The ocean contains many strange and surprising creatures. One such creature is the puffer fish. This very strange fish is probably the most poisonous creature in the ocean. The poison that this fish produces is 275 times more poisonous than the chemical which is usually used to kill rats.

The puffer fish gets its name from the way the fish protects itself from enemies. Whenever it is attacked, the fish blows up its body to three times bigger than its normal size!

Another strange thing about this fish is the fact that it can swim like other fish. Because it does not have bones like other fish, the puffer fish can only move slowly through the water as it is carried by waves.

The puffer fish also has funny teeth. These teeth stick out of the fish’s mouth and are used by the fish to open the shells of the creatures that live on the ocean floor.

This strange, ugly, and very poisonous fish is actually a very expensive kind of food in Japan. The Japanese call this fish “fugu”, and people have been known to pay $150 per person to eat a fugu meal (usually eight servings)!

Very brave people want to eat the most poisonous part of the fugu fish on purpose. They think that this part of the fish tastes the best! Strict laws have been passed to control restaurants which serve fugu; however, quite a few people have still died from eating fugu. Almost 200 people have died over the past 25 years.

When people eat fugu poison, they do not die on the spot. First, they feel a strange tickle on their lips and in their mouth. Then they can not feel anything with their fingers. Finally, they cannot move or speak. Death follows when they can no longer breathe. The poison may take only a few minutes or up to six hours to kill a person. There is no known cure for fugu poisoning.

According to the passage, the puffer fish       .

       A. is probably the most poisonous creature in the world

       B. is generally considered to be the strangest fish in the ocean

       C. is slightly more poisonous than the chemical used to kill rats

       D. is without doubt a deadly creature if it is not eaten properly

Why do people think that the puffer fish is strange when it is attacked by an enemy?

   A. It becomes bigger.         B. It has funny teeth.

C. It gives off poison.         D. It can swim swiftly.

The underlined expression “on the spot” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to      .

       A. now and then                                 B. once in a while          

C. then and there                             D. sooner or later

Who is allowed to serve fugu according to the passage?

   A. The Japanese government.              B. Licensed restaurants.

   C. Strict lawyers in Japan .                D. Very brave people

Which is NOT a symptom of fugu poisoning?

    A. Having difficulty breathing.                    B. Having no sense of touch.

C. Having no sense of taste.                       D. Having trouble speaking.

We know that many animals do not stay in one place. Birds, fish and other animals move from one place to another at a certain time. They move for different reasons most of them move to find food more easily, but others move to get away from places that are too crowded. When cold weather comes, many birds move to warmer places to find food. Some fishes give birth in warm water and move to cold water to feed. The most famous migration（迁移）is probably the migration of the fish, which is called “salmon”. This fish is born in fresh water but it travels many miles to salt water. There it spends its life. When it is old, it returns to its birthplace in fresh water. Then it gives birth and dies there. In northern Europe, there is a kind of mice. They leave their mountain homes when they become too crowded. They move down to the low land. Sometimes they move all the way to the seaside, and many of them are killed when they fall into the sea.

    Recently, scientists have studied the migration of a kind of lobsters（龙虾）. Every year, when the season of bad weather arrives, the lobsters get into a long line and start to walk across the floor of the ocean. Nobody knows why they do this, and nobody knows where they go. So, sometimes we know why humans and animals move from one place to another, but at other times we don’t. Maybe living things just like to travel.    

Most animals move from one place to another at a certain time to __________ .

A. give birth              B. enjoy warmer weather  

C. find food more easily     D. find beautiful places

The fish called “salmon” spends a long life in __________ .

A. salt water         B. rivers          C. fresh water       D. its birthplace

The mice in northern Europe move when __________ .

   A. they give birth                   B. the weather is bad

  C. the place gets too crowded         D. they haven’t enough food

The lobsters move __________ .

   A. to the fresh water              B. to the sea floor

   C. at a certain time               D. to find more food

What is the main idea of the passage?

   A. Animals move in order to find food more easily.

 B. The migration of the fish called “salmon” is the most famous migration.

   C. Living things move from one place to another because they like to travel.

D. Sometimes we know why and how living things move from one place to another, but sometimes we don’t.

The ocean contains many strange and surprising creatures. One such creature is the puffer fish. This very strange fish is probably the most poisonous creature in the ocean. The poison that this fish produces is 275 times more poisonous than the chemical which is usually used to kill rats.
The puffer fish gets its name from the way the fish protects itself from enemies. Whenever it is attacked, the fish blows up its body to three times bigger than its normal size!
Another strange thing about this fish is the fact that it can swim like other fish. Because it does not have bones like other fish, the puffer fish can only move slowly through the water as it is carried by waves.
The puffer fish also has funny teeth. These teeth stick out of the fish’s mouth and are used by the fish to open the shells of the creatures that live on the ocean floor.
This strange, ugly, and very poisonous fish is actually a very expensive kind of food in Japan. The Japanese call this fish “fugu”, and people have been known to pay $150 per person to eat a fugu meal (usually eight servings)!
Very brave people want to eat the most poisonous part of the fugu fish on purpose. They think that this part of the fish tastes the best! Strict laws have been passed to control restaurants which serve fugu; however, quite a few people have still died from eating fugu.Almost 200 people have died over the past 25 years.
When people eat fugu poison, they do not die on the spot. First, they feel a strange tickle on their lips and in their mouth. Then they can not feel anything with their fingers. Finally, they cannot move or speak. Death follows when they can no longer breathe. The poison may take only a few minutes or up to six hours to kill a person. There is no known cure for fugu poisoning.
【小题1】According to the passage, the puffer fish       .

Scientists warn today that the Atlantic bluefin tuna（金枪鱼）faces disappearance unless certain action is taken. They used electronic ways to track the movement of the powerful fish from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mediterranean, and report today in the journal Nature that meals of sushi and sandwiches with tuna worldwide are more dangerous than anyone has imagined.

The bluefin tuna can live for 30 years, grow to three metres in length and weigh as much as 700kg. A good one can fetch as much as £ 52,000 in the Tokyo fish markets. “In my lifetime, we’ve brought this big fish to the doorstep of death in the western Atlantic Ocean,” said Barbara Block of Stanford University in California. “The electronic way of tracks provides the best scientific information we’ve ever had to manage these tuna and we must, as an international community, start to act actively to make sure of the future of this fish. ”

Scientists have repeatedly said that the harvest of the seas cannot be as good as before. There are fewer and fewer fish in around Newfoundland, North Sea and Iceland, so fishermen have pushed further offshore in search of deep ocean fish. Tuna—in the Mediterranean and Japan—have been under increasing pressure for years. The International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna has tried to manage the fish since 1969．There are two populations: a western one that has dropped by 80% in the past 30 years, and a larger, eastern population. Although catches are controlled by 3,000 tons a year in the western fishery, and 32,000 in the east, no one knew whether the limits worked.

So Professor Block and her team placed tracks on hundreds of the fish and tracked them to depths of more than 900 metres and on journeys of thousands of miles, measuring the movement, body and water temperatures. “There are two ways to save the Atlantic bluefin tuna—protect them in their production grounds and in their feeding grounds,” Prof. Block said. “This will need immediate action in both the central Atlantic, to reduce the loss of the big fish while hunting, and in the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean, where tuna produce as separate populations. ”

1. The bluefin tuna in this passage mainly refers to the one _______.

2.Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?

3.According to Professor Block, tuna can be saved by ______.

4.The purpose of the passage is to ______.

It’s easy to see how the sawfish got its name. These frightful creatures can grow to be more than 6 meters long. Their bodies are flat and winged, like underwater airplanes. And their noses are shaped like chainsaws.

Sawfish are food hunters of the sea. When a sawfish is hungry, it waves its sharp-toothed snout（口鼻部）through a group of fish. Then, it lifts its nose and uses its mouth to draw the injured victims.

Hardy（适应力强的）population of sawfish thrived in warm waters along coastlines around the world for thousands of years. Over the past 200 years, however, human actions have severely endangered sawfish. Threats include fishing nets that trap the huge animals, often by mistake.

Some people collect sawfish’s snouts as prizes: One snout recently sold for nearly $ 1,600 online. In some Asian cultures, the toothy snouts are used in ceremonies to drive evil and disease away. And sawfish are also delicious. A growing demand in Asia for the fish’s fins for a pricey soup has contributed to the fish’s loves. Compared with other fish, sawfish give birth late in life and at slow rates, which makes it hard for them to recover from overfishing.

New efforts now aim to restore sawfish population. Beginning next month, an international agreement will provide protection for all seven of the world’s sawfish species. Scientists are hoping that it’s not too late to save the sawfish.

Until 1998, “this fish had never been formally studied in the United States,” says Tonya Wiley of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla. “We didn’t know such basic things as where they live, what habitat they use, how often they breed, how many young they have — even what age sawfish are when they begin breeding.”

Through historical studies and field research, scientists have become aware of how much the fish’s numbers have decreased. Today, there may be 90 percent fewer sawfish than there used to be. Wiley estimates that only 3,000 to 6,000 sawfish remain in US waters.

Sawfish

Descriptions Size

1.__________

2. __________    Body: Flat and winged   Nose: Like a chainsaw

3.__________  of hunting for food    Attacking fish with

4.__________.

Drawing the injured victims with its mouth.

5.__________       Sawfish’s disappearance 

6.__________

Sawfish’s snout relates business.

Its

7._________ and slowly which makes it hard to recover from overfishing.

8._________  Only 10 % sawfish left

3,000 to 6,000 remain in US watersEfforts  

9.__________ Measure

Restoring sawfish population

10.__________ all seven of the world’s sawfish species