Are Baiji Dolphin Extinct?

       Does the Yangtze River still have baiji the graceful, grey dolphin with tiny eyes and a long narrow beak?

    Since November 6, a team of scientists from China, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Japan have been searching for any sign of the freshwater dolphin on the middle and lower sections of the river．After six weeks, they came back empty-handed．

    Wang Ding, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is the head of the team, said．he has seen a sharp decline in the baiji population over the past few decades． However, he is still unwilling to call the species extinct, and adds, "We will try every effort to save them as long as they are not found to be extinct．"

    The baiji is shy and nearly blind and is, one of the world's oldest．'dolphin species． It dates back some 20 million years and is found only in the Yangtze．It's listed as one of the  12 most endangered animal species in the world．

       Around 400 baiji were believed to be living in the Yangtze until the 1980s．A 1997 survey spotted 13．Two years later their numbers were down to two．

    The rapid disappearance of this dolphin over the past two decades coincided with（與……同時）the rapid expansion of economic development along the river． Research on some dead baiji collected in recent years showed that more than 90 percent of the deaths were caused by human activities．

   One reason is that over-fishing has cut the dolphin's food sources．Dams built along the river and neighboring waterways have also kept them from swimming into and out of their habitats． Meanwhile, waste discharge（排放） has seriously polluted the river． And heavy river traffic has greatly reduced their living space．

    The disappearance of the baiji would be the first instance of a large aquatic mammal（水生哺乳動物）being driven to extinction since hunting killed off the monk seal（僧海豹）around                                                                      1952．

56．Bajji dolphin used to live in        of the Yangtze River.

       A．upper sections                                         B．middle sections

       C．lower sections                                         D．middle and lower sections

57．The first paragraph shows writer's          .

       A．love of baiji                                                B．eagerness to write the passage

       C．a(chǎn)nger for not having a baiji                           D． dissatisfaction with our government

58．Which of the following countries didn't join the action to search for baiji?

       A．England．               B．America．           C．Japan．             D．India

59． How many baiji dolphins were left by the end of last century?

       A．400                        B．13                 C．Atmost2              D．2

60．Which of the following reasons doesn't lead to the rapid disappearance of baiji dolphins? 

     A． Over-fishing．                                         B． Heavy Road Traffic．                 

       C． Dams built along the river．                      D． Waste discharge．

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科目：高中英語 來源：江蘇省儀征中學2010-2011學年高一下學期期中考試英語試題 題型：050

閱讀理解

　　We recently read a report on China’s environmental problems, based on reports from Singapore’s Straits Times．There was one statistic that shocked us．Environmental experts claim that without some great change, pollution might, within five years, make the Yangtze River just about unsuitable for all forms of life to live in．The baiji, or the Yangtze River dolphin, was only the latest victim．According to the first report, in the 1980s there were 126 forms of life in the river, and by 2002, that figure was already down to 52．

　　Just how bad is the situation? The Yangtze River flows by 186 cities on its way from Qinghai to Shanghai, and in the process picks up 40％ of China’s polluted waste water．According to another report, in 2006, China produced a total of 53．7 billion tons of waste water．But that’s not the worst news．By 2030, China might possibly use up between 89-100％ of its sources of drinking water．

　　All of this begs a deeper question：What kind of water are they using when they pump 10 kilos of water into pigs headed for the slaughterhouse(屠宰場)? This is an important question because if its waste water is not fit for human to drink, there’s a chance that some of whatever was in that water was in the pork you had for lunch today．And if the water is safe to drink, that’s a waste of perfectly good water．

　　Another report we read, related to the Taihu algae(水藻)blooming that has left 3 million people in the Wuxi area without drinking water, claims(quite believably)that Taihu’s environmental problems will never end until all the factories along the lake close down．The algae bloom is so bad there that lots of people have to take the algae out of the lake all day long instead of fishing．

(1)

From the first paragraph we learn that _________．

[　　]

A．

this passage is taken from Singapore’s Straits Times

B．

over 70 species of life disappeared from the Yangtze River in about 20 years

C．

there were only 52Yangtze River dolphins left in the river in 2002

D．

you will see no life in the Yangtze River in the coming five years or so

(2)

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Yangtze River according to the passage?

[　　]

A．

It goes by 186 cities on its way from the source to the sea．

B．

Lots of waste water in the country is poured into the river．

C．

The baiji in the river is now in danger of extinction．

D．

We can hardly see any forms of life in the river now．

(3)

Which of the following problems is the most urgent according to the passage?

[　　]

A．

There is no clean water to pump into pigs which are to be slaughtered．

B．

A large amount of waste water is produced every year in China．

C．

The sources of drinking water might be almost used up in the future．

D．

There are poisonous things in the pork that people eat．

(4)

It can be concluded from the last paragraph that _________．

[　　]

A．

the factories along the lake have contributed to the pollution

B．

fishermen have taken up the job of cleaning the lake．

C．

all the factories in Wuxi have been shut down to protect the lake．

D．

many people are sent to the lake to help protect the algae．

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

DOES the Yangtze River still have baiji（白鰭豚）, the graceful, grey dolphin with tiny eyes and a long narrow beak? Since November 6, a team of scientists from China, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Japan have been searching for any sign of the freshwater dolphin on the middle and lower sections of the river. After six weeks, they came back empty-handed.

Wang Ding, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is the head of the team, said he has seen a sharp decline in the baiji population over the past few decades. However, he is still unwilling to call the species extinct, and adds, “We will try every effort to save them as long as they are not found to be extinct.”

The baiji is shy and nearly blind and is one of the world’s oldest dolphin species. It dates back some 20 million years and is found only in the Yangtze. It's listed as one of the 12 most endangered animal species in the world.

Around 400 baiji were believed to be living in the Yangtze until the 1980s. 1 A 1997 survey spotted 13. Two years later their numbers were down to two.

The rapid disappearance of this dolphin over the past two decades coincided with the rapid expansion of economic development along the river. Research on some dead baiji collected in recent years showed that more than 90 per cent of the deaths were caused by human activities.

One reason is that over-fishing has cut the dolphin's food sources. Dams built along the river and neighbouring waterways have also kept them from swimming into and out of their habitats (居住地). Meanwhile, waste discharge (排放) has seriously polluted the river. And heavy river traffic has greatly reduced their living space.

The disappearance of the baiji would be the first instance of a large aquatic (水生的) mammal being driven to extinction since hunting killed off the monk seal around 1952.

1．Which of the following statements is true?

       A．The baiji is already extinct.

       B．Man is mainly responsible for the sharp decline in the number of baiji.

       C．There are about 12 baijis now in China.

       D．Human activities make the baiji almost blind.

2．What does the underlined sentence mean?

       A．People don’t find out the fact that the baiji is already extinct.

       B．We shouldn’t give up saving the baiji despite its limited number.

       C．Our effort is worthless if we can’t protect the baiji.

       D．Effort will lead to more population growth of the baiji.

3．Monk seal is talked about in the last paragraph in order to show        .

       A．baijis might be faced with the same threat as monk seals

       B．the monk seal is one of the large aquatic mammals

       C．mammals are more likely to be killed off

       D．the number of monk seals was very small

4．According to the passage, all the measures to help save baiji are mentioned except        .

       A．reducing the number of the ships traveling in the river

       B．building fewer dams along the river

       C．limiting and controlling the amount of fishing

       D．conducting more scientific research on the baiji

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