One thing the tour books don’t tell you about London is that 2,000 of its residents are foxes , which fled the city about centuries ago after developers and pollution moved in . But now that the environment is cleaner , the foxes have come home , one of the many wild animals that have moved into urban areas around the world .
Several changes have brought wild animals to the concrete jungles . First of all , air and water quality in many cities has improved as a result of the 1970s’ pollution control efforts . meanwhile , rural areas have been built up , leaving many animals on the edges of suburban areas . In addition , conservationists have created urban wildlife shelters .
“ The number and variety of wild animals in urban areas is increasing , ” says Gomez Jones . One of the country’s largest populations of raccoons now lives in Washington , D.C. , and moose are regularly seen wandering into Maine towns . Peregrine falcons(猎鹰)dive from the window edges of buildings in the largest U.S. cities to hunt for pigeons .
For peregrine falcons , cities are actually safer than rural areas . By 1970 the birds had died out east of the Mississippi because the DDT , a widely used poison to kill insects , had made their eggs too thin to support life . That year , Tom Cade began raising the birds for release in cities , for cities afforded abundant food in the form of pigeons and contained none of the peregrines’ natural enemies .
“ Before they died out , some migrated to cities on their own because they had run out of natural habitats , ” Cade says . “ To peregrines , buildings are just like natural habitats . ” He has released about 30 birds since 1975 in New York , Baltimore , Philadelphia and Norfolk , and of the 20 pairs now living in the East , half are originally born in the city . “ A few of the young ones have gotten into trouble by falling down chimneys and crashing into window glass , but overall their adjustment has been successful . ”
. The first paragraph suggests that __________ .
A.environment is vital for wildlife |
B.tour books are not a reliable source of information |
C.London is a city of fox |
D.foxes are highly adaptable to environment |
. The passage is mainly concerned with __________ .
A.wildlife of all kinds returning to large cities to live |
B.falcons in New York , Baltimore , Philadelphia , and Norfolk |
C.moose running into glass doors of stores |
D.foxes returning to London |
. The following statements about peregrine falcons are true EXCEPT __________ .
A.They died out east of he Mississippi because of the side effect of DDT |
B.They tend to jump down from a height to hunt for food |
C.They like running into glass windows or chimneys |
D.Most of them have got used to living in the concrete jungle |
. The second paragraph is trying to tell us __________ .
A.that air and water quality has improved in the cities |
B.why wildlife likes the noise and activities in the cities |
C.that wildife refuges have been built in the cities |
D.why wildlife is returning to cities |