Question

【題目】No longer in the pink

The world is going to have to start thinking thoroughly to save its coral reefs. Corals are comeback creatures. As the world froze and melted and sea levels rose and fell over 30,000 years, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, which is roughly the size of Italy, died and revived five times. But now, thanks to human activity, corals face the most complex mixture of conditions they have yet had to deal with.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a rise in global temperatures of 1.5°C relative to pre-industrial times could cause coral reefs to decline by 70-90%. When waters become unusually warm, corals throw out the algae, leaving reefs a ghostly white. This 'bleaching' is happening five times as often as it did in the 1970s.

Corals need protection from local sources of harm. Their ecosystems suffer from coastal currents, whether dirty water or waste from farms. Plastic and other rubbish block sunlight and spread aggressive bacteria. Governments need to carry out tighter rules on these industries, such as tougher local building codes, and to put more effort into strengthening rules against overfishing.

Many reefs that have been damaged could benefit from restoration. Coral's biodiversity offers hope, because the same coral will grow differently under different conditions. Corals of the western Pacific near Indonesia, for example, can survive higher temperatures than the same species in the eastern Pacific near Hawaii.

Stronger measures to fight against the larger threats corals face should also attract more research. Shading reefs using a polymer film as a sunscreen to cool them is under discussion for parts of the Great Barrier Reef. Other schemes to help corals involve genetic engineering, selective breeding and brightening the clouds in the sky above an area of the reef by spraying salt into the lowest ones, so that they turn away more of the sun's energy. These measures may sound extreme, but people need to get used to thinking big. Dealing with the problems caused by climate change will call for some far-reaching ideas.

【1】Thorough thinking is needed to save the coral reefs because __________.

A.corals have come back in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia

B.corals are frozen and melted five times over 30,000 years

C.corals are strong enough to survive human activity

D.human activity are threatening the condition of coral reefs

【2】The underlined word 'bleaching' most probably means _______.

A.warmingB.throwing out

C.whiteningD.dying

【3】Corals are being damaged by the following local sources EXCEPT ___________.

A.coastal water flowsB.more sunlight

C.waste from farmsD.bad bacteria

【4】Some extreme solutions to saving corals are mentioned in the passage in order to ______.

A.encourage people to come up with more ideas

B.introduce some advanced technological progress

C.raise people's awareness of protecting the environment

D.warn people of the threats and risks corals are facing

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】C

【3】B

【4】A

【解析】

這是一篇說明文。文章主要講述了由于人類活動的影響，珊瑚礁目前正面臨著前所未有的生存挑戰(zhàn)。此外，文章還鼓勵大家積極想出能從長遠解決問題的方法應對氣候變化帶來的問題。

【1】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段的But now, thanks to human activity, corals face the most complex mixture of conditions they have yet had to deal with. (但是現(xiàn)在，由于人類的活動，珊瑚面臨著迄今為止最為復雜的壞境)可知由于人類活動對珊瑚帶來的傷害，人們必須開始全面思考拯救珊瑚礁。D. human activity are threatening the condition of coral reefs (人類活動正在威脅著珊瑚礁的環(huán)境)符合以上說法，故選D項。

【2】詞義猜測題。根據(jù)第二段的When waters become unusually warm, corals throw out the algae, leaving reefs a ghostly white. This 'bleaching' is happening five times as often as it did in the 1970s.可知，當海水變得異常溫暖時，珊瑚會拋出藻類，使珊瑚礁呈現(xiàn)出幽靈般的白色。這種bleaching現(xiàn)象發(fā)生的頻率是20世紀70年代的5倍。結合句意，尤其是leaving reefs a ghostly white可推測劃線部分的意思是“變白”。C. whitening (變白)符合以上說法，故選C項。

【3】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段的 Their ecosystems suffer from coastal currents, whether dirty water or waste from farms. Plastic and other rubbish block sunlight and spread aggressive bacteria.(它們的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)受到沿海洋流的影響，無論是污水還是來自農場的廢棄物。塑料和其它垃圾阻擋了陽光并傳播有攻擊性的細菌)可知，沿海洋流、污水、農場廢棄物、有攻擊性的細菌都對珊瑚有影響。B. more sunlight (更多的陽光)不符合以上說法，故選B項。

【4】推理判斷題。根據(jù)最后一段的These measures may sound extreme, but people need to get used to thinking big. Dealing with the problems caused by climate change will call for some far-reaching ideas. (這些措施聽起來可能有些極端，但人們需要習慣于從長遠考慮。應對氣候變化帶來的問題需要一些深遠的想法。)可推測，列舉極端解決辦法的目的是呼吁人們想出更多能從長遠考慮的想法。A. encourage people to come up with more ideas (鼓勵人們想出更多的主意)符合以上推測，故選A項。