Question

    Tiny water plants called phytoplankton (浮游植物) serve as food for many sea creatures, including whales, shrimp, jellyfish and snails.

Phytoplankton do well in cold water. But if water temperatures rise by only two degrees Celsius, the phytoplankton struggle. That is what happened in the last three or four years in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. Researchers say an unusual area of warm water spread throughout the Northern Pacific. Scientists called the warm water ''the blob'', as if it were a character in an old science fiction movie. At its largest, the blob stretched 1,600 square kilometers and reached depths of 91 meters. This large mass of warm water had a damaging effect on the ocean food chain. Many fish that depend on phytoplankton swam away from the area. As a result, sea birds and sea lions that eat those fish starved.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington have found that the warm ocean ''blob'' caused a harmful algae bloom. That fast growth in algae hurt fishing grounds along the U.S. West Coast and Canada's British Columbia. The researchers recently published their study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. They looked at the algae, called P. australis. They found that the algae can grow much faster than normal if it is exposed to warm water. The higher levels of algae also produced more of a poisonous chemical that can cause problems for everything from shellfish to dolphins to sea lions. It also causes problems for humans if too much of the chemical builds up in their blood.

Researchers say algae blooms like this one will continue as ocean waters warm. The algae will hurt sea animals, birds, and fish. It may damage food resources for humans all over the world, the scientists say.

1.The root cause of the starvation of sea birds or sea lions is_____.

A.the depths of the vase sea

B.the large mass of warm water

C.the large amount of polluted sea water

D.the increasingly reduced phytoplankton in the sea

2.From the text, we can know that P. australis is the name of a(n) _____.

A.phytoplankton B.fish

C.algae D.bird

3.The following statements are true EXCEPT_____.

A.Generally, the algae grow much faster than normal if exposed to cool water.

B.The phytoplankton is very sensitive to the rise of water temperature.

C.More algae can bring about a poisonous chemical which endangers sea creatures.

D.Algae blooms will affect not only the existence of sea creatures but also that of humans the world over.

4.The text is most probably taken from_____.

A.a research paper B.a geography textbook

C.a class presentation D.a newspaper report

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。文章主要介绍了研究人员的最新发现，即海洋水温的上升会影响海洋浮游生物的生存，从而导致影响海洋生物食物链，最终影响到人类的食物来源。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段的This large mass of warm water had a damaging effect on the ocean food chain. Many fish that depend on phytoplankton swam away from the area. As a result, sea birds and sea lions that eat those fish starved. (大量的温水对海洋食物链产生了破坏性的影响。许多依赖浮游植物的鱼游离了这一地区。结果，以这些鱼为生的海鸟和海狮挨饿了)可知，海鸟和海狮挨饿的主要原因是水温变暖。B. the large mass of warm water(大量的温水)符合以上说法，故选B项。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段的 That fast growth in algae hurt fishing grounds along the U. S. West Coast and Canada's British Columbia. The researchers recently published their study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. They looked at the algae, called P. australis. 可知，藻类的快速生长损害了美国西海岸和加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省沿岸的渔场。研究人员最近在《地球物理研究快报》上发表了他们的研究。他们研究了一种藻类，名叫P. australis。可知P. australis是一种海藻的名称。C. algae(藻类)符合以上说法，故选C项。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第三段的They found that the algae can grow much faster than normal if it is exposed to warm water. 可知，科学家们发现，如果藻类暴露在温水中，它的生长速度会比正常情况下快得多。A. Generally, the algae grow much faster than normal if exposed to cool water.(通常情况下，如果暴露在凉水中，这种藻类比平常的生长速度快得多)不符合以上说法，故选A项。

4.推理判断题。纵观全文内容可知，该文介绍了研究人员的最新发现，即海洋水温的上升会影响海洋浮游生物的生存，从而导致影响海洋生物食物链，最终影响到人类的食物来源。由此判断出，最可能是一篇新闻报道。故选D项。