Hidden tigers - Practice Exam

C1 Advanced · Gapped Text · Advanced Expert Student's Resource Book, Pearson Education

You are going to read a newspaper article about a tiger reserve in India. Six paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (1–6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Hidden tigers

The elusive big cats are the star attraction in India's Pench National Park.

But visitors like us are not universally given such a warm welcome in the National Park. Some people view tourists as harmful, claiming that they annoy the tigers and contaminate the reserve with discarded plastic and so on. What's more, at the moment these voices seem to be winning the debate.

'Creating such a safe habitat means fending off poachers and displacing villagers,' says our guide, shouting to be heard against the wind as we rattle off into the park next morning. But tigers also require space, meaning even well-run parks find it hard to increase numbers much.

Even so, we begin to feel a touch sorry for him, especially when he tells us of the pressures that come with his occupation: '95 percent of guests are just all about tigers, tigers, tigers!' he says at one point, with a rueful smile. 'If I tell them something I know about a tree, they aren't really that interested.'

Little has changed much since then, at least judging by the approach to the modern-day park. We pass signs for tiger tours, tiger hotels and tiger restaurants; the effect leaves little doubt what visitors have in mind.

The thick forest around us is silent. Our hearts racing, we listen out for 'alarm calls' from other nearby animals, alerting each other to the tiger's presence. Using binoculars, I peer hopefully through the dense vegetation and find myself almost willingly hallucinating tigers in the distance. Far-off logs take on feline form, while tree stumps seem suddenly to exhibit distinctive, symmetrical orange and black stripes.

Such gloomy thoughts are banished a few minutes later, however, as fresh paw prints (called 'pug' marks) are spotted on the road ahead. Suddenly elated, we speed up and follow the trail down the road, convinced a first sighting is imminent.

To improve our own chances, as part of a short stay at a luxurious safari lodge we've booked four drives into the park led by Kassim, a local naturalist. In Kipling's day, estimates put India's tiger population at 40,000. Today it is roughly 1,700, according to official figures, a decimation wrought by a combination of habitat destruction and hunting.

In 1894 Rudyard Kipling's novel The Jungle Book was published, partly set in what is now Pench National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The story tells of Mowgli, a man-cub raised by wolves, and his adventures with various animals he befriends. But the star of the story, and the film which followed, is undoubtedly Shere Khan, a ferocious, crotchety tiger.

India has 42 such reserves, with Pench among the more popular, as it has 30 to 35 tigers prowling its 758 square kilometres. A friend had returned triumphant from a trip the previous weekend, having seen two. Tigers invite superlatives – the king of the jungle, nature's masterwork and so on – but they are solitary, elusive animals, and I have heard many more stories about fruitless attempts to spot one.

Despite the best efforts of our amiable guide, our first drive through the park is pleasantly uneventful. We toddle around in the evening sunlight, cooing over the park's numerous spotted deer and black-faced langur monkeys. There are scant signs of tigers, but we return contentedly enough four hours later, ready for the Italian supper cooked by the lodge's friendly chef.

We see little evidence of such troubling behaviour during our visit, but Pench does have a reputation as one of India's better-managed reserves. Its tiger population has increased in recent decades too, as part of a major national conservation effort called Project Tiger, launched in the 1970s.

If more are born, the result is often a fight for territory. If they survive, the losers often leave and must fend for themselves outside the area protected by the park. It explains why India's tiger population is just holding steady, despite years of intensive conservation projects. 'Sometimes I feel these animals are cursed,' Kassim says, with an air of genuine sadness. 'At least lions hang around in packs and help each other. Tigers need so much space; they just can't live together.'

As the freezing air rushes by, Kassim yells back to explain that tigers often walk on the roads early in the morning, to avoid getting their paws wet on the morning dew. Then he stops the jeep suddenly, killing the engine. Apparently, one of the park's female tigers often sits near this spot, with her cubs. We listen intently, as the morning light comes up around us.

Despite these wild imaginings, nothing emerges and we trundle off reluctantly to try our luck elsewhere. It is a pattern that sadly repeats itself on subsequent drives: we hear the odd alarm call but the tigers keep themselves well hidden. The trips are relaxing and enjoyable nonetheless, and we see a fine array of other wildlife.

In 1894 Rudyard Kipling's novel The Jungle Book was published, partly set in what is now Pench National Park in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The story tells of Mowgli, a man-cub raised by wolves, and his adventures with various animals he befriends. But the star of the story, and the film which followed, is undoubtedly Shere Khan, a ferocious, crotchety tiger. ___ India has 42 such reserves, with Pench among the more popular, as it has 30 to 35 tigers prowling its 758 square kilometres. A friend had returned triumphant from a trip the previous weekend, having seen two. Tigers invite superlatives – the king of the jungle, nature's masterwork and so on – but they are solitary, elusive animals, and I have heard many more stories about fruitless attempts to spot one. ___ Despite the best efforts of our amiable guide, our first drive through the park is pleasantly uneventful. We toddle around in the evening sunlight, cooing over the park's numerous spotted deer and black-faced langur monkeys. There are scant signs of tigers, but we return contentedly enough four hours later, ready for the Italian supper cooked by the lodge's friendly chef. ___ We see little evidence of such troubling behaviour during our visit, but Pench does have a reputation as one of India's better-managed reserves. Its tiger population has increased in recent decades too, as part of a major national conservation effort called Project Tiger, launched in the 1970s. ___ If more are born, the result is often a fight for territory. If they survive, the losers often leave and must fend for themselves outside the area protected by the park. It explains why India's tiger population is just holding steady, despite years of intensive conservation projects. 'Sometimes I feel these animals are cursed,' Kassim says, with an air of genuine sadness. 'At least lions hang around in packs and help each other. Tigers need so much space; they just can't live together.' ___ As the freezing air rushes by, Kassim yells back to explain that tigers often walk on the roads early in the morning, to avoid getting their paws wet on the morning dew. Then he stops the jeep suddenly, killing the engine. Apparently, one of the park's female tigers often sits near this spot, with her cubs. We listen intently, as the morning light comes up around us. ___ Despite these wild imaginings, nothing emerges and we trundle off reluctantly to try our luck elsewhere. It is a pattern that sadly repeats itself on subsequent drives: we hear the odd alarm call but the tigers keep themselves well hidden. The trips are relaxing and enjoyable nonetheless, and we see a fine array of other wildlife.

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