It’s not all kangaroos down there

   People just naturally associate kangaroo, koala and fine beaches with Australia. Yes, you can find many fine sand beaches, white or brown, to enjoy the sunshine and seaside breeze. However, in Queensland, the eastern state of Australia, a night beach tour at this time of the year may bring you a more exciting sight of the miracle of life: You can watch hatching baby turtles making their first steps in a natural environment.

   On Mon Repos beach, about 14 kilometres east of city of Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, lies Mon Repos Conservation Park.

   By day, Mon Repos beach is a sweeping bay of brown sand, a quiet spot for people to sunbathe, surf and fish.

   By night, it’s home to the largest concentration of endangered marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland. And the miracle of egg laying and hatching happens from around mid-October to the end of April every year.

   In order not to disturb the turtles,  tourists have to follow the instruction of the guides.

   But this may make the tour more like an adventure: Tourist are usually told to huddle (蜷缩) close together, hold hands and walk close to the shoreline in the dark.

   At the start of the season (October and November), tourists can view turtle laying their eggs. Turtles first use all four flippers (鳍状肢) to dig a body pit (坑) in the sand and then lay eggs in it. It’s not uncommon for a turtle to lay more than 100 eggs at a time. And her mission isn’t done until she uses her flippers to flick sand and cover the nest.

   If you go there at the end of the season (March to April), you can see groups of hatchings walk down to the water. It is an astonishing sight as the small creatures，barely two minutes old, race instinctively to the sea,

   If they survive, the same hatchings will return in 50 years’ time to lay eggs on the very beach where they first emerged(出现).

60. The first paragraph is intended to ________.

   A. recommend the readers to have a holiday in Australia

   B. give the readers an idea of the different sceneries of Australia

   C. show that Australia has a variety of animals.

   D. draw the readers’ attention to the topic of this article.

61. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

   A. turtle can usually lay 100 eggs at a time.

   B. It’s quite dangerous for the tourist to watch the turtles at night by the seashore.

   C. Turtles usually lay eggs when they are 50 years of age.

   D. If you go to the beach in October, you can see turtles lay eggs.

62. The underlined word in the passage probably refers to ______.

   A. the process of hatching

   B. the mother turtles

   C. the end of hatching

   D. newly-born turtles

63. Which of the following shows the correct relationship of the three places? (M=Mon Repos Conservation Park; Q=Queensland; B=Bundaberg)

 (辽宁省沈阳二中2008届第四次模拟考试B篇)

It’s not all kangaroos down there

   People just naturally associate kangaroo, koala and fine beaches with Australia. Yes, you can find many fine sand beaches, white or brown, to enjoy the sunshine and seaside breeze. However, in Queensland, the eastern state of Australia, a night beach tour at this time of the year may bring you a more exciting sight of the miracle of life: You can watch hatching baby turtles making their first steps in a natural environment.

   On Mon Repos beach, about 14 kilometres east of city of Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, lies Mon Repos Conservation Park.

   By day, Mon Repos beach is a sweeping bay of brown sand, a quiet spot for people to sunbathe, surf and fish.

   By night, it’s home to the largest concentration of endangered marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland. And the miracle of egg laying and hatching happens from around mid-October to the end of April every year.

   In order not to disturb the turtles,  tourists have to follow the instruction of the guides.

   But this may make the tour more like an adventure: Tourist are usually told to huddle (蜷缩) close together, hold hands and walk close to the shoreline in the dark.

   At the start of the season (October and November), tourists can view turtle laying their eggs. Turtles first use all four flippers (鳍状肢) to dig a body pit (坑) in the sand and then lay eggs in it. It’s not uncommon for a turtle to lay more than 100 eggs at a time. And her mission isn’t done until she uses her flippers to flick sand and cover the nest.

   If you go there at the end of the season (March to April), you can see groups of hatchings walk down to the water. It is an astonishing sight as the small creatures，barely two minutes old, race instinctively to the sea,

   If they survive, the same hatchings will return in 50 years’ time to lay eggs on the very beach where they first emerged(出现).

60. The first paragraph is intended to ________.

   A. recommend the readers to have a holiday in Australia

   B. give the readers an idea of the different sceneries of Australia

   C. show that Australia has a variety of animals.

   D. draw the readers’ attention to the topic of this article.

61. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

   A. turtle can usually lay 100 eggs at a time.

   B. It’s quite dangerous for the tourist to watch the turtles at night by the seashore.

   C. Turtles usually lay eggs when they are 50 years of age.

   D. If you go to the beach in October, you can see turtles lay eggs.

62. The underlined word in the passage probably refers to ______.

   A. the process of hatching

   B. the mother turtles

   C. the end of hatching

   D. newly-born turtles

63. Which of the following shows the correct relationship of the three places? (M=Mon Repos Conservation Park; Q=Queensland; B=Bundaberg)