The red siskin holds a special place in Venezuela.Pictures of the bird appear on the country's money，on products and in school textbooks.The "Little Cardinal"，as the bird is affectionately called，is loved by Venezuela.
   However，this brilliantly colored songbird is now in danger.It has been vanishing at an alarming rate from the wild because of shrinking habitat and poachers cashing in on its red feathers prized around the world by breeders of exotic birds.Once flourishing in the millions，as few as about 300 remain in the wild in Venezuela.
   That threat has brought together an international team that includes scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.，and poor coffee farmers in Venezuela.They are all set on rescuing the red siskin from extinction. "They don't have many years left，unless we do something right now，" said Miguel Arvelo，a vet for the non-profit organization Provita.
   The Red Siskin Initiative began about three years ago.The plan is to persuade farmers to plant organic coffee plants with layers of thick branches that are inviting to the endangered bird.In the meantime，a red siskin breeding center is being built at a private zoo in Venezuela.The zoo expects to hatch 200 of the birds next year，which will be introduced into the coffee plant habitats.
   The coffee initiative has been showing positive results.Some 40 farmers in the coastal mountains of Carayaca have stopped cutting down trees- an important first step.
   Protecting the red siskin from poachers has been challenging due to Venezuela's economic crisis.Poor Venezuelan families often capture and sell the threatened bird to illegal traffickers.Researchers and scientists have been robbed or shot by Venezuela's growing poor population.
   Scientists keep the places where the birds are known to live a secret to protect them from poachers.Catching sight of them required arriving before dawn and hiding in tall grass under pouring rain.Then，the sun broke through and they swooped in，landing one by one on tree branches overhead，singing loudly.
   "It's the first time I've seen so many together，" said biologist Jhonathan Miranda，a Provita researcher. "It gives us hope.

（1）Why is "pictures of the bird" mentioned in Paragraph 1？
A．To draw the attention of the readers.
B．To show the bird is precious and cute.
C．To emphasize the value of the red siskin.
D．To demonstrate how much Venezuelans love the bird.
（2）Where does the red siskin like to stay according to the text？
A．The bird favors the thick branches of coffee plants.
B．The bird prefers to live in a private zoo in Venezuela.
C．The bird likes to land on tree branches or hide in tall grass.
D．The bird likes to stay with poor coffee farmers in Venezuela.
（3）What has caused the decreasing number of the red siskins？Because .
①Venezuelan families has captured and sold the birds to the illegal buyers.
②The poachers have been capturing them for their feather to make profits.
③Farmers in Venezuela keep them for food in their daily life.
④Their living habitat has been disappearing day by day.
A．①②
B．①③
C．②④
D．③④
（4）What can we mainly learn from the text？
A．Poachers have robbed or even shot the researchers in Venezuela.
B．Venezuelan are forced to plant coffee trees for the red siskin to land on.
C．Protecting the bird seems pointless due to extreme poverty in Venezuela.
D．Keeping the living habitat of the bird hidden from the poachers is positive.

【考點(diǎn)】說明文．

【答案】D；A；C；D