A
Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.
Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way.Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever.Hundreds more are on the danger list today.About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger.
Why should people care? Because we need animals.And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.
Animals are more than beautiful or interesting or a source of food.Every animal has its place in the balance of nature.Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.
For example, when farmer killed large numbers of hawks, the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by mice.Why? Because hawks eat mice.With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the mice multiplied quickly.
Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals.Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem.And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.
Quite a few countries have passed laws.These laws forbid the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list.Slowly, the number of some animals in danger is growing.
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。文章讲述了现在许多动物面临着危险以及人们杀戮动物的原因。幸运的是，一些组织和国家开始采取措施来保护动物了。
1．Animals are important to us mainly because .
A．they give us a source of food
B．they are beautiful and lovely
C．they keep the balance of nature
D．they give us a lot of pleasure
解析：选C 细节理解题。由第四段内容可知，动物保持着自然界的平衡，所以它们很重要，我们不能伤害它们。故选C。
2．What is the meaning of the underlined word “multiplied” in Paragraph 5?
A．Became more. B．Became less.
C．Turned black. D．Ate food.
解析：选A 词义猜测题。由第五段中的Because hawks eat mice.With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the mice multiplied quickly.可知，老鹰吃老鼠，老鼠数量就会减少，但如果没有老鹰，老鼠数量就会越来越多。因此multiplied在此处意为“Became more”。故选A。
3．We can infer from the passage that .
A．people have known the importance of animal protection since a long time ago
B．animals play an important role in people's life
C．the number of hawks is on the decrease
D．many countries passed laws forbidding the killing of any animal
解析：选B 推理判断题。由第四段和第五段可知，动物保持着自然界的平衡，破坏一种动物会产生许多问题，比如，农民杀了大量的鹰，自己的粮食就会被毁掉，说明动物在人们的生活中扮演着重要的角色。故选B。
4．What is the best title for the passage?
A．Save the Animals B．Useful Animals
C．Laws for Animals D．Animals in Danger
解析：选A 标题归纳题。第一、二段讲了“动物面临的生存现状，人们并未意识到动物保护的重要性”；第三、四、五段讲了“保护动物的原因”；第六段讲了“有些人正在努力帮助拯救动物”；最后一段讲了“不少国家通过了法律保护动物”。所以文章主要讲的是保护动物。A项作文章标题能体现这一点，故选A。
