II. CLOZE

Fill in each of the 15 blanks in the passage with the most likely answer. Write the letter corresponding to your choice on the answer sheet. (1 point each, 15 points in all)

There are currently three living species of elephants: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant or Indian Elephant. Other species such as the mammoths (猛犸象)   16   before the last ice age but are now   17   .

Elephants live in a structured social order.  18   females spend their entire lives in tight-knit family groups   19   mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts, males live mostly solitary lives. Elephants   20   live for 50 to 70 years. The elephant’s pregnant period is 22 months, the longest of   21   land animal. Newborn elephant calves weigh   22   260 pounds.

Elephants spend about 16 hours a day finding and eating food. Their diet consists   23   grasses, leaves, bamboo, twigs, bark, roots and small amounts of fruits, seeds and flowers. Interestingly, elephants only digest 40% of   24   they eat; an adult elephant can consume 300-600 lb of food a day.

Elephant skin is thick, grey and wrinkled. The wrinkles help elephants stay cool   25   water gets trapped inside the wrinkles and evaporates slowly. Their hearing is   26   and they can detect noise from miles away.

One of the most distinct   27   attributes of elephants is their tusks. Elephants use their tusks to dig for food, mark their   28   and perform other tasks. Elephants’ tusks are made of ivory. The   29   elephant ivory is one of the major reasons people hunt elephants and thus have significantly   30   the world’s elephant population. For this reason and many others, many people around the world are working hard to protect the species from further extinction.

16. A. remained             B. stayed                      C. existed                  D. appeared

17. A. rare                    B. extinct                     C. plentiful                 D. common

18. A. When                 B. While                        C. As                         D. Since

19. A. made up of         B. tied to                      C. dependent on         D. filled with

20. A. naturally             B. largely                      C. typically                D. characteristically

21. A. any                    B. other                        C. the                        D. a

22. A. for example         B. on average                C. in fact                   D. by chance

23. A. with                   B. on                           C. in                          D. of

24. A. that                    B. those                       C. which                   D. what

25. A. because              B. although                   C. in case                  D. so that

26. A. weak                  B. lost                          C. normal                  D. keen

27. A. mental                B. physical                   C. biological               D. psychological

28. A. territory              B. land                         C. surroundings          D. area

29. A. supply of            B. call for                     C. cost of                  D. desire for

30. A. balanced             B. restricted                  C. destroyed              D. increased