五、阅读理解
The ocean is full of amazing animals. It's also full of plastic. That's bad news for sea animals like deep-diving whales. They can mistake the plastic for food and eat it.
How do whales mix up plastic and food? A team at the Duke University, which has been looking into this question for some years, has recently published their study. It all comes down to echolocation (回声定位): a natural way that allows whales to "hear" objects in the darkest parts of the sea. There's little light at those deep parts, so it's too dark for the whales to see. But they can hear by echolocation.
The whales make a sound and then listen. They hear echoes from nearby objects. These echoes allow the whales to hunt. The scientists found that rubbish and sea animals cause similar echoes. To the whales, they "sound" the same. That can trick the whales into eating rubbish.
The scientists gathered objects such as bottles, bags, and rope. All of these have been found in the stomachs (胃) of whales. The team made sounds and recorded the strength (强度) of each echo off these objects. They then compared these echoes to those produced off the bodies of sea animals. The echoes from the plastic things were similar in strength to those returned by sea animals.
Eating rubbish is dangerous for whales. The plastic can build up in their stomachs, preventing food from passing through their bodies. This can be deadly (致命的). Merrill, the lead writer of the study, says, "The plastic impacts animals that are so far away from our daily life. This is really a big problem."
Everyone can play a part in cutting down plastic pollution. "People need to make real changes in their daily life, and then actively help deal with this problem," Merrill says.
(
A. Because the light there is very poor.
B. Because there is too much rubbish.
C. Because their eyes are badly hurt.
D. Because food is far away from them.
(
A. What kind of sounds whales make.
B. How whales mistake rubbish for food.
C. How dangerous rubbish is to whales.
D. What objects scientists find in whales.
(
A. Stores food for.
B. Gives cover to.
C. Prevents whales from.
D. Has an effect on.
(
A. Dangerous Deep Sea
B. Bad News for Sea Animals
C. Changes of Animal Food
D. Sounds from Big Whales
The ocean is full of amazing animals. It's also full of plastic. That's bad news for sea animals like deep-diving whales. They can mistake the plastic for food and eat it.
How do whales mix up plastic and food? A team at the Duke University, which has been looking into this question for some years, has recently published their study. It all comes down to echolocation (回声定位): a natural way that allows whales to "hear" objects in the darkest parts of the sea. There's little light at those deep parts, so it's too dark for the whales to see. But they can hear by echolocation.
The whales make a sound and then listen. They hear echoes from nearby objects. These echoes allow the whales to hunt. The scientists found that rubbish and sea animals cause similar echoes. To the whales, they "sound" the same. That can trick the whales into eating rubbish.
The scientists gathered objects such as bottles, bags, and rope. All of these have been found in the stomachs (胃) of whales. The team made sounds and recorded the strength (强度) of each echo off these objects. They then compared these echoes to those produced off the bodies of sea animals. The echoes from the plastic things were similar in strength to those returned by sea animals.
Eating rubbish is dangerous for whales. The plastic can build up in their stomachs, preventing food from passing through their bodies. This can be deadly (致命的). Merrill, the lead writer of the study, says, "The plastic impacts animals that are so far away from our daily life. This is really a big problem."
Everyone can play a part in cutting down plastic pollution. "People need to make real changes in their daily life, and then actively help deal with this problem," Merrill says.
(
A
) 1. Why do whales look for food by sound instead of by sight in deep sea?A. Because the light there is very poor.
B. Because there is too much rubbish.
C. Because their eyes are badly hurt.
D. Because food is far away from them.
(
B
) 2. What do Paragraphs 3 & 4 mainly talk about?A. What kind of sounds whales make.
B. How whales mistake rubbish for food.
C. How dangerous rubbish is to whales.
D. What objects scientists find in whales.
(
D
) 3. What does the underlined word "impacts" probably mean?A. Stores food for.
B. Gives cover to.
C. Prevents whales from.
D. Has an effect on.
(
B
) 4. Which is the best title for the passage?A. Dangerous Deep Sea
B. Bad News for Sea Animals
C. Changes of Animal Food
D. Sounds from Big Whales
答案：1－4 ABDB
解析：
【分析】本题为英语阅读理解题，共4道选择题，分别考查细节理解、段落大意、词义猜测及主旨大意。解题思路：1题定位原文第二段，查找深海鲸鱼用声音而非视觉觅食的原因；2题分析3、4段内容，明确其核心是鲸鱼误将塑料当食物的过程；3题结合上下文语境推测划线词含义；4题梳理全文主旨，选择最贴合的标题。
【解析】1题：根据第二段“There's little light at those deep parts, so it's too dark for the whales to see. But they can hear by echolocation.”可知，深海光线极差，鲸鱼无法视物，故用回声定位，选A。2题：第三段阐述鲸鱼因回声相似误认垃圾为食物，第四段通过实验对比塑料与海洋生物的回声，两段核心是鲸鱼误将垃圾当食物的原理，选B。3题：划线词所在句意为“塑料影响远离我们日常生活的动物”，结合上下文塑料对海洋生物的危害，“impacts”意为“影响”，对应D选项“Has an effect on”。4题：全文围绕海洋塑料污染对海洋动物（尤其是鲸鱼）的危害展开，B选项“Bad News for Sea Animals”最贴合主旨，选B。
【答案】1－4 ABDB
【知识点】阅读理解、细节理解、词义猜测
【点评】本文以海洋塑料污染为背景，结合鲸鱼的回声定位原理，考查学生对文章不同维度的理解，题型典型，兼具科普性与教育意义。
【难度系数】0.6
【解析】1题：根据第二段“There's little light at those deep parts, so it's too dark for the whales to see. But they can hear by echolocation.”可知，深海光线极差，鲸鱼无法视物，故用回声定位，选A。2题：第三段阐述鲸鱼因回声相似误认垃圾为食物，第四段通过实验对比塑料与海洋生物的回声，两段核心是鲸鱼误将垃圾当食物的原理，选B。3题：划线词所在句意为“塑料影响远离我们日常生活的动物”，结合上下文塑料对海洋生物的危害，“impacts”意为“影响”，对应D选项“Has an effect on”。4题：全文围绕海洋塑料污染对海洋动物（尤其是鲸鱼）的危害展开，B选项“Bad News for Sea Animals”最贴合主旨，选B。
【答案】1－4 ABDB
【知识点】阅读理解、细节理解、词义猜测
【点评】本文以海洋塑料污染为背景，结合鲸鱼的回声定位原理，考查学生对文章不同维度的理解，题型典型，兼具科普性与教育意义。
【难度系数】0.6