2018年公共英語五級閱讀理解模擬題（9）

　　Secrets of Nature Still Enthral Us

　　Reception staff at the Natural History Museum in London were in no doubt about the message they wanted to be passed to future visitors. "Please, please tell your readers they cannot come to see the squid unless they book," pleaded one.

　　Over the past four days thousands have arrived to see Archie, the giant squid, after news of his unveiling -- in a tank of pickling fluid in the basement of the museums Darwin Centre -- had been revealed in newspapers and on television.

　　Most of the visitors were disappointed. Only a few who had booked to go on the small guided tours of the Darwin Centre, the museum's research annexe, got to see the 30ft behemoth in his new home. The rest had to do without -- and judging from the looks of museum staff, this news often went down badly.

　　The intensity of the public's response to Archie's arrival has been extraordinary, and reveals how deeply ingrained is our sense of wonder at the natural world, and the reverence we feel for our fellow creatures. It might be expected -- given the plethora of natural history programmes on Discovery and National Geographic channels -- that people would be bored by news of yet another zoological discovery.

　　But that is certainly not the case, judging by the response to the news that the most complete giant squid ever found (off the Falkland Islands) had been put on display at the Natural History Museum, and the public's recent reaction to a host of other zoological events. Examples range from the plight of the whale trapped in the Thames in January, to the millions expected to tune in to BBC1's latest David Attenborough extravaganza, Planet Earth, tonight. We are becoming ever more besotted with animals, it appears.

　　And it is not simply a matter of aesthetics. Some animals are cute, but Archie -- named after his formal label Architeuthis dux -- is decidedly ugly, a very long, thin, pinkish creature with collapsed eye sockets the size of dinner plates. Only a restaurateur could love Archie, you would have thought, "You could get about 600 portions of calamari out of him," admitted one particularly pragmatic member of museum staff. Nevertheless, he is gazed upon in silent awe by visitors.

　　"We have always been intrigued with wildlife, of course, but it is true that the public's appetite only seems to be growing," said Richard Lane, the museum's director of science. "The real irony is that, just as we are discovering more and more new species, about 15,000 a year, we are killing off other species at an equivalent rate because of habitat destruction and climate change."

　　There are 1.7 million species so far discovered by scientists, most of whom believe there could be up to 10million in total on Earth.

　　Among discoveries made in the last few weeks are a new species of rodent called Kha-Nyou (the name given to it by local people in central Laos); a marine worm called Osedax mucofloris which translates, rather beautifully, as the bone- eating snot-flower; a golden-mantled tree kangaroo, found in Indonesia's Papua province; Berlepsch's six-wired bird of paradise, known to the Victorians but a mystery to modern ornithologists; and the world's smallest vertebrate, a species of fish called Paedocypris progenetica. This last wonder, a mere 8mm long, is smaller than a fly and was discovered on Sumatra by an international team that included museum researcher Ralf Britz.

　　"It's great when you discover something," he said, "especially when it is a creature as tiny and bizarre as this one. But for every day you spend in the field looking for new animals, you have to spend 20 studying what you bring back and working out its relationships with other creatures."

　　The Natural History Museum provides a home to 70 million different specimens. In terms of biodiversity, there is nothing else like it. In the Darwin Centre, and in the museum's vaults, millions of insects lie pinned to pieces of cardboard, while there is rack after rack of bottles of formaldehyde filled with snakes, dolphins, frogs, dogs, cats, apes and countless other creatures. These specimens are the gold standards of the animal world and provide the basic data that have allowed scientists to unravel the history of natural selection on Earth.

　　At present, however, Archie is the star of the show. There in a long, thin, perspex tank lies the animal known in legend as the "Kraken", which has featured in a host of adventure stories including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Doctor No. But how long he will retain his number one billing, it is hard to say. Just to one side of his tank, a cylinder contains a 4ft fish: a coelacanth, once thought to have become extinct millions of years ago but discovered-to great media attention - in the Indian Ocean in 1938. Today it gathers dust, while Architeuthis dux hogs the limelight.

　　1小題>

　　The message the reception staff at the Natural History Museum wanted to pass is that ______.

　　A only readers of a book on natural history can see the squid

　　B they would plead with future visitors to come to see the squid

　　C future visitors should book in advance before they come to see the squid

　　D future visitors won't be allowed in the museum before they book

　　2小題>

　　Most of the visitors who came to the museum ______.

　　A went on guided tours in the museum building without seeing the squid

　　B had seen the squid on TV before they came to the museum

　　C saw the squid without being guided by the museum staff

　　D could hardly accept the news that they couldn't see the squid

　　3小題>

　　The public ______.

　　A has shown unusual enthusiasm to the giant squid

　　B is no longer wondering about the natural world

　　C expected more natural history programs on TV

　　D would be bored with any zoological discovery

　　4小題>

　　Where was Archie found?

　　5小題>

　　What is the name of the program hosted by David Attenborough?

　　6小題>

　　How could we describe the feeling people have towards animals?

　　7小題>

　　What destroy(s) wildlife? Name one reason.

　　8小題>

　　Ralf Britz felt great when he discovered the ______.

　　9小題>

　　It usually takes researchers ______ to figure out what they have found in one- day time.

　　10小題>

　　The 70 million specimens kept in the Natural History Museum could serve as ______ for scientists to study the animal world.

　　11小題>

　　Archie, the star giant squid, still stays on the top of ______.

　　12小題>

　　The 4ft fish which was discovered in 1938 attracted ______.

　　參考答案及解析

　　(1)正確答案：C

　　答案解析：

　　Paragraph 1: "Please, please tell your readers they cannot come to see the squid unless they book," pleaded one.即只有預(yù)訂的參觀者才能看到巨魷。選項D的意思是只有預(yù)訂的參觀者才能進(jìn)博物館，這是干擾選項。

　　(2)正確答案：D

　　答案解析：

　　Paragraph 3: The rest had to do without—and judging from the looks of museum staff, this news often went down badly. Without后面的意思補(bǔ)充完整就是"without seeing the 30ft behemoth"。

　　(3)正確答案：A

　　答案解析：

　　Paragraph 4: The intensity of the public's response to Archie's arrival has been extraordinary….

　　(4)正確答案：

　　Off/near Falkland Islands

　　答案解析：

　　Paragraph 5: …the news that the most complete giant squid ever found (off the Falkland Islands)…

　　(5)正確答案：Planet Earth

　　答案解析：Paragraph 5: …BBC1's latest David Attenborough extravaganza, Planet Earth, tonight.

　　(6)正確答案：reverent/besotted/intrigued

　　答案解析：　Paragraph 4: …and the reverence we feel for our fellow creatures. 此處按照問題“How could we describe the feeling…”要求，應(yīng)使用形容詞，故將名詞reverence改為形容詞reverent。Paragraph 5: We are becoming ever more besotted with animals, it appears. Paragraph 7: We have always been intrigued with wildlife, of course….

　　(7)正確答案：habitat destroyed/climate change

　　答案解析：Paragraph 7: …we are killing off other species at an equivalent rate because of habitat destruction and climate change.

　　(8)正確答案：world's smallest vertebrate/a species of fish/Paedocypris progenetica

　　答案解析：Paragraph 9: …and the world's smallest vertebrate, a species of fish called Paedocypris progenetica. This last wonder, a mere 8mln long, is smaller than a fly and was discovered on Sumatra by an international team that included museum researcher Ralf Britz. 句子中This last wonder即指前面的Paedocypris progenetica。

　　(9)正確答案：20 days

　　答案解析：Paragraph 10: But for every day you spend in the field looking for new animals, you have to spend 20 studying what you bring back and work out its relationships with other creatures.

　　(10)正確答案：gold standard/basic data

　　答案解析：Paragraph 11: These specimens are the gold standards of the animal world and provide the basic data that have allowed scientists to unravel the history of natural selection on Earth.

　　(11)正確答案：billing

　　答案解析：Paragraph 12: But how long he will retain his number one billing, it is hard to say.

　　(12)正確答案：great media attention

　　答案解析：Paragraph 12: …contains a 4ft fish: a coelacanth, once thought to have become extinct millions of years ago but discovered—to great media attention—in the Indian Ocean in 1938.