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From massive beasts to tiny creepy—crawlies, these creatures have a reputation for being killers-and they are! But their death tolls are not nearly as high as you might think.
Sharks
For decades, Hollywood blockbusters have portrayed sharks as toothy killing machines with a taste for human flesh. But shark attacks, and fatalities, in particular, are probably much rater than you think, some species of sharks, like the whale shark and the basking shark, don，t pose a threat to humans at all, despite looking pretty menacing. Even the species of shark responsible for the most attacks on human (bull shark, tiger shark, and white shark) don，t actively seek to eat humans. They prefer the taste of fish and seals and can actually find humans difficult to digest. On average, sharks are responsible for six human deaths a year. That's notably fewer than some much less maligned creatures, including hippopotamuses, elephants, and cows (yes, cows) !Find out some more animals that you didn，t realize were more dangerous than sharks.
Bears
“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" While the Cowardly Lion is the gentle giant who befriends Dorothy，s gang in The Wizard of Oz, bears are actually the least deadly of the three predators from this famous scene. It can be challenging to get a precise estimate of how many humans lions and tigers kill per year, but it's always quite a bit higher than bears' statistics.
Estimates of human deaths by both lions and tigers can range from 50 to 100, highest in countries such as Tanzania and India. Combined, brown and black bears only kill an average of one to three humans a year in their native United States and Canada.
Spiders
Don，t get us wrong-black widow spiders are deadly. But many types of spiders-even some of the biggest and scariest-looking ones-don't often bite and certainly can't kill you. Spider bites cause an average of seven human deaths per year in the United States. That's fewer than the number caused by significantly less feared creatures like ants, bees, and, believe it or not, freshwater snails. They carry a deadly disease called schistosomiasis. ) And even those creepy-crawlies，death tolls pale in comparison to the animal that kills the most humans every year.
Mountain lions
These big cats-which you might also call cougars or pumas—are native to North America and are the subject of cautionary tales for many a hiker. Despite that, there are only 25 human deaths by mountain lions on record, period, since 1890. That，s an average of one every five years. If they do attack, it's most likely the result of extreme circumstances like sickness or starvation. While they have been known to kill pets, deer, and livestock, mountain lions probably shouldn，t be high on humans' list of animals to be afraid of. On the other hand, some animals look innocent but are actually dangerous.
31.What does the underlined word "menacing" in paragraph 2 mean?
A.Peaceful. B. Threatening.
C.Gentle. D. Awkward
32.What can we infer from the film The Wizard of Oz?
A.The lion is big in shape but kind in character
B.Estimates of human deaths by bears are wrong
C.Lions, tigers and bears are dangerous killers.
D.Tigers are the least deadly animals.
33.Which animal kills the fewest humans on average every year?
A.Sharks. B. Bears.
C. Spiders. D. Mountain lions.
34.What will be talked about next?
A.Animals that aren't as dangerous as they look.
B.Animals that look friendly but dangerous.
C.Creatures that aren，t deadly to human beings
D.Beasts that have a reputation for being killers.
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