W: [8] I can't believe that duck hunting is still legal in so many parts of the world. The scientific evidence from countries like Australia, Canada, and the USA clearly indicates a decline in the birds' numbers.
M: But can anyone be sure if the decline is really caused by the hunting or by climate change?
W: It's caused by both in fact. [9] We see more droughts in countries like Australia. Ducks are birds that feed and breed in areas where there is a lot of water, but their habitats have been shrinking in recent decades because of the droughts. M: And I guess with fewer places to inhabit, they concentrate in great numbers in few areas, which surely makes them easier targets for the hunters.
W: It does. My grandfather was a duck hunter. He told me hunting ducks and geese began in the 19th century. They were an easily found and plentifully available food source in farming areas, especially for poor immigrants.
M: What do they use for hunting during that period?
W: They use new types of guns, and birds could easily be shot down in flight, and in such great numbers that commercial hunting of ducks and geese became an industry. [10] Yet, there's no commercial farming of these birds nowadays. Their meat is hardly eaten in Western countries.
M: No, duck hunting seemingly exists as the continuation of a tradition.
W: [11] Well, ducks have never been popular with farmers like my grandfather anyway, because they sometimes destroy crops. In fact, farmers used to poison them in large numbers.
M: That somehow doesn't surprise me. Nobody places much value on the lives of these poor birds or on their meat.

女： [8] 我不敢相信在世界上这么多地方猎鸭仍然是合法的。来自澳大利亚、加拿大和美国等国家的科学证据清楚地表明，这种鸟类的数量下降了。
男：但是，有人能确定这种下降到底是由捕猎还是气候变化引起的吗？
女：事实上，这两种原因都有。[9] 我们看到澳大利亚等国出现了更多的干旱。鸭子是在水资源丰富的地方觅食和繁殖的鸟类，但近几十年来，由于干旱，它们的栖息地一直在缩小。
男：那么我猜，由于栖息地越来越少，它们就会大量集中在少数地区，这无疑会使它们更容易成为猎人的目标。
女：的确如此。我的祖父曾是一个猎鸭人。他告诉我，猎杀鸭鹅始于19世纪。在农业地区，特别是对贫穷的移民来说，它们是一种很容易找到的、丰富的食物来源。
男：在那个时期，他们用什么来捕猎？
女：他们使用新型枪支，鸟类在飞行中很容易被击落，而且数量如此之多，以至于商业捕猎鸭鹅成了一种行业。[10] 然而，目前没有对这些鸟类进行商业化养殖。在西方国家，几乎没有人吃它们的肉。男：不，猎鸭似乎是作为一种传统的延续而存在。
女： [11] 好吧，不管怎样，鸭子从未得到像我祖父这样的农民的喜欢，因为它们有时会毁坏庄稼。事实上，农民曾经大量毒杀过它们。
男：我并不觉得奇怪。没有人多重视这些可怜的鸟类的生命或它们的肉。

8.女士觉得什么难以置信？
A)近年来鸭子的数量急剧下降。
B)气候变化对野鸭的生存几乎没有影响。
C)在澳大利亚、加拿大和美国，人们不吃鸭肉。
D)在世界上许多地方，猎鸭仍然是合法的。

9.女士说是什么导致了澳大利亚鸭子栖息地的缩小？
A)干旱。
B)林区火灾。
C)农业。
D)打猎。

10.为什么西方国家没有商业化的鸭鹅养殖？
A)它们不容易被驯化。
B)它们的肉不太受欢迎。
C)这样做不环保。
D)人们认为这样做不划算。

11.关于她祖父时代的农民，女士说了什么？
A)他们把猎鸭作为一项传统运动。
B)他们捕杀野鸭和野鹅作为食物。
C)他们饲养鸭和鹅来产蛋。
D)他们大量毒杀了野鸭。