Question

    The government's top Great Barrier Reef scientist says a third mass coral bleaching (珊瑚白化) event in five years is a clear signal that the marine wonder is “calling for urgent help on climate change. Corals can recover from mild bleaching, but severe bleaching can kill corals.

Prof Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, surveyed 1,036 reefs from a plane over nine days in late March.

The marine park authority also had an observer on the flights. The survey has released  maps showing that serious levels of bleaching occurred in 2020 in all three sections of the  reef northern, central and southern. Some 25% of the reefs were seriously bleached-meaning that more than 60% of the corals on each reef had bleached.

The Great Barrier Reel has experienced five mass bleaching events-1998. 2002,2016, 2017 and 2020 -all caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating. Hughes said there probably would not be the same level of coral death in the north and central regions in 2020 as in previous years, but this was partly because previous bleaching outbreaks had kill off the less heat -tolerant species The 2020 bleaching was second only to 2016 for severity(严重性), Hughes said.

Dr. David Wachenfeld，chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, told Guardian Australia "My greatest fear is that people will lose hope for the reef. Without hope there's no action. People need to see these bleaching events, They are clear signals that the Great Barrier Reef is alling for urgent help and for us to do everything we can”.

Measures to improve the ability of recovery of the reef include improving water quality, controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish, and research and development to improve the heat tolerance of corals. " However, climate change brings a new scale of impact unlike anything we have seen before. Thus, dealing with the climate problem is the basis for everything else to work, ” Wachenfeld said.

1.What does the underlined word “mild” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A.Serious

B.Strong.

C.Steady.

D.Slight.

2.What can we learn from Paragraphs2 & 3?

A.The majority of the corals on each reef were bleached.

B.The survey was carried out on a plane by Hughes alone.

C.The 2020 bleaching killed off the less heat tolerant species.

D.The 2020 bleaching was worse than those of all the previous years.

3.We can infer from Wachenfeld’s words that people seeing the bleaching events    .

A.have done everything they can for the reef

B.are sure to lose hope for the reef

C.will care more about the reef

D.will have no action at all

4.Which is the essential measure to improve the ability of recovery of the reef?

A.Improving water quality.

B.Making efforts to prevent global warming.

C.controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish.,

D.Doing research on the heat tolerance of corals.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章描述了五年内大堡礁发生第三次大规模白化的现象，呼吁紧急援助应对气候变化。

1.

词义猜测题。根据第一段最后一句“Corals can recover from mild bleaching, but severe bleaching can kill corals. ”珊瑚可以从轻微的白化中恢复，但是严重的白化会杀死珊瑚。根据后半句severe“严重的”可以对比前半句的mild应该是“轻微的”。故选D项。

2.

推理判断题。根据第三段“The survey has released maps showing that serious levels of bleaching occurred in 2020 in all three sections of the reef northern, central and southern. Some 25% of the reefs were seriously bleached-meaning that more than 60% of the corals on each reef had bleached.”这项调查公布的地图显示，2020年，大堡礁北部、中部和南部的三个区域都出现了严重的白化现象。大约25%的珊瑚礁严重褪色，这意味着每个珊瑚礁上超过60%的珊瑚已经褪色。从调查可以看出，大部分的珊瑚已经白化了。故选A项。

3.

推理判断题。根据文章第五段“My greatest fear is that people will lose hope for the reef. Without hope there's no action. People need to see these bleaching events, They are clear signals that the Great Barrier Reef is alling for urgent help and for us to do everything we can.” 我最担心的是人们会对珊瑚礁失去希望。没有希望就没有行动。人们需要看到这些白化事件，这是一个明确的信号，大堡礁正在寻求紧急帮助，我们应该尽我们所能。” Wachenfeld说人类需要看到白化事件，才能更关心珊瑚礁。故选C项。

4.

推理判断题。根据最后一段“dealing with the climate problem is the basis for everything else to work,” 应对气候问题是一切工作的基础。由此判断出最基本的条件是阻止全球变暖。故选B项。