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　　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 gray landscape of the midwestern and southwestern United States. But just some 22,000 birds remain today, occupying about 16% of the species’ historic range.

　　The crash was a major reason the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service （USFWS）decided to formally list the bird as threatened. “The lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation,” said USFWS Director Daniel Ashe. 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 conservations approaches. In particular, they called for forging closer collaborations with western state governments, which are often uneasy with federal action and with the private landowners who control an estimated 95% of the prairie chicken’s habitat.

　　Under the plan, for example, the agency said it would not prosecute landowner 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. The fund will also be used to compensate landowners who set aside habitat, USFWS also set an interim goal of restoring prairie chicken populations to an annual average of 67,000 birds over the next 10 years. And it gives the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a coalition of state agencies, the job of monitoring progress. Overall, the idea is to let “states” remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species，” Ashe said.

　　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, 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.

　　26. The major reason for listing the lesser prairie 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

　　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

　　28.It can be learned from Paragraph3 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

　　29.According to Ashe， the leading role in managing the species in______

　　[A]the federal government

　　[B]the wildlife agencies

　　[C]the landowners

　　[D]the states

　　30.Jay Lininger would most likely support_______

　　[A]industry groups

　　[B]the win-win rhetoric

　　[C]environmental groups

　　[D]the plan under challenge

　　26 答案 A its drastically decreased population

　　解析：此題是原因細節題。根據關鍵詞定位到第一段But前后關于lesser prairie chickens 數量2million和22,000的強烈對比。此外第二段第二句“the lesser prairie chicken is in a desperate situation”都可以得知A its drastically decreased population 數量的急劇下降為正確答案。

　　27 答案 C granted less federal regulatory powers

　　Grant 動詞-同意允許；授予賦予

　　名詞-補貼

　　解析：此題是原因細節題。根據關鍵詞定位到第二段第四句，They had …, a state that gives federal officials greater regulatory power. 而But 之后是截然相反的事實，即政府授予了更少的管理權。故而C granted less federal regulatory powers為正確答案。

　　28 答案 A agree to pay a sum for compensation賠償補償 薪酬

　　解析：推斷題。題干問的是從第三段推出來：無意傷害的那些人是不會被檢舉的如果怎么樣。根據題干定位到第三段首句“it would not prosecute….as long as ….”，題干中問的if即原文的as long as的同意替換，原文as long as的意思是：只要他們簽署了計劃。下一句說道，該計劃要求個體和企業去支付基金。對應選項A選項“贊同支付賠償”屬于同義替換。

　　29 答案 D the states

　　解析：此題是細節題。根據關鍵詞定位到第三段最后一句the idea is to let the“states”remain in the driver’s seat for managing the species, Ashe said. 其中in the driver’s seat對應題干中的the leading role, 故而D states為正確答案。

　　30 答案 C environmental groups群體團體

　　解析：文中人物觀點題。題干問的是Jay Lininger最可能支持誰，大寫人名定位到末段最后一句。最后一句提到：生物學家Jay Lininger說道聯邦政府要把責任推給導致鳥類滅絕的企業，顯然是對政府和企業的反對。再往前看一句，指出：企業團體和政府部門觀點一致，環境學家與其觀點恰巧一致。因此，Jay Lininger最支持環境團體的觀點了。