题目内容
A whale that became stranded in the River Thames in Central London has died after attempts to save its life failed. The whole nation had been hoping for a more successful outcome to the attempted rescue, updates of which were shown on TV news programmes throughout the day and night.
The five- meter long bottle-nosed whale, which probably weighted about four tones, was first spotted in the river on Friday. There had been reports that a pod of whales had swum into the Thames Estuary earlier in the week, which caused terror among naturalists, as this kind of whale only thrives (群集)in much deeper water. It was the first sighting of the endangered species in the Thames since records began nearly a century ago.
There was no more news of the pod, which suggests that most of them turned back and swam out to sea. However, one whale clearly became separated from this group.
Incredibly, the first person to raise the alarm was a man who saw the giant mammal from the train he was on when it crossed the river. Almost immediately, a rescue attempt was mounted and further attempts to move the whale began on Saturday morning. After unsuccessfully attempting to gently encourage it to swim downstream of its own accord towards the Thames Estuary and eventually the sea, rescuers decided to move it onto the barge(驳船).
The rescue operation involved winching(绞车)the whale onto an inflatable raft which had been placed on the barge. 3,000 onlookers watched as the whale was treated with extreme care by the rescuers and applauded when the transfer operation was complete. The barge then set off with the intention of freeing the whale in deeper water. Sadly, it began to convulse(抽筋)during the journey and died.
Earlier in the day, naturalist and TV presenter Terry Nuktins had warned that attempts to move the large mammal were misguided and that the proximity(靠近)of the rescuers to the whale was potentially disastrous. He said that the whale would have been terrified by the people around it and it wouldn’t have been used to the sight of boats and the noise of the engines and propellers.
56.People throughout the country learned about the attempted rescues by .
A.listening to the radio B.reading newspapers
C.watching TV news D.asking some rescuers
57.Who was the first person to raise the alarm?
A.A person who was walking on the bridge over the Thames.
B.A naturalist who was interested in whales.
C.A passenger who was taking the train across the Thames.
D.A rescuer who was worried about the whale.
58.What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A.It was common that whales were found in the Thames.
B.Whales didn’t like to stay in deep water.
C.Naturalists were terrified at the whales in the Thames.
D.Whales of this kind in the Thames were in danger of dying out.
59.According to Dr. Nuktins, why did the whale die in the end?
A.Because it was badly ill.
B.Because there were to many watchers.
C.Because it was freed into the sea.
D.Because the rescue itself was not peoper.
60.This passage is most probably taken from .
A.a newspaper B.a biology textbook
C.a guide book to saving animals’ lives D.a travel journal