第二篇 What’s killing the Bats
First it was bees. Now it is bats. Biologists in America are working hard to discover the cause of the mysterious deaths of tens of thousands of bats in the northeastern part of the country. Most of the bats affected are the common little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus,) but other species, such as the long-eared bat, the small-footed hat, the eastern pipistrelle, and the Indiana bat have also been affected. In some caves, more than 90 percent of the bat populations have died.
One possibility is disease. A white fungus (真菌)known as fusarium has been found on the noses of both living and dead bats. However, scientists don't know If the fungus is the primary cause of death, a secondary cause of death, or not a cause at all, but the result of some other conditions.
Another possible cause is a lack of food. For example, bats typically eat a large number of moths (蛾), and in some states such as New York, the number of moths has been declining in recent years. If bats can’t eat enough food, they starve to death.
Still other scientists believe that global warming is to blame. Warmer temperatures in recent years have been waking up hibernating (冬眠)bats earlier than usual. If bats break their hibernation at the wrong time, they might not find their expected food sources. The weather might also turn cold again and weaken or kill the bats.
Scientists might not agree on the causes of the bat die-off, but they do agree on the consequences. Bats are an important predator of mosquitoes; a single brown bat can eat 1,000 or more insects in an hour. They also eat beetles and other insects that damage plant crops. If there aren't enough bats, damage will be great from the insects they eat While bats live a long time for their size 一 the little brown bat can live for more than 30 years 一 a female bat has only one baby per year, so bat populations grow slowly. Many bat species in the United States are already protected or endangered.
How can you help? Do not disturb sleeping or nesting bats. If you discover bate that seem to be sick or that are dead, contact your local Fish& Wildlife Department with the details. However, be careful not to touch the animals.
36. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. All species of bats in North America are dying.
B. Scientists already know the cause of the deaths of bats
C. The bat deaths are a serious problem.
D. There are many possible causes of the deaths of bats.
【答案】D
【解析】文章的題目是“是什么殺死了蝙蝠”。第一段引入了蝙蝠離奇的死亡，第二，三，四段都是寫了蝙蝠死亡的可能的幾個(gè)原因，第五段寫了蝙蝠死亡帶來的結(jié)果，最后一段是告訴人們?nèi)绾螏椭稹Ｋ赃x擇的是D。
做這類題型一定注意正確的細(xì)節(jié)選項(xiàng)。
A.北美所有的蝙蝠種類都在死亡。
B.科學(xué)家已經(jīng)知道了蝙蝠死亡的原因。
C.蝙蝠的死亡是一個(gè)嚴(yán)重的問題。
D.蝙蝠死亡有很多可能的原因。
37. What does the first sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. Bees have been dying mysteriously. B. The first article on the website is about bees.
C. Bees usually die before bats. D. It was bees that caused the deaths of bats.
【答案】A
【解析】 First it was bees. Now it is bats. 之前是蜜蜂，現(xiàn)在是蝙蝠。
后面說了蝙蝠死亡，說明蜜蜂之前也是離奇死亡。選擇A 。
A.蜜蜂離奇死亡。
B.這個(gè)網(wǎng)站上的第一篇文章是關(guān)于蜜蜂。
C.蜜蜂通常在蝙蝠之前死亡。
D.蜜蜂導(dǎo)致了蝙蝠的死亡。
38. The word “pipistrelle" in Paragraph 1 refers to
A. a kind of fungus. B. an area in the U.S. C. a special cave. D. a kind of bat.
【答案】D
【解析】Most of the bats affected are the common little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus,) but other species, such as the long-eared bat, the small-footed hat, the eastern pipistrelle, and the Indiana bat have also been affected.大多數(shù)受影響的蝙蝠是常見的小的棕色的蝙蝠，但是也有其他種類的蝙蝠受影響，比如長耳朵蝙蝠，小腳蝙蝠，東方pipistrelle以 及印度蝙蝠。
與其他的并列說明，答案選擇D。
A.真菌的一種。
B.美國的一個(gè)地區(qū)。
C.一個(gè)特殊的洞穴。
D.蝙蝠的一種。
39. The "moths" in Paragraph 3 are taken as an example of
A. diseases that kill bats. B. Insects that bats eat.
C. animals that have diseases. D. bat species that are starving to death.
【答案】B
【解析】Another possible cause is a lack of food. For example, bats typically eat a large number of moths(蛾)另一種可能的原因是缺少食物，比如說，蝙蝠通常吃大量的moths。說明選擇B 。
A.殺死蝙蝠的疾病。
B.蝙蝠吃的昆蟲。
C.有疾病的動(dòng)物 。
D.正在挨餓而死的蝙蝠種類。
40. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?
A. To get people to stop killing bats. B. To hire workers for the Fish & Wildlife Department.
C. To ask people not to touch dead bats. D. To tell the public how to help bats.
【答案】D
【解析】 How can you help? 從第一句就可以得知，這一段是告訴人們?nèi)绾蝸韼椭穑竺娑际蔷唧w詳細(xì)的做法。
A.讓人們停止殺害蝙蝠。
B.這個(gè)部門招人。
C.叫人們不要接觸死了的蝙蝠。
D.告訴人們?nèi)绾螏椭稹?/p>
