6．With the development of modern society，human beings are increasingly invading wild animals'habitat as well as the wild plants'．Nearly a third of the world's cacti （仙人掌） are facing the threat of extinction，according to a shocking global assessment of the effects．
Cacti are an important provider of food and water to desert wildlife ranging from wolves and deer to tortoises，bats and birds，and these fauna spread the plants'seeds in return．
But the International Union for the Conservation of Nature （IUCN）'s first worldwide health check of the plants says that they are coming under huge pressure from human activities such as land use changes，commercial and residential developments and shrimp farming．But the paper said the driver of cacti species extinction was the"uncontrolled collection of live plants and private decorating collections，and annual agriculture．"
The findings were described as"disturbing"by Inger Anderson，the IUCN's director-general．"They confirm that the scale of the illegal wildlife trade，including the trade in plants is much greater than we had previously thought，and that wildlife illegal trade concerns many more species than the elephants which tend to receive global attention．"
Cacti are almost always delicious but unlike most others，they store water in their stems alone，enabling them to survive extreme draughts．The plants can be as small as one centimeter in diameter and grow above 19 meters in height．Well over half of the species are used by humans for display decoration，food or medicine．Almost 1，500 types of cacti were surveyed by the IUCN specialists over a five-year period，mostly in America．
Dealing with the illegal trade is a hard task as they can be hidden in suitcases or even socks．While countries such as Peru have made progress in blocking the illegal trade，the IUCN is calling for more strictly carrying out the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species （Cites） in the"hotspots''of Uruguay，Brazil and Chile．Mexico has made advances but still has work to do，according to Goettsch．
25．What does the third paragraph mainly tell us？A
A．What causes cacti species extinction
B．What gives people pressure
C．What IUCN has found
D．What farmers have planted
26．In Inger Anderson's opinion，D．
A．the findings of the IUCN are not disturbing
B．the illegal plant trade is less serious than we had thought
C．cacti have received much global attention
D．the illegal plant trade threatens lots of wildlife
27．Why is it hard to fight against cacti trade？B
A．Because cacti can be made into socks．
B．Because cacti are easy to carry secretly．
C．Because many countries carry out Cites strictly．
D．Because some countries made advances to trade cacti．
分析 伴随着现代社会的发展，人类对野生动植物的破坏越来越严重．
解答 ADB
25． A 段落大意题，分析第三段的内容，根据第三段中的最后一句But the paper said the driver of cacti species extinction was the"uncontrolled collection of live plants and private decorating collections，and annual agriculture．"，可知本段主要讲述的是这些仙人掌是如何绝种的．故选A．
26． D 细节理解题，根据第四段中的They confirm that the scale of the illegal wildlife trade，可知是非法的偷运严重地威胁了多种野生的生命．故选D．
27． B 细节理解题，根据最后一段的第一句Dealing with the illegal trade is a hard task as they can be hidden in suitcases or even socks，可知仙人掌是很容易秘密地进行偷运地，故选B．
点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
