For hundreds of millions of years, turtles have struggled out of the sea to lay their eggs on sandy beaches, long before there were nature documentaries to celebrate them, or GPS satellites and marine biologists to track them, or volunteers to hand-carry the hatchlings down to the water’s edge lest they become disoriented by headlights and crawl towards a motel parking lot instead. A formidable wall of bureaucracy has been erected to protect their prime nesting on the Atlantic coastlines. With all that attention paid to them, you’d think these creatures would at least have the gratitude not to go extinct.
But Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness, and a report by the Fish and Wildlife Service showed a worrisome drop in the populations of several species of North Atlantic turtles, notably loggerheads, which can grow to as much as 400 pounds. The South Florida nesting population, the largest, has declined by 50% in the last decade, according to Elizabeth Griffin, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. The figures prompted Oceana to petition the government to upgrade the level of protection for the North Atlantic loggerheads from “threatened” to “endangered”—meaning they are in danger of disappearing without additional help.
Which raises the obvious question: what else do these turtles want from us, anyway? It turns out, according to Griffin, that while we have done a good job of protecting the turtles for the weeks they spend on land (as egg-laying females, as eggs and as hatchlings), we have neglected the years spend in the ocean. “The threat is from commercial fishing,” says Griffin. Trawlers (which drag large nets through the water and along the ocean floor) and long line fishers (which can deploy thousands of hooks on lines that can stretch for miles) take a heavy toll on turtles. Of course, like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems. The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by the threat of rising sea levels as the oceans warm. Ultimately we must get a handle on those issues as well, or a creature that outlived the dinosaurs will meet its end at the hands of humans, leaving our descendants to wonder how creature so ugly could have won so much affection.
1. We can learn from the first paragraph that _____.
2. What does the author mean by “Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness” (Line 1, Para. 2)?
3. What constitutes a major threat to the survival of turtles according to Elizabeth Griffin?
4. How does global warming affect the survival of turtles?
5. The last sentence of the passage is meant to _____.
问题1选项
A.human activities have changed the way turtles survive
B.efforts have been made to protect turtles from dying out
C.government bureaucracy has contributed to turtles’ extinction
D.marine biologists are looking for the secret of turtles’ reproduction
问题2选项
A.Nature is quite fair regarding the survival of turtles.
B.Turtles are by nature indifferent to human activities.
C.The course of nature will not be changed by human interference.
D.The turtle population has decreased in spite of human protection.
问题3选项
A.Their inadequate food supply.
B.Unregulated commercial fishing.
C.Their lower reproductively ability.
D.Contamination of sea water.
问题4选项
A.It threatens the sandy beaches on which they lay eggs.
B.The changing climate makes it difficult for their eggs to hatch.
C.The rising sea levels make it harder for their hatchlings to grow.
D.It takes them longer to adapt to the high beach temperature.
问题5选项
A.persuade human beings to show more affection for turtles
B.stress that even the most ugly species should be protected
C.call for effective measures to ensure sea turtles’ survival
D.warn our descendants about the extinction of species
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
We can learn from the first paragraph that _____. 从第一段中我们可以了解到_____。
A. human activities have changed the way turtles survive A. 人类活动改变了海龟的生存方式
B. efforts have been made to protect turtles from dying out B. 人们一直在努力保护海龟，防止它们灭绝
C. government bureaucracy has contributed to turtles’ extinction C. 政府的官僚主义导致了海龟的灭绝
D. marine biologists are looking for the secret of turtles’ reproduction D. 海洋生物学家正在寻找海龟繁殖的秘密
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词the first paragraph可以确定答案所在区域为第一段。根据第一段关键信息：A formidable wall of bureaucracy has been erected to protect their prime nesting on the Atlantic coastlines. With all that attention paid to them, you’d think these creatures would at least have the gratitude not to go extinct（为了保护它们在大西洋海岸线上的黄金筑巢期，人们建立起了一道强大的官僚墙。既然人们对它们如此关注，你会认为这些生物至少会心存感激，不会灭绝），由此可推断：人们一直在努力保护海龟，防止它们灭绝，所以正确答案为B选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“人类活动改变了海龟的生存方式”，原文没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项“政府的官僚主义导致了海龟的灭绝”，根据第一段关键信息：A formidable wall of bureaucracy has been erected to protect their prime nesting on the Atlantic coastlines（为了保护它们在大西洋海岸线上的黄金筑巢期，人们建起了一道强大的官僚主义之墙），可知该选项属于曲解原文；
D选项“海洋生物学家正在寻找海龟繁殖的秘密”，根据第一段关键信息：long before there were nature documentaries to celebrate them, or GPS satellites and marine biologists to track them（在此之前，人们还没有拍摄自然纪录片来歌颂它们，也没有全球定位系统卫星和海洋生物学家来追踪它们），可知该选项属于曲解原文。
第2题:
What does the author mean by “Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness” (Line 1, Para. 2)? 作者说“大自然对人类的公平观念漠不关心”（第1行，第2段）是什么意思？
A. Nature is quite fair regarding the survival of turtles. A. 大自然对海龟的生存相当公平。
B. Turtles are by nature indifferent to human activities. B. 乌龟天生对人类的活动漠不关心。
C. The course of nature will not be changed by human interference. C. 大自然的规律不会因为人类的干扰而改变。
D. The turtle population has decreased in spite of human protection. D. 尽管有人类的保护，乌龟的数量还是减少了。
【考查点】语义推测题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Para. 2可以确定答案所在区域为第二段。根据第二段第一句：But Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness, and a report by the Fish and Wildlife Service showed a worrisome drop in the populations of several species of North Atlantic turtles, notably loggerheads, which can grow to as much as 400 pounds（但是，大自然对人类的公平观念漠不关心，鱼类和野生动物管理局的一份报告显示，北大西洋几种海龟的数量下降令人担忧，尤其是蠵龟，它们可以长到400磅重），可知作者提到了海龟数量下降，结合第一段结尾提到了人类在努力保护海龟，由此可推断题干句子的含义是“尽管有人类的保护，乌龟的数量还是减少了”，所以正确答案为D选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“大自然对海龟的生存相当公平”，原文没有提及大自然在海龟生存中的影响或角色，该选项属于无中生有；
B选项“乌龟天生对人类的活动漠不关心”，原文没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项“大自然的规律不会因为人类的干扰而改变”，原文没有提及大自然的规律相关的内容，该选项属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
What constitutes a major threat to the survival of turtles according to Elizabeth Griffin? 伊丽莎白•格里芬认为，什么是海龟生存的主要威胁？
A. Their inadequate food supply. A. 食物供应不足。
B. Unregulated commercial fishing. B. 无管制的商业捕鱼。
C. Their lower reproductively ability. C. 它们的繁殖能力较低。
D. Contamination of sea water. D. 海水污染。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Griffin、threat可以确定答案所在区域为最后一段。根据最后一段关键信息：It turns out, according to Griffin, that while we have done a good job of protecting the turtles for the weeks they spend on land (as egg-laying females, as eggs and as hatchlings), we have neglected the years spend in the ocean. “The threat is from commercial fishing,” says Griffin（格里芬认为，事实证明，虽然我们已经很好地保护了海龟在陆地上度过的几周（产卵雌龟、卵和幼龟），但我们却忽视了它们在海洋中度过的岁月。格里芬说：“威胁来自商业捕鱼。”），由此可知正确答案为B选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“食物供应不足”，原文没有提及海龟的食物供应不足，该选项属于无中生有；
C选项“它们的繁殖能力较低”，原文没有提及海龟的繁殖能力较低，该选项属于无中生有；
D选项“海水污染”，根据最后一段关键信息：Of course, like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems. The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by the threat of rising sea levels as the oceans warm（当然，与当今其他环境问题一样，这也是在全球变暖和人类干扰自然生态系统的背景下发生的。海龟产卵的狭长海滩一方面受到开发的挤压，另一方面又面临着海洋变暖导致海平面上升的威胁），可知文章提及了海洋存在的许多问题，但并未提到海水被污染的问题，该选项属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
How does global warming affect the survival of turtles? 全球变暖如何影响海龟的生存？
A. It threatens the sandy beaches on which they lay eggs. A. 威胁到了海龟产卵的海滩。
B. The changing climate makes it difficult for their eggs to hatch. B. 气候的变化使海龟的卵难以孵化。
C. The rising sea levels make it harder for their hatchlings to grow. C. 海平面上升使幼龟更难成长。
D. It takes them longer to adapt to the high beach temperature. D. 它们需要更长的时间来适应海滩的高温。
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词global warming可以确定答案所在区域为最后一段。根据最后一段信息：Of course, like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems. The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by the threat of rising sea levels as the oceans warm（当然，与当今其他环境问题一样，这也是在全球变暖和人类干扰自然生态系统的背景下发生的。海龟产卵的狭长海滩一方面受到开发的挤压，另一方面又面临着海洋变暖导致海平面上升的威胁），可知：海龟产卵的海滩受到了空间上的挤压和海平面上升的威胁。由此可推断：全球变暖威胁到了海龟产卵的海滩，所以正确答案为A选项。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“气候的变化使海龟的卵难以孵化”，原文提及气候的变化使海龟的卵难以孵化，该选项属于无中生有；
C选项“海平面上升使幼龟更难成长”，原文说的是海平面上升使得海龟产卵的海滩受到了威胁，该选项属于曲解原文；
D选项“它们需要更长的时间来适应海滩的高温”，原文没有提及，该选项属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The last sentence of the passage is meant to _____. 这段话的最后一句意在_____。
A. persuade human beings to show more affection for turtles A. 说服人类对海龟表现出更多的喜爱
B. stress that even the most ugly species should be protected B. 强调即使是最丑陋的物种也应该受到保护
C. call for effective measures to ensure sea turtles’ survival C. 呼吁采取有效措施确保海龟的生存
D. warn our descendants about the extinction of species D. 警告我们的后代物种灭绝的危险
【考查点】判断推理题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词The last sentence可以确定答案所在区域为最后一段。根据最后一段最后一句：Ultimately we must get a handle on those issues as well, or a creature that outlived the dinosaurs will meet its end at the hands of humans, leaving our descendants to wonder how creature so ugly could have won so much affection（最终，我们也必须解决这些问题，否则，这种比恐龙更长寿的生物将在人类手中走向灭亡，让我们的后代不禁要问，如此丑陋的生物怎么会赢得如此多的喜爱），可知：该句明确指出我们要解决这些问题，不能让这种比恐龙更长寿的动物在人类手中走向灭绝。由此推断：最后一句意在“呼吁采取有效措施确保海龟的生存”，所以正确答案为C选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“说服人类对海龟表现出更多的关爱”，原文并未提及要海龟表现出更多的喜爱，该选项属于无中生有；
B选项“强调即使是最丑陋的物种也应该受到保护”，最后一句提到，如果不解决这些问题，那么海龟就会灭绝，那时我们的后代会发出疑问，但这并非该句的真正含义，该选项属于曲解原文；
D选项“警告我们的后代物种灭绝的危险”，原文没有对我们的后代提出警告，该选项属于无中生有。
