The days of the hunter are almost over in India. This is partly because there is practically nothing left to kill, and partly because some steps have been taken mainly by banning tiger-shooting to protect those animals which still survive.
Some people say that man is naturally a hunter. I disagree with this view. Surely our earliest forefathers, who at first possessed no weapons, spent their time digging for roots, and were no doubt themselves often hunted by meat-eating animals.
I believe the main reason why the modern hunter kills is that he thinks people will admire his courage in overpowering dangerous animals. Of course, there are some who truly believe that the killing is not really the important thing, and that the chief pleasure lies in the joy of the hunt and the beauty of the wild countryside. There are also those for whom hunting in fact offers a chance to prove themselves and risk death by design; these men go out after dangerous animals like tigers, even if they say they only do it to rid the countryside of a threat. I can respect reasons like these, but they are clearly different from the need to strengthen your high opinion of yourself.
The greatest big-game hunters expressed in their writings something of these finer motives. One of them wrote:
“You must properly respect what you are after and shoot it clearly and on the animal’s own territory (领地).You must fix forever in your mind all the wonders of that particular day. This is better than letting him grow a few years older to be attacked and wounded by his own son and eventually eaten, half alive, by other animals. Hunting is not a cruel and senseless killing — not if you respect the thing you kill, not if you kill to enrich your memories, not if you kill to feed your people.”
I can understand such beliefs, and can compare these hunters with those who hunted lions with spears and bravely caught them by the tail. But this is very different from many tiger-shoots I have seen, in which modern weapons were used. The so-called hunters fired from tall trees or from the backs of trained elephants. Such methods made tigers seem no more dangerous than rabbits.
There is little hunting in India now partly because ________.
A. it is dangerous to hunt there B. hunting is already out of date
C. hunters want to protect animals D. there are few animals left to hunt
The author thinks modern hunters kill mainly ________.
A. to make the countryside safe B. to earn people’s admiration
C. to gain power and influence D. to improve their health
What do we learn about the big-game hunters?
A. They hunt old animals. B. They mistreat animals.
C. They hunt for food. D. They hunt for money.
What is the author’s view on the tiger-shoots he has seen?
A. Modern hunters lack the courage to hunt face-to-face.
B. Modern hunters should use more advanced weapons.
C. Modern hunters like to hunt rabbits instead of tigers.
D. Modern hunters should put their safety first.