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A biologist once criticized for stealing eggs from the nests of the rarest bird in the world has been awarded the “Nobel Prize” of conservation after his methods saved nine species from extinction.
Professor Carl Jones won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize—the highest accolade in the field of animal conservation—for his 40 years of work in Mauritius, where he saved an endangered kestrel from becoming the next Great Auk.
When the 61-year-old first travelled to the east African island in the 1970s, he was told to close down a project to save the Mauritius kestrel. At the time there were just four left in the wild, making it the rarest bird on Earth. However, he stayed, using the techniques of captive breeding (人工繁殖), which involved snatching eggs from the birds’ nests and hatching(孵化)them under incubators, prompting the mothers to lay another set of eggs in the wild.
A decade later, the number of Mauritius kestrels had soared to over 300 and today there are around 400 in the wild. The biologist has also been necessary in efforts to bring other rare species back from the edge of extinction, including the pink pigeon, echo parakeet and Rodrigues warbler.
Prof. Jones was awarded the $250, 000 (￡172, 000) prize at a ceremony in London.
“As a young man in my 20s, I certainly didn’t enjoy the stress and the tension of the criticism I received, ” reflecting on the start of his career, he said the Mauritius kestrel project had been seen as a “dead loss” at the time. In the 1970s there was fierce opposition to the captive breeding techniques, with critics arguing that they were too risky and took the emphasis off breeding in the wild.
Prof. Jones has devoted his whole life to his work, only becoming a father for the first time eight years ago, at 53. He said receiving the prize was particularly important to him, because it proved that his work to save birds was right.
【文章大意】本文是一篇记叙文。文章介绍了生物学家Carl Jones通过人工繁殖的方式使濒临灭绝的鸟类的数量逐渐增加, 并且因此获得了2016年的印第安纳波利斯奖。
1. What does the underlined word “accolade” mean in Paragraph 2?
A. Return. B. Level. C. Honor. D. Research.
【解析】选C。词义猜测题。由于破折号后面的句子是对前面句子的补充说明, 故由“won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize”可推知, 这里的“accolade”与获奖有关, 所以C项“荣誉”符合题意。
2. According to the passage, Great Auk is ________.
A. an endangered bird B. an extinct bird
C. a popular bird D. a fierce bird
【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据文章第二段最后一句中的“he saved an endangered kestrel from becoming the next Great Auk. ”可知, 他拯救了濒临灭绝的红隼, 使它免于遭受Great Auk的情况, 所以推测, Great Auk是已经灭绝的一种鸟类。故选B。
3. What can we know from the figures in Paragraph 4?
A. Taking eggs from the nests has worked well.
B. The wild environment for kestrel has changed a lot.
C. Kestrel has adapted to the life in the wild.
D. It’s difficult to protect kestrel.
【解析】选A。推理判断题。根据文章第四段第一句中的“. . . had soared to over 300 and today there are around 400 in the wild. ”可知, 红隼的数量已经开始增加了, 所以可推断人工繁殖的方法很有效, 与第三段中的“人工繁殖”相对应。故选A。
4. Prof. Jones’ idea of taking eggs from the birds’ nests ________.
A. was proved of no use
B. was widely accepted
C. was promoted officially
D. was criticized by some people
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据文章第一段第一句中的“A biologist once criticized. . . the rarest bird”及文章倒数第二段“As a young man in my 20s, I certainly didn’t enjoy the stress and the tension of the criticism I received, ” 和最后一句中的“In the 1970s there was. . . that they were too risky. . . ”可知琼斯教授从稀有鸟类的巢穴中取出鸟蛋的行为被一些人批评。故选D。
【知识拓展】佳词积累
1. criticize vt. 批评
2. conservation n. 保护
3. tension n. 紧张
4. opposition n. 反对
5. captive adj. 被监禁的;被困住的
6. breed vt. 饲养;培育
7. emphasis n. 重要性
长难句分析
In the 1970s there was fierce opposition to the captive breeding techniques, with critics arguing that they were too risky and took the emphasis off breeding in the wild.
分析: 本句是一个复合句。本句是there be句型, arguing后是that引导的宾语从句。
译文: 在20世纪70年代, 有人强烈反对人工繁殖的方法, 批评家们争论说: 这些方法有风险, 不重视在野外的繁殖。
