A
Snow leopards (豹) are so hard to photograph that scientists aren't even sure how many of these endangered animals still live in the wild.
The Snow Leopard Conservancy(SLC) set up 20 cameras in Russia in 2010 to learn more about the big cats. After a full six months, they had exactly zero picture! That's when the organization understood they needed help. And the only people who could help them in finding the leopards were the very people from whom they wanted to protect the animals—local hunters (猎人)．
Hunting snow leopards is against the law in Russia, but in the terrible climate of Siberia, the few people living there had to turn to poaching (盗猎) to feed their families.
In 2013, Russian naturalist Sergei Spitsyn approached Mergen Markov, a local hunter, and told him his project. Markov agreed to set up the camera where he knew he would find leopards, and it worked.
Markov, once a poacher, works full time for the conservationists now and has 10 cameras monitoring leopards. “I visit each camera once a month. I have known this whole region since I was a child，” he said proudly.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) began working with other local villagers in 2015. The village would be paid 40,000 rubles at the end of the year if the image of a snow leopard is caught. WWF also rents horses from the villagers so that they do not need to make money by poaching anymore. “Today there are far fewer leopard poachers but leopards still get caught in traps set for other animals, so I have to stay watchful，” said Markov.
Changing guns for cameras has made a big difference in the lives of these former poachers, the village, and the Russian snow leopards. The number of snow leopards has been rising and their population is expected to recover to normal levels within 10 years.
1．Why was no picture of snow leopards taken in six months?
A．SLC's 20 cameras failed to work properly.
B．The number of snow leopards in the wild was too small.
C．The local poachers destroyed these cameras on purpose.
D．The researchers knew little about the animal's living habits.
2．What did Sergei Spitsyn persuade Markov to do?
A．Find the poachers.
B．Repair cameras in the forest.
C．Catch more leopards.
D．Work for SLC.
3．Why did the WWF begin working with local villagers?
A．To get some pictures of snow leopards.
B．To help villagers make a living.
C．To prevent villagers from hunting animals.
D．To rent their horses at a low price.
4．How can we describe the WWF's cooperation with the villagers?
A．Practice makes perfect.
B．Curiosity kills the cat.
C．Kill two birds with one stone.
D．Old habits die hard.
