Question

"It's this time of year when the weather starts warming up and frogs start breeding - but they haven't been breeding," says John Wilkinson, research and monitoring officer at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC).

Amphibians (兩棲動物) are just one of the groups of animals that nature observers fear may have problems reproducing this year, as groundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to the UK's Centre for Hydrology and Ecology the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972.

"If ponds dry up totally," says Mr. Wilkinson, "you could have lots of dead tadpoles." Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats.

But Peter Brotherton, the biodiversity manager for Natural England, says that "drought is part of nature's cycle", and, at present, a lot of animals, plants and insects are still in hibernation. This means that the population picture is unclear. "However, when we get extreme events, we get animals dying," he says. "And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation（濕潤）after winter."

Charlie Kitchin, the RSPB's site manager of the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire, says the 2,000-acre wetland and grassland area is now struggling following two winters with relatively little winter rain and no flooding. One species that could suffer, he says, is the black-tailed godwit（黑尾豫）. "There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them, and everything is bone-dry," Mr Kitchin says.

But one bad nesting season, he says, is "not the end of the world". "One of the features of flood plains is that they're volatile anyway," he adds. "But if they fail to breed another year, the population is likely to dip again."

1.According to the passage animals may have problems reproducing this year mainly due to _____.

A．drought

B．hibernation

C．windier conditions

D．extreme events

2.What really worries Peter Brotherton is that ________.

A．drought is part of nature’s cycle	B．a(chǎn)nimals are still in hibernation
C．soil at this time is far from saturation	D．the population of animals is still unclear

3.Which of the following is NOT true of Charlie Kitchin’s words?

A．Drought has so far continued for two winters.

B．Animals could survive one bad nesting season.

C．The black-tailed godwit is in danger of extinction.

D．40 black-tailed godwits live in the Nene Washes.

4.The underlined word volatile in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.

A．losing water	B．undergoing changes
C．breeding animals	D．suffering flood

5.It can be learnt from the text that ______________.

A．groundwater levels this summer are lower than those of 1976

B．the average rainfall this year has been the lowest since 1972

C．windier conditions could also cause some amphibians’ death

D．flooding plays no useful role in wetlands and grasslands

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.A

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：

1.A 推理題。根據(jù)第二段2,3行g(shù)roundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976說明今年的水位比1976年的干旱季節(jié)還要低，說明今年遇見了干旱，那么A正確。

2.C 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第四段最后一句"And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation（濕潤）after winter."說明最讓人擔(dān)心的是冬天以后希望土壤能夠更濕潤一點(diǎn)，適合耕作。故C正確。

3.D 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段"There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them說明在英國黑尾豫只有50對，而在這個地方黑尾豫就有40對，那么應(yīng)該是80只。故D正確。

4.A 推理題。根據(jù)本句"One of the features of flood plains is that they're volatile anyway說明在干旱季節(jié)這些河灘的一個特點(diǎn)就是沒有了水。故A正確。

5.C 細(xì)節(jié)題，根據(jù)第三段2,3行Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats. 說明C正確。

考點(diǎn)：考查新聞報道類短文閱讀

點(diǎn)評：本文主要講述了英國多年不遇的干旱對兩棲動物的影響。導(dǎo)致很多的兩棲動物的生存受到了嚴(yán)重的威脅，文章以推理題和細(xì)節(jié)題為主，要求考生能夠細(xì)致審題合理的推測判斷，解題過程中把握大意，對于主旨題可采用排除法，既不可夸大其辭，也不可斷章取義。