Question

Pierre is a 25-year-old penguin at the California Academy of Sciences. Due to his old age, he was going bald, which made him feel too cold to swim in the pool. Therefore, biologists at the academy had a wetsuit created for this penguin to help him get back in the swimming pool.

Unlike marine mammals, which have a layer of fat to keep them warm, penguins depend on their waterproof feathers. Without them, Pierre was unwilling to jump into the swimming pool and ended up trembling on the side of the pool while his 19 peers played in the water.

"He was cold; he would shake," said Pam Schaller, a senior biologist. Schaller first tried a heat lamp to keep Pierre warm. Then she got another idea: if wetsuits keep humans warm in the cold Pacific, why not make one for Pierre?

Schaller designed the suit, which covered Pierre’s body and had small openings for his flippers.

“I would walk behind him and look at where there were any gaps, and cut and refit and cut and refit until it looked like it was extremely suitable,” she said.

One concern was that the other penguins would reject Pierre in his new suit, but in fact, they accepted his new look. He swam freely and got along with others well, although he was the only penguin with a black stomach.

Schaller couldn’t say for sure whether the wetsuit allowed Pierre to recover his fine feathers, but “certainly we were able to keep him comfortable during a period of time that would have been very difficult for him to stay comfortable”.

Pierre will take off his suit after his new feathers grow back.

1.Pierre felt too cold to swim in the pool because of _____.

A. not having a layer of blubber

B. having few feathers due to old age

C. having no wetsuit

D. others penguins rejecting him

2.The idea of making a wetsuit for Pierre came from _____.

A. total invention

B. waterproof feathers

C. the use of wetsuit on humans

D. the use of heat lamp

3.Schaller followed Pierre in order to see _____.

A. whether other penguins would reject him

B. if anywhere of wetsuit needed to be cut and refit

C. if the wetsuit kept warm

D. whether the wetsuit would keep the feathers from recovering

4.The best title of the passage is _____.

A. Wetsuit for An Old Penguin

B. Old Penguin Getting Bald

C. Unwilling to Swim

D. Strange Look of PierreＢ

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.B

4.A   

【解析】人们印象中，企鹅应该不怕冷。而生活在美国加利福尼亚州旧金山加州科学院水族馆的一只斑嘴环企鹅，由于羽毛脱落而无法忍受冰冷的池水。为此，加州科学院研究人员特地为这只企鹅穿上“防寒服”，让它能够与同伴一样在水中游泳嬉戏。

1.细节理解题。文章第一段说明了Pierre怕冷的原因：Due to his old age, he was going bald, which made him feel too cold to swim in the pool.

2.细节理解题。文章第三段讲述了Pam想出这个办法的过程：Then she got another idea: if wetsuits keep humans warm in the cold Pacific, why not make one for Pierre?

3.细节理解题。文章第五段说明了Pam跟踪Pierre的原因：I would walk behind him and look at where there were any gaps, and cut and refit and cut and refit until it looked like it was extremely suitable。

4.主旨大意题。全篇讲述的是生物学家给一只老企鹅做保暖夹克，帮它重返泳池的故事。因此A项正确。