Today we continue our series on ecology and conservation with a look at a particularly endangered member of the black bear family. One in ten black bears is actually born with a white coat, which is the result of a special gene that surfaces in a few 【Q31】. Local people have named it ‘the spirit bear’. And according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power 【Q32】. Because of this, it has always been highly regarded by them – so much that they do not speak of seeing it to anyone else. It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area. 【Q33】
The white bear’s habitat is quite interesting. The bear’s strong relationship with the old-growth rainforest is a complex one. The white bear relies on the huge centuries-old trees in the forest in many ways. For example, the old-growth trees have extremely long roots that help prevent erosion of the soil along the banks of the many fish streams 【Q34】. Keeping these banks intact is important because these streams are home to salmon, which are the bear’s main food source. In return, the bear’s feeding habits nurture the forest. As the bears eat the salmon, they discard the skin and bones in great amounts on the forest floor, which provide vital nutrients. These produce lush vegetation that sustains thousands of other types of life forms, from birds to insects and more.
Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands 【Q35】. There is great concern for their survival since it is estimated that less than two hundred of these white bears remain. The best way to protect them is to make every effort to preserve the delicate balance of their forest environment – in other words, their ecosystem.
The greatest threat to the bear’s existence is the loss of its habitat. Over many years, logging companies have stripped the land by cutting down a large number of trees. In addition, they have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds, and many hibernation sites have also been lost 【Q36】. The logging of the trees along the streams has damaged the places where the bears fish. To make matters worse, the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal limit on fishing at the moment. 【Q37】
all these influences have a negative impact on the spirit bear’s very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been disappointingly low. 【Q38】
And so, what’s the situation going forward? Community organizations, environmental groups and the British Columbia government are now working together on the problem. The government is now requiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method 【Q39】, which is a positive step. However, these measures alone may not be sufficient to ensure a healthy population of the spirit bear in the future.
Other steps also need to be taken. While it is important to maintain the spirit bear’s habitat, there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion 【Q40】. The move is justified as it will also create space for other bears that are losing their homes …
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
听前预测：定位词为colour，uncommon ；提示词为an，此处应填名词（单数）。
题目解析：本题的定位词uncommon 同义替换成了special，考点句为“One in ten black bears is actually born with a white coat, which is the result of a special gene that surfaces in a few.”从而得出special 修饰的名词gene 即为答案。
听前预测：定位词为Local people ；提示词为unusual，此处应填名词。
题目解析：本题根据“Local people have named it ‘the spirit bear’”定位，出题句为“… according to the legends of these communities, its snowy fur brings with it a special power.”因此答案为power(s)。
听前预测：定位词为protect the bear ；提示词为from，此处应填名词。
题目解析：根据定位词定位至本题的出题句“It is their way of protecting it when strangers visit the area.”可以得出当地居民是不想让来此的外人看见，因此填strangers。
听前预测：定位词为Tree roots ；提示词为stop，此处应填名词。
题目解析：出题句“the old-growth trees have extremely long roots that help prevent erosion of the soil along the banks of the many fish streams”中，定位词tree 和roots 均含其中，long roots 的作用是prevent sth.，因此核心名词erosion 为此题答案。
听前预测：定位词为forest vegetation ；提示词为a small number of，此处应填名词（复数）。
题目解析：首先，本题题干有两个方面值得注意：1. 没有明显的定位词，故只能以上一句话中的forest vegetation 做一个大致定位；2. 题干的It 指代的是spirit bear。所以，出题句为“Today, the spirit bear lives off the coast of the province of British Columbia on a few islands.” 其中Today 对应题干中的currently；the spirit bear 对应题干中的It ；lives off 对应题干中的 is...found ；a few 对应题干中的a small number of，因此答案为islands。
听前预测：定位词为Habitat，deforestation，construction ；提示词为of，此处应填名词。
题目解析：“logging companies have stripped the land by cutting down a large number of trees” 是deforestation 的同义替换，built 为construction 的同义替换，出题句为“...they have built roads which have fractured the areas where the bear usually feeds, and many hibernation sites have also been lost”，句子的主干是they have built roads，因此roads 即为答案。
听前预测：定位词为Unrestricted ；提示词为is，此处应填名词（单数）。
题目解析：本题中的Unrestricted 在文中同义替换成了“no legal limit on（在……方面无立法上的限制）”，出题句为“the number of salmon in those streams is declining because there is no legal limit on fishing at the moment”，因此答案为fishing。
听前预测：定位词为bears’ existence，low rate ；提示词为of，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词existence 和low 都在出题句中“…the spirit bear’s very existence, which is made all the more fragile by the fact that reproduction among these bears has always been disappointingly low”，将句子简化可得“reproduction has been low”，因此答案为 reproduction。
听前预测：定位词为Logging companies ；提示词为their，此处应填名词。
题目解析：根据定位词定位至出题句“The government is now requiring logging companies to adopt a better logging method”，这里涉及require 的用法，“require sb. to do sth.”意为“需要某人做某事/命令某人做某事”。根据题干和出题句，只有名词method 符合要求，因此答案为 method 或methods。
听前预测：定位词为Maintenance ；提示词为and，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词Maintenance 的动词形式maintain 在出题句的前面出现了，有助于定位出题句所在，即“there also needs to be more emphasis on its expansion”，核心名词expansion 即为答案。
