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问题详情：

The native red squirrels were once a common sight across the mainland of Britain, now they are sparsely situated around Scotland, and places thought to be impossible to reach to the grey squirrels, such as the Isle or Wight and Anglesey. In fact more than 75% of Britain's estimated 160 000 red squirrels are found in Scotland.

Now they could become extinct in the next 20 years, as their population has dropped 50% in the last 50 years.

Grey squirrels carry a virus called the “pox virus”, first discovered in Scotland in 2005, which they are immune to（有免疫力的）, but it causes deadly disease to the red squirrels. Pox disease and the loss of much woodland over the UK have led to their decrease. They encounter another danger when it comes to predators(捕食动物), one of which is the Goshawk which are powerful birds of prey throughout the dark woodlands.

    Red squirrels are most at home among sweet chestnut, wild cherry, hazel and beech trees. They prefer to travel within the tree canopies rather than the woodland grounds, unlike grey squirrels.

Their ability to climb, swing and jump is actually unbelievable. You may have seen a squirrel in the past and noticed that it freezes when it has seen you move. They often stay frozen like that for up to 10 minutes, until they believe it's safe to move again.

They build up large nests called “dreys” made up of twigs, leaves and hair, in the forks or trunks of their chosen trees, and this is where they will breed(繁殖) and spend a lot of their night time when not out looking for food.

Their diet consists of seed, shrubs, nuts, shoots, flowers, and birds eggs if they are lucky enough to come across. They need to eat daily to keep up their energies. The autumn food harvest is important for their survival throughout the winter months.

28. Red squirrels are now found in places ___________.

  A. where there are a lot of grey squirrels     B. where there are few trees

  C. where there are no or few grey squirrels   D. where there is plenty of food

29. Which of the following is not a reason for the decreasing population of red squirrels?

  A. Pox disease.            B. The Goshawk.  

  C. Loss of woodland        D. The virus they carry.

30. Which of the following is TRUE about red squirrels?

  A. They look for food during the day. 

  B. They prefer to travel on the Woodland grounds.

  C. They like birds eggs the most.   

  D. They have to eat every day to keep up their energies.

31. We can infer from the passage that __________.

  A. red squirrels are in danger of dying out

  B. grey Squirrels are scattered around Scotland

  C. red squirrels are more important to the environment

  D. red squirrels have the same living habits as grey squirrels

【回答】

C D D A

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