Question

【題目】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 (磷酸鹽)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(露天礦). 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】瑙魯在歐洲人到來之前是一個安定而美麗的地方。現在卻變成了生態災區。因為含有磷酸鹽使得瑙魯曾經富甲一方，但是領導人使用資金不當使瑙魯陷入財政困難。專家說修復瑙魯（島）需要花$433,600,000的錢、20年的時間。而這幾乎不可能。　

【1】細節理解題。根據第一段第一句“...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，瑙魯在歐洲人到來之前是一個安定而美麗的地方。故答案為B。

【2】細節理解題。文章第四段提到一家英國礦業公司發現瑙魯含有豐富的磷酸鹽后開始開采，第五段又說明了其實這種露天礦的開采破壞了土壤的表層，最終使得“the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon”。因此可以看出其生態災難是由過度的采礦引起的，故C項正確。

【3】推理判斷題。結合文章最后一段倒數第二句專家所說的修復瑙魯（島）需要花的錢和時間，以及最后一句“This will probably never happen.”可以推斷一旦造成生態破壞，是很難修復的。故選B項。

【4】主旨大意題。文章第一段提到瑙魯前后的變化以及該段最后一句“...other countries might learn from its mistakes.”可知，作者的寫作目的是為了引起其他國家的重視，以示警告。故選A項。