Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 14 to 18.

The scarcity of tigers and African elephants is more and more serious. They are endangered because poachers hunt them in order to sell tiger pelts and elephant ivory.

At least 4,000 elephants are killed each year in order to meet the global demand for ivory, which is used to make carvings, jewelry and other products although it is illegal to sell ivory since 1989 anywhere.

“Americans should be aware that there is still a problem with elephant poaching and loss to the illegal ivory trade,” Ginette Hemley, Fund’s vice president for species conservation, told the Washington Post in September. And so our message is “Don’t buy it, and don’t take that chance.”

A Wildlife Fund report states that the United States seized 8,300 illegal ivory items between 1995 and 2002. Each week there are about 1,000 ivory auctions, the report said.

As for tigers, their parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Tiger bones are used as a pain reliever in traditional medicine. Even tiger’s whiskers are sold because some people in Asia think they are a good-luck charm – like a rabbit’s foot in the United States. “Part of our job is education,” said Professor Dillon. “The other part is law enforcement. So we have more than one strategy.”

Mary is her sister. A. most short B. shorter than C. more short D. the shortest of