A sea turtle named Herman, an octopus called ...

A sea turtle named Herman, an octopus called Octavia, and a seal named Lidia all spent this summer at the Smithsonian’ s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. But unlike the zoo’s other residents, they are not real animals. These creatures are actually huge sculptures and they’re made entirely out of plastic trash from the ocean.

These giant artworks, along with 14 others, are part of a traveling exhibit called “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea”. The Washed Ashore project, led by artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, works to raise awareness about the problem of plastic pollution in Earth’s oceans.

More than 315 billion pounds of plastic litter the world’s oceans today. Most of the plastic is garbage from towns and cities, as well as trash that people leave on beaches. Rainwater, winds, and high tides bring the trash into the ocean or into rivers that lead to the ocean. Once it is under the waves, the plastic begins to break up into smaller and smaller pieces. It often collects in spots called garbage patches, which spread over large areas of the ocean.

Thousands of marine animals — including whales, sea turtles, and fish — die each year from eating or getting stuck in plastic bags and other items. Plastic pieces can also injure coral and kill sea grass.

Washed Ashore and other organizations are working to stop that from happening. Since 2010, Washed Ashore volunteers have collected 38,000 pounds of plastic trash from more than 3000 miles of beaches. They helped Pozzi create more than 60 sculptures of marine creatures that were harmed by plastic pollution.

The artworks on display at the National Zoo include a 20-foot-long coral reef, a 12-foot-long shark, and a 16-foot-long parrot fish. Each one is made from hundreds of pieces of trash like water bottles and sunglasses.

“These sculptures are a powerful reminder of our personal role and global responsibility in preserving biodiversity on land and in the sea,” says Dennis Kelly, director of the National Zoo.

1.Why is Angela exhibiting her sculptured animal?

A.To prove her talent in sculpture.

B.To attract most visitors to the zoo.

C.To care about the plastic pollution in seas.

D.To teach the people the use of plastic.

2.What is stressed in Para. 3 according to the text?

A.Why plastic is difficult to break up.

B.What problems plastic litter causes.

C.Where plastic pieces go at last.

D.How garbage patches are formed.

3.What are Washed Ashore volunteers doing?

A.Collecting pollution trash from the beaches.

B.Turning trash from the ocean into art.

C.Raising 38,000 pounds for plastic pollution.

D.Surveying the data of plastic litter in oceans.

4.Which of the following best describe Dennis Kelly’s attitude to Pozzi’s sculpture?

A.Doubtful B.Supportive

C.Negative. D.Indifferent

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

You can see a sea turtle named Herman, an octopus (章鱼) called Octavia, and a seal named Lidia at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Rather than real animals, they are actually artworks made out of plastic trash from the ocean.

These artworks are part of a traveling exhibit called “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea”. The Washed Ashore project, led by the artist called Pozzi, works to raise awareness about plastic pollution in Earth’s oceans.

More than 315 billion pounds of plastic litter the world’s oceans today. Most of the plastic is garbage from towns and cities, as well as trash that people leave on beaches. Rainwater, winds, and high tides bring the trash into the ocean or into rivers that lead to the ocean. Once it is under the waves, the plastic begins to break up into smaller and smaller pieces.

Thousands of sea animals die each year from eating plastic bags and other things. Each year, millions more pounds of plastic end up in the ocean. A recent study found that if that continues, by 2050 the total weight of plastic will be more than that of all the fish in the ocean.

The Washed Ashore project is working to stop that from happening. Since 2010, Washed Ashore volunteers have collected 38,000 pounds of plastic trash from more than 300 miles of beaches. They helped Pozzi create more than 60 artworks of sea creatures harmed by plastic pollution.

“These artworks are a powerful reminder of our personal role and global responsibility in preserving biodiversity (生物多样性) on land and in the sea,” says Dennis Kelly, director of the National Zoo.

1.What is the purpose of the artworks shown at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo?

A. To let people know about animals in the ocean.

B. To introduce one way of recycling plastic trash.

C. To warn people of plastic pollution in the ocean.

D. To show Pozzi’s great gift for creating artworks.

2.According to the passage, what is the source of plastic pollution in the ocean?

A. Garbage from towns and cities.　　 B. Trash left on beaches by people.

C. Plastic bags broken up by waves.　　 D. Litter created by human activities.

3.The data in Paragraph 5 is given to prove that ______.

A. plastic pollution will be more serious in the ocean.

B. more and more artworks of sea creatures will be made.

C. the Washed Ashore project has made great achievements.

D. volunteers can solve the ocean pollution successfully by 2050.

4.What’s Dennis Kelly’s attitude towards the artworks?

A. worried.　　 B. supportive.

C. doubtful.　　 D. unconcerned.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

You can see a sea turtle named Herman, an octopus ( 章鱼) called Octavia, and a seal named Lidia at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Rather than real animals, they are actually artworks made out of plastic trash from the ocean.

These artworks are part of a traveling exhibit called “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea”. The Washed Ashore project, led by the artist called Pozzi, works to raise awareness about plastic pollution in Earth’s oceans.

More than 315 billion pounds of plastic litter the world’s oceans today. Most of the plastic is garbage from towns and cities, as well as trash that people leave on beaches. Rainwater, winds, and high tides bring the trash into the ocean or into rivers that lead to the ocean. Once it is under the waves, the plastic begins to break up into smaller and smaller pieces.

Thousands of sea animals die each year from eating plastic bags and other things. Each year, millions more pounds of plastic end up in the ocean. A recent study found that if that continues, by 2050 the total weight of plastic will be more than that of all the fish in the ocean.

The Washed Ashore project is working to stop that from happening. Since 2010, Washed Ashore volunteers have collected 38,000 pounds of plastic trash from more than 300 miles of beaches. They helped Pozzi create more than 60 artworks of sea creatures harmed by plastic pollution.

“These artworks are a powerful reminder of our personal role and global responsibility in preserving biodiversity (生物多样性) on land and in the sea,” says Dennis Kelly, director of the National Zoo.

1.What is the purpose of the artworks shown at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo?

A. To let people know about animals in the ocean.

B. To introduce one way of recycling plastic trash.

C. To warn people of plastic pollution in the ocean.

D. To show Pozzi’s great gift for creating artworks.

2.According to the passage, what is the source of plastic pollution in the ocean?

A. Garbage from towns and cities.　　 B. Trash left on beaches by people.

C. Plastic bags broken up by waves.　　 D. Litter created by human activities.

3.The data in Paragraph 5 is given to prove that 　 　　 .

A. plastic pollution will be more serious in the ocean

B. more and more artworks of sea creatures will be made

C. the Washed Ashore project has made great achievements

D. volunteers can solve the ocean pollution successfully by 2050

4.What’s Dennis Kelly’s attitude towards the artworks?

A. Worried.　　 B. Supportive.

C. Doubtful.　　 D. Unconcerned.

5.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Turning Trash into Art　　 B. Working for Washed Ashore

C. Collecting Plastic Trash　　 D. Stopping Environmental Pollution

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Turtles have an unfortunate habit of eating plastic objects floating in the sea. These cannot be digested and may ultimately kill them. It is widely assumed that this fondness for plastics is a matter of mistaken identity. Drifting plastic bags, for instance, look similar to jellyfish (水母), which many types of turtles love to eat. Yet lots of plastic objects that end up inside turtles have no similarity to jellyfish. Joseph Pfaller of the University of Florida therefore suspects that the smell of marine microorganisms (海洋微生物) which grow on floating plastic objects fools turtles into feeding.

The idea that the smell of floating plastic objects might lure animals to their death first emerged in 2016. Researchers at the University of California noticed that certain chemicals, notably dimethyl sulphide (二甲基硫), which are released into the air by floating plastics, are those which many seabirds sniff (嗅) to track down food. These chemicals mark good places to hunt because they indicate plenty of the algae (海藻) and bacteria (细菌). The researchers also found that birds which pursue their food in this way are five or six times more likely to eat plastic than those which do not.

Since turtles are known to break the surface periodically and sniff the air when finding the way to their feeding areas, Dr Pfaller theorised that they are following these same chemicals, and are likewise fooled into thinking that floating plastic objects are eatable.

To test that idea, he and his colleagues set up an experiment. They arranged for 15 turtles to be exposed to four smells: the vapour from deionised water; the smell of turtle-feeding balls made of shrimp and fish meal; the smell of a clean plastic bottle chopped up into ten pieces; and the smell of a similarly chopped bottle that had been kept in the ocean for five weeks to allow algae and bacteria to grow on it.

Two of the smells proved far more attractive to the animals than the others. When sniffing both the smell of food balls and that of five-week-old bottles, turtles kept their nostrils out of the water more than three times as long, and took twice as many breaths as they did when what was on offer was the smell of fresh bottle-plastic or deionised-water vapour.

Though they have not yet tested whether dimethyl sulphide is the culprit, Dr Pfaller and his colleagues think it is the most likely candidate. In an unpolluted ocean, pretty well anything which had this smell would be eatable— or, at least, harmless. Unfortunately, five-week-old plastic bottles and their like are not.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that turtles ________.

A.mistake plastic objects for jellyfish

B.are fooled into eating plastics by a smell

C.are dying out as a result of plastic pollution

D.break down plastics without much difficulty

2.What can we infer from the research on seabirds?

A.Seabirds eat plastics for the taste.

B.The algae and bacteria grow well on plastics.

C.Researchers got the idea from the study of turtles.

D.Some seabirds pursue food in a similar way to turtles.

3.Dr Pfaller’s research shows_______.

A.turtles prefer the smell of plastics

B.turtles live on marine microorganisms

C.dimethyl sulphide may be to blame for turtles’ death

D.plastics release the same chemicals as microorganisms

4.What is the purpose of the passage?

A.To propose a new way to study turtles.

B.To stress the importance of improving ecosystem.

C.To introduce the findings on the cause of turtles’ death.

D.To explain the effects of plastic pollution on sea animals.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Moby-Dick (1851) is a novel by Herman Melville, considered an outstanding work of Romanticism and the American Renaissance. Ishmael narrates the crazy quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler Pequod, for revenge(报仇) on Moby Dick, a white whale which on a previous voyage destroyed Ahab's ship and severed his leg at the knee.

Our narrator, Ishmael, signs up as sailor on a whaling voyage to cure depression. On board the Pequod, Ishmael meets the mate − honest Starbuck. Captain Ahab remains in his cabin and never shows himself to the crew.

Just when Ishmael’s curiosity about Ahab has reached a fever pitch, Ahab starts appearing on deck – and we find out that he’s missing one leg. When Starbuck asks if it was Moby Dick, the famous White Whale, that took off his leg, Ahab admits that it was and forces the entire crew to swear that they will help him hunt Moby Dick to the ends of the earth and take revenge for his injury.

Despite first mate Starbuck’s worries and a variety of bad omens (e.g., all the navigational instruments break, a typhoon tries to push the ship backwards, and the Pequod encounters other ships that have lost crewmembers because of Moby Dick), Ahab insists on continuing to pursue the whale.

Finally, just when we think the novel’s going to end without ever seeing this famous White Whale, Ahab sights him and the chase is on. For three days, Ahab pursues Moby Dick, sending whaling boat after whaling boat after him – only to see each one wrecked (使下沉)by the whale. Finally, at the end of the third day, the White Whale attacks the ship itself, and the Pequod goes down with all hands.

Even while his ship is sinking, Ahab, in his whaling boat, throws his harpoon at Moby Dick one last time. He misses, catching himself around the neck with the rope and causing his own drowning death.

1. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. Ishmael signs up as sailor for making a fortune.

B. The crew on board the Pequod was unwilling to help the captain to hunt Moby Dick

C. The captain was very kind to the crew on board the Pequod

D. The captain successfully captured Moby Dick and returned home.

2.The underlined word “omens ”in paragraph 5 most probably means ________.

A. troubles　　　　 B. accidents　　　　 C. stories　　　　　 D. signs

3.What does the author think of Captain Ahab?

A. Selfish　　　　 B. Knowledgeable

C. Considerate　　 D. Bad-tempered

4.In a newspaper, this passage is most probably in the section of ________.

A. Lifestyle　　　 B. Travel　　　　 C. Career　　 D. Entertainment

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Sea turtles are found in all warm waters throughout the world. Sea turtles are the___36____ of the turtles. The largest kind of sea turtle can grow as long as eight feet and ___37___ 1,500 pounds. Even the smallest kind, Kemp’s-Ridley, can ___38___ to 28 inches long and weigh almost 100 pounds. Many other turtles are small enough to___39___ in your hand. It is difficult to find population numbers for sea turtles because they do not___40____ shore once they hatch and reach the ocean, which makes it hard to ___41___ them. Sea turtles___42___ in the water because they are safer there. They cannot___43___ their heads and feet into their shells like other turtles can. Sea turtles cannot hide inside their shells __44___ other animals that want to eat them. They need to move quickly to stay safe.

When the weather ___45___ warm, sea turtles leave the ocean to___46___ their eggs on the beach. This is the only time they will ever leave the water. Most___47____ turtles spend part of the time in water___48___ part of the time on land. It is easy to understand___49____ sea turtles stay in the water. Their___50___ to swim is greater than their ability to walk. Their heavy bodies and unusual feet make it hard for them to ___51___ on land. They are better___52___ for life in the water. They are well suited for life in the sea because of__53___ their bodies are made.

The way their feet are made helps sea turtles swim very quickly. Their feet look like long __54___. When they swim, they flap their feet like a bird flaps its wings. This ___55___ way of swimming benefits sea turtles. It allows them to escape from their enemies.

高三英语完型填空困难题查看答案及解析

PLAYA GRANDE, COSTA RICA? This resort town was long known for Leatherback Sea Turtle （棱皮龟） National Park, nightly turtle beach tours and even a sea turtle museum．However, on a beach where dozens of turtles used to nest on a given night , scientists spied only 32 国leatherbac,ks all of last year．

With leatherbacks threatened with extinction （灭绝）, Playa Grande's turtle museum was abandoned three years ago and now sits among a sea of weeds．And the beachside ticket office for turtle tours was washed away by a high tide in September．"We do not promote that 'as a turtle tourism destination anymore because we realize there are far too few turtles to please,” said Alvaro Fonseca, a park ranger （管理员）．

Even before scientists found temperatures going up over the past decade, sea turtles were threatened by beach development, drift net fishing and Costa Ricans' interest in eating turtle eggs．Btu climate change may cause the most serious harm to an animal that has lived in the Pacific for 150 million years．

Sea turtles are sensitive to numerous effects of warming．They feed on reefs, which are dying in hotter seas．They lay eggs on beaches that are being covered by rising seas and more violent waves．

More uniquely their gender （性别）is determined, not by genes but by the egg's temperature during development．Small rises in beach temperatures can result in ail-female populations, obviously problematic for survival．If the sand around the eggs hits30 degrees Celsius, the gender balance shits to females: at about 32 degrees they are all female．Above 34, you get boiled eggs．

On some nesting beaches, scientists are artificially cooling nests with shade or irrigation and trying to protect broader areas of coastal property from development to ensure that turtles have a place to nest as the seas rise．

1.Why does the resort: town stop promoting its turtle tourism?

A．It decides not to disturb the turtles' normal life．

B．Tourists have lost interest in watching turtles．

C．There are only very few turtles now．

D．The turtle museum was destroyed by a high tide．

2.Which of the following is the major factor in the turtles endangerment?

A．The local's eating habit．              B．Drift net fishing

C．Beach development                  D．Global warming

3.We learn from the last paragraph that scientists ____．

A．．are doing research on the sea rise．

B．are moving turtles to new homes

C．are protecting turtles' nests

D．are getting rid of sea weeds．

4.The passage intends to ____．

A．introduce a special kind of sea turtle

B．explain the mystery of turtles' eggs

C．show the dangers a certain kind of turtle is facing

D．attract more visitors to a sea turtle museum

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Surrounded by the sea off the coast in Mid-Norway, lies an island called Myken. This small island has about ten permanent residents, and for more than 50 years has been supplied with electricity via a 32-kilometer undersea cable (电缆). A break that appeared in the cable last autumn resulted in two months without power, so the island community started looking into a better way of sourcing their electricity.

“Myken is far out at sea, so as far as possible it should be taking care of things itself,” says Kyrre Sundseth, who is a hydrogen (氢) researcher in Norway and also the project manager for Myken’s energy project. “This is why we want Myken to become entirely self-sufficient in energy. It is also important to take the environment into consideration,” he says.

Much points to the idea that the solution may lie in a Hydrogen plant, specifically tailored for small islands. The “raw materials” for hydrogen production come from nature itself in the form of the sun and wind. Researchers have calculated that energy costs will be lower by using hydrogen production than the undersea cable option. And it is possible to store energy in the form of hydrogen for longer periods. This means that supplies will not have to rely on a lot of expensive batteries or external energy sources, even during periods when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing.

The Myken project has attracted several technology companies. They are currently working on a pilot project. The pilot involves experiments on the feasibility (可行性) of the hydrogen system in which electricity is generated from solar and wind sources. The electricity can be used immediately, but during periods when all the energy generated is not required, the spare energy can be used to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be stored in a tank, and used later to generate electricity. The pilot will help researchers know more about how effectively the system will work in the hydrogen plant. Since the island has a distillery (酿酒厂), where the distillation (蒸馏) process relies on energy, a hydrogen plant on Myken offers an even greater environmental benefit. Spare heat from the hydrogen system can also be used for the heating part in the distillation process.

“In Norway alone there are about 300 island inhabited all year round by small populations,” says Kyrre Sundseth. “All of these islands may be candidates for using this technology. In global terms we’re talking about 10,000 similar islands.”

1.Why is a hydrogen plant suitable for Myken?

A.It is perfect in size for small islands.

B.It can send electricity to faraway places.

C.It will restore local natural environment.

D.It provides green and sustainable energy.

2.What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 4?

A.The study on the energy storage.

B.The test on the hydrogen system.

C.The experiment on the raw materials.

D.The research on the innovation of the pilot.

3.According to the passage, a hydrogen plant will ______.

A.produce purified seawater

B.prove more technically reliable

C.contribute in more than one way

D.benefit from the distillation process

4.What does Kyrre Sundseth think of the project?

A.Promising.

B.Systematic.

C.Irreplaceable.

D.Time saving.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Since the sex of a sea turtle(海龟)is determined by the heat of sand hatching the eggs, scientists had suspected they might see slightly more females. Climate change, after all, has driven sea temperatures higher, which, in these creatures, favors female children. They found female sea turtles from Raine Island, the Pacific Ocean's largest and most important green sea turtle living area, now outnumber males by at least 116 to 1. "This is extreme," says turtle scientist Camryn Allen.

Biologist Michael Jensen wanted to know if climate change had already changed turtles' sexes. By using genetic(基因的) tests, he'd figured out that he could follow turtles of all ages. Still, his research data would lack an important detail: sex. Only after a turtle matures is it possible to tell its sex from the outside -- mature males have slightly longer tails. By then turtles can be decades old, so scientists often use Iaparoscopy(腹腔镜检查)，sending a thin tube into each animal, but that's not so practical if you're hoping to examine hundreds of creatures. Fortunately, at a turtle conference, he met Allen, and all she needed was a little blood.

They compared their results with temperature data for nesting beaches. What worries them is that Raine Island has been producing almost female turtles for at least 20 years. This is no small thing. More than 200,000 turtles come to nest there. During high season, 18,000 turtles may settle in at once. "But what happens in 20 years when there are no more males coming up as adults? Are there enough to maintain the population?" says Allen. They also found cooler beaches in the south are still producing males, but that in the north, it's almost entirely females hatching. These findings clearly point to the fact that climate change is changing many aspects of wildlife biology.

But how widespread is this phenomenon -- and what is the consequence?

1.How might the scientists feel if there were slightly more female turtles?

A. It's normal.　　 B. It's unique.　　 C. It's extreme.　　 D. It's doubtful.

2.What is a scientist's conventional way to identify a turtle's sex?

A. Testing its blood.　　 B. Doing genetic tests.

C. Using laparoscopy.　　 D. Watching its tail.

3.Why do the findings worry Jensen and Allen?

A. Too many females gather near Raine Island.　　 B. Sea turtles may end up dying out.

C. Turtle populations are in decline.　　 D. Female turtles cause temperatures to rise.

4.What does the last paragraph imply?

A. People should stop the phenomenon.

B. People have to test the consequence.

C. Climate change has changed sea turtles' sexes.

D. More work needs doing about the phenomenon.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

第一节 完形填空 (共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21～30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Sea turtles have been on Earth for millions of years, but they may soon die out. The main   21   to them is people who kill them for food, according to Dr. Wallace J. Nichols of the University of California.

But the latest news may   22   turtle hunting: Dr. Nichols has found that sea turtles   23   a lot of pollution from the ocean. This pollution is unhealthy for both turtles and humans. It can cause __24__ damage to their bodies and lead to death. Research shows that many people get sick    and even die from eating sea turtle meat.

In the US, most people have never eaten turtle. This is because turtles are   25   by the United States law, which makes it   26   to harm or kill these amazing animals. “But many people in other countries still eat them,” explains Nichols. “Our first   27   was to save turtles; now we must save   28   too.”

Davis said he also wants to send out a bigger   29   that we should protect the oceans. “The health of the ocean, animals in the ocean, and our own health are all   30  . A clean ocean is really good for us too because of the food we eat from there.”

21. A. doubt                        B. stream                                     C. danger                          D. worry

22. A. accelerate                 B. slow                   C. improve          D. change

23. A. cause                      B. expand              C. absorb           D. reduce

24. A. accidental               B. occasional          C. unknown         D. serious

25. A. qualified                 B. protected           C. restricted         D. produced

26. A. impossible          B. difficult            C. illegal            D. abnormal

27. A. goal                    B. impression          C. difficulty         D. cost

28. A. Earth              B. ocean              C. people           D. animals

29. A. advertisement          B. message            C. sign             D. problem

30. A. concerned               B. disturbed           C. developed         D. connected

高三英语完形填空简单题查看答案及解析