Everyone makes mistakes in life, but for whales and dolphins, the “mistake” of landing on the shore costs the highest price---their lives.
People living along the coast of Australia and New Zealand have been shocked and saddened by the number of whales and dolphins that they have found on their beaches recently. Since November 28^th, 96 whales and dolphins have died in Australia and 53 whales died in New Zealand. Although 20 whales were saved, some of these were not expected to live, as they were too weak to swim with the others back to sea.
Bob Brown, leader of Australia’s Green party, said the mass beaching was caused by the recent “sound bombing” of the ocean floor between the two countries. This is a method of testing for oil and gas reserves (储藏量).
But mass beaching of whales has long puzzled scientists. Typically most members of the stranded (搁浅) group will appear to be perfectly healthy. “Some researchers believe that close relationship within the group causes the problem, if one gets into trouble, the others will not leave” said Shery Gibney, a leading biologist in New Zealand. “Some will come in and try and assist it; if they get trapped on the beach, then more will come.”
Another common theory is that the whales’ navigation (导航) system are thought to break down in some way. It has been said that whales follow electromagnetic (电磁的) patterns in the sea-bed. The whales can get confused because these patterns sometimes change. That would be a bit like a new roundabout (环状交叉路) being built on a road you were used to driving on. You might be confused for a minute when you come to it for the first time, and you might even take a wrong turning before getting back on your route.
A different idea is that when whales chase fish for food they end up in shallow waters because they are not paying attention to where they are going.
And yet, from time to time a group will swim on purpose into shallow waters and end up on the beach, where they die. If returned to the sea, some whales often show great determination in restraining themselves.
【小题1】________ whales and dolphins would probably die in this mass beaching along the coast of Australia and New Zealand.

The rare fish, ______ from the cooking pot, has been returned to the sea.

Eight – year – old Jesse Abrogate was playing in the sea late one evening in July 2001 when a 7-foot bull shark attacked him and tore off his arm. Jesse’s uncle jumped into the sea and dragged the boy to shore. The boy was not breathing. His aunt gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (人工呼吸) while his uncle rang the emergency services. Pretty soon, a helicopter arrived and flew the boy to hospital. It was a much quicker journey than the journey by road.

    Jesse’s uncle, Vance Folsenzier, ran back into to the sea and found the shark that had attacked his nephew. He picked the shark up and threw it onto the beach. A coastguard shot the fish four times and although this did not kill it, the shark’s jaws relaxed so that they could open them, and reach down into its stomach, and pull out the boy’s arm.

    At the Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Dr. Ian Rogers spent eleven hours reattaching Jesse’s arm. “It was a complicated operation,” he said, “but we were lucky. If the arm hadn’t been recovered in time, we wouldn’t have been able to do the operation at all. What I mean is that if they hadn’t found the shark, well then we wouldn’t have had a chance.’

    According to local park ranger Jack Tomosvic, shark attacks are not that common. “Jesse was just unlucky,” he says, “evening is the shark’s feeding time. And Jesse was in area without lifeguards. This would never have happened if he had been in area where swimming is allowed.’

When reporters asked Jesse’s uncle how he had had the courage to fight a shark, he replied, “I was mad and you do some strange things when you’re mad.”

1.What was the boy doing when the accident happened?

    A．Feeding a hungry shark.      B．Jumping into the rough sea.

    C．Dragging a boy to the shore. D．Swimming in a dangerous area.

2.In which way did the boy’s uncle help with the operation?

    A．By finding his lost arm.     B．By shooting the fish.

    C．By flying him to hospital.       D．By blowing into his mouth.

3.How was his uncle in time of danger?

    A．Careful. B．Brave.   C．Optimistic.  D．Patient.

4.Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?

A.  Jesse’s uncle was mad.

B.  Jesse was playing in area where swimming is allowed.

C.  It was very difficult for the doctor to reattach Jesse’s arm.

D.  Evening is the shark’s feeding time.

The word “conservation” has a thrifty meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such a good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials: most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and could “last forever”. Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others.

　　Fifty years ago, nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; wood was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.

　　For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about correcting the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should be made part of everybody’s daily life. To know about the water table in ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic math formulas. We need to know why all watersheds (上游集水区) need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to give their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, grown trees, because living space for most of man’s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic (立方体的) volume above the earth. In a word, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.

1.The author’s attitude towards the use of natural resources is _________.

    A. positive         B. uninterested     C. optimistic           D. critical

2.According to the author, the greatest mistake of our forefathers was that _________.

　　A. they had no idea about scientific forestry

　　B. they had little or no sense of environmental protection

　　C. they were not aware of the importance of nature study

　　D. they had no idea of how to make good use of raw materials

3.To avoid repeating the mistakes of our forefathers, the author suggests that _________.

　　A. we plant more trees

　　B. natural sciences be taught to everybody

　　C. environmental education be directed toward everyone

　　D. we return to nature

4.How can you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A. Our living space on the earth is getting smaller and smaller.

B. Our living space should be measured in cubic volume.

C. We need to take some measures to protect space.

D. We must preserve good living conditions for both birds and animals.

The word “conservation” has a thrifty meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such a good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials: most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and could “last forever”. Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others.
　　Fifty years ago, nature study was not part of the school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; wood was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.
　　For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about correcting the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should be made part of everybody’s daily life. To know about the water table in ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic math formulas. We need to know why all watersheds (上游集水区) need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to give their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, grown trees, because living space for most of man’s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic (立方体的) volume above the earth. In a word, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.
【小题1】The author’s attitude towards the use of natural resources is _________.