Question

    If you’ve ever been on a fishing boat, you’ve probably seen crowds of birds following it, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.

Researchers attached data loggers to the backs of 169 albatrosses (信天翁) in Indian oceans. Weighing only 42 grams, the devices included a GPS, which enabled them to detect the presence and intensity of radar signals emitting from boats. That information was then sent by satellite, so the researchers could track the location of the birds—and thus the radar-emitting boats—in real time.

The scientists then cross-checked that data against the known locations of boats, collected from a system boats use to declare themselves, called the Automatic Identification System (AIS). And noticeable differences appeared frequently.

More than a third of the times the birds “loggers” detected radar signals, and therefore a boat, but no such boat appeared in the official log—meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their AIS—something that probably happens in illegal fishing operations.

The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds.

Fortunately, such a task would be difficult. Around fishing boats, you can find hundreds of birds at any one time that are flying around. And the birds with loggers are not marked in any way. So it’s not really possible for fishermen to pick out a specific bird.

But what concerns researchers is that albatrosses often get caught by some fishing boats. Though regulations have been established to protect against that happening—with success—illegal boats don’t necessarily obey. So scientists might be underestimating the risk posed to albatross populations.

1.What characteristic of albatrosses do scientists take advantage of in their research?

A.Their feeding patterns.

B.Their sense of direction.

C.Their greedy behaviors.

D.Their habit of following fishing boats.

2.For what purpose does a boat shut off its AIS?

A.To seek more fishes.

B.To have it mistaken for another.

C.To avoid being detected.

D.To save the trouble of declaring itself.

3.What does “such a task” in Paragraph 6 refer to?

A.Identifying birds with loggers.

B.Monitoring illegal boats.

C.Tracking radar signals automatically.

D.Fishing illegally.

4.What could be the best title for the text?

A.AIS: an Effective System to Locate Boats

B.Humans Are Good at Discovering Birds’ Nature

C.Data Loggers Help Fishermen Get a Good Harvest

D.Scientists Use Birds to Track Illegal Fishing Operations

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】

本文是说明文。科学家们利用信天翁喜欢跟随渔船的习性，在信天翁的背部安装数据记录器，通过实时追踪鸟类的位置来追踪非法渔船，以监控非法捕鱼行为。

1.

细节理解题。根据文章第一段中“If you’ve ever been on a fishing boat, you’ve probably seen crowds of birds following it, hoping to catch a snack. Now scientists use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.”可知，信天翁有跟随渔船的习性，现在科学家们利用鸟的这个习性来追踪非法渔船。 故选D项。

2.

推理判断题。根据第四段中“but no such boat appeared in the official log—meaning that the vehicles had likely switched off their AIS—something that probably happens in illegal fishing operations.（官方的观察记录中没有出现这样的船只，这意味着这些船只很可能关闭了它们的自动识别系统(AIS)，而这种情况很可能发生在非法捕鱼作业中。）”因此可以推断，船只关闭AIS系统的目的是为了避免在非法捕鱼作业中被发现。故选C项。

3.

词义猜测题。文章第五段中提到“The work suggests birds could be an effective boat-monitoring tool as long as illegal fishing operations don’t target the birds.（这项研究表明，只要非法捕鱼活动不以鸟类为目标，鸟类可能是一种有效的船只监控工具。）”；第六段中提到“And the birds with loggers are not marked in any way. So it’s not really possible for fishermen to pick out a specific bird.” 在渔船周围，有很多鸟儿在飞翔。有记录器的鸟没有任何标记。渔民要识别出一种特定的鸟（即有记录器的鸟儿）是不可能的。因此可以推断“such a task”指的是通过记录器识别出鸟儿。故选A项。

4.

主旨大意题。文章第一段提到“Now scientists use those birds’ behavior to track illegal fishing boats.”；下文提到科学家们在信天翁身上安装数据记录器，通过实时追踪鸟类的位置来追踪船只的位置。不过也会有非法渔船关闭自动识别系统或者信天翁被非法渔船捕获的情况。文章的内容是围绕科学家如何利用鸟类追踪非法捕鱼行为的。因此文章标题应该为“科学家利用鸟类追踪非法捕鱼作业”。故选D项。