Almost anyone who has read a travel brochure about Africa has heard of elephants getting drunk from the fruit of the marula tree. It is said that elephants can get drunk by eating the fermented (发酵) fruit rotting on the ground. Books have even been written to prove the truth of the phenomenon.

But a study published in the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology tells a very different story.

Steve Morris, a biologist at the University of Bristol in England and an author of the study, says there is nothing in the biology of either the African elephant or the marula fruit to support the stories. Morris says, “ people just want to believe in drunken elephants.”

The marula tree, a member of the same family as the mango, grows widely in Africa. Its sweet, yellow fruit is used for making jam, wine and beer. “The first mistake of the drunken-elephant theory is that it’s unlikely that an elephant would eat the fruit if it were rotten, ” Morris says. “Elephants eat the fruit right off the tree, not when it’s rotten on the ground, ” he explains.

Other experts add that if an elephant were to eat the fruit on the ground, it wouldn’t wait for the fruit to ferment. Michelle Gadd, an African wildlife specialist, says that elephants and many other animals, including birds and monkeys, are too fond of marula fruit to let it rot.

If fermented fruit on the ground is out of the question, so is the notion that the fruit could ferment in the stomach of elephants, according to the study authors. Food takes between 12 and 46 hours to pass through an elephant’s digestive system, the authors point out, which is not enough for the fruit to ferment.

Supposing that this happened, it’s still highly improbable that the food would produce enough alcohol to make an elephant drunk. Through calculations of body weight, elephant digestion rates, and other factors, the authors conclude that it would take about 1.9 litres of ethanol(乙醇) to make an elephant drunk.

56. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A. it is not easy to find marula fruit in the wild in Africa

B. African elephants don’t like to eat marula fruit at all

C. marula fruit can be made into food or drink consumed by people

D. birds and monkeys in Africa like to eat rotten marula fruit

57. According to Paragraph 6, marula fruit is likely to ferment ________.

A. in about 12 hours　　　　　　 B. in about 34 hours

C. between 12 and 46 hours　　　 D. in more than 46 hours

58. According to Mr. Morris, which of the following is TRUE?

A. Elephants just eat the fruit right off the tree.

B. Elephants will not eat the fruit which is rotten.

C. The marula tree and the mango belong to different families.

D. There are several connections between Elephants and the marula fruit.

59 . What does the underlined word “this” in the last paragraph probably refer to ?
A. Elephants getting drunk.　　　　

B. Marula fruit fermenting in elephants’ stomachs.

C. Elephants eating rotten marula fruit.

D. Elephants eating marula trees directly.

Alone in the wilderness. Nothing but jungle. A world of shadow with the rays of light falling like blonde hair from the crowns of the giant trees. Jungle in the midday sun. Everything motionless. Not a sound from sky or earth. Complete silence. Only some coconuts falling, at long intervals, very far away. The world reduced to the soft touch of cool grass along my naked back, and a sweet smell of rich soil and vegetation. Stretched out with closed eyes beside my heavy burden of fruit and firewood, I enjoyed the feeling of fresh blood streaming through every part of my body and fresh jungle air filling every corner of my lungs.

???? Resting motionless, I could see the sun through my closed eyelids, alone in the sky, as lonely as I, and as motionless and silent as everything else. The earth had surely stopped turning and somewhere on this planet there was supposed to be roaring traffic in busy streets. What a crazy, unbelievable thought!

????????????? Another coconut fell, to make the world come to a complete standstill. I had to roll over onto my stomach to feel that at least I could move and make noises. Then I found company. A little brown ant was struggling to find its way with a bit of dry straw through the jungle of leaves and grass below my nose. I wondered if I could give the little fellow a lift with its burden, but it showed not the slightest sign of tiredness and struggled on with all six legs, head first or head last, waving its feelers energetically as if the trip had just started. Who ever saw a tired ant? Tiredness, disagreeable tiredness, is restricted to hunted animals, slaves and modern man. It is as great an effort for an office clerk to walk five blocks with a loaded brief-case as it is for a jungle-dweller to cross a valley with a goat on his back. It is as hard to get up and climb or run when you have been seated for years as it is to get up and walk when you have been in bed for months. The body is strange. Spare it, and you get really tired for almost nothing; use it, and almost nothing makes you really tired.

????????????? I rose to my feet. I had heard a horse neighing down in the valley. Above me, on the open highland plains, there were wild horses. But down in the valley there was never a horse unless there was a man on it. Somebody was making his way up the valley and my wife was alone.

1.What’s the right order of the following events?

① I heard a horse neighing down in the valley.

② I went to the jungle.

③ I found an ant carrying a bit of dry straw.

④ I lay on the ground to have a break.

⑤ I picked fruits and chopped firewood.

A. ②③⑤①④????????????? ????????????? B. ⑤③②④①????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. ②⑤④③①????????????? ????????????? D. ⑤④③②①

2.How does the author feel about the ant?

A．He admired its attitude toward work.

B．He was amazed at its tireless efforts.

C．He showed sympathy for the little ant.

D．He was content to have it as a companion.

3.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author would probably ???????? .

A．work harder than before????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? B．talk to the man on the horse

C．make his way home????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D．stay in the valley

4.We can learn from the passage that the author ???????? .

A．enjoyed being alone?????????????

B．experienced a world of quietness

C．missed his busy life in the city

D．had an unforgettable adventure

Alone in the wilderness. Nothing but jungle. A world of shadow with the rays of light falling like blonde hair from the crowns of the giant trees. Jungle in the midday sun. Everything motionless. Not a sound from sky or earth. Complete silence. Only some coconuts falling, at long intervals, very far away. The world reduced to the soft touch of cool grass along my naked back, and a sweet smell of rich soil and vegetation. Stretched out with closed eyes beside my heavy burden of fruit and firewood, I enjoyed the feeling of fresh blood streaming through every part of my body and fresh jungle air filling every corner of my lungs.

     Resting motionless, I could see the sun through my closed eyelids, alone in the sky, as lonely as I, and as motionless and silent as everything else. The earth had surely stopped turning and somewhere on this planet there was supposed to be roaring traffic in busy streets. What a crazy, unbelievable thought!

         Another coconut fell, to make the world come to a complete standstill. I had to roll over onto my stomach to feel that at least I could move and make noises. Then I found company. A little brown ant was struggling to find its way with a bit of dry straw through the jungle of leaves and grass below my nose. I wondered if I could give the little fellow a lift with its burden, but it showed not the slightest sign of tiredness and struggled on with all six legs, head first or head last, waving its feelers energetically as if the trip had just started. Who ever saw a tired ant? Tiredness, disagreeable tiredness, is restricted to hunted animals, slaves and modern man. It is as great an effort for an office clerk to walk five blocks with a loaded brief-case as it is for a jungle-dweller to cross a valley with a goat on his back. It is as hard to get up and climb or run when you have been seated for years as it is to get up and walk when you have been in bed for months. The body is strange. Spare it, and you get really tired for almost nothing; use it, and almost nothing makes you really tired.

         I rose to my feet. I had heard a horse neighing down in the valley. Above me, on the open highland plains, there were wild horses. But down in the valley there was never a horse unless there was a man on it. Somebody was making his way up the valley and my wife was alone.

71．The author mentions coconuts’ falling to          .

         A．show his loneliness                                                           B．add beauty to the jungle

         C．express his love of nature                                               D．stress the absolute silence

72.   What’s the right order of the following events?

         ① I heard a horse neighing down in the valley.

         ② I went to the jungle.

         ③ I found an ant carrying a bit of dry straw.

         ④ I lay on the ground to have a break.

         ⑤ I picked fruits and chopped firewood.

A. ②③⑤①④                 B. ⑤③②④①                          C. ②⑤④③①                 D. ⑤④③②①

73．How does the author feel about the ant?

         A．He admired its attitude toward work.

         B．He was amazed at its tireless efforts.

         C．He showed sympathy for the little ant.

         D．He was content to have it as a companion.

74．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author would probably          .

         A．work harder than before                                                 B．talk to the man on the horse

         C．make his way home                                                          D．stay in the valley

75．We can learn from the passage that the author          .

         A．enjoyed being alone                                                          B．experienced a world of quietness

         C．missed his busy life in the city                                        D．had an unforgettable adventure