The Australian Koala Foundation says Australia has lost about 30 percent of its koalas over the past three years. The non-profit (非营利) group says droughts (干旱), wildfires and development projects played a part in the drop in the koala population. They are strongly advising the government to do more to protect the animal’s environment.

The group guesses the koala population has dropped to less than 58,000 now from more than 80,000 in 2018. The biggest decrease is in the state of New South Wales, where the number of koalas has dropped by 41 percent. Deborah Tabart, leader of the Australian Koala Foundation, called the drop “quite dramatic”. Only one area in the study is thought to have more than 5,000 koalas. Some areas are believed to have as few as five or ten.

Tabart said the country needs a koala protection law. She added, “What we worry about is places like western New South Wales where droughts have lasted for over ten years. Now, the effect is beginning to show up—river systems completely dry and red gum trees (红桉树), which are the lifeblood of koalas, are dead.”

The loss in New South Wales likely sped up after large forest areas were destroyed (毁坏) by wildfires in late 2019 and early 2020. Some of those areas already had no koalas. Land clearing by building developers and road builders has also destroyed the koala’s environment.

“I think everyone gets it, and we’ve got to change. But if those building-machines keep working, then I really fear for the koalas,” Tabart said.

【小题1】What did the group advise the government to do?

A．Save koalas from dying out.

B．Stop all development projects.

C．Put out the wildfire immediately.

D．Provide enough water for koalas.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “dramatic” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Exciting.

B．Surprising.

C．Relaxing.

D．Interesting.

【小题3】How does the writer tell us about koalas’ situation in Paragraph 2?

A．By listing numbers.	B．By giving examples.
C．By asking questions.	D．By analyzing facts.

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE according to Tabart?

A．New South Wales is the only place they care about.

B．The rivers and red gum trees are influenced by the koalas.

C．Australia needs to make a law to protect the koalas.

D．Everyone understands that building-machines should stop working.

【小题5】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Some are hunting koalas in Australia.

B．Koalas in Australia are in great danger.

C．Development has put koalas in danger.

D．Everyone should take actions to protect Koalas.