A
Although it was called tiger, it lookedlike a dog with black stripes on its back and it was the largest knowncarnivorous marsupial of modem times. Yet, despite its fame for being one ofthe most fabled animals in the world, it is one of the least understood ofTasmania's native animals. The scientific name for the Tasmanian tiger isThylacine and it is believed that they have become extinct in the 20th century.
B
Fossils of thylacines dating from aboutalmost 12 million years ago have been dug up at various places in Victoria,South Austnilia and Western Australia. They were widespread in Australia 7000years ago, but have probably been extinct on the continent for 2000 years. Thisis believed to he because of the introduction of dingoes around 8000 years ago.Because of disease, thylacine numbers may have been declining in Tasmania atthe time of European settlement 200 years ago, but the decline was certainlyaccelerated by tlie new arrivals. The last known Tasmanian Tiger died in HobartZoo in 1936 and the aninml is officially dassilied jis extinct. Technically,this means that it has not been ofiicially sighted in the wild or captivity for50 years. However, there are still unsubstantiated sightings.
C
Hans Naarding, whose study of animalii hadtaken him around the world, was conducting a survey of a species of endangeredmigratory, bird. What he saw that night is now regarded as the most crediblesighting recorded of thylacine that many believe has been extinct for more than70 years.
D
"I had to work at night",NaardingUikes up the story. "I was in the habit of inlermittently shining aspotliglit around. The beam fell on an animal in front of the vehicle, lesstlian 10m away. Instead of risking movement by grabbing for a camera, I decidedto register very cairefiilly what I was seeing. The animal was about the sizeof a small shepherd dog, a very healthy male in prime condition. What set itapart from a dog, though, was a slightly sloping hindquarten with a fairlythick tail being a straight continuation of the backline of the animal. It had12 distinct stripes on its hack, continuing onto its butt. I knew perfectlywell what I was seeing. As soon as I reachetl for the camera, it disappearedinto the tea-tree underprowth and scrub."
E
The director of Tasmania'sNational parks at the time, Peter Morrow, decided in his wisdomto keep Naarding's sighting of the thylacine secret for two years. When thenews finally broke, it was accompanied by pandemonium. I was besieged bytelevision crews, including four to five from Japan, and otliers from theUnited Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand and South Ainerica,w said Naarding.
F
Government and private search partiescombed the region, but no further sightings were made. The tiger, as always,had escaped to its lair, a place many insist exists only in our imagination.But since then, the thylacine has staged something of a comeback, becoming partof Australian mythology.
G
There have been more than 4,000 claimedsightings of the beast since it supposedly died out, and the average claimseach year reported to authorities now number 150. Associate professor ofzoology at the University of Tasmania, Randolph Rose, has said he dreams ofseeing a thylacine. But Rose, who in his 35 years in Tasmanian academia hasfielded countless reports of thylacine sightings, is now convinced that hisdream will go unfulfilled.
H
"The consensus among conservationistsis that, usually, any animal with a population base of less than 1,000 isheaded for extinction within 60 years,” says Rose. “Sixty years ago, there was only one thylacine that we know of, andthat was in Hobart Zoo,he says.
I
Dr. David Pemberton, curator of zoology atthe Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, whose PhD thesis was on the thylacine,says that despite scientific thinking that 500 animals are required to sustaina population, the Florida panther is down to a dozen or so animals and, whileit does have some inbreeding problems, is still ticking along. Mril take a puntand say that, if we manage to find a thylacine in the scrub, it means thatthere are 50-plus animals out there.
J
After all, animals can be notoriouslyelusive. The strange fish known as the coelacanth, with its"proto-legs", was thought to have died out along with the dinosaurs700 million years ago until a specimen was dragged to the surface in a sharknet off the south-east coast of South Africa in 1938.
K
Wildlife biologist Nick Mooney has theunenviable task of investigating all wsightingsw of llie tiger totalling 4,000since the mid-1930s, and averaging about 150 a year. It was Mooney who wasfirst consulted late last month about the authenticity of digital photographicimages purportedly taken by a German tourist while on a recent bushwalk in thestate. On face value, Mooney says, the account of the sighting, and the twophotographs submitted as proof, amount to one of the most convincing cases forthe species' survival he has seen.
L
And Mooney has seen it all—the mistakes, the hoaxes, theillusions and the plausible accounts of sightings. Hoaxers aside, most peoplewho report sightings end up believing they have seen a thylaeine, and arethemselves believable to the point they could pass a lie-detector test,according to Mooney. Otliers, having tabled a creditable report, then becomeutterly obsessed like the Tasmanian who has registered 99 thylacine sightingsto date. Mooney has seen individuals bankrupted by the obsession, and familiesdestroyed. "It is a blind optimism tliat something is, rather than acynicism that something isn’t,” Mooney says.“If somethingcrosses the road, it’s not a case of ‘I wonder what tliat was?* Rather, it is a case of 'that's athylacine!' It is a bit like a gold prospector's blind faith, "it has gotto be there".
M
However, Mooney treats all reports on facevalue. I never try to embarrass people, or make fools of them. But the factthat I don't pack the car immediately they ring can often be taken as ridicule.Obsessive characters get irate tliat someone in my position is not out therewhen they think the thylacine is there."
N
But Hans Naarding, whose sighting of astriped animal two decades ago was the highlight of Ma life of animalspotting", remains bemused by the time and money people waste on tigersearches. He says resources would be better applied to saving the Tasmaniandevil, and helping migratory bird populations that are declining as a result ofshrinking wetlands across Australia.
O
Could the thylacine still be out there?MSure,w Naarding says. But he also says any discovery of surviving thylacineswould be Mrather pointless". MHow do you save a species from extinction?What could you do with it? If there are thylacines out there, they are betteroff right where they are."
Questions 14-17
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from thepassage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 14-17 on youranswer sheet.
The Tasmanian tiger, also called thylacine,resembles the look of a dog and has14_________onitsfUrcoat.M£inyfossilshavebeenfound，showingthatthylacines had existed as early as 15______________yearsago. They lived throughout 16________ before disappearing from the mainland.And soon after the 17___________ settlers arrived the size of thylacinepopulation in Tasmania shrunk at a higher speed.
Questions 18-23 Look at the followingstatements
(Questions 18-23) and the list of peoplebelow. Match each statement with the correct person, A, B, C or D, Write thecorrect letter A, B, C or Dt in boxes 18-23 on your answer sheet. NB You mayuse any letter more than once.
18 His report of seeing a live thylacine inthe wild attracted international interest.
19 Many eye-witnesses1 reports are nottrustworthy.
20 It doesnJ t require a certain number ofanimals to ensure the survival of a species.
21 There is no hope of finding a survivingTasmanian tiger.
22 Do not disturb them if there are anyTasmanian tigers still living today.
23 The interpretation of evidence can beaffected by people's beliefs.
List of People
A Hans Naarding
B Randolph Rose
C David Pemberton
D Nick Mooney
答案解析：
14 . black stripes
【原文参考依据--A】
利用细节信息“dog”和“for coat”定位于原文第一段第一句话Although it was
called tiger, it looked like a dog withblack stripes on its back...这里的 “looked like” 对应题目信息“resembles”，所以正确答案是black stripes.
15. 12 million
【原文参考依据--B】
利用细节信息“fossils”定位于原文第二段第一句话“Fossils of thylacinesdating from about almost 12 million years ago have been dug up at variousplaces...”，意思是说发现 的这些化石年代可以追溯到一千两百万年前，等同于说一千两百万年前就有袋狼了， 所以正确答案为12 million。
16. Australia
【原文参考依据--B】
利用细节信息“disappearingfrom the mainland”定位于原文第二段第二句话“Theywere widespread in Australia 7,000 years ago，but have probably been extinct on the conti¬nent for 2,000 years'^ 这里的 “extinct on the continent”对应题目信息 “disappearing from the mainland”，“widespread” 对应题目信息 “throughout”，所以正确答案为 Australia。
17. European
【原文参考依据--B】
利用细节信息 “settlers” 和 “population in Tasmania shrunk at a higher speed” 定位 于原文第二段第四句话 “Because of disease, thylacine numbers may have been declin¬ing inTasmania at the time of European settlement 200 years ago, but the decline wascer- tainly accelerated by the new arrivals”。这里的“settlement” 对应题目中的 “settlers”， “accelerated”对应题目中的“at a higher speed”，所以正确答案为European。
18.A
【原文参考依据--E】
利用细节信息“attractedinternational interest”定位于原文第五段最后两句话“When the news finally broke... ‘I was besieged by television crews, including four to five fromJapan, and others from the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand and SouthAmerica，' 这里的“news”指的就是Naarding看到袋狼的事情，对应题目中的“report of seeing alive thylacine”,原文里的来自各个国家的“television crews”对应题目中的“attracted internationalinterest”，所以正确答案为 A。
19 D
【原文参考依据--L】
利用细节信息“reportsare not trustworthy”定位于原文倒数第四段第一句话“And Mooney has seen it all—the mistakes, the hoaxes, the illusions and the plausible accountsof sightings”，该段落最后也提到 fMooney 认为 “reports are not trustworthy”的原因， 所以正确答案为D。
20. C
【原文参考依据--H】
利用细节信息 “a certain number of animals”和 “ensure the survival of a species”可以 发现原文中有两处(第七段和第八段)提及了需要一定数掀的个体才能保证物种存 活的信息，但是题目中的“doesn’t require acertain number”只有在原文第八段DavidPemberton 提到的 “despite scientific thinking that 500 animals are required to sustaina population, the Florida panther is down to a dozen or so animals and, whileit does have some inbreeding problems, is still ticking along” 中有所体现，所以正确答案为 C。
21. B
【原文参考依据--F】
利用细节信息“no hopeof finding a surviving Tasmanian tiger”定位于原文第六段最后关于 Randolph Rose 的内容 “Rose...is now convinced that his dream will go unfiil- filled”，而 Rose 的 “dream” 就是前一句话中所提及的“he dreams of seeing a thyla¬cine”。 这里的信息对应题目信息 “There is no hope of finding asurviving Tasmanian tiger",所以正确答案为B。
22. A
【原文参考依据--O】
利用细节信息“Do notdisturb them”定位于原文最后一段最后一句话“If there are thylacines out there, they are better off right wherethey are’’。这里的 “they are better off right where they are”对应题目信息“Do not disturb them”，所以正确答案为A。
23 D
【原文参考依据--L】
利用细节信息 “interpretation of evidence”和 “affected by people’s beliefs” 定位于原文倒数第四段最后几句话。这里Nick Mooney讲到“It is a blind optimism thatsome¬thing is, rather than a cynicism that something isn’t...It is a bit like a goldprospector’s blindfaith...”，这都是在说人们倾向于相信自己想要相信的事物，容易受到自己信念的影响，对应题目信息，所以正确答案为D。
24. B
【原文参考依据--F】
该题目仅凭“HansNaarding’s sighting”不好定位，需要结合题目选项信息排除、 选项 A “govemment andorganisations，cooperativeefforts to protect thylacine，’，利 用这里的“govemment and organisations”可定位于原文第六段第一句话“Govermnent and privatesearch parties combed the region, but no fiirther sightings were made”，这里 明显提及的是政府和私人团体都去搜寻袋狼，而非一起保护袋狼，所以排除选项A。 关于选项 C “increase ofthe number of reports of thylacine worldwide”，虽然在第六段中间确实提及 “the thylacine has staged something of a comeback”，后面也提及报告的 数僮很多，但是说的都是澳大利亚的报告，而非“reports of thylacine worldwide”，所以应该排除选项 C。关于选项 D “growth of popularity of thylacinein literature”，虽然 在第六段中提及袋狼“becoming part of Australian mythology”，但是这并不是说袋狼在文学中的流行度上升，而是一种形象的说法，表达了发现或观察到袋狼的种种报 告大多数只不过是传说，所以应该排除选项D。选项B "extensive interests tofind a living thylacine"是对原文第六段整个段落的总结，既包含了政府和私人组织的努力搜寻，也包含了报告的增多等等，所以综上所述，正确答案为B。
25 D
【原文参考依据--J】
利用细节信息“coelacanth”很容易定位原文J段。原文开头明显提及“animals can benotoriously elusive”，然后讲到人们最初认为这个物种巳经灭绝，直到后来又在南非某海域捕获一只，这一切都是为了说明某些物种并不一定像大家所想的那样
已经灭绝，对应选项 D “extinction of certain species canbe mistaken”，所以正确答案
为D。
26.A
【原文参考依据--M】
利用细节信息“Mooney”和顺序性原则定位于原文M段。原文在这里说道 “Mooney treats all reports on face value”，“on face value” 的意思是“就表面意思来说”, 也就是指Mooney暂且相信每一个报告所说的东西，因为他“never try toembarrass people, or make fools of them”，但是后面又隐晦地提及他也不会听到什么就立刻行动。选项 A “given some credit as they claim even if they are untrue” 与原文信息一致，所以 正确答案为A。
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