What’s the deadliest animal? Trick question. Sure, the shark in Jaws is terrifying — but you’re way more likely to be killed by the animals you see every day. That’s according to a study published in February in the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.
Don’t Sweat the Scary Stuff
The study looked at mortality data in the United States from 2008 to 2015 and compared the number of deaths caused by animals to a 2012 study that looked at the same elements in prior years. In this new study, researchers found a total of 1,610 animal-related deaths in the U.S., including deaths as a result of bites, contact, attack, or envenomation (venom injection). The majority of those deaths were related to nonvenomous animals, coming out to about 2.8 deaths per million people.
Surprisingly, most of the fatalities they found weren’t related to wild animal attacks: The largest proportion of animal deaths were caused by large mammals, especially horses and cattle. According to a press release, other studies have found that most of these deaths occur on the farm, and accidents with horses and cattle account for a whopping 90 percent of farm accidents.
The next largest group of animal-related fatalities were caused by a group called Hymenoptera, or hornets, wasps, and bees, accounting for just under 30 percent of the reported fatalities. According to the press release, “Africanized” honeybees, which are found most often in the southern and western U.S., can be particularly lethal when they swarm.
The third largest group? Man’s best friend: dog﹣related fatalities occurred at a rate of about 4.6 deaths per 10 million people. The study showed that young children are most vulnerable: The rate of children under age four killed by dogs was twice as high as the next most vulnerable age group, people older than 65, and four times as high as other age groups.
“The most common animal﹣related fatalities are from large mammals, like cattle or horses, but when you’re looking at attacks from wild animals only, the most common cause of death are due to venomous animals, like wasps or bees,” lead investigator Dr. Jared A．Forrester told CNN in an interview about the 2012 study. “I think people have in their mind that the most dangerous animals are cougars, bears or alligators, but a bee is more dangerous if a person is sensitive to its poisoning components.”
Protect Yourself
So how can you minimize your risk? Part of it may be due to your location and age group: the 2012 study found that people in the South experienced about 47 percent of all animal-related attacks in the U.S., Dr. Christopher Holstege, one of the authors, told CNN. In addition, infants and young children up to four years of age are most vulnerable, he said—especially when it comes to dog bites.
Researchers recommend more public health initiatives and awareness to help prevent farm fatalities. As for bees and hornets, it helps to be aware of your allergies, carry an EpiPen, and try to avoid provoking bees. As far as dogs go, your best bet is to not leave them alone with the very young or the very old.
But still, there isn’t too much reason to worry. “In many ways, the data is pretty reassuring,” Forrester told CNN. “The most common cause of death are not the scariest things, necessarily, but they are the most common interactions we have with farm animals and they are preventable.”
41．What’s the function of the “shark in Jaws” mentioned in paragraph one?
A．To attract readers’ attention and introduce the topic.
B．To explain to readers the danger of sharks.
C．To compare sharks with animals that are dangerous around our daily life.
D．To highlight the unnoticed danger of animals in everyday life.
42．What’s the underlined word “venomous” mean?
A．small B．poisonous C．dangerous D．devil
43．What can we learn from the article?
A．Bees are the most dangerous insects you may ever encounter.
B．People who are allergic to bees can hardly survive if they’re not treated immediately.
C．There is no worry about the danger of daily animals.
D．People in the South experienced nearly half of animal attacks in the U.S.
44．What may be the best title of the article?
A．The deadliest animal in your life. B．The danger of small insects.
C．The ignored killers. D．New risk of being killed by small animals.
41．C
42．B
43．D
44．A
【解析】
【分析】
这是一篇说明文。一项研究得出结论，人们更有可能被每天看到的动物杀死。该研究查看了美国2008年至2015年的死亡数据，并将动物造成的死亡数量与2012年的一项研究进行了比较。他们发现了三大与动物有关的人类死亡情况，分别是大型哺乳动物、昆虫、以及狗，并就如何将被动物致死的风险降低提出了一些建议。
41．
推理判断题。根据第一段中Sure, the shark in Jaws is terrifying — but you’re way more likely to be killed by the animals you see every day.可知当然，《大白鲨》中的鲨鱼很可怕——但你更有可能被你每天看到的动物杀死。由此可推知，作者提到《大白鲨》中的鲨鱼，是为了将鲨鱼和我们日常生活中的危险动物作比较。故选C。
42．
词句猜测题。根据划线词后文animals, like wasps or bees以及下文中a bee is more dangerous if a person is sensitive to its poisoning components.(如果人对蜜蜂的有毒成分敏感，那么蜜蜂就更危险)由此可知，黄蜂或蜜蜂是有毒的动物，故划线词意思是“有毒的”。A. small小的；B. poisonous有毒的；C. dangerous危险的；D. devil邪恶的。故选B。
43．
细节理解题。根据倒数第三段中Part of it may be due to your location and age group: the 2012 study found that people in the South experienced about 47 percent of all animal-related attacks in the U.S., Dr. Christopher Holstege, one of the authors, told CNN.可知部分原因可能与你的地理位置和年龄有关：Christopher Holstege博士是研究报告的作者之一，他告诉CNN ，2012年的研究发现，在美国所有与动物有关的袭击中，有47%发生在南方。由此可知，美国南方的人有接近一半经历过动物袭击。故选D。
44．
主旨大意题。根据第一段What’s the deadliest animal? Trick question. Sure, the shark in Jaws is terrifying — but you’re way more likely to be killed by the animals you see every day. That’s according to a study published in February in the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.可知最致命的动物是什么？技巧的问题。当然，《大白鲨》中的鲨鱼很可怕——但你更有可能被你每天看到的动物杀死。这是根据二月份发表在《荒野与环境医学》杂志上的一项研究得出的结论。结合文章主要介绍一些动物很危险，我们经常会受到身边动物的袭击。由此可知A选项“你生活中最致命的动物”是文章最好的标题。故选A。