阅读试题

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 0.9-meter 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 7-8 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.

阅读试题

41. 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

42. The word "culprit" (Paragraph 2) is closest in meaning to______.

A. criminal　　

B. judge　　

C. victim　　

D. producer

43. 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

44. 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

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

A. Approving.

B. Concerned.

C. Enthusiastic. 　

D. Doubtful.

参考译文

不管是朝拜也好，寻找篮子里的糖果也好，还是跑遍院子找鸡蛋也好， 复活节仍然是个好日子。但对于兔子而言，复活节却一年比一年糟糕。

不，不是因为孩子们喜欢拉它们的耳朵，而是因为气候变化，一些研究人员发现，气温上升至少给五种美国兔子带来不利影响。

例如泽兔。一种生活在佛罗里达低地的濒临灭绝的物种，这种有着毛茸茸的尾巴的兔子是一个生活在小岛上的伟大游泳健将，但现在已经受到开发和海平面上升的严重影响。根据生物多样性中心的研究，海平面仅上升0.6米就会将这些家伙逼到更高的陆地上，上升0.9米就会将它们彻底地赶出栖息地。

另一方面，北美野兔也遇到了一个毛色的问题。这些兔子在冬季的时候将毛色变成白色，而在夏天变成棕色，每一改变都为它们自己提供更好的保护色，以远离捕食者。然而，随着全国下雪天数的减少，在春秋季节布满灰尘的日子里，越来越多的小兔子留着白色的毛，这使它们更容易成为食肉动物的目标。研究人员知道，颜色的变化是由阳光照射的小时数控制的，但是兔子能否足够快速地适应生存还是一个大问题。国家野生动物联盟报告说，猎人们已经注意到了它们的数量已经明显下降。

与家兔和野兔同科的美洲鼠兔可能是这些物种中第一个因气候变化而灭绝的。鼠兔长约7-8英寸，生活在凉爽潮湿的落基山脉的西部山地。随着全球气温上升，他们自然会迁到更高的地方，但他们已经占领了山顶。他们没有更高的地方可去了。国家野生动物联盟报告显示，当它们的栖息地气温上升时，他们可能无法适应新的温度。

火山兔也遇到了同样的问题。这些兔子生活在墨西哥的火山坡上，最新研究表明，它们的小范围的栖息地已经向上迁移了约700米，但是更高的地方没有合适的食物，所以他们只能栖居在中间地带。因而，科学家们担心它们的种群（会灭绝）。

原产于美国且体重不足1磅的侏儒兔生活在美国西部，它们被认为是世界上最小的兔子。它们的栖息地已经遭到开发的破坏。一些种群几乎灭绝，且要依靠动物园的繁殖计划来挽救，例如哥伦比亚盆地侏儒兔。侏儒兔也用冬天的白雪作为掩护，从雪下挖隧道逃避捕食者。但越来越少的降雪将它们暴露出来了。

在今年的复活节里，装扮一只巨型兔子将赋予这一切以新的含义。

答案解析

41. B 考查逻辑推理。根据文章第一段中的...gets quite a bit worse for bunnies和第二段中的And no, not because the kids like…可知，第一段提到复活节的目的是引出下文关于兔子的话题，故答案应为B项。

42. A 考查词义猜测。从文章第二段中的And no, not because the kids like...和...is climate change. . .以及下文多次提到的兔子所处的困境可知，这里culprit表示”肇事者，引起问题的事物”，所以意思同A项。

43. C 考查逻辑推理。从第二段可知，受气候变化的影响，兔子们遭遇了困境。另外第三段提到的Lower Keys Marsh rabbit和第四段提到的the snowshoe hare都反映出它们对气候变化的不适应才是造成它们受困的原因，所以答案为C项。

44. D 考查事实细节。根据第五段中的. . they would naturally migrate（迁移）to higher ground - but they. . . They can't go any higher.和第六段中的…but there are not suitable plants for them to move higher...可知，这两种兔子濒临灭绝的原因是它们都无法进一步迁移到更高的地方。所以答案为D项。

45. B 考查情感态度。从第一段中的...gets quite a bit worse for bunnies以及全文字里行间作者对兔子的遭遇的表述可以看出，作者对有些兔子濒临灭绝的现状是很担心的，所以选B项。