；孵化出的小龟壳软，5年才能变硬，没龟管，5%能活到成年。
3.死亡原因：大部分沙漠龟死于捕食者，如ravens等；为躲避捕食者，沙漠龟会钻地；但是如果兔子和啮齿类动物少，还是可能被挖出来吃掉。
4.需要进行更多干预，3点措施。
5.水分对沙漠龟的重要性。
单词：
lay eggs when adequate forage is available
lay a few clutches
hatchlings emerge

ravens乌鸦
fall prey to
reptiles爬行动物
burrow into the earth
devouring mature tortoises

released captive tortoises
upper respiratory tract disease
devastating

arid habitats
hibernal dormancy冬眠
lessen the tortoise’s resistance to pathogens病原体

第一题：需注意问题是“死亡率”，容易与第二段的繁殖率混淆
第四题：对以前的措施没有怀疑、反对等情绪。
(D) qualified approval

速水愛媛

ECBDE

LouisTan

大意：沙漠龟数量下降，需要加大保护力度
1. 数量下降，当前措施不够，需要加大干预力度。
2. 下降的原因1：生育率降低。幼龟存活率低。
3. 原因2：天敌捕杀。
4. 保护措施：1,2,3
5. 沙漠龟冬眠醒来需要植被中的水，可以帮助他们抵抗疾病。
EABAB

yutingw

DCBAB

Fnc001

1st paragraph: Desert tortoise decline, protection measure insufficient
2nd paragraph: low reproduction, only 5% reach adulthood
3rd paragraph: predators menace
4th paragraph: additional measures to protect
5th paragraph: survival circumstances are vital
B
A
C
A
B

飞跃重洋2017

ECBAE