10．Hippos（河馬）have always attracted people's interest．Modern hippos in Walt Disney movies can dance lightly．A stone hippo in a 13th-century church in France has wings．And in ancient Egyptian fairy tales，the hippo was a goddess that guided the dead to the afterworld．
Despite their popular appeal，hippos，as well as other animals，have difficulty when their needs conflict with those of humans．The early Egyptians liked to hunt hippos for their teeth and because they were dangerous animals．Amulets（護(hù)身符）to protect babies from demons（惡魔）were made from hippo bones．
About 4，000years ago，there were so many hippos in Egypt that they caused serious crop damage．Egyptian farmers killed them routinely，and by the beginning of the 19th century，all the hippos in Africa had been killed．
People used to see hippos fight in the arenas（角斗場(chǎng)）of ancient Rome．After the fall of the Roman Empire，hippos weren't seen in Europe again until a few zoos began to exhibit them in the mid 1800s．
All the various uses and abuses of hippos through the centuries have made their population fall greatly．Where they do occur，mostly in national parks，they live in such high density that they make the grasslands bare．This causes other grass-eating animals to go farther for food，and hippos，which can't live far from water，destroy their own feeding grounds．
32．In Africa，hippos became extinctD．
A．a(chǎn)round the 1850s
B．in the 13th century
C．a(chǎn)bout 4，000years ago
D．in the early 19th century
33．Apart from protecting crops，what's the main reason for people to kill hippos？B
A．To save other animals．
B．To satisfy personal demands．
C．To look for guidance after death．
D．To follow the routine established by the Egyptians．
34．The underlined word in the last paragraph can be replaced byA？
A．concentration
B．a(chǎn)ltitude
C．level
D．temperature
35．What problems do hippos lead to？A
A．They eat up the grass in their habitats．
B．They always destroy other animals'food．
C．They stop other animals from drinking water．
D．They grow too quickly for the land to support．
分析 文章大意：本文是一篇說明文，主要介紹了河馬的歷史、現(xiàn)狀及生活習(xí)性．
解答 32．D細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第三段中的"and by the beginning of the 19th century，all the hippos in Africa had been killed．"可知，19世紀(jì)初，非洲的河馬幾乎被捕殺殆盡，故D項(xiàng)正確．
33．B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第二段中的"The early Egyptians liked to hunt hippos for their teeth and because they were dangerous animals．Amulets to protect babies from demons were made from hippo bones．"可知，人們捕殺河馬是受個(gè)人利益的驅(qū)使，故B項(xiàng)正確．
34．A 詞義猜測(cè)題．根據(jù)畫線詞前的"Where they do occur，mostly in national parks，"及畫線詞后的"that they make the grasslands bare．"可知，生活在動(dòng)物高度集中的空間里以致很快草地就變得光禿禿了，故可知畫線詞詞義為"集中"，故A項(xiàng)正確．
35．A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)最后一段中的"they make the grasslands bare．"可知，河馬會(huì)吃光棲息地里的草，故A項(xiàng)正確．
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