Most people think of lions as strictly
African beasts, but only because they’ve been killed off almost everywhere else.
Ten thousand years ago lions spanned vast sections of the globe. Now lions hold
only a small fraction of their former habitat, and Asiatic lions, a subspecies
that spit from African lions perhaps 100 000 years ago, hang on to an almost
impossibly small slice of their former territory. India is the proud steward of these 300 or so lions, which live primarily in a S60-square-mile sanctuary (保护区). It took me a year and a half to get a permit to explore the entire Gir Forest-and no time at all to see why these lions became symbols of royalty and greatness. A tiger will hide in the forest unseen, but a lion stands its ground, curious and unafraid-lionhearted. Though they told mc in subtle ways when I got too close, A. have killed off other lions B. have descended from African lions C. used to span vast sections of the globe D. have lost their habitat [单项选择]Passage Three
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