Comprehension Practice [0500/12 March 2022]

 Text A: International Tiger Day

International Tiger Day is celebrated on 29 July every year to raise awareness about the continued decline in the world’s tiger population, and to encourage tiger conservation. With the species on the brink of extinction, lnternational Tiger Day was established in 2010 at a summit meeting where governments of tiger-populated countries vowed to act. This year celebrities ‘disappeared’ on social media by removing their profile photos 5 for a day; they reappeared with a tiger art selfie to help raise awareness of the plight of wild tigers disappearing due to the illegal tiger trade.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, over 95 per cent of tigers have been lost. A recent report says that about 100 years ago there might have been more than 100,000 tigers roaming the planet. Now just 3,900 tigers remain in the wild and they are only 10 found in Asia. The larger subspecies of them, such as the Siberian tiger, usually live in more northern, colder areas while the smaller subspecies live in warmer, southern countries.

The dwindling number of tigers has been caused by various factors. There are certain diseases, some fatal, that spread like epidemics and genetic diversity is declining 15 alarmingly, making tigers increasingly vulnerable. Health management of wildlife, a relatively new area of study, is badly neglected. There is an urgent need to incorporate this knowledge into wildlife conservation.

Meanwhile, as agriculture and cities have expanded, tigers and humans have competed for land and tigers have lost about 93 per cent of their natural habitat. There are now 20 more tigers held in captivity in the United States than there are in the wild in Asia.

For centuries tigers have been hunted as status symbols and souvenirs, and now climate change is also affecting tigers. For example, rising sea levels in mangrove forest on the coast of the Indian Ocean may steal the habitat of Bengal tigers there in coming decades. Being forced to live in smaller areas of habitat has made them more vulnerable 25 to poaching as well. With the shrinking of their habitat, tigers have less to hunt in the wild, which causes them to hunt domestic livestock instead. In turn, they are killed or captured by humans as retaliation.

Questions

Question 1

 

(a) Give the two aims of International Tiger Day according to the text.

 

(b)    Using your own words, explain what the text means by:

                 (i)      ‘brink of extinction’ (line 3):


(ii)    ‘vowed to act’ (lines 4-5):

 

(c)    Re-read paragraph 2 (‘Since the beginning

             Give two reasons why people may be concerned about the population of tigers.

(d)    Re-read paragraphs 3 and 4 (‘The dwindling number in Asia.’).

             (i)      Identify two factors that have reduced the numbers of tigers in the wild, other than human             behaviour.

            (ii)    Explain how human behaviour has had a negative effect on tiger numbers in the wild.

  

(e)    Re-read paragraph 5 (‘For centuries retaliation.’).

             Using your own words, explain why some people may consider that capturing or killing tigers             is acceptable.


Answers


1 (a) 

•   to raise awareness (about the continued decline in the world’s tiger population)

•   to encourage tiger conservation

 

 1 (bi)

•   (on the) edge / (on the) cusp / under threat of / in danger of / about to / (very) close

to / almost / extremely high risk of / nearly

 

•   dying out / no longer existing / no more living tigers / loss of the species / wiped off

surface of the earth

 1 (bii)

•   promised / undertook / pledged (to)

 

•   help tigers / be proactive in tackling the problem / take decisive action / deal with

the issue(s) / do something (about the problem) / put things rights / intervene

 

1 (c)

•   (over) 95 per cent of tigers lost since the (beginning of) 20th century / speed of loss

/ so many tigers lost in a hundred years / vast majority of tigers gone in a

(relatively) short time

 

•   (only / now just) 3900 now remaining in the wild / small number(s) (still) living in

the wild

 

•   tigers now only found in Asia / only found in one area of the world / only live on one

continent

 

 1(di)

 

•   fast spreading disease(s) / fatal disease(s) / certain diseases / epidemics

 

•   lack of genetic diversity / declining genetic diversity

 

1(dii)

•   neglected health management of wildlife / not using knowledge we have in

conservation efforts

 

•   expanded agriculture and cities / competed for land / destroy(ed) natural habitat

•   kept them in captivity / taken them from the wild

 

1(e)

•  tradition (to hunt them) / continuing centuries’ old practice / has been going on for

hundreds of years

 

•  status symbols / souvenirs / curios / (enjoy) showing off

 

•  make money

 

•  tigers hunt domestic livestock / worried for safety of their livestock / to protect livestock

•  retaliation / revenge

 






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