Question

【题目】The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes.

For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived in the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.

However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.

Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate (磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which was a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.

A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine(露天矿). When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.

In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.

Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.

【1】What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?

A. Rich and powerful

B. Peaceful and attractive

C. Modern and open

D. Greedy and aggressive

【2】The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from _____________.

A. whale hunting

B. phosphate overmining

C. farming activity

D. soil pollution

【3】What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?

A. The ecological damage is difficult to repair.

B. The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously.

C. The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.

D. The phosphate mines were destroyed.

【4】What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A. To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.

B. To seek help for Nauru’s problems.

C. To show the importance of money.

D. To give a warning to other countries.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】B

【4】A

【解析】瑙鲁在欧洲人到来之前是一个安定而美丽的地方。现在却变成了生态灾区。因为含有磷酸盐使得瑙鲁曾经富甲一方，但是领导人使用资金不当使瑙鲁陷入财政困难。专家说修复瑙鲁（岛）需要花$433,600,000的钱、20年的时间。而这几乎不可能。　

【1】细节理解题。根据第一段第一句“...used to be a beautiful place.”以及第二段第一句“...lived on the remote island of Nauru，far from western civilization.”可知，瑙鲁在欧洲人到来之前是一个安定而美丽的地方。故答案为B。

【2】细节理解题。文章第四段提到一家英国矿业公司发现瑙鲁含有丰富的磷酸盐后开始开采，第五段又说明了其实这种露天矿的开采破坏了土壤的表层，最终使得“the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon”。因此可以看出其生态灾难是由过度的采矿引起的，故C项正确。

【3】推理判断题。结合文章最后一段倒数第二句专家所说的修复瑙鲁（岛）需要花的钱和时间，以及最后一句“This will probably never happen.”可以推断一旦造成生态破坏，是很难修复的。故选B项。

【4】主旨大意题。文章第一段提到瑙鲁前后的变化以及该段最后一句“...other countries might learn from its mistakes.”可知，作者的写作目的是为了引起其他国家的重视，以示警告。故选A项。