题目内容
Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection. The Galapagos are among the world's most important scientific treasures, a group of volcanic islands surrounded by deserted beaches and inhabited by unique varieties of giant tortoise, lizards, and birds.
Yet life on this United Nations world heritage site has turned sour. Battles have broken out between fishermen and conservationists. Ecuador, which owns the islands, has sent a naval patrol (海军巡逻队) to put down disturbances.
The controversial director of the Galapagos National Park—which controls 97 percent of Galapagos land and the reserve extending to 40 miles offshore—has been fired, while an air of uneasy tension hangs over the islands, as the islanders prepare for election when they pick their representatives in Ecuador’s national assembly.
“It’s a very tense situation,” said Leonor Stjepic, director of the London-based Galapagos Conservation Trust, which raises money to help projects on the islands. “We are watching it with concern.”
The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands’ population. Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz island, housed just 45 inhabitants in the 50s. Today there are more than 10,000, while the islands' total population is more than 19,000 and growing by 6 percent a year, despite recently introduced a law to limit waves of immigrants fleeing the poor areas of Ecuador for a life “in paradise (天堂)”. On top of this, more than 100,000 tourists visit the islands every year.
Such numbers have put the islands, special ecology under intense pressure. Conservationists backed by the Ecuador government, have replied by exercising strict controls to protect the islands* iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortoises.
These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit (开发利用) the islands’ waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in Japan and South Korea.
Angry fishermen surrounded the Charles Darwin research station on Santa Cruz last February, threatened to kill Lonesome George—the last surviving member of the Pinta Island species of the Galapagos giant tortoise.
The situation got improved after the Ecuador government made concessions (让步) by increasing fishing quotas (配额), which angered conservationists. “It is tragic, the short-term gain of a few fishermen versus the long-term survival of the Galapagos,” said John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences. “They are killing the golden goose.”
Then, the Ecuador government appointed Fausto Cepeda as the national park's new director, a post that has become a political football for the mainland government. There have been nine directors in the past 18 months.
This appointment was particularly controversial, however. Cepeda was known to have close ties with the fishing industry, and the rangers (管理员),who run the national park and reserve, rebelled.
More than 300 staged a sit-in at the park’s headquarters and prevented Cepeda from taking up his post. A battle broke out, and at least two people suffered serious injuries. Eventually, Cepeda—with the fishermen’s help- entered the park. “I am in office, i am in control. And I am trying to lower the tension,” he announced.
The Ecuador government took no chances, and sent a patrol boat to maintain the peace. A few days later, Ecuador Environment Minister Fabian Valdivicso met representatives of rangers. After discussions, he told newspapers that he had decided to remove Cepeda from the post.
However, as the population continues to rise, the long-term pressures on the islands are serious and will not disappear that easily.
“We have to balance its special environment with the needs of local people. In that sense, it is a microcosm (缩影) for all the other threatened parts of the world. So getting it right here is going to be a very, very important trick to pull off,” said Stjepic.
1.What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. The island’s swelling population.
B. The law to limit waves of immigrants.
C. A life in paradise.
D. The tourists’ visiting the islands every year.
2.How significant were the islands for Charles Darwin?
A. He based his theory on his studies there.
B. He built the Charles Darwin research center there.
C. He advocated the balance between ecology and people there.
D. He found the last surviving giant tortoise there.
3.What is the primary contributing factor to the conflict between conservationists and fishermen?
A. The dismissal of the previous director of the Galapagos National Park.
B. The exploitation of the islands.
C. The government's support of Galapagos Conservation Trust.
D. Cepeda’s close tie with the fishing industry.
4.We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. the projects of Galapagos Conservation Trust on the islands are profitable
B. conservationists get angry when fishermen are killing a goose
C. politicians from the mainland government play football on the islands
D. the government is trying to ease the tension
5.In Paragraph 13, what does the author mean by “The Ecuador government took no chances”?
A. The government did not seize opportunities.
B. The government made no compromises.
C. The government did not run risks.
D. The government shrank from responsibilities.
1.A
2.A
3.B
4.D
5.C
【解析】
试题分析：文章报道了在加拉帕戈斯群岛发生的保护主义者和渔民的冲突，为了开发岛屿的问题，双方发生了激烈的冲突，政府正试图缓解岛上的压力。
1.猜词题：从第五段的句子：The violence has been triggered by an alarming growth in the islands’ population.可知this指的是岛屿的日益增长的人口，选A
2.细节题：从第一段的句子：Spanish explorers called them Las Encantadas, the Enchanted Isles, and Charles Darwin used his studies of the islands as the foundation for his theory of natural selection.可知这些岛屿对达尔文很重要，因为他的理论是建立在这里的研究基础上的。选A
3.细节题：从文章第七段的句子：These moves have angered many local people, however. They want to exploit (开发利用) the islands’ waters and catch its protected species of sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which can fetch high prices in Japan and South Korea.可知在保护主义者和渔民的冲突中主要的因素是这些岛屿的开发。选B
4.细节题：从文章第10段的句子：Then, the Ecuador government appointed Fausto Cepeda as the national park's new director, a post that has become a political football for the mainland government.可知政府正努力缓解紧张。选D
5.句意理解题：从第13段的句子：sent a patrol boat to maintain the peace.可知“The Ecuador government took no chances”的意思是“政府没有冒风险”，选C
考点：考查新闻报道类短文
阅读快车系列答案Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place. Around 1870, it was experiencing an economic(经济的)boom, and the capital, Buenos Aires, attracted many people. Farmers, as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy, came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs. These jobs didn′t pay well, and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city. As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city, the dance known an the tango(探戈舞)came into being
At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes. It was danced in the bars and streets. At that time there many fewer women than men, so if a man didn′t want to be left out, his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women. Gradually, the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable.
In Europe at this time, strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning
The interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris. Every kind of dance from ballet(芭蕾舞)to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters of the Paris theaters. After tango dances from Argentina arrive in Europe, they began to draw the interest of the public an they performed their exiting dance in cafes, Though not everyone approved of the new dance, saying it was a little too shocking, the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular.
The popularity（流行）Of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world. Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America, It reached Japan in 1926, and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act an a kind of dance ambassador, and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea.
【小题1】The origin of the tango is associated with
A Belly dances B. American soldiers
C. Spanish city D. the capital of Argentina
【小题2】 Which of the following is true about the tango?
| A．It was created by foreigners from Spain and Italy. |
| B．People of the upper classes loved the tango most |
| C．It was often danced by two male in the beginning |
| D．A dancer in Seoul became the Argentinean ambassador. |
| A．America | B．Japan |
| C．France | D．South Korea |
| A．How to Dance the Tango | B．The History of the Tango |
| C．How to Promote the Tango | D．The Modern Tango Boom |
请将下列方框里所列词汇的正确形式填到短文中，每空限一词，不能重复使用。
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depend important similar contribute mean pronunciation differ strength end up attend |
We can see the 1) __________ between American English British English but they are different sometimes. Many students want to know about the 2) __________ between American English and British English.
At first the language in Britain and America was the same. In 1776 America became a (an) 3) __________ country. After that, the language slowly began to change. For a long time the language in America stayed the same, while the language in England changed. For example, 300 years ago the English talked about "fall".
Today, most British people talk about "autumn", but Americans still talk abut "fall". In the same way Americans still use the expression "I guess" 4) __________ "I think", just as the British did 300 years ago.
At the same time, British English and American English started borrowing words from other languages, 5) __________ with different words. For example, the British took "typhoon" from Chinese, while the Americans took "tornado" from Spanish.
In 1828 Noah Webster published the first American dictionary. He wanted to make American English different from British English, so he changed the spelling of many words. That’s why the words "colour", "centre" and "traveller" are spelt "color", "center" and "traveler" in American English. Except for spelling, written English is more or less the same in both British and American English.
They are also different in the spoken language. For example, Americans say dance /dæns/, and in southern England they say /dɑ?ns/. In America they 6) p__________ not /nɑt/; in southern England they say /n?t/. However, most of the time people from the two countries do not have any trouble in understanding each other.