Segment 1

 

The Chinese sturgeon has been around since the time of the dinosaurs. Though it has lived through approximately 140 million years of history, the fish is fighting to survive today. There are fewer than 1000 Chinese sturgeon in existence, which makes them much rarer than even giant pandas.

 

 

 

Chinese sturgeon are classified as freshwater fish, but for the most part of their life, they live in the ocean. Mature fish migrate back to rivers in order to spawn, but in spite of a lifespan of about 40 years, they do so only three to four times in their life, and the survival to hatching rate is less than 1%. Problems along the Yangtze River make the survival of this fish even more difficult. The ecosystem in the river suffers from water and noise pollution, overfishing, heavy water traffic, and the reduction of free-flowing water. By 2014, the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences reported that only about 100 of the fish were found in the river.

 

 

 

Questions:

 

1. How long has the Chinese sturgeon existed?

 

2. How many Chinese sturgeon currently exist according to the passage?

 

3. Why does the mature Chinese sturgeon swim back to rivers?

 

4. Which of the following factors has most directly affected the Chinese sturgeon?

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