English B2 FCE

When (0) WILL humans learn (1) ............ their mistakes? European hunters are responsible (2) ............ the early decline of black rhino (3) ............. In the past it was not uncommon for five or six rhinos to be killed in a day for food or simply for amusement. European settlers that arrived in Africa in the early 20th (4) ............ to colonize and establish farms and plantations continued this senseless slaughter. Most people regarded rhinos as a pest and exterminated them at all costs in what is one of the saddest states of affairs to affect this species' existence. We should have really put in measures to cut (5) ............ this type of behaviour, but this never happened. People just turned a blind eye and that is sad. That was the front page headline of the UK newspaper, the Guardian, in 1986, accompanied by a full-page photo of two of the amazing creatures. The article (6) ............ that rhinos were "doomed to disappear from the face of the earth due to man's folly, greed and neglect" and encouraged readers to support a new conservation organization: WWF that had sought to resurrect this animal's diminishing numbers. They have been fighting to (7) ............ African rhinos ever since. Many activities have stood up for this precious animal but to no avail. Recent success in black rhino conservation in captivity is heartening, but a lot of work remains to bring the population up to even a fraction of what it once was — and ensure that it stays there. It was (8) ............ official in February of this year that the black rhino is now extinct in the wild. BBC news has claimed that no wild black rhinos remain in West Africa. This is a sad day and we need to support reintroduction programmes to ensure they don't die out all together.