第三篇 Shark Attack!

Craig Rogers was sitting on his surfboard, scanning the distance for his next wave，when his board suddenly stopped moving. He looked down and was terrified to see a great white shark biting the front of his board. "I could have touched its eye with my elbow," says Craig. The shark had surfaced so quietly that he hadn't heard a thing.

In his horror and confusion，he waved his arms and accidentally cut two of his fingers on the shark's teeth. He then slid off the opposite side of his surfboard into the water. Then, with Craig in the water and blood flowing from his fingers，the five-meter-long shark simply swam away, disappearing into the water below.

Although sharks are often categorized as killers that hunt and eat as many humans as they can, this is factually inaccurate. Sharks very rarely kill humans. A person has a greater chance of being struck by lightning or drowning in a bath than of being killed by a shark. Only 74 people have been reported killed by great whites in the last century. But great white sharks can reach six meters in length and weigh 2,200 kilograms or more. With frightening jaws that can hold up to 3,000 teeth arranged in several rows，they could very easily kill and eat a helpless human in the water. Why is it, then, that most people survive attacks by great whites? Shark researchers are trying to comprehend the reasons that allow people to escape without being eaten.

The most common explanation is that great whites don't see well. It has been thought that they mistake people for the seals or sea lions which make up a large part of their diet. There is reason to doubt this，however. Recent information shows that great whites can actually see very well. Also， when attacking seals, great whites shoot up to the surface and bite with great force. When approaching humans, however, they most often move in slowly and bite less hard. They soon discover that humans are not a high - fat meal. "They spit us out because we're too bony," says Aidan Martin，director of Reef Quest Center for Shark Research.

Shark researchers like Martin hypothesize that great whites are actually curious animals that like to investigate things. It's possible that they use their bite not only to kill and eat, but also to gather information. Although such an experience is unlucky for people like Craig Rogers, when sharks bite surfboards or other objects or people，they are likely just trying to learn what they are.

詞匯：

scan vt審視，細(xì)看,瀏覽

elbow n.肘，肘部

surface n, 表面，外表；vi.浮出水面，浮現(xiàn)

drown vi.淹死，溺死

注釋：

1. ... cut two of his fingers on the shark's teeth.被鯊魚咬掉了兩個(gè)指頭。

2. A person has a greater chance of being struck by lightning or drowning in a bath than of being killed by a shark.比起被鯊魚殺死,人類更有可能被閃電擊中或是淹死在浴缸中。

練習(xí)：

1. After Craig Rogers fell into the water, the shark_________.

A) bit his surfboard

B) bit his fingers

C) swam away

D) attacked him

2. It is difficult for the author to understand why great whites_________.

A) often let humans escape

B) kill humans

C) have so many teeth

D) grow to six meters or more

3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to make up in line 2 of paragraph 4?

A) create.

B) are.

C) increase.

D) depend upon.

4. The word their in line 2 of paragraph 4 means_________.

A) people's

B) great whites'

C) sea lions'

D) seals'

5. What is the main idea of the fourth paragraph?

A) Great whites eat low-fat, bony meals more slowly.

B) Great whites see well enough to include seals, sea lions, and humans in their diet.

C) We now know great whites don't mistake humans for other animals.

D) There is reason to doubt that great whites see well enough to attack humans.

答案與題解：

1. C選項(xiàng)A(鯊魚咬沖浪板)和B(鯊魚咬他的手指)兩個(gè)選項(xiàng)發(fā)生在Craig落水之前，故排除這兩項(xiàng)。從第二段第三行可以得到如下信息：當(dāng)Craig落入水中，手指上的鮮血在水中散開之時(shí)，這條五米長的鯊魚卻自己游走了。此信息排除了選項(xiàng)D(鯊魚攻擊他），因此答案為C (鯊魚自己游走了）。

2. A從第二段第一行我們可以看出：鯊魚被人類視為殺手，這是一條常識(shí)，很容易理解，因此選項(xiàng)B(殺人)被排除。而選項(xiàng)C(有很多牙）和D(長到六米長或是更長）只是對(duì)鯊魚的簡單描述，也屬于常識(shí);而且文中并未出現(xiàn)對(duì)它們的質(zhì)疑，說明作者也默認(rèn)了這兩條常識(shí)。因此選項(xiàng)C和D也被排除。所以答案是A(常常讓人類逃脫），這在文中第三段得到了驗(yàn)證， 第三段整段就是在說雖然鯊魚可以輕松殺死人類，但是它們卻很少殺人。第三段最后兩行甚至提到就連鯊魚研究者們都在盡力尋找人類屢屢能鯊口逃生的原因，這就更能證明選項(xiàng) A是正確答案。

3. B本題要求讀者根據(jù)上下文的語境猜測(cè)第四段第二行斜體標(biāo)出的詞組make up的意思。 結(jié)合make up詞組前出現(xiàn)的單詞seal和sea lion以及它后面出現(xiàn)的詞組a large part of their diet,通過常識(shí)我們可以猜出：海豹和海獅應(yīng)該是鯊魚的主要食物來源。比對(duì)四個(gè)選項(xiàng)，我們可以發(fā)現(xiàn)選項(xiàng)A(創(chuàng)造）、選項(xiàng)C(增加）和選項(xiàng)D(依靠）在意思上都說不通，代入原文無法構(gòu)成有意義的一句話。因此只有選項(xiàng)B(是）在意思上和make up最為接近，代入原文也說得通。在本文中，詞組make up的意思為：組成，構(gòu)成。

4. B本題要求讀者根據(jù)上下文的語境猜測(cè)第四段第二行斜體標(biāo)出的單詞their的意思。結(jié)合第四段前兩行的內(nèi)容，我們可以很容易推測(cè)出，在這里their指代的是the great whites(大白鯊），因此答案為B。

5. C本題要求讀者總結(jié)出第四段的主要內(nèi)容。第四段主要介紹的是：人們起初以大白鯊視力不好為由來解釋人類為何屢屢鯊口脫險(xiǎn)，但是最近的信息表明大白鯊的視力并不差，不會(huì)把人類誤認(rèn)為是海豹或海獅。大白鯊不吃人是由于它們覺得人類太瘦，沒有海獅和海豹的肉那么肥。對(duì)比四個(gè)選項(xiàng)：選項(xiàng)A略顯片面，不是本段的主要內(nèi)容，故排除。選項(xiàng)B中提到大白鯊也把人類當(dāng)作食物來源，這點(diǎn)是錯(cuò)誤的，故排除B。選項(xiàng)D中說的是人們開始懷疑這一論斷的正確性，但是選項(xiàng)D的表述和文中的信息正好相反;人們現(xiàn)在開始懷疑的是"大白鯊 由于視力不好才去攻擊人類"這一論斷，而不是"大白鯊由于視力很好才去攻擊人類"，故排除D。所以正確答案為C(我們現(xiàn)在知道大白鯊不會(huì)把人類誤以為是其他動(dòng)物）。

參考譯文

第三篇 小心鯊魚！

克雷格o羅杰斯正坐在他的沖浪板上估算著下一波浪離他還有多遠(yuǎn)，就在這時(shí)沖浪板不動(dòng)了。他低頭向水下看，驚悚的一幕出現(xiàn)了： 一條大白鯊正在撕咬沖浪板的前端。"我的肘部可能都已經(jīng)碰到了它的眼睛"，克雷格談道。原來，這條鯊魚悄悄地浮上了水面，完全沒讓克雷格聽到。

克雷格驚慌害怕，手足無措，但是偶然之間他被鯊魚咬掉了兩支手指，然后隨著滑板翻了個(gè)個(gè)兒，他也掉進(jìn)水里。就在那時(shí)，處于水中的克雷格兩支手指鮮血直流，但這條五米長 的鯊魚卻徑直游開，消失在深海之中。

雖然鯊魚常被認(rèn)為是瘋狂殺人的獵手，但事實(shí)上這是不準(zhǔn)確的。鯊魚很少獵殺人類。比起被鯊魚殺死，人類更有可能被閃電擊中或是淹死在浴缸中。在上個(gè)世紀(jì)，有報(bào)道的只有74人命喪鯊魚之口。然而大白鯊可以長封6米長、2200公斤重或是更重。3000顆牙齒排成數(shù)排長在鯊魚那可怕的血盆大口中，它們可以輕易殺死并吃掉無助的落水者。但為什么大多數(shù)人受到大白鯊攻擊之后都能鯊口逃生呢？鯊魚研究者們正在努力尋找使得人類鯊口脫險(xiǎn)的原因。

最常用的解釋是說大白鯊的視力不好。人們認(rèn)為大白鯊會(huì)把人類錯(cuò)當(dāng)成是海豹或是海獅，后兩者是鯊魚的主要食物來源。但是人類又找到了理由來質(zhì)疑這一論斷。最近的研究信息表明大白鯊視力不錯(cuò)。并且當(dāng)大白鯊在攻擊海豹時(shí)，它們會(huì)迅速竄上海面，用力撕咬。但當(dāng)大白鯊在攻擊人類時(shí)，它們?cè)诖蠖鄶?shù)情況下會(huì)慢慢浮上海面，撕咬的力度也輕得多。它們很快就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)人類的肉不夠肥。"它們把我們吐出來是因?yàn)槲覀兲萘?quot;，艾丹o馬丁說道，他是鯊魚研究暗礁搜索中心的領(lǐng)頭人。

諸如馬丁這樣的鯊魚研究者們提出了這樣一種假設(shè)：大白鯊實(shí)際上是一種好奇心很重的動(dòng)物，它們喜歡探索新鮮事物。有可能它們撕咬物體不僅僅是為了獵殺和吃掉，也是為了搜集信息。雖然這種經(jīng)歷對(duì)于像克雷格·羅杰斯這些人來說很不幸，但是當(dāng)鯊魚在撕咬沖浪板， 或是別的物體，甚至是人類時(shí)，很可能它們只是在盡量了解那到底是個(gè)什么東西。

編輯推薦：

2013年職稱英語考試報(bào)名專題

2012年職稱英語考試真題匯總

（責(zé)任編輯：vstara）

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