Question

    Pachyrhynchus weevils (球背象鼻虫) are found on most islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. These weevils could not fly. But why are they so widespread? Wen-San Huang of the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan thinks he has the answer.

One theory, which dates back to 1923, is that the beetles float from place to place by a tiny air cavity beneath its outer shell.

Dr Huang began his research into the weevils and discovered that the beetles do float. But he also reports floating in seawater does not do them much good. All 57 adults he tried it with died within two days. Clearly, adult weevils are not good sailors.

Pachyrhynchus weevils have a love for laying their eggs inside the fruit of a plant called the fish-poison tree. This reproduces reminding us of coconut palms. It drops its fruits into the ocean, which carries them away to come up on distant beaches. Coconuts are protected from being eaten on their travels by having a hard, thick shell. Fish-poison-tree fruit are also protected from hungry sea creatures. But in their case, as their name suggests, the protection is chemical.

Given the relationship between weevils and plant, Dr Huang wondered how beetle larvae (幼虫) would fare if they were deep inside a piece of fruit floating in seawater.

So he tested this as well. His experiment suggested that such larvae are 'tolerant of saline (含盐的) conditions.

Specifically, of 18 grubs (蛆) thrown into seawater inside a piece of fruit, two survived for six days. Moreover, these larvae went on to develop into healthy, sexually mature adults. So Dr Huang argues that such numbers would easily support the immigration of weevils to the islands.

He also observes that the Kuroshio Current, which carries water from the Philippines, past Japan and onwards into the Pacific, moves so swiftly that a piece of fruit caught in it could easily travel 90km in a day, enabling the flightless beetle to cover the distance of 400km between the islands effectively.

1.What did Wen-San Huang find in his research?

A.The old theory accounts for weevils. B.Adult weevils are good at floating.

C.Fish-poison-tree fruit protect weevils. D.The weevils cross the islands in a day.

2.What can the underlined word "fare" probably mean?

A.Survive. B.Travel.

C.Grow. D.Float.

3.How do weevils succeed in immigrating between the islands?

A.By travelling with sea creatures.

B.By wearing shells for protection.

C.By laying eggs in coconuts sinking under the sea.

D.By staying in the floating fish-poison-tree fruits.

4.What's the author's purpose of writing the text?

A.To introduce the research result.

B.To compare the coconut palms and weevils.

C.To tell how weevils immigrate to the islands.

D.To praise Wen San Huang for his research.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。本文主要介绍了黄文山博士的一项调查结果：球背象鼻虫通过待在鱼毒树果实的内部在海上漂浮，以到达迁移的目的。

1.细节理解题。根据文章第四段的Pachyrhynchus weevils have a love for laying their eggs inside the fruit of a plant called the fish-poison tree. (象鼻虫喜欢把它们的卵产在一种植物的果实中，这种植物被称为鱼毒树)和Fish-poison-tree fruit are also protected from hungry sea creatures. (鱼毒树的果实也受到了保护，不会被饥饿的海洋生物吃掉。)可知象鼻虫受到了鱼毒树果实的保护，同时它也保护了鱼毒树果实。C. Fish-poison-tree fruit protect weevils. (鱼毒树果实保护了象鼻虫)符合以上说法，故选C项。

2.词意猜测题。根据划线部分所在句子Given the relationship between weevils and plant, Dr Huang wondered how beetle larvae (幼虫) would fare if they were deep inside a piece of fruit floating in seawater.（鉴于象鼻虫和植物之间的关系，黄博士想知道甲虫幼虫如何fare，如果在漂浮着的果实的深处）和倒数第二段的Specifically, of 18 grubs (蛆) thrown into seawater inside a piece of fruit, two survived for six days. (具体来说，18只幼虫被装在果实深处扔进海水里，6天后存活了两只)结合句意，尤其是two survived for six days可判断划线词的意思是“活着，幸存”。A. Survive. (幸存)符合以上给猜测，故选A项。

3.细节理解题。根据文章倒数第二段的Specifically, of 18 grubs (蛆) thrown into seawater inside a piece of fruit, two survived for six days. Moreover, these larvae went on to develop into healthy, sexually mature adults. So Dr Huang argues that such numbers would easily support the immigration of weevils to the islands. (具体来说，18只幼虫被装在果实深处扔进海水里，6天后存活了两只。此外，这些幼虫继续发育成健康的、性成熟的成虫。所以黄博士认为，这些数字很容易支持象鼻虫迁入该岛)可知象鼻虫是通过待在漂浮果实的深处进行迁移的。D. By staying in the floating fish-poison-tree fruits. (通过待在漂浮的鱼毒树果实深处)符合以上说法，故选D项。

4.推理判断题。根据文章的主要内容，尤其是第一段的These weevils could not fly. But why are they so widespread? Wen-San Huang of the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan thinks he has the answer. (这些象鼻虫不会飞，他们为什么到处都是呢？台湾自然科学博物馆的黄博士认为他找到了答案) 可知本文介绍的是黄文山对并不会飞的象鼻虫如何分布在许多岛屿所做的研究，故推测作者写本文的目的是给读者介绍一个研究结果。A. To introduce the research result. (介绍研究结果)符合以上说法，故选A项。