In the African country of Tanzania, a company from Belgium called APOPO trains African giant pouched rats(非洲巨袋鼠) to find dangerous land mines(地雷)left over from wars. The rats are trained to smell out some of the chemicals in the mines. After 8-12 months of training, the rat can find mines so they can be safely destroyed.

       Trained dogs often perform this important work, but APOPO director Bart Weetjens recently discovered that the African giant pouched rat costs far less money to train and care for. These rats may seem huge. Their bodies are 12 to16 inches long, not including their tails. But their size suits the job: At one and a half to 3 pounds, they are too light to set off the land mines.

       Rats and trainers search one small area at a time. When a rat smells mines, it lets the trainers know by pawing(用爪子抓)at the dirt in that spot. The trainers mark each spot on a map. Later, technicians explode the mines safely. In the African country of Mozambique, nearly half the population is younger than 15 years old. A lot of kids are in danger as they play or work.

       “In the town of Vilanculos, children had been playing on the football field, until there was an accident,” Bart Weetjens said. APOPO rats and trainers helped other organizations make the area safe. “The football field has been opened again, and there is no danger any more,” Weetjens said.

       About 80 million land mines are buried out of sight in more than 60 countries around the world. As APOPO’s program grows, the rat heroes might travel the globe!

1．The underlined word “they” (Para. 1) refers to_____.

       A．the trainers                     B．the mines                C．the wars                 D．the rats

2．Why are rats chosen to be trained to find the land mines?

       A．They are native to Africa                      B．They are smarter than dogs

       C．They are cheap to keep and train           D．They are quick to escape from danger

3．What is the task of the rats in the job?

       A．To mark a map                                    B．To find the mines

       C．To set off the mines                             D．To paw at the ground

4．What happened on the football field in Vilanculos?

       A．A land mine exploded                           B．A player was injured during the training

       C．The children were attracted by the rats  D．The villagers tried to get the field back

    A 500 kg．three-meter-tall ape(猿)lived alongside humans for more than a million years，according to a new study．

    Fortunately for early humans，the huge primate’s(灵长类动物)diet consisted mainly of bamboo．

  Scientists have known about Gigantopithecus(巨猿)since some of its teeth were discovered on sale in a Hong Kong pharmacy about 80 years ago．The idea of a giant ape aroused the interest of scientists around the world，but It remained unclear when this beast became extinct．

    Now Jack Rink，a geochronologist(地质年代学家)at McMaster University in Canada，has used a high-precision absolute-dating method to determine that this ape－the largest primate ever―roamed Southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100，000 years ago．By this time，humans had existed for a million years．

    “Gigantopithecus is a primate that co-existed with humans at a time when humans were undergoing a major evolutionary change，”said Rink．

      Some of Gigantopithecus fossils(化石)were found in Guangxi．It is the region where some believe the modem human race originated．according to Rink．Scientists have been able to piece together a description of Gigantopithecus using just a handful of teeth and a set of jawbones．

    “The size of these specimens―the crown of the molar，for instance，measures about an inch (2．54 cm)across―helped us understand the extraordinary size of the primate，”Rink said．

    Scientists can only guess at what killed off a beast this size．Some scientists believe that a diet of bamboo combined with increasing competition from more nimble humans eventually led to its extinction．

    While most scientists agree that Gigantopithecus died out long ago，some people―Big-foot(大足怪)and Yeti(喜马拉雅雪人)enthusiasts in particular－believe that this ape is the source of tales of giant，hairy beasts living in the woods．

    Even though mainstream scientists dismiss these claims，it isn’t impossible．The coelacanth a type of fish thought to have died out millions of years ago-was discovered swimming off the coast of Africa in 193&

53．We can gain some information about Gigantopithecus EXCEPT      ．

A．their diet                                                  B．their appearances        

C．their habitats                                             D．their language(s)

54．What’s the best title for the passage?

    A．The Death of the Largest Primate                 B．The Huge Ape Appears Again

    C．The New Findings of Giant Apes                 D．A Yeti．500 kg＆3-Meter-Tall

55．What can we learn from the third & the fourth paragraphs of the passage?

    A．Great apes lived along with ancient men．

    B．Jack Rink is the greatest geochronologist．

    C．The largest apes once lived in Southeast Asia for nearly 1 00，000 years．

    D．The largest apes had existed as long as human beings．

56．Which of the following description about the huge apes is right?

    A．They died from the bad habitats．            

    B．They died out long time ago．

  C．They died of hunger．                               

    D．These giant hairy beasts，living in the frost，are legends．