Question

    Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.

Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them. One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.

How many spiders are engaged in this work on our behalf? One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre, that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.

1.Spiders are our friends because they_______.

A.are beneficial insects

B.protect insect-eating animals

C.destroy insects without hurting us in any way

D.include some of the greatest enemies of the human race

2.The underlined word “devour” in the first paragraph probably means “________”.

A.protect B.eat up C.be beneficial to D.help

3.Birds and beasts_________.

A.eat as many insects as spiders

B.eat more insects than spiders

C.can’t compare with spiders as destroyers of insects

D.destroy a large fraction of insects than spiders

4.If spiders were insects, they would______.

A.have eight legs B.have six legs or less

C.be able to fly D.not destroy their own kind

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了蜘蛛是人类的朋友，因为它们消灭了那么多的昆虫，其中包括一些人类最大的敌人。并且蜘蛛对人类有很大的作用。据估计，在英国蜘蛛一年里所消灭昆虫的重量超过这个国家人口的总重量。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段中Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.可知此外，与其他食虫动物不同，蜘蛛从不对我们或我们的财物造成丝毫伤害。由此可知，蜘蛛是我们的朋友，因为它们消灭昆虫却不伤害我们。故选C。

2.

词义猜测题。根据后文all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals.可知如果我们没有受到以昆虫为食的动物的保护，昆虫就会吃掉我们所有的庄稼并杀死我们饲养的禽兽。由此可知，划线单词意思为“吃掉”。A. protect保护；B. eat up 吃掉；C. be beneficial to 有益于；D. help帮助。故选B。

3.

细节理解题。根据第一段中We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders.可知我们要十分感谢那些吃昆虫的鸟和兽，但是把它们所杀死的昆虫加在一起也只相当于蜘蛛所消灭的一小部分。由此可知，就消灭昆虫而言，鸟类和野兽比不上蜘蛛。故选C。

4.

细节理解题。根据第二段中One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.可知人们几乎一眼就能看出两者的区别，因为蜘蛛总是有八条腿，而昆虫的腿从不超过六条。由此可知，如果蜘蛛是昆虫，它们应该有六条腿或更少。故选B。