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.The underlined word “undermine” in paragraph 2 means ___________.

A.weaken B.regain C.promote D.overlook

2.What’s the major concern of the scientists like Ove Guldberg?

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 destruction of coral reefs will affect the earth ecosystem.

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

3.The fourth paragraph is mainly about ___________.

A.the harm of algae B.the process of “bleaching”

C.the importance of coral reefs D.the change of ocean temperature

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

A.proud B.cautious C.optimistic D.casual

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章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。第三段中的“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”叙述了珊瑚礁对人类的重要之处：珊瑚礁是所有海洋物种的四分之一，也是全世界5亿人口的支柱。它们是保护海岸线免受风暴侵袭的屏障。它们给旅游业、渔业和其他贸易提供了数十亿美元。它们也被用于治疗疾病的医学研究。由此可知，失去珊瑚礁会危害人类的健康。故结合选项，只有A选项切题：削弱。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中Ove Guldberg所说的“This is the basic structure of the ecosystem we depend on”可知，珊瑚礁是我们所依赖的生态系统的基本结构。由此可以推知，失去珊瑚礁就会破坏生态系统。故C选项正确。

3.主旨大意题。第四段提到：海洋变得暖和了。气温上升到一两度就能迫使珊瑚驱逐那里的藻类。这就使它们的白色骨骼显露了出来。这是一个叫做“漂白”的过程。1998年，世界上16%的珊瑚死于漂白。最近几年，这个问题变得更加糟糕了。很明显，这一段主要介绍了珊瑚礁漂白的过程。故B选项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中的““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.”可知，Ruth Gates 认为我们虽然已经失去了50%的珊瑚礁，但这意味着我们还剩下50%的珊瑚礁。她正在夏威夷努力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”珊瑚以便它们可以在不断上升的温度下生存下来。由她所说的说以及她所做的努力来看，她对于保护珊瑚礁是乐观，充满信心的。C选项正确。