单选题 The top of the world is a wonderland. In winter, the temperature often falls to -30℉ and the sun never rises. The ocean is surrounded by frozen ground. There are few people or trees, but to polar bears, the Arctic (北极) is home.
Polar bears have thick fur, big paws and other features that make them well prepared for life in their tough environment. In fact, they need the Arctic sea ice for survival. But climate change is causing larger and larger areas of summer sea ice to melt (融化). Experts say that if warming patterns continue, the Arctic could be free of summer sea ice by 2050. That may cause two-thirds of the word"s 20,000 polar bears to be gone by then too.
Polar bears can"t survive for long on land. Seals are their main source of food. The only place where polar bears can hunt seals is on the ice. Although these bears are strong swimmers, they are no match for lightning swift seals in the water. A polar bear has brilliantly clever strategies to overcome this disadvantage. In winter the bear waits motionless beside a seal"s breathing hole, which is a narrow tunnel through the ice. Often many hours pass before the seal comes up for air and the bear kills it with a powerful blow of its paw. In summer, the polar bears that live on land eat very little and wait for the sea ice to return.
With the sea ice forming later in the year and melting earlier, polar bears do not have enough opportunity to hunt and eat. Less sea ice makes it harder for the bears to catch the seals. The bears must swim longer distances between ice packs (大片浮冰), and they can"t always make it. The ice is also getting thinner. These conditions can cause polar-bear cubs to become separated from their mothers, who provide them with food.
Steven Amstrup is the chief scientist of Polar Bear International. The group aims to save the bears and their home. "The more people who see polar bears and understand their difficult situations, the better the chance we"ll alter our warming path in time to save them," he says.
单选题 Which is the best title for the passage?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】主旨大意题。从第一段中提到polar bear开始,之后的每段首句都说到了polar bear,因此,这个词就成为了全文的中心话题。再根据第二段的末句以及第三段的首句,第四段首句,第五段的首句,可以看出,全文讨论的重心是在环境变化给北极熊带来的生存危机。故选D。
单选题 Where do polar bears usually hunt seals?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。第三段第五句中的breathing hole,narrow tunnel through the ice与C选项的opening in the sea ice相对应。故选C。
单选题 The word "cubs" in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】词汇理解题。阅读理解中的词汇题考的永远不是词汇本身,而是联系上下文对文章的理解。因此找到包含考查词汇的句子后,要先通读整个句子。我们在这个句子中发现cubs之后出现their mothers,可以推断,cubs和mothers是相对应的,因此意思是“孩子”。故选B。
单选题 According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。A选项中提到北极熊因为饥饿而闯入村庄——coming into village,这个在原文中没有信息提到,所以排除。B选项中的spend their lives on land帮助我们定位到原文的第三段开头——polar bears can"t survive for long on land.与选项意思正好相反,所以排除。原文第二段最后一句That may cause two-thirds of the word"s 20,000 polar bears to be gone by then too.及前一句…the Arctic could be free of summer sea ice by 2050与C选项信息一致。原文第四段第三句话The bears must swim longer distances between ice packs(大片浮冰),and they can"t always make it.与D选项中not a problem意思相左,因此排除。故选C。
单选题 What"s the mission of Polar Bears International?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】事实细节题。从文章最后一段第二句这个组织的目标(aim)是拯救北极熊和它们赖以生存的家园。此题干中出现的mission和原文中的aim是同义转换。故选D。