Foxes and farmers have never got on well.These small doglike animals have long been accused of killing farm animals.They are officially classified as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them.
Farmers can also call on the services of their local hunt to control the fox population.Hunting consists of running after a fox across the countryside，with a group of specially trained dogs，followed by men and women riding horses.When the dogs eventually catch the fox，they kill it or a hunter shoots it.
People who take part in hunting think of it as a sport.They wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers，and follow strict rules of behavior.But owning a horse and hunting regularly are expensive，so most hunters are wealthy.
It is estimated that up to 100，000 people watch or take part in foxhunting.But over the last couple of decades the number of people who are against foxhunting，because they think it is brutal (残暴的)，has risen sharply.Nowadays it is rare for a hunt to pass off without some kind of conflict between hunters and hunt opponents (阻止者)．Sometimes these incidents lead to violence，but mostly opponents discourage the hunt by misleading riders and disturbing the trail of the fox’s smell，which the dogs follow.
Noisy conflicts between hunters and opponents have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as running after foxes itself.But this year supporters of foxhunting face a much bigger threat to their sport.A Labour Party member of Parliament(英国议会)，Mike Foster，is trying to get Parliament to approve a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal.If the law is passed，wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain.
1．Wealthy people in Britain have been hunting foxes to．
A．benefit the farmers
B．get entertainment
C．show off their wealth
D．limit the fox population
2．The opponents of foxhunting often discourage the game by ．
A．using violence
B．taking legal action
C．seeking help from farmers
D．confusing the fox hunters
3．A new law may be passed by the British Parliament to．
A．protect wild animals like foxes
B．control foxhunting on a large scale
C．prohibit farmers from hunting foxes
D．standardize the behavior of foxhunting
4．What can be inferred from this passage?
A．Limiting the fox population is unnecessary at all.
B．Killing foxes with poison is not allowed by the law.
C．Hunting foxes with dogs is considered cruel and violent.
D．Foxhunting causes conflicts between hunters and farmers.
