Question

    The decline in sea ice seen in the Arctic in recent decades has been linked by scientists to the spread of a deadly virus in marine (海洋的) mammals. Researchers found that Phocine distemper virus (PDV) had spread from animals in the North Atlantic to populations in the North Pacific.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the ice has been retreating by around 12% per decade between 1979 and 2018. These sea ice changes in September (2018) are likely unprecedented (前所未有的) for at least 1, 000 years. “Between 1979 and 2018, the real proportion (比例) of multi-year ice that is at least five years old has declined by approximately 90%,” the IPCC said in their report on the oceans and the cryosphere (冰冻圈) published in September.

Against this changing background, researchers have investigated the likely spread of the PDV infection, which caused a large number of deaths among harbour seals in the North Atlantic in 2002. Melting sea ice is now connecting marine mammals, like these Steller sea lions, which were formerly separated by ice . “As animals move and come in contact with other species, they carry opportunities to introduce and catch new infectious disease, with potentially destructive effects.” said author Dr Tracey Goldstein, from the University of California, Davis.

The authors warn that this trend could continue as they believe climate driven changes in the Arctic ocean will increase. The opportunities for the spread of PDV will likely grow, with uncertain health outcomes for many species.

1.What does the word “populations” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A.The marine mammals. B.The people.

C.The virus. D.The land animals.

2.What are the statistics in paragraph 2 about?

A.The loss of sea ice. B.The formation of sea ice.

C.The effect of sea ice. D.The proportion of sea ice.

3.What does paragraph 3 try to tell us?

A.How marine mammals adapt to their habitats.

B.How a large number of seals died in the Arctic.

C.How melting ice is linked to the spread of virus.

D.How marine mammals live with the melting ice.

4.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A.Entertainment. B.Health.

C.Education. D.Nature.

Answer

1.A

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述北极海冰的融化导致一种致命病毒在海洋哺乳动物中的传播，并且随着气候变化的增加，这种病毒的传播也可能会增加。

1.

词义猜测题。根据文章第一段The decline in sea ice seen in the Arctic in recent decades has been linked by scientists to the spread of a deadly virus in marine (海洋的) mammals. Researchers found that Phocine distemper virus (PDV) had spread from animals in the North Atlantic to populations in the North Pacific. 近几十年来，北极海冰的减少与一种致命病毒在海洋哺乳动物中的传播有关。 研究人员发现，Phocine distemper病毒(PDV)已从北大西洋的动物传播到北太平洋的种群。根据上文说主要在海洋哺乳动物中传播，由此可以推断本句populations就是海洋哺乳动物，故选A。

2.

细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the ice has been retreating by around 12% per decade between 1979 and 2018. 根据政府间气候变化专门委员会(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)的数据， 从1979年到2018年，冰层以每10年约12%的速度消融，由此可知本段的数据统计都是关于海冰减少的。故选A。

3.

推理判断题。根据文章第三段Melting sea ice is now connecting marine mammals, like these Steller sea lions, which were formerly separated by ice . “As animals move and come in contact with other species, they carry opportunities to introduce and catch new infectious disease, with potentially destructive effects.” said author Dr Tracey Goldstein, from the University of California, Davis. 融化的海冰现在连接着海洋哺乳动物，像这些虎头海狮，它们以前被冰隔开。他说： “当动物迁徙并与其他物种接触时，它们就有机会引入并感染新的传染病，这可能会带来破坏性的影响。”来自加州大学戴维斯分校的特蕾西·戈尔茨坦博士说。由此可推断，本段在试图告诉我们融化的海冰是怎样同病毒传播连接的，故选C。

4.

推理判断题。文章主要讲述北极海冰的融化与一种致命病毒在海洋哺乳动物中的传播有关，并且随着气候变化的增加，这种病毒的传播也可能会增加。可知文章主题和自然相关，由此推断文章可能来自于报纸上关于自然部分的，故选D。