Question

    The unique ocean animals were discovered by a team of scientists led by Dr. Christine Dudgeon from Australia’s University of Queensland during a 12 year global conservation study.

The newly-found sharks have evolved (进化) to survive in low oxygen environments, enabling them to hunt during low tides. The researchers believe their ability to use their fins (鰭) to walk affords the sharks a remarkable edge over the smaller animals they try to hunt. “While they are super hunters in their shallow habitat, the tiny sharks present no threat to people,” says Dudgeon. “At less than a meter long on average, they’re incredibly cute little animals that do not look like sharks at all,” she adds.

A DNA analysis of skin samples from the live fish suggests that walking sharks broke away from their original population and became a distinct species about nine million years ago. Though that may appear to be a long time ago, it is relatively recent given that sharks have been around for more than 400 million years. In fact, Dudgeon and her team believe walking sharks are the youngest kind of sharks on Earth!

The researchers say that the sharks’ small numbers and small habitat make them extremely vulnerable (易受伤害) to natural disasters and overfishing. They are currently on the Nature Red List, which lists species at risk. Dudgeon and her team believe sensible conservation management plans are urgently needed to protect the walking sharks and other endangered animals from further threats.

1.What is the most noticeable feature of the newly-found sharks?

A.They are cute and harmless to humans.

B.They can survive in their shallow habitat.

C.They walk on their fins across the seafloor.

D.They are the youngest kind of sharks on Earth.

2.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A.The evolution of the shark.

B.The behavior of the sharks.

C.The population of the sharks.

D.The DNA samples of the sharks.

3.What should be done without delay according to Dudgeon and her team?

A.Adjusting the methods of fishing.

B.Putting the sharks on the Nature Red List.

C.Changing the sharks’ living environments.

D.Adopting necessary measures to protect the sharks.

4.In which column of a website can we read the text?

A.Environment. B.Nature.

C.Education. D.Geography.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

本文是说明文。文章介绍了研究人员在澳大利亚北部附近海域发现了一种靠鳍行走的鲨鱼及其相关的保护措施。

1.细节理解题。根据首段首句A shark that walks in water instead of swimming might sound like a creature straight out of science fiction. However, that is precisely how the fish — found in the waters off Northern Australia — moves across the seafloor. (在水里行走而不是游泳的一条鲨鱼，听起来就像是科幻小说中的一种生物。然而，这正是在澳大利亚北部海域发现的鱼的穿过海底的移动方式)及第二段The researchers believe their ability to use their fins (鰭) to walk affords the sharks a remarkable edge over the smaller animals they try to hunt.(研究人员认为，它们利用鳍行走的能力使鲨鱼比它们试图捕猎的小动物具有显著的优势)可知，新发现的鲨鱼最明显的特征是用鳍在海底行走。故选C。

2.主旨大意题。根据第三段内容可知，第三段讲述了对活鱼皮肤样本的DNA分析表明，活鲨鱼脱离了原来的种群，大约在900万年前成为一个独特的物种。尽管那可能是很久以前的事，但是相对来说是最近的，考虑到鲨鱼已经存在了4亿多年。事实上，Dudgeon和她的团队相信行走的鲨鱼是地球上最年轻的鲨鱼！因此推断第三段主要讲述鲨鱼的进化。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据末段Dudgeon and her team believe sensible conservation management plans are urgently needed to protect the walking sharks and other endangered animals from further threats.(Dudgeon和她的团队认为，迫切需要明智的保护管理计划来保护行走的鲨鱼和其他濒危动物免受进一步的威胁)可知，迫切需要做的是采取必要措施保护鲨鱼。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据文章首段首句A shark that walks in water instead of swimming might sound like a creature straight out of science fiction. However, that is precisely how the fish — found in the waters off Northern Australia — moves across the seafloor.(在水里行走而不是游泳的一条鲨鱼，听起来就像是科幻小说中的一种生物。然而，这正是在澳大利亚北部海域发现的鱼的穿过海底的移动方式)可知，文章的主要讲述在澳大利亚北部附近海域发现了一种靠鳍行走的鲨鱼。由此推知，在网站的自然栏目中，我们可以阅读这篇文章。故选B。