Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
Orang-utans
Orang-utans live deep in the jungle of South-East Asia. For years, they were a complete mystery to humans. Hunters sometimes saw these shy animals from 【小题1】distance, but rarely got a good look at them. No one was certain 【小题2】they were a race of humans or a kind of monkey. Indeed, the name “Orang-utan” means “man of the forest”. Finally, about 150 years ago, scientists confirmed that orang-utans were a species of ape. Since then, people 【小题3】(be)able to come into increased contact with orang-utans. Consequently, we have learnt 【小题4】about them.
While the advance of civilization has brought us more knowledge about orang-utan, it has cause the orang-utan many problems, and now these wonderful creatures are threatened with extinction. In 1900, there were several hundred thousand orang-utans 【小题5】(live)in the wild. Now there are fewer than 24,000 【小题6】(leave)in the world. Some experts even believe that orang-utans will become extinct by the year 2023.
Humans are largely 【小题7】(blame)for this decline. Altogether, 80% of the orang-utan’s natural habitat has been destroyed by companies cutting down trees for financial gain. 【小题8】problem is the trade in orang-utan babies. Every year, thousands of these babies are smuggled to other countries,【小题9】they serve as zoo animals or as pets. Unfortunately, to capture an orang-utan baby, its mother must be killed as well.
In order to save the orang-utan, many conservation centres have been set up to preserve their natural habitats. Governments and volunteers are also working to rescue pet orang-utans and return them to the wild. However, this 【小题10】be too little, too late. The extinction of orang-utans is at a critical stage. People must take dramatic action if orang-utans are to survive in the future.
