D

Horses had been running wild in the Americas for thousands of years, until they went extinct. Modern horses, as we know them, came to America in around 1519 AD with the Spanish settlers led by Hernán Cortéz.

       Over time, some developed into the domesticated (驯养的) horse. However, America has preserved many of these wild horses that came from their Spanish ancestors (祖先). There has been debate about the future of wild horse populations in America. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says that there are about 33,780 wild horses throughout 10 states in the western part of the U.S.

       These wild horses have no natural enemies and are under federal protection, so their population size can double every four years. This does lead to problems. For many years, wild horses that came too close to cattle or sheep on public grazing lands (牧场) were caught or killed. Then a national campaign encouraged states and the federal government to protect the animals as a symbol of the American West. In 1971, a law was passed to allow only agents of the BLM to gather the horses as part of their work in preserving federal lands.

       Most people (scientists included) believe that wild horse populations need to become a lot smaller. The BLM, which keeps track of wild horses, suggests that we have about 14,000 more horses than can exist in balance with the ecosystems that they live in. This causes a huge problem that has to be dealt with both environmentally and politically. A solution needs to be found not only to preserve the species but to also keep its population under control. And then, politically this needs to be done in some way.

       Some things have already been done to try to get the number of wild horses down, which include adoption of wild horses and the practice of giving vaccines (疫苗) to the female horses to make them unable to reproduce.

(1) What was the main reason people caught or killed wild horses?
A. To make money. B. To get pleasure. C. To control their numbers. D. To protect domestic animals.
(2) According to the BLM, _____.
A. it is impossible to keep track of wild horses B. it is wrong to give vaccines to the female horses C. the number of wild horses should be brought down to about 19,780 D. the symbol of the American West doesn’t have to be wild horses
(3) In the text, the author mainly talks about _____.
A. the Bureau of Land Management B. America’s wild horse problem C. life in the American West D. native horses in America