Question

【题目】California Condor’s Shocking Recovery

California condors are North America’s largest birds, with wind-length of up to 3 meters. In the 1980s, electrical lines and lead poisoning(铅中毒) nearly drove them to dying out. Now, electric shock training and medical treatment are helping to rescue these big birds.

In the late 1980s, the last few condors were taken from the wild to be bred(繁殖). Since 1992, there have been multiple reintroductions to the wild, and there are now more than 150 flying over California and nearby Arizona, Utah and Baja in Mexico.

Electrical lines have been killing them off. “As they go in to rest for the night, they just don’t see the power lines,” says Bruce Rideout of San Diego Zoo. Their wings can bridge the gap between lines, resulting in electrocution(电死) if they touch two lines at once.

So scientists have come up with a shocking idea. Tall poles, placed in large training areas, teach the birds to stay clear of electrical lines by giving them a painful but undeadly electric shock. Before the training was introduced, 66% of set-freed birds died of electrocution. This has now dropped to 18%.

Lead poisonous has proved more difficult to deal with. When condors eat dead bodies of other animals containing lead, they absorb large quantities of lead. This affects their nervous systems and ability to produce baby birds, and can lead to kidney(肾) failures and death. So condors with high levels of lead are sent to Los Angeles Zoo, where they are treated with calcium EDTA, a chemical that removes lead from the blood over several days. This work is starting to pay off. The annual death rate for adult condors has dropped from 38% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2011.

Rideout’s team thinks that the California condors’ average survival time in the wild is now just under eight years. “Although these measures are not effective forever, they are vital for now,” he says. “They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them. ”

【1】California condors attract researchers’ interest because they _________.

A. are active at night

B. had to be bred in the wild

C. are found only in California

D. almost died out in the 1980s

【2】Researchers have found electrical lines are _________.

A. blocking condors’ journey home

B. big killers of California condors

C. rest places for condors at night

D. used to keep condors away

【3】According to Paragraph 5, lead poisoning _________.

A. makes condors too nervous to fly

B. has little effect on condors’ kidneys

C. can hardly be gotten rid of from condors’ blood

D. makes it difficult for condors to produce baby birds

【4】This passage shows that _________.

A. the average survival time of condors is satisfactory

B. Rideout’s research interest lies in electric engineering

C. the efforts to protect condors have brought good results

D. researchers have found the final answers to the problem

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】D

【4】C

【解析】

试题加州兀鹰是北美最大的鸟类，翼展可达3米。20世纪80年代，由于触电和铅中毒，加州兀鹰几乎绝迹。现在，正通过电击和药物治疗拯救加州兀鹰。

【1】推理判断题。根据第三段“As they go in to rest for the night”排除A；根据第二段“In the late 1980s, the last few condors were taken from the wild to be bred(繁殖)”可知，condors一直生活在野外，排除B；根据第二段“more than 150 flying over California and nearby Arizona, Utah and Baja in Mexico”可知，不止加利福尼亚州有condors，排除C，根据第一段的 In the 1980s, electrical lines and lead poisoning(铅中毒) nearly drove them to dying out.可推断，加州秃鹰吸引了研究人员的兴趣是因为他们在20世纪80年代几乎灭绝。故选D。

【2】细节理解题。根据第三段“Electrical lines have been killing them off...Their wings can bridge the gap between lines, resulting in electrocution(电死) if they touch two lines at once.”可知，兀鹰不知道停在电线上翅膀同时触到两根及两根以上电线会触电身亡，它们经常停在电线上休息，结果，很多兀鹰被电死了，故选B。

【3】推理判断题。根据“This affects their nervous systems and ability to produce baby birds, and can lead to kidney(肾) failures and death”可知，摄入大量铅会刺激兀鹰的神经系统，影响它们的生育能力，导致肾衰竭和死亡，因此推断铅中毒让兀鹰很难繁殖小鹰。故选D。

【4】推理判断题。根据“just under eight years”可知，在野外生存的兀鹰的平均寿命太短，排除A；根据“Although these measures are not effective forever”可知，目前采用的措施并不能永远有效，排除D；根据第六段“They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them.”可知，Rideout团队的研究兴趣在于怎样挽救这一濒危物种，排除B。根据最后一句“Although these measures are not effective forever, they are vital for now,” he says. “They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them. ”可知，虽然这些措施不会永远有效，但就目前而言，它们是至关重要的。 因此推断保护兀鹰故选C。

推理判断题属于主观题，是层次较高的题目。它包括判断题和推理题。这两类题常常相互依存，推理是为了作出正确的判断，正确的判断又依赖于合乎逻辑的推理。此类题要求在理解表面文字的基础上作出判断和推论，从而得到文章的隐含意思和深层意思，也就是通过文章中的文字信息、上下文的逻辑关系及事物的发展变化等已知的信息，推断出作者没有直接表达的态度和观点。 推理判断题的解题方法：推理判断题不仅要求考生读懂文章中的每个句子的意思，还要推理它们之间的关系，结合自己的生活常识和经验，再通过逻辑推理和判断，理解文章的言外之意，从而揭示文章的深层含义。任何一篇文章都有其特定的写作目的，读者需要知道如何去做或按照某种方式思考问题。推理判断题的答案不可能在文章中直接找到，因此推理时我们务必要忠于原文，在文章中寻找并确定可推论的依据，即：已知部分－推论的前提，从中推测出未知部分－推理的结论，切忌妄加评论，把自己的观点当成作者的观点。例如小题4，根据最后一句“Although these measures are not effective forever, they are vital for now,” he says. “They are truly good birds that are worth every effort we put into recovering them. ”可知，虽然这些措施不会永远有效，但就目前而言，它们是至关重要的。 因此推断保护兀鹰故选C。