Question

The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence—other countries might learn from its mistakes.

   For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived on the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.

    However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. Then whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten­year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1，400 to 900.

    Nauru's real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate(磷酸鹽) on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which is a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.

    A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip­mine. When a company strip­mines, it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip­mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.

    In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world.Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.

    Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars.In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses.Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem—their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing.By 2，000, Nauru was almost financially ruined.Experts say that it would take approximately $433，600，000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.

20. What might be the author's purpose in writing the text?

A. To seek help for Nauru's problems.

B. To give a warning to other countries.

C. To show the importance of money.

D. To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.

21. What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?

A. Rich and powerful.

B. Modern and open.

C. Peaceful and attractive.

D. Greedy and aggressive.

22. The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from      ________．

A. soil pollution  B. phosphate overmining

C. farming activity  D. whale hunting

23. Which of the following was a cause of Nauru's financial problem?

A. Its leaders misused the money.

B. It spent too much repairing the island.

C. Its phosphate mining cost much money.

D. It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.

24. What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?

A. The ecological damage is difficult to repair.

B. The leaders will take the experts' words seriously.

C. The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.

D. The phosphate mines were destroyed.

Answer 1

文章主要講述了太平洋島國瑙魯如何從一個(gè)環(huán)境優(yōu)美的天堂島變成一個(gè)生態(tài)失衡、滿目瘡痍的小島。

20．B　寫作意圖題。由文章第一段的“Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence—other countries might learn from its mistakes.”可以看出，作者的目的是給當(dāng)前很多只注重發(fā)展經(jīng)濟(jì)而忽略環(huán)境保護(hù)的國家一個(gè)警告。故選B。

21．C　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第一段提到的“太平洋上的國家瑙魯島曾經(jīng)是一個(gè)美麗的地方”看出，瑙魯島是“有魅力的，迷人的”；由第二段第一句以及第三段第一句可知，上千年來，瑙魯島的人們生活在偏遠(yuǎn)的小島上，過著平靜的生活。故選C。

22．B　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由最后一段的“Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem—their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing.”可以看出“磷酸鹽逐漸減少，開采殆盡”。由此可以看出，“磷酸鹽的過量開采”導(dǎo)致了生態(tài)災(zāi)難。故選B。

23．A　細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由最后一段的“Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. ”看出，是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人不正確使用資金導(dǎo)致了財(cái)政問題。故選A。

24．A　推理判斷題。文章最后告訴我們：Experts say that it would take approximately $433，600，000 and more than 20 years to repair the island，也就是說，瑙魯島上的生態(tài)損失彌補(bǔ)起來需要大量的資金和時(shí)間，即選項(xiàng)所說的“修復(fù)起來很難”。故選A。