Question

Easter(复活节)is still a great day for worship, candy in baskets and running around the yard finding eggs, but every year it gets quite a bit worse for bunnies.

And no, not because the kids like to pull their ears. The culprit is climate change, and some researchers found that rising temperatures are having harmful effects on at least five species of rabbit in the US.

Take the Lower Keys Marsh rabbit, for instance. An endangered species that lives in the Lower Florida Keys, this species of cottontail is a great swimmer—it lives on the islands！—but it is already severely affected by development and now by rising sea levels. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, an ocean level rise of only 0.6 meters will send these guys jumping to higher ground and a 0.9­meter rise would wipe out their habitat(栖息地)completely.

The snowshoe hare, on the other hand, has a color issue. Most of these rabbits change their fur color from white in the wintertime to brown in the summer, each designed to give them better cover from predators(捕食者). As the number of days with snow decreases all across the country, however, more and more bunnies are being left in white fur during brown dirt days of both fall and spring, making them an easier mark for predators. Researchers know that the color change is controlled by the number of hours of sunlight, but whether the rabbit will be able to adapt quick enough to survive is a big question. The National Wildlife Federation has reported that hunters have noticed their numbers are already markedly down.

American pikas or rock rabbits, a relative of rabbits and hares, might be the first of these species to go extinct due to climate change. About 7­8 inches long, pikas live high in the cool, damp mountains west of the Rocky Mountains. As global temperatures rise, they would naturally migrate(迁移) to higher ground—but they already occupy the mountaintops. They can't go any higher. The National Wildlife Federation reports that they might not be able to stand the new temperatures as their habitat heats up.

The volcano rabbit has the same problem. These rabbits live on the slopes of volcanoes in Mexico, and recent studies have shown that the lower range of their habitat has already shifted upward about 700 meters, but there are not suitable plants for them to move higher, so they are stuck in the middle. Scientists are concerned about their populations.

Native to the US, pygmy rabbits weigh less than 1 pound and live in the American West. They are believed to be the smallest rabbits in the world. Their habitats have been destroyed by development. Several populations, such as the Columbia Basin pygmy, almost went extinct and were saved by zoo breeding programs. Pygmy rabbits also rely on winter cover by digging tunnels through the snow to escape predators, but lesser snowfall is leaving them exposed.

All of this gives new meaning to dressing up in a giant bunny costume this Easter.

36．The writer mentions Easter at the beginning of the passage in order to ________．

A．show the importance of Easter Day

B．introduce the issue about bunnies

C．remind people of Easter traditions

D．discuss the relationship between Easter and bunnies

37．The word “culprit”(Paragraph 2)is closest in meaning to ________．

A．criminal  　B．judge  C．victim  D．producer

38．According to the passage, some rabbits can now be easily discovered by predators because they ________．

A．are exposed to more skillful hunters

B．have moved to habitats with fewer plants

C．haven't adapted themselves to climate change

D．can't change their fur color into white in the fall and the spring

39．The problem faced by volcano rabbits and rock rabbits is that ________．

A．both are affected by less snow

B．both are affected by rising sea levels

C．neither can find enough food

D．neither can migrate to higher places

40．Which best describes the writer's tone in the passage?

A．Approving.  B．Concerned.

C．Enthusiastic.  D．Doubtful.

Answer 1

本文是一篇科普性短文。提到复活节，人们自然想到复活节兔子，它是复活节的象征之一，象征着重生与希望，但是现在由于气候变暖，兔子们处境危险，本文以几种兔子的实际情况加以说明。

36．B　推理判断题。根据常识可知，一提到复活节，人们自然会想到复活节兔子，再看后文大篇幅介绍几种兔子的处境，不难看出开篇提及复活节是为了引出有关兔子的话题。

37．A　词义猜测题。上句说不是孩子们拽兔子耳朵的问题，重点是后文所说的气温升高对美国至少五种兔子的不好的影响，所以气候变化是罪魁祸首，culprit相当于criminal，意为“灾难制造者，犯罪者”。

38．C　推理判断题。从第二段知，受气候的影响，兔子们遇到了困境。比如第三段提到的Lower keys Marsh rabbit和第四段提到的the snowshoe hare都反映出它们对环境变化的不适应，这才是造成它们受困的原因。故选C项。

39．D　细节理解题。介绍rock rabbits时说：…they would naturally migrate to higher ground—but they already occupy the mountaintops.They can't go any higher；另外说：The volcano rabbit has the same problem.…but there are not suitable plants for them to move higher…显然这两种兔子面临的问题是没有更高之地迁徙了。故选D。

40．B　作者态度题。文章首尾呼应，作者对兔子的生存环境充满了担忧与关注。A项意为“赞许的”；B项意为“关心的，担忧的”；C项意为“热情的”；D项意为“怀疑的”。