Question

    Over millions of years， African penguins 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（孵化） 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． When 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 algae（藻类）． And lots of algae 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 has been changed， usually by human pressures． The signal stays， but the quality in the environment gets worse．"

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 which 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 them to a place where they can't get trapped， like the Eastern Cape． But Sherley thinks that a solution in the long run means making and carrying out rules to create more sustainable（可持续的） fishing industry， which 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 rich in plankton．

D. A mirage on the sea．

3.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．

4.What is the main idea of the passage？

A. African penguins are losing their habitats．

B. African penguins are falling into ecological traps．

C. A sustainable development is needed．

D. African penguin populations have declined．

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了企鹅是如何找到食物的和企鹅现在所面临的问题。在非洲一个鱼的好栖息地却只有很少的鱼，企鹅会面临生态陷阱。我们可以通过保持渔业的平衡来帮助企鹅。

1.细节理解题。根据"penguins（企鹅）have developed a keen sense of where to find food．（企鹅们对到哪里去找食物有了敏锐的认识）可知企鹅是通过敏感的感觉来发现鱼的，故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据"The habitat is indeed plankton﹣rich﹣but now it's fish﹣poor"（它的栖息地确实是浮游生物丰富，但现在却是鱼类贫乏）可知非洲企鹅所面临的问题是在一个鱼的好栖息地，却只有很少的鱼，故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据"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．（但Sherley认为，长期解决办法意味着制定和执行规则，以创造更可持续的渔业，他说，这需要公众的支持．）由此可知保持渔业的平衡能够帮助企鹅，故选C。

4.主旨大意题。文章主要介绍了企鹅是如何找到食物的和企鹅现在所面临的问题。在非洲一个鱼的好栖息地却只有很少的鱼，企鹅会面临生态陷阱。我们可以通过保持渔业的平衡来帮助企鹅，故选B。