Tony Burke, Australia’s environment minister, says he won’t decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala’s population.
In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala’s population is on the decrease. “But they may not yet be eligible (符合条件) for listing as a threatened species,” said Senator Doug Cameron. “To have such a significant Australian icon(偶像) included on the threatened species list would be a national shame.”
The koala is found only in the eucalyptus (桉树) forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings’ development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads.
Putting off the decision on protection for the koala “is really bad news,” said Debbie Pointing, the president of the Koala Action Group. “We’ve worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations,” Pointing said. “That data should be enough to make a decision.”
However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 million on koala conservation efforts since 1996. senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland – the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out of harm’s way.
Some people say that is not enough. “What we’re doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction,” Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said.
“Koalas are an iconic Australian animal,” Burke told Australians. “They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians.”
But it is a fact that if more isn’t done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians’ memories.
小题1:Tony Burke put off announcing the koala as an endangered species because .
A．he needed more time to examine latest information
B．he doubted whether koalas’ number is decreasing
C．he was thinking about ways to protect koalas
D．he had more important issues to deal with小题2:What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
A．The habitat of the koala.
B．Australia’s traffic problems.
C．The importance of koalas for Australians.
D．Reasons for the decrease of the koala population.小题3:According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that .
A．the construction of special koala bridges is of little use
B．the government should announce the koala as an endangered species
C．the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population
D．koala are becoming less important in Australians’ hearts小题4:It can be learned from the text that Tony Burke .
A．decided to construct more fences along roads
B．called on Australians to take care of the koala
C．thought the government has done much for koalas
D．was optimistic about the koalas’ future小题5:What is the main idea of the text?
A．Australia puts off the decision on whether the koala is endangered.
B．Australia is taking special measures to protect koalas.
C．The population of koalas is reducing rapidly.
D．Australians are concerned about koalas.