《考研英語(yǔ)閱讀理解100篇 基礎(chǔ)版》第4章　科學(xué)研究類 Unit 51

Nouabalé-Ndoki national park，in the Republic of Congo，is 4,200 square kilometres of virgin tropical forest that is as densely populated with elephants and great apes as it is sparsely populated with rangers．There are 14 of them，and they have failed to catch a single poacher for more than a year．That is not for lack of illegal hunting in the park．Demand for ivory is up，driven largely by consumers in Japan and an increasingly wealthy China．The value of meat from elephants，apes and other animals has also risen as loggers and miners move deeper into the country's forests．Nor is this a problem confined to Congo．Last year poachers are estimated to have killed more than 23,000 African elephants．According to a study by the University of Washington，that is about one in 17 of the continent's total. 
Nouabalé-Ndoki's rangers are，however，about to get some high-tech help in the form of TrailGuard，a system of small and easily hidden electronic detection and communication devices．They will soon begin burying radio-transmitting metal detectors alongside elephant trails leading into the park．Authorised travelers through the park will be given transponders that tell the detectors who they are，as with the“identification friend-or-foe” systems on military aircraft．But when poachers carrying rifles walk by a detector，it will send a radio signal to a treetop antenna．Seconds later the rangers will receive the intruder's co-ordinates on their satellite phones．They will then be able to respond precisely，rather than running around on fruitless and demoralising patrols on the small chance of catching a poacher up to no good. 
TrailGuard is the brainchild of Steve Gulick，an electrical engineer turned biologist who recently left the State University of New York（SUNY）to set up a not-for-profit organisation called Wildland Security，to promote his idea. Besides catching more（or，indeed，any）poachers，he hopes his invention will also prove to be an example of an idea from another one-time electrical engineer，Arthur C．Clarke．Clarke's Third Law，as it is known to fans of his science-fiction writing，is that“any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”．Many people in Congo do believe in magic and Mr．Gulick does not propose to disabuse them of the notion．Local people will receive no explanation for the rangers' new powers．That，Mr．Gulick hopes，will discourage potential poachers from turning thought into deed. 
Nor are metal detectors the only magic to be deployed．Small fire detectors hidden in trees should add to the anti-poaching unit's reputation for detection．Poachers frequently smoke meat from their kills to preserve it during transport to market．Like the metal detectors，the fire detectors will alert the rangers by satellite phone，allowing them to swoop as from nowhere. 
注（1）：本文選自Economist； 
注（2）：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對(duì)象為1998年真題Text 2和1997年真題Text 3第4題。 
1．According to the author，illegal hunting is _______. 
A) a shared problem in some tropical countries in Africa 
B) not as serious as it seems because the number of poachers is declining 
C) becoming less and less eyecatching due to the increased supply of ivory 
D) already effectively controlled due to the rangers’ efforts 
2．What is the author's attitude towards the technology of TrailGuard? 
A) supportive 
B) objective 
C) indifferent 
D) worried 
3．Local people's reaction to the rangers’ new power is probably that _______. 
A) they become keen of advanced technologies 
B) they fear it is some kind of magical power 
C) they tend to challenge the new technological equipment 
D) they are not concerned about the issue at all 
4．Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage? 
A) Steve Gulick's invention is from Arthur C．Clarke's idea. 
B) The radio-transmitting metal detectors can distinguish between travelers and poachers. 
C) Arthur C．Clarke is known as a writer of science fictions. 
D) There are various kinds of detectors buried across the national park. 
5．It can be inferred from the passage that _______. 
A) before adopting the new technology，the rangers could not catch any poacher 
B) TrailGuard has already achieved significant success in fighting against illegal hunting 
C) poachers use fire to smoke meat of their preys so as to make food 
D) the fact that both Guilick and Clarke were electrical engineers has great influence on the invention of TrailGuard