2．Called "America's wolf"，the red wolf is the only large predator whose historic range is found entirely within the United States ，stretching from Texas to New England.But hunting gradually reduced its range，and it was declared extinct in the wild in 1980.
Recovery efforts in the wild began in 1987 on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.In a ground-breaking successful experiment，eight captive（圈養(yǎng)的） wolves were released this year into North Carolina，eventually growing into a population over 100，reaching a peak of around 120 wolves in 2012.But illegal hunting and management changes by the Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in their numbers
plummeting.
In the spring，conservationists celebrated a small bit of good news when four captive-born pups（幼獸） were placed into a cave and successfully adopted by a wild red wolf mother.Meanwhile，another four adults were released into the wild.The pups are thought to be still alive and healthy.But the adults didn't go well.In the months after release，three were struck by cars and killed，and the fourth was fatally shot on private land.
To boost the population after these deaths，the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service announced in November that it planned to release nine adult red wolves into their recovery area this winter，land within and surrounding two wildlife reserves.
The Service also recently announced it would withdraw a 2018 proposal to shrink（縮?。?the red wolves' protected area in North Carolina by 90 percent，after a lawsuit accused the agency of going against the Endangered Species Act.Ron Sutherland of the Wildlands Network says it's crucial that the agency has abandoned this wrong -headed proposal，And yet the situation now is even more urgent than it was in 2018- this should launch the conservation community in the U.S.into crisis mode to save this species and bring it back from the extinction.
（1）What does the underlined word "plummeting" in paragraph 2 mean？
A．Promising.
B．Declining.
C．Multiplying.
D．Increasing.
（2）What can we infer from paragraph 3？
A．The released wolves lived well.
B．The population boosted after the release.
C．The red wolf faced greater threat than before.
D．The released red wolves still needed protection.
（3）What would the Service do to save red wolves？
A．Shrink the red wolves' reserves.
B．Make a proposal to protect the red wolves.
C．Put some red wolves in some specific places.
D．Force the protected area into the state of emergency.
（4）What does the text focus on？
A．The protection of red wolves.
B．Challenges faced by red wolves.
C．Reasons for red wolves extinction.
D．The relationship between red wolves and humans.
