A
(2020·陕西部分学校摸底)A biologist once criticized for stealing eggs from the nests of the rarest bird in the world has been awarded the “Nobel Prize” of conservation after his methods saved nine species from extinction.
Professor Carl Jones won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize—the highest accolade in the field of animal conservation—for his 40 years of work in Mauritius, where he saved an endangered kestrel(红隼) from becoming the next Great Auk.
When the 65yearold first travelled to the east African island in the 1970s, he was told to close down a project to save the Mauritius kestrel. At the time there were just four left in the wild, making it the rarest bird on Earth. However, he stayed, using the techniques of captive breeding (人工繁殖), which involved snatching eggs from the birds’ nests and hatching them under incubators(孵化器), prompting the mothers to lay another set of eggs in the wild.
A decade later, the number of Mauritius kestrels had soared to over 300 and today there are around 400 in the wild. The biologist has also made an effort to bring other rare species back from the edge of extinction, including the pink pigeon, echo parakeet and Rodrigues warbler.
Prof. Jones was awarded the $250，000 prize at a ceremony in London.
“As a young man in my 20s, I certainly didn’t enjoy the stress and the tension of the criticism I received.” Reflecting on the start of his career, he said the Mauritius kestrel project had been seen as a “dead loss” at the time. In the 1970s there was fierce opposition to the captive breeding techniques, with critics arguing that they were too risky and took the emphasis off breeding in the wild.
Prof. Jones has devoted his whole life to his work, only becoming a father for the first time at 53. He said receiving the prize was particularly important to him, because it proved that his work to save birds was right.
【解题导语】 卡尔·琼斯教授曾因偷稀缺鸟类的蛋而被指责，但后来在保护动物领域被授予诺贝尔奖，因为他将偷来的蛋进行了人工繁殖，并以此方法挽救了九种濒危物种。
1．What does the underlined word “accolade” mean in paragraph 2?
A．Return. B．Level.
C．Honor. D．Research.
C 解析：词义猜测题。根据画线词前的“won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize”并结合语境可推知，画线词意为“荣誉”。
2．According to the passage, Great Auk is ________．
A．an endangered bird B．an extinct bird
C．a popular bird D．a fierce bird
B 解析：推理判断题。根据第二段中的“he saved an endangered kestrel(红隼) from becoming the next Great Auk”可推知，Great Auk是一种已灭绝的鸟。
3．What can we know from the figures in paragraph 4?
A．Taking eggs from the nests has worked well.
B．The wild environment for kestrel has changed a lot.
C．Kestrel has adapted to the life in the wild.
D．It’s difficult to protect kestrel.
A 解析：推理判断题。根据第三段最后两句以及第四段第一句“A decade later, the number of Mauritius kestrels had soared to over 300 and today there are around 400 in the wild.”可知，当时野生毛里求斯红隼只剩4只，琼斯教授采用人工繁殖的方法来救助毛里求斯红隼，10年后，毛里求斯红隼的数量飙升到300多只，如今野生红隼约有400只。由此可推知，从鸟巢中拿出鸟蛋的方法效果很好。
4．Prof. Jones’ idea of taking eggs from the birds’ nests ________．
A．was proved of no use
B．was widely accepted
C．was promoted officially
D．was criticized by some people
D 解析：细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中的“dead loss”及“In the 1970s there was fierce opposition to the captive breeding techniques...in the wild.”可知，琼斯教授从鸟巢中拿出鸟蛋来进行人工繁殖的方法受到了一些人的批评。
