On a cold and clear day in February, Wes, his brother Jeff, his assistant Jordan, and I were following the GPS from the bear’s collar( 项 圈 ) up a steep and into a red earth canyon. The temperature dropped to zero as we cleaned the snow, trying to locate the black bear’s entrance.
The radio signal was so weak that as the sun set, we considered turning back. Then a curtain of snow collapsed, revealing a sandstone cave. It narrowed to a dark tunnel, and the musky(麝香味)smell of wild animal steamed from within. Wes didn’t hesitate. Armed with an expandable six-foot stick with a tranquilizer syringe(镇定剂喷射器) on its tip, he dived in headfirst. His brother crawled after him.
Thirty seconds later, they came flying backward out of the tunnel. The bear they’d collared a year and a half ago now weighed about 350 pounds— and he was awake! Wes had managed to jab him with the syringe, so we waited for the drug to take effect. But when we rounded the tunnel bend, wide eyes flashed at us. He was STILL awake!! Wes told me not to move while he backed out and jabbed another dose of tranquilizer.
The bear started crawling toward us. We desperately blocked the exit with backpacks and sticks as Wes jabbed him again— but he powered through our barriers with groggy(头晕眼花的) steps and began to crawl down the snowy slope. Jeff and Jordan held his back paws, managing to hold on to him; Wes jumped on his back and grabbed his collar. The bear pulled them down the hillside together. The tranquilizer had taken effect— he was asleep. Wes and his brother changed the batteries of the collar and checked his health, but we had one more difficult task: getting a 350-pound bear up the snowy path and safely back to his cave before he awoke. We pushed and pulled with every muscle. Before the drug wore off, our effort paid off.
When spring came, signals from the bear’s new radio collar showed he’d continued his everyday life—avoiding any more contact, we hope, with humans.
【小题1】Why did the author and his friends go to the canyon?| A．They wanted to conduct a radio experiment. |
| B．They expected to hunt for a bear for fun. |
| C．They wished to explore the nature in winter. |
| D．They planned to maintain the bear’s radio collar. |
| A．The bear’s unique smell reminded them. |
| B．A hunter led them to the bear’s habitat. |
| C．The strong sunlight revealed its cave. |
| D．A curtain of snow showed them the way. |
| A．Kick. | B．Inject. |
| C．Cure. | D．Assist. |
| A．The bear was more than pleased to see them again. |
| B．The drug took effect immediately after the bear took it. |
| C．They made it to send the bear back to its cave. |
| D．They gave the bear tranquilizer 4 times in the end. |
| A．The Bear Wearing a Collar | B．Danger in Nature |
| C．An Encounter with a Bear | D．A “Little” Adventure |
