Question

    Just a year ago, the colors were bright under the waves. Now it’s gray — the Maldivian reef is dead. The coral is killed by the pressure of rising temperatures.

Coral reefs are areas underwater where small creatures live. The coral is hard material formed on the bottom of the sea by the skeletons of those creatures. But the world has lost about half its coral reefs in the last 30 years. Scientists are working to prevent their destruction. Due to global warming, over 90 percent of corals are expected to die by 2050. “To lose coral reefs is to fundamentally undermine the health of a very large proportion of the human race,” said Ruth Gates, director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.

Why are coral reefs important? Coral reefs support a fourth of all marine species, as well as half a billion people worldwide. They serve as barriers to protect coastlines from the storms. They provide billions of dollars from tourism, fishing and other trade. They are also used in medical research for cures for diseases. “Everyone should be concerned,” said biologist Ove Guldberg at Australia’s University of Queensland. “This is not just some distant dive destination. This is the basic structure of the ecosystem we depend on.”

The ocean is getting warmer. A rising temperature of just one to two degree Celsius can force coral to expel the algae (驱逐海藻) that live there. This leaves their white skeletons uncovered. It is a process called “bleaching”. Sixteen percent of the world’s corals died of bleaching in 1998. The problem has become much worse in recent years.

“We’ve lost 50 percent of the reefs, but that means we still have 50 percent left,” said Ruth Gates, who is working in Hawaii to breed corals that can better withstand increasing temperatures. She is also trying to “train” corals to survive rising temperatures. Gates says it is time to start “thinking outside the box”— find creative ways to help them.

1.What does the underlined word “undermine” in paragraph 2 mean?

A.Regain B.Weaken

C.Promote D.Develop

2.What can we learn from Ove Guldberg’ words?

A.People won’t find a dive destination in the future.

B.The effort to save corals will turn out to be fruitless.

C.The bright sea has lost its charm because of those dead corals.

D.The destruction of coral reefs will affect the earth ecosystem.

3.What’s the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A.The harm of algae. B.The importance of coral reefs.

C.The process of “bleaching”. D.The change of ocean temperature.

4.What is Ruth Gates’ attitude towards the protection of corals？

A.Worried B.Positive

C.Casual D.Curious

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了近年来珊瑚礁大量死亡的原因，介绍了珊瑚礁对生态系统的重要性，分析了珊瑚礁的死亡对人类的影响。

1.词义猜测题。根据第二段中“To lose coral reefs is to fundamentally undermine the health of a very large proportion of the human race”（失去珊瑚礁会从根本上削弱很大一部分人类的健康）分析句意可知，此处的“undermine”应意为“削弱”。结合选项，故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中“This is not just some distant dive destination. This is the basic structure of the ecosystem we depend on.”（ 这不仅仅是一个遥远的潜水目的地。这是我们赖以生存的生态系统的基本结构。）由此可知，失去珊瑚礁就会破坏生态系统。结合选项，故选D。

3.段落大意题。根据第四段中“The ocean is getting warmer. A rising temperature of just one to two degree Celsius can force coral to expel the algae (驱逐海藻) that live there. This leaves their white skeletons uncovered. It is a process called “bleaching”. Sixteen percent of the world’s corals died of bleaching in 1998. The problem has become much worse in recent years.”（ 海洋越来越暖和了。只有一到二摄氏度的温度上升会迫使珊瑚驱逐生活在那里的藻类。这使得他们的白色骨骼暴露。这是一个叫做“漂白”的过程。1998年，全世界16%的珊瑚死于漂白。近年来，这个问题变得更严重了。）由此可知，本段主要介绍了珊瑚礁漂白的过程。结合选项，故选C。

4.推理判断题。根据文章最后一段中“We’ve lost 50 percent of the reefs, but that means we still have 50 percent left,” said Ruth Gates, who is working in Hawaii to breed corals that can better withstand increasing temperatures. She is also trying to “train” corals to survive rising temperatures.”（ “我们已经失去了50%的珊瑚礁，但这意味着我们还有50%的珊瑚礁，”露丝·盖茨说，她正在夏威夷工作，培育能够更好地抵御不断升高的温度的珊瑚。她还试图“训练”珊瑚以适应不断升高的温度。）由此可以推断出，Ruth Gates对于保护珊瑚礁是乐观，充满信心的。结合选项，故选B。