阅读训练

　　Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension(Reading in Depth) (25 minutes)

　　Section A

　　One of London Zoo's recent advertisements caused me some irritation, so patently did it distort reality. Headlined "Without zoos you might as well tell these animals to get stuffed", it was bordered with illustrations of several endangered species and went on to extol the myth that without zoos like London Zoo these animals "will almost certainly disappear forever". With the zoo world's rather mediocre record on conservation, one might be forgiven for being slightly skeptical about such an advertisement.

　　Zoos were originally created as places of entertainment, and their suggested involvement with conservation didn't seriously arise until about 30 years ago, when the Zoological Society of London held the first formal international meeting or3 the subject. Eight years later, a series of world conferences took place, entitled "The Breeding of the Endangered Species", and from this point onwards conservation became the zoo community's buzzword. This commitment has now been clearly defined in The World Zoo Conservation Strategy (WZCS, 1993), which does seem to be based on an unrealistic optimism about the nature of the zoo industry.

　　The WZCS estimates that there are about 10,000 zoos in the world, of which around 1,000 represent a core of quality collections capable of participating in coordinated conservation programs. This is probably the document's first failing, as I believe that 10,000 is a serious underestimate of the total number of places masquerading as zoological establishments.

　　The second flaw in the reasoning of the WZCS document is the naive faith it place in its 1,000 core zoos. One would assume that the caliber of these institutions would have been carefully examined, but it appears that the criterion for inclusion on this select list might merely be that the zoo is a member of a zoo federation or association. This might be a good starting point, working on the premise that members must meet certain standards, but again the facts don't support the theory.

　　Even assuming that the 1,000 core zoos of the WZCS are all of a high standard, what might be the potential for conservation? Colin 'Fudge, author of Last Animals at the Zoo argues that if the world's zoos worked together in cooperative breeding programs they could save around 2,000 species of endangered land vertebrates. This seems an extremely optimistic proposition from a man who must be aware of the failings and weaknesses of the zoo industry. Moreover, where are the facts to support such optimism?

　　Today approximately 16 species might be said to have been "saved" by captive breeding programs, although a number of these can hardly be looked upon as resounding successes. Beyond that, about a further 20 species are being seriously considered for zoo conservation programs. Given that the international conference at London Zoo was held 30 years ago, this is pretty slow progress, and a long way off Tudge's target of 2,000.

　　47. Zoos made an insignificant contribution to conservation up until ______ years ago.

　　48. According to the writer, one of WZCS's failings is it ______ the number of zoos in the world.

　　49. In accordance with WZCS, what kind of zoos can participate in the international coordinated conservation programs?

　　50. The writer doubts the value of the WZCS document partly because of its failure to examine the of the "core zoos".

　　51. What word best describes the writer's response to Colin Tudge's prediction on captive breeding programs?

阅读答案及解析

　　Part IV Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)

　　Section A

　　47. 30

　　48. underestimates

　　49. Any zoo that is a member of a zoo federation or association.

　　50. caliber/ criterion/ standard

　　51. Disbelieving. / Skeptical. /Doubtful.

　　Part Ⅳ Reading Comprehension (Reading in Depth)

　　Section A

　　47.由第二段第一句“Zoos were originally created as places of entertainment，and their suggested involvement with conservation didn't seriously arise until about 30 years ago...”可知正确答案为“30”。

　　48.从第三段第二句“This is probably the document's first failing，as I believe that 10，000 is a serious underestimate of the total number of places masquerading as zoological establishments.”中可以看出，作者认为文件的第一个缺点是大大低估了全世界动物园的数目。明目繁多但实质是动物园的机构远远多于一万这个数目。可见此处要填的词是意为“低估”的动词。因此，正确答案为“underestimates”。

　　49.第四段作者谈到选择参与保护项目的核心动物园的标准时提到“One would assume that the caliber of these institutions would have been carefully examined，but it appears that the criterion for inclusion on this select list might merely be that the zoo is a member of a zoo federation or association.”，实际上列入候选的唯一标准可能是：该动物园是动物园联盟或者动物园协会的成员。故该题可以答为“Any zoo that is a member of a zoo federation or association.”。

　　50.由第四段第二句和第三句“One would as some that the caliber of these institutions would have been carefully examined，but it appears that the criterion for inclusion on this select list might merely be that the zoo is a member of a zoo federation or association.This might be a good starting point，working On the premise that members must meet certain standards，but again the facts don't support the theory.”可见人们都以为参与保护项目的动物园应该按照标准 (caliber)严格筛选，但没想到例如候选的唯一标准(criterion)可能只是该动物园是动物园协会或者联盟的成员。如果这些协会的成员达到一定的标准(standards)也就罢了，但事实并非如此。两句话中“标准”三次出现。可见作者认为WZCS的第二个缺点是在挑选参与保护项目的动物园时，没有严格的标准。因此，此题要填的词为文中所出现的“caliber/criterion/ standard”中的任何一个。

　　51.文章第五段作者提到：Colin Tudge预测全球合作的喂养保护项目可以保护大约2 000种濒临灭绝的陆地脊椎动物。随后，在第六段中作者讲到30年以来只有16种物种可以说是被圈养保护项目所拯救了。这离Tudge所说的2 000种物种得到保护的目标还差得很远。稍加推测可知，作者对Tudge预测的目标是不信任的、怀疑的。因此，答案可以是“Disbelieving./Skeptical./Doubtful.”。