Question

【题目】Over millions of years, penguins（企鹅）have developed a keen sense of where to find food. Once they’re old enough, they set off from the shores on which they were hatched for the first time and swim long distances in search of tasty fish like anchovies and sardines. But they don’t search directly for the fish themselves.

For example, when young African penguins head out to sea, they look for areas with low surface temperatures and high chlorophyll(叶绿素) because those conditions signal the presence of phytoplankton（浮游植物）. And lots of phytoplankton means lots of plankton（浮游动物）, which in turn means lots of their favorite fish. Well, that’s what it used to mean.

Climate change plus overfishing have made the penguin feeding grounds a mirage(海市蜃楼). The habitat is indeed plankton-rich—but now it’s fish-poor. Researchers call this an “ecological trap.”

“It’s a situation where you have a signal that previously pointed an animal towards good quality habitat. That habitat’s been changed, usually by human pressures. The signal stays, but the quality in the environment deteriorates.”

Richard Sherley, a zoologist at the University of Exeter and his team used satellite imaging to track the African penguins from eight sites along southern Africa. Historically, the birds benefited from tons of fish off the coasts of Angola, Namibia and western South Africa, but now they’re going hungry.

“I was really hoping we’d see them going east, and finding areas where the fish had moved to but it ends up being quite a sad story for the penguins.” said Richard.

The researchers calculate that by falling into this ecological trap, African penguin populations on South Africa's Western Cape have declined by around 80 percent.

Some research groups are exploring the idea of moving chicks to a place where they can’t get trapped, like the Eastern Cape. But Sherley thinks that a longer-term solution means making and carrying out rules to create more sustainable(可持续的) fishing industry, something that he says needs public support.

【1】How do penguins find their food?

A. They discover fish with their keen sense.

B. They swim long distances directly for fish.

C. They make signals to each other when finding fish.

D. They look for warmer and greener areas.

【2】What is an ecological trap for the African penguins?

A. A trap set to catch penguins.

B. A good fish habitat with few fish.

C. A habitat unsuitable for fish.

D. A mirage on the sea.

【3】What does the underlined word “deteriorates” in the fourth paragraph mean?

A. Get worse. B. Get better.

C. Stay the same. D. Become suitable.

【4】What can be done to help the penguins in the long run?

A. Move the penguins to other places.

B. Create nature reserves for penguins.

C. Keep a balanced fishing industry.

D. Increase the population of penguins.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】B

【3】A

【4】C

【解析】经过数百万年,企鹅已经进化出一种敏锐的感觉去哪里寻找食物。寻找像凤尾鱼和沙丁鱼这样的美味的鱼。但是他们不会直接搜索这些鱼。而是寻找大量的浮游植物。因为大量的浮游植物意味着会有大量的以蜉蝣植物为食的鱼。而气候变化和过度捕捞导致环境不断恶化，使企鹅不能再准确地找到鱼类的栖息地。作者提议最好制定和执行一个长期的规则，以使渔业可持续发展。

【1】细节理解题， How do penguins find their food?企鹅是如何找到它们的食物的?根据“Over millions of years, penguins（企鹅）have developed a keen sense of where to find food. 经过数百万年的进化,企鹅已经进化出一种敏锐的感觉去寻找食物”可知本题选A. They discover fish with their keen sense.他们以敏锐的感觉找到鱼。

【2】细节理解题，What is an ecological trap for the African penguins?非洲企鹅的生态陷阱是什么?根据“ The habitat is indeed plankton-rich—but now it’s fish-poor. Researchers call this an “ecological trap.”这里的栖息地确实是富含浮游生物，但现在是鱼很少。研究人员称这是一个“生态陷阱”。”可知本题选B. A good fish habitat （栖息地）with few fish.鱼的有利栖息地，但是却只有很少的鱼。

【3】猜测词意题，由“The signal stays, but the quality in the environment deteriorates.信号保持不变，但环境的质量却在deteriorates。”由上一句话可知The signal是指某个区域含有大量的蜉蝣生物，正常情况下是会有大量的鱼。但是由于人类的干扰，某个地方仍然有大量藻类，却只有很少的鱼。即环境在不断恶化。故可判断出该词的意思是Get worse. 恶化、更糟糕。

【4】细节理解题， What can be done to help the penguins in the long run?从长远来看，我们能做些什么来帮助企鹅呢?根据“ a longer-term solution means making and carrying out rules to create more sustainable(可持续的) fishing industry.一个更长期的解决方案是制定和执行规则，以创造可持续的捕鱼业”故本题选C. Keep a balanced fishing industry.维持捕鱼业的平衡。