Question

For millions of years, coral reefs（珊瑚礁）have provided homes and food for thousands of different living things. Fish and sea birds share the reef with other creatures. Now these beautiful places are in danger.    1.   Scientists have found that more than one-fourth of the earth’s coral reefs have been ruined so far. Another quarter will disappear in ten years’ time. Unless things change, all of the remaining reefs may die within your lifetime.

Some people think that coral is stone because of its rough（粗糙的）, hard surface. But coral is an animal. Tiny polyps（水螅体）form the coral reefs.    2.  These colors come from the algae（海藻）living inside the coral. Billions of coral polyps stick together. New ones grow on the dead ones. This happens year after year. Over time, the coral builds up a reef. The reef rises from the ocean floor until it almost reaches the sea’s surface. It takes coral 500,000 years to build a huge reef.   3.

The coral reefs have been harmed mainly in three ways. The first factor is pollution on land. The pollutants run with rainwater into streams and rivers, which carry the poisons into the ocean. 4.   So they will be easily infected with diseases. Another cause is people. People have broken off pieces of coral, which they want to sell or keep as souvenirs. People have dropped sticks of dynamite（炸药）into the water to catch more fish. The worst problem is the heating up of the oceans. Higher ocean temperatures kill the important food source for the coral—the algae, the tiny greenish-gold water plants that live on coral.   5.  The coral turns white and dies. Scientists call this coral bleaching（珊瑚白化）. The bleached part of the coral reef cannot recover.

A. They come in many different colors.

B. However, humans have taken less than 100 years to destroy it.

C. This has blown up parts of the reefs.

D. When the algae die, the coral loses both its food and its color.

E. So are all the sea plants and animals that depend on them.

F. Chemicals from the poisons kill reefs or make them weak.

G. Many of them might not even last that long!

Answer

1.E

2.A

3.B

4.F

5.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文给我们介绍了珊瑚礁的形成过程，面临的危险及受破坏的常见方式等，我们要保护环境，保护动植物，保护我们所拥有的资源。

1.E考查对上下文的理解和推理判断能力。文章开头讲珊瑚礁的作用，然后提出这些美丽的地方处于危险中，E项为：那些依靠珊瑚礁的海洋动植物也处于危险中。此项承接上句，符合句意，故选E.

2.A考查对上下文的理解和推理判断能力。上句讲珊瑚礁是动物，那些小的水螅体构成了珊瑚礁。下句为：这些颜色来自生活在珊瑚礁中的海藻。A项：这些水螅体有各种不同的颜色，符合句意，承上启下，故选A.

3.B考查对上下文的理解和推理判断能力。上句讲珊瑚礁的形成过程，下一段讲珊瑚礁遭受破坏的3种形式，B项：然而，人类用了不到100年的时间破坏了它们，连接上下句，故选B.

4.F考查对上下文的理解和推理判断能力。上句：这些污染物随着雨水流入小溪河流，把毒物带到了大海。下句：它们很容易感染疾病。F项：毒物中的化学成分会杀死珊瑚或使它们变弱，承上启下，符合文意，故选F.

5.

考点：考查环境保护类短文阅读。