Last Thursday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that six red wolf pups had been born in the wild. That’s great news for endangered red wolves and marks the first time these pups have been born in the wild since 2018. Since only 15 to 17 red wolves are still living in the wild, having six new wild-born pups is a huge deal.
Long ago, red wolves lived all through the US Southeast. But as the wolves were hunted, and as more and more land was taken over for cities, roads and farms, the wolves began to die out.
In 1973, a new law called the Endangered Species Act was passed. It was designed to protect animals that were in danger of dying out, like red wolves. At the time, there were only about 17 red wolves remaining in the wild.
Fourteen of those wolves were caught and kept in captivity (圈养) to protect them. The program was called the Red Wolf Recovery Program and led by FWS. By 1980, red wolves were believed to be extinct in the wild.
Luckily, the wolves did well in captivity, and their numbers continued to grow. Soon, the FWS began releasing (放生) red wolves back into the wild. Between 1987 and 1994, the recovery program released 60 adult red wolves.
Over time, those wolves spread out, paired up, and began to have pups. In 2008, there were 47 wild pups born. By 2012, red wolf numbers had hit a new high point of about 120 wolves in the wild.
Sadly, though, wild red wolf numbers began to drop again. Some wolves were shot and others were hit by cars. As the number of adults fell, the number of pups being born also began to drop. In 2018, a total of four pups were born in the wild. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, no wild pups were born at all. So, the news that six pups were born in the wild this year is a huge success.
【小题1】What is the right order for the events described in the passage?① Six pups were born in the wild.
② 60 red wolves were set free into the wild.
③ 14 red wolves were caught.
④ The Endangered Species Act was passed.
| A．①③②④ | B．②③④① |
| C．③②④① | D．④③②① |
| A．It began in 1980. |
| B．It is a project started by the American government. |
| C．It aims to catch all the pure red wolves. |
| D．It was significant but ended in failure. |
| A．Most of them were killed by other animals. |
| B．Their habitat was destroyed. |
| C．Some adult wolves died in accidents. |
| D．They were caught by humans. |
| A．Endangered red wolf pups born in the wild. |
| B．Laws made to protect wild-born red wolf pups. |
| C．Reasons why red wolves are endangered. |
| D．The importance of protecting wild red wolves. |
