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Britain's oldest tree could be dead in fifty years because tourists keep ripping off its branches and keeping them as souvenirs, environmentalists have warned. The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire is thought to be between 3,000 to 5,000 years old. The tree, which stands tall inside the Fortingall Churchyard in Perthshire, has been left in increasingly bad health because of tourists.

Despite now being surrounded by a cage, tourists visiting Fortingall have allegedly been taking cuttings from the ancient yew. Catherine Lloyd, co-ordinator of the Tayside Biodiversity Community Partnership, said the tree has become stressed. She said, “They are attacking this poor tree so it's stressed, but whether that's the reason why this poor tree is not doing very well at the moment, we don't know.”

Neil Hooper, the tree warden for Fortingall, said they can't tell how many visitors have attacked the tree, but certainly some branches have been torn off. He said the more common problem came from visitors climbing into the enclosure, via a listed wall, to tie ribbons to the tree's branches. Mr Hooper said, “Recently the metal plaque put up by the Tree Council has been forced down and twisted flat face down, which must have been taken considerable force, also by someone climbing into the enclosure.”

Now, in a bid to keep the original specimen alive, seedlings from the yew will be planted in Perthshire and Angus, as well at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Catherine said, “I would love to look back into time. You look at it and think it's been there for at least 3,000 years, 1,000 years before the Romans came across Scotland. But we know so little about it. I will try my best to know more it.”

1.Why did the tourists rip off the yew’s branches?

A They wanted to make the trees healthier.

B They kept branches as souvenirs.

C They helped to protect the environment.

D They wanted to attract more people.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第一段第一句...because tourists keep ripping off its branches and keeping them as souvenirs...可以得知游客想把这些树枝当成纪念品，故选B。

2.How did people protect the ancient yew?

A The tree was surrounded in a cage.

B The policemen helped it out.

C They tried to attack the poor tree.

D People comforted the tree to stop being stressed.

解析：选A。推理判断题。根据文章第一段第一句Despite now being surrounded by a cage, tourists visiting Fortingall have allegedly been taking cuttings from the ancient yew.可以得知人们在古树周围罩起来一个笼子，故选A。

3.How did the visitors tie the ribbons?

A They tore off the branches.

B They broke into the metal plaque.

C They put up the metal plaque.

D They made a lot of enclosures.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据文章第三最后一句Recently the metal plaque put up by the Tree Council has been forced down and twisted flat face down...可以得知游客闯进了金属板，将丝带绑在树枝上，故选B。

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A The old yew has been in bad health because of tourists.

B Many tourists tried to take cuttings from the ancient yew.

C We haven’t known why the tree is not doing very well yet.

D We’re lucky to know much about the tree although it could be dead in fifty years.

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据文章最后一段Catherine说的话可以推断，我们对这棵树知之甚少，会继续研究这棵古树，故选D。