藍(lán)利霞

In the Bardiya region of Nepal， near the western border with India， Bhadai Tharu grew up with tales of tigers. They were not common in the forests around his home. At the turn of the 20th century， more than 100，000 tigers walked Asia. But by the time Tharu was growing up in the 1970s， the tiger population had declined to just 20% of its peak.

As he enjoyed the tales of tigers， he became involved in forest conservation and was committed to protecting their habitat. But a tiger attacked Tharu in 2004， causing him to lose an eye. “I was very angry with the tiger，” he says. But as time passed， Tharu says his anger faded. “I came to realize that the jungle is the tiger’s home， and it only attacked me out of fear that I might harm its habitat.” So Tharu recommitted himself to protecting Nepal’s tiger population in the region.

Back in the 1980s， the land around Tharu’s village， Khata， was barren and deforested. But in 2001， the land， known as the Khata corridor， was handed over to local communities. With the help of local communities， the forest grew from 115 hectares to 3，800 hectares. As the forest was restored， the wildlife returned， including tigers.

In 2010， Nepal set a goal to double the number of tigers from 121 to 250 — but it exceeded that target， tripling the population to 355. Actually， the Khata corridor has significantly contributed to tiger conservation in the region， in particular the crackdown on illegal hunting， which has been completely destroyed.

Tharu says the local communities are happy to see the tiger population increase. As apex predators， tigers are a keystone species which means that they are essential to the forest ecosystem that the surrounding communities rely on for their homes， food and livelihoods. “The tigers were once endangered， and now they are back. It is good news for us，” Tharu says.

（材料出自CNN網(wǎng)站，有刪改）

1. What can we learn about Tharu from the first two paragraphs？

A. He had a selfless heart.

B. He enjoyed traveling in forest.

C. He wrote tales of tigers.

D. He desired to protect tigers in India.

2. What made Tharu attacked by a tiger in 2004？

A. He angered it.

B. He attacked its jungle.

C. It was hungry.

D. It wanted to protected its habitat.

3. What is the main idea of Paragraph 3？

A. Forest’s enlargement.

B. The help of local communities.

C. Khata’s development.

D. The reason of wildlife’s return.

4. What are tigers crucial to？

A. The forest animals.

B. The forest ecosystem.

C. The local government.

D. The surrounding communities.

1. A。解析：推理判斷題。根據(jù)材料第二段第二句“But a tiger attacked Tharu in 2004， causing him to lose an eye”，我們可知Tharu在老虎的攻擊下失去了一只眼睛，但他依然繼續(xù)保護(hù)老虎，這說明他有一顆無私的心。故選A。

2. D。解析：細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)材料第二段的倒數(shù)第二句“I came to realize that the jungle is the tiger’s home， and it only attacked me out of fear that I might harm its habitat”，我們可知老虎襲擊Tharu是因為害怕Tharu破壞它的棲息地。故選D。

3. D。解析：主旨大意題。根據(jù)材料第三段的最后一句“As the forest was restored， the wildlife returned， including tigers”，我們可知這一段講述了森林的恢復(fù)有助于包括老虎在內(nèi)的野生動物的回歸。故選D。

4. B。解析：細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)材料最后一段的第二句“As apex predators， tigers are a keystone species which means that they are essential to the forest ecosystem that the surrounding communities rely on for their homes， food and livelihoods”，我們可知老虎對于森林生態(tài)系統(tǒng)來說很重要。故選B。