Question

    Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts (蝗虫) that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.

And now in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts. “We think this idea will get more people to take part in the war on the locusts.” said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal's worst affected area.

This is West Africa’s biggest locust disaster in 15 years, and it is moving east, causing huge damage to crops. As they move they produce young and increase their number and will soon threaten (威胁) Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it could reach Asia. Experts say the harmful effect on crops in areas already suffering from food shortage and war could cause many people to go hungry. Governments in the areas are not well equipped to fight the pest.

Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough. “We are now treating 6,000 hectares (公顷) per day with pesticide (杀虫剂), but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster ,”said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.

Requests are being made for international aid, which is only way to limit the disaster, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned.

1.By using "dark cloud" to describe locusts in the first paragraph, author of the article     .

A.shows the size and speed of the mass of locusts

B.suggests the great damage that locusts can cause

C.warns that locusts would sweep the continent like rain clouds

D.both A and B

2.The story is mainly about          .

A.West Africa's united effort in fighting a disaster

B.the difficulty in controlling locusts

C.how locusts caused great damage to West Africa

D.a struggle to fight against a disaster brought by locusts in West Africa

3.The locust disaster        .

A.would be even more serious in Asia

B.is out of control

C.affected only the warning areas

D.cannot be stopped unless twice as much pesticide is provided for the affected areas

4.Which of the following is WRONG ?

A.Sud-Fm offers a rewarded for fighting locusts so that more people will join in the effort.

B.Senegal is to the southwest of Sudan .

C.The locusts can cause such damage mainly because it has no natural enemy in West Africa .

D.12 countries affected by locusts have united but still lack pesticide.

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。这篇短文讲述的是非洲的部分地区遭受了非常严重的蝗虫灾害，造成了很大的损失。现在政府及其他国家的领袖都已经采取措施，展开行动，消灭蝗虫。电台也呼吁更多的人加入到与蝗虫的战斗中来。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts (蝗虫) that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.可知，非洲部分地区被乌云覆盖，但这并不是雨云，而是由数十亿只蝗虫组成的活云，它们正在穿越非洲大陆，吃掉路上的所有东西。可推知，这里是用乌云来形容蝗虫的大小、速度和危害。故选D。

2.主旨大意题。根据第一段Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts (蝗虫) that are traveling across the continent eating everything in their path.可知，非洲部分地区被乌云覆盖，但这并不是雨云，而是由数十亿只蝗虫组成的活云，它们正在穿越非洲大陆，吃掉路上的所有东西。结合文章主要讲的是非洲西部发生的严重的蝗虫灾害，而且各方面正为消灭蝗虫而做着努力。由此可知，文章主要讲述的是一场与西非蝗虫带来的灾难作斗争的故事。故选D。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中“We are now treating 6,000 hectares per day with pesticide, but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster ,” said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, director of locust control in Mauritania.可知毛里塔尼亚蝗虫控制中心主任Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah说：“我们现在每天要处理6,000公顷的蝗虫，但是我们需要每天处理20,000公顷的蝗虫，这样才有希望控制这场灾难。”由此可知，蝗虫灾害目前失去了控制。故选B。

4.细节理解题。根据第二段中And now in the battle to stop this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 50 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts.可知，现在，在阻止这场灾难的战斗中，西非塞内加尔的一家电台向听众提供50公斤大米，如果他们能够捕捉并杀死50公斤蝗虫的话。由此可知，A选项“苏丹南方发展联盟—调频广播电台为抗击蝗虫提供奖励，以便更多的人参与这项努力”正确；根据第三段中As they move they produce young and increase their number and will soon threaten Sudan in the northeast of Africa.可知，随着它们的迁徙，它们会繁殖后代，数量也会增加，很快就会威胁到非洲东北部的苏丹。由此可知，可知B选项“塞内加尔在苏丹的西南部”正确；根据最后一段中Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not expected to be enough.可知，尽管12个国家的领导人已经就一项计划达成一致，但预计这还不够。由此可知，D选项“受蝗虫影响的12个国家已经联合起来，但仍然缺乏杀虫剂”正确。只有C选项“蝗虫能造成这样的破坏主要是因为它们在西非没有天敌”文章没有提到，C选项错误。故选C。