A tsunami was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December, 2004.
It killed tens of thousands of people in Asia and East Africa. Wild animals,
{{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}, seem to have escaped that terrible
tsunami. This phenomenon adds weight to notions that they possess a "sixth
sense" for {{U}} {{U}} 2 {{/U}} {{/U}}, experts said.
Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over
24,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast clearly {{U}} {{U}}
3 {{/U}} {{/U}}wild beasts, with no dead animals found.
"No elephants are dead, not {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}a dead
rabbit. I think animals can {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}disaster.
They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening," H.D. Ratnayake,
deputy director of Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department, said about one month after
the tsunami attack. The {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}washed
floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast,
Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife {{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}and home
to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards. "There has
been a lot of {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}evidence about dogs
barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has
not been proven," said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behavior {{U}}
{{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}at Johannesburg Zoo. "There
have been no {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}studies because you
can't really test it in a lab or field setting," he told Reuters. Other
authorities concurred with this {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}}
{{/U}}. "Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain {{U}}
{{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}, especially birds…there are many reports of
birds detecting impending disasters," said Clive Walker, who has written several
books on African wildlife. Animals {{U}} {{U}} 13
{{/U}} {{/U}}rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger
such as predators. The notion of an animal "sixth sense" — or
{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}other mythical power is an enduring
one which the evidence on Sri Lanka's ravaged coast is likely to add
to. The Romans saw owls {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}}
{{/U}}omens of impending disaster and many ancient cultures viewed elephants as
sacred animals endowed with special power or attributes.
单选题
A. therefore
B. however
C. although
D. whatever
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 此句前文“It killed tens of thousands of people in Asia and East Africa.”说明海啸造成了亚洲和东非数万人丧生。两句的意思相反，因此要用表示转折关系的连词。四个选项只有B项符合，故本题选B。
【答案解析】[解析] 下文“They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening”继续说动物有第六感，自然灾害要来临时，它们会知道的。四个选项中A项feel“感到”，指触觉，B项see“看到”，指视觉，C项hear“听到”，指听觉，这三项都不属于第六感，唯有D项sense“感觉到”符合句意。故本题选D。
【答案解析】[解析] 后文“there are many reports of birds detecting impending disasters”说明，有许多关于鸟类感知到将要来临的灾难的报道。四个选项中A项route“路线，航线”，B项behavior“行为”，C项principle“原理，本质”，D项phenomenon“现象”，由句意判断D项最合适。故本题选D。