26. The major reason for listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened is.
- A. its drastically decreased population
- B. the underestimate of the grassland acreage
- C. a desperate appeal from some biologists
- D. the insistence of private landowners
答案：A
答案句：The crash was a major reason the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decided to formally list the bird as threatened. … Biologists estimate that as many as 2 million lesser prairie chickens – a kind of bird living on stretching grasslands – once lent red to the often grey landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States. But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species’ historic range.
参考译文：这次数量骤减是美国鱼类与野生动物管理局（USFWS）决定正式将该鸟列为受威胁物种的主要原因。… 生物学家估计，多达200万只小草原松鸡——一种生活在广阔草原上的鸟类——曾为美国中西部和西南部常显灰色的景观增添红色。但如今仅存约2.2万只，占据该物种历史分布范围的约16%。
定位线索：题干“The major reason for listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened”→答案句“The crash was a major reason...decided to formally list the bird as threatened”；文中“The crash”（数量骤减）对应选项A“its drastically decreased population”（种群数量急剧下降）。
解析：题干问列为受威胁物种的主要原因，答案句首句明确指出“The crash was a major reason”，即数量骤减是主要原因。前文背景句进一步说明从200万只降至2.2万只，对应选项A“its drastically decreased population”。选项B“低估草地面积”、C“生物学家的绝望呼吁”、D“私人土地所有者的坚持”在原文中均无依据，属于无中生有。
27. The “threatened” tag disappointed some environmentalists in that it.
- A. was a give-in to governmental pressure
- B. would involve fewer agencies in action
- C. granted less federal regulatory power
- D. went against conservation policies
答案：C
答案句：Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed. They had pushed the agency to designate the bird as “endangered,” a status that gives federal officials greater regulatory power to crack down on threats. But Ashe and others argued that the “threatened” tag gave the federal government flexibility to try out new, potentially less confrontational conservation approaches.
参考译文：然而，一些环保主义者感到失望。他们曾推动该机构将该鸟列为“濒危”物种，这一地位赋予联邦官员更大的监管权力来打击威胁。但阿什和其他人认为，“受威胁”标签给了联邦政府尝试新的、可能对抗性较小的保护方法的灵活性。
定位线索：题干“The 'threatened' tag disappointed some environmentalists”→答案句“Some environmentalists, however, were disappointed”；文中“endangered...gives federal officials greater regulatory power”与“threatened tag gave flexibility”对比，对应选项C“granted less federal regulatory power”（授予较少的联邦监管权力）。
解析：环保主义者失望是因为他们希望列为“endangered”，该地位赋予联邦官员更大的监管权力；而“threatened”标签只提供灵活性，监管权力较小。选项C正确。选项A“屈服于政府压力”、B“涉及更少机构”、D“违背保护政策”均无原文依据，属于无中生有。
28. It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that unintentional harm-doers will not be prosecuted if they.
- A. agree to pay a sum for compensation
- B. volunteer to set up an equally big habitat
- C. offer to support the WAFWA monitoring job
- D. promise to raise funds for USFWS operations
答案：A
答案句：Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowners or businesses that unintentionally kill, harm, or disturb the bird, as long as they had signed a range-wide management plan to restore prairie chicken habitat. Negotiated by USFWS and the states, the plan requires individuals and businesses that damage habitat as part of their operations to pay into a fund to replace every acre destroyed with 2 new acres of suitable habitat.
参考译文：例如，根据该计划，该机构表示，只要土地所有者或企业签署了恢复草原松鸡栖息地的全范围管理计划，就不会起诉那些无意中杀死、伤害或干扰该鸟的人。该计划由USFWS和各州协商制定，要求在其运营中破坏栖息地的个人和企业向基金付款，以每破坏1英亩用2英亩合适栖息地来替代。
定位线索：题干“unintentional harm-doers will not be prosecuted if they”→答案句“would not prosecute...as long as they had signed a range-wide management plan”；文中“pay into a fund”对应选项A“agree to pay a sum for compensation”（同意支付赔偿金）。
解析：答案句指出不 prosecution 的条件是签署管理计划，而该计划要求破坏栖息地者“pay into a fund”，即支付赔偿金。选项A正确。选项B“自愿建立同等大小栖息地”是基金用途之一，非条件；C“支持WAFWA监控”和D“为USFWS筹款”均非原文条件，属于偷换概念。
29. According to Ashe, the leading role in managing the species is.
- A. the federal government
- B. the wildlife agencies
- C. the landowners
- D. the states
答案：D
答案句：Overall, the idea is to let “states remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species,” Ashe said.
参考译文：总体而言，其理念是让“各州在管理该物种方面保持主导地位”，阿什说。
定位线索：题干“According to Ashe, the leading role in managing the species”→答案句“states remain in the driver's seat for managing the species”；文中“states”对应选项D“the states”。
解析：答案句直接引用阿什的话，明确表示各州在管理中处于主导地位（driver's seat），对应选项D。选项A“联邦政府”、B“野生动物机构”、C“土地所有者”均与原文不符，属于偷换概念。
30. Jay Lininger would most likely support.
- A. industry groups
- B. the win-win rhetoric
- C. environmental groups
- D. the plan under challenge
答案：C
答案句：Not everyone buys the win-win rhetoric. Some Congress members are trying to block the plan, and at least a dozen industry groups, four states, and three environmental groups are challenging it in federal court. Not surprisingly, industry groups and states generally argue it goes too far; environmentalists say it doesn't go far enough. “The federal government is giving responsibility for managing the bird to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction,” says biologist Jay Lininger.
参考译文：并非所有人都相信这种双赢的说法。一些国会议员正试图阻止该计划，至少十几个行业团体、四个州和三个环保组织正在联邦法院对其提出质疑。毫不奇怪，行业团体和各州普遍认为该计划太过分；环保主义者则认为它还不够。生物学家杰伊·利宁格说：“联邦政府正在把管理这种鸟的责任交给那些正将其推向灭绝的行业。”
定位线索：题干“Jay Lininger would most likely support”→答案句“The federal government is giving responsibility...to the same industries that are pushing it to extinction”；文中“industries that are pushing it to extinction”（批评行业）对应选项C“environmental groups”（环保团体）。
解析：利宁格批评联邦政府将管理责任交给导致灭绝的行业，表明他反对行业团体，支持环保团体的立场。选项C正确。选项A“行业团体”与他的批评相反；B“双赢说法”他明确不认同；D“受挑战的计划”他批评该计划，均不正确。