练习：
1 .Why are ants compared to ecosystem engineers?
A Because they build their own nests.
B Because they collect food.
C Because their activity affects the environment.
D Because they are predators.
2. As predators， ants
A prey on small as well as large animals.
B collect nutritious food from the soil
C collect food as decomposers.
D prey on species much higher up the food chain.
3. Dir Sanders study centered on how ants
A can manage to thrive in huge numbers.
B defend their resources and territory against other predators.
C attack those invading animals for survival.
D produce such a big impact on the environment.
4. What does paragraph 6 tell us?
A Ants bring about a negative influence to an area when their population is small.
B Ants bring about a positive influence to an area when their population is small.
C Ants predation counteracts the positive influence they may have on an area.
D At higher density， ants produce a positive influence on an area.
5. What still remains unclear about ants， according to the last paragraph?
A What roles do ants play in the ecosystem in which they live?
B How do ants affect the animal diversity in a given ecosystem?
C How do human activities affect ants influence on a given ecosystem?
D How do ants alter the physical and chemical environment?
答案与题解：
1. C 短文的第一段提供了答案。A不是正确答案，因为并不是因为蚂蚁会筑巢才被誉为生态系统工程师，而是因为它们筑巢和获取食物的方式改变了土壤的营养水平，为整个食物链提供了很好的生态环境(见第二段)。
2.A答案能够从短文的第三段直接找到。该段告诉我们，蚂蚁的掠食范围很广，甚至包括比它们体积更大的动物( larger animals) 。 prey 在这里的意思是"捕猎，捕食"，作为动词，后面跟介词on或upon.
3.D Dirk Sanders说："In this research， we studied for the first time how big this impact is and the subtleties of it."(第五段)所以，D是正确选择。句中the subtleties of it 的意思是：蚂蚁对环境影响的精妙之处。
4.B 短文第六段第二句的大概意思是，蚂蚁数量小(a low density of ants)的话，能使其他动物的品种和数量增加(increased the diversity and density of other animals)，从而给环境带来积极影响；第三句说，如果蚂蚁的数量大(At higher densities)，就不可能产生同样的影响，或者是相反的影响，这表明，蚂蚁的掠食活动会抵销蚂蚁给环境带来的积极影响。第七段Dr Frank van Veen 表达了大体相同的内容。
5.C 最后一段的第二和第三句提供了答案。第二句告诉我们，蚂蚁极易受人类的影响(these organisms are highly responsive to human impact)，第三句告诉我们，科学家还不清楚人类对蚂蚁这种干扰如何破坏蚂蚁对生态系统的维护作用("it is not clear how such disturbance damages the maintenance of ant services to the ecosystem.")。