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After a long period of few sightings, a recent expedition in Eritrea observed at least 83 elephants displaying organized drinking behavior, suggesting a unique social structure. The elephants and olive baboons appear to have a symbiotic relationship, with baboons benefiting from the water wells dug by elephants and serving as an early-warning system. Hezy, a researcher, finds tracking these elephants in the wild to be a fulfilling experience after years in laboratories.

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Ha Phuong
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40 views2 pages

2 4

After a long period of few sightings, a recent expedition in Eritrea observed at least 83 elephants displaying organized drinking behavior, suggesting a unique social structure. The elephants and olive baboons appear to have a symbiotic relationship, with baboons benefiting from the water wells dug by elephants and serving as an early-warning system. Hezy, a researcher, finds tracking these elephants in the wild to be a fulfilling experience after years in laboratories.

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Ha Phuong
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© © All Rights Reserved
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until the mid-twentieth century - a herd of 100-200 was spotted in 1955 - but from then until

2001 there were only sporadic sightings of a few individuals at a time. Many believed that they
had died out in the long and bitter war which saw Eritrea finally gain independence from
30 Ethiopia in 1991.
In January this year another expedition counted at least 83 elephants in seven different
places and observed some fascinating behaviour. At one watering-hole, the elephants of all ages
formed up in orderly queues to drink, each queue kept in line by an adult, usually male, ‘prefect’.
And olive baboons, a troop of which had been observed on Christmas Day 2001, figured
35 repeatedly in sightings. The two species, Hezy suggests, have formed a symbiotic relationship:
the baboons drink from the water wells dug by the elephants and the elephants use the baboons
as a tree-top early-warning system.
For Hezy, whose 25-year career as a researcher has been spent mainly in museums and
laboratories, following elephants in the wild is a ‘dream come true’.

31. Why does Hezy remember Christmas Day 2001 so clearly?


A. It was a particularly beautiful day. B. He had amazing views of the Gash valley.
C. He saw some elephants in the wild. D. His students were extremely happy.
32. What had the local guides told Hezy about the elephants?
A. There were a lot more in the forest. B. They would not come close to people.
C. They drank from the river. D. They had regular habits.
33. The word emerged in line 10 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. decrease B. leave C. appear D. hide
34. Why did Hezy want his students to stop?
A. to help pull him out of the sinking sands B. so they didn't frighten the elephants
C. because he couldn't go as quickly as them D. because they had gone too close to the elephants
35. What was Hezy's and his students' main feeling at the end of that Christmas Day?
A. joy B. relief C. amazement D. tiredness
36. Which of these is NOT named as a problem affecting elephants in the region?
A. fighting between different peoples B. animal diseases
C. difficult weather conditions D. not enough food
37. In line 31, the word sporadic can be understood as _______.
A. continuous B. occasional C. even D. usual
38. What does the writer suggest is interesting about the elephants' drinking habits?
A. Some of the elephants seem to have a role-keeping order.
B. They let the very young and very old drink first.
C. The other elephants seem to be afraid of the stronger males.
D. They do things in exactly the same way every day.
39. The word symbiotic in line 39 can be understood as _______.
A. disobliging B. hindering C. reciprocal D. preventing
40. How do the baboons help the elephants?
A. They help them dig their watering-holes. B. They let them know if danger is approaching.
C. They throw them fruit from the tree tops. D. Their noise frightens other animals away.

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