阅读理解
On December 26, 2004, hundreds of tourists
relaxed on Sri Lanka's Yala National Park's beaches. But at mid-morning the
park's elephants began crying wildly and running away from the ocean and up a
nearby hill. The puzzled keepers could tell the animals were worried about
something but what?
What the keepers did not know
was that a 30-foot wall of water was headed straight toward them. This tsunami(海啸) had
been caused by an earthquake more than 1, 000 miles away in the Indian Ocean.
When the huge wave hit the coast, it caused severe damage. Many people died.
The elephants, however, were not swept away by the water. They stood safely on
the hill.
Scientists have long suspected
that animals sense natural disasters before humans do. People have told stories
of dogs refusing to go outside and sharks swimming to deeper waters before a
hurricane. After the 2004 tsunami, people said they saw tigers, monkeys, and
water buffalo escaping to higher ground before the waters rushed in. Even in
the hardest-hit areas of southern Asia, there were few animal deaths.
It's unlikely that an animal's
so-called sixth sense comes from some magical power to see into the future.
Experts believe that animals may be more sensitive than humans to changes in
temperature and other environmental conditions that take place before a natural
disaster. The elephants in Sri Lanka, for example, may have picked up vibrations
from within the Earth, a sign that earthquake was coming. Because vibrations in
the ground travel much faster than an ocean wave, the elephants may have felt
the earthquake that caused the tsunami well before the tsunami itself came to
the coast.
A few scientists are calling
for a system to track reports of strange behavior in people's pets, hoping that
these reports can serve as a warning system that a natural disaster is about to
happen. But Marina Haynes, an animal behavior scientist at the Philadelphia Zoo,
says, "It would be an unreliable way to predict disasters. It can be
difficult to know what an animal is doing. Is the animal nervous because an
earthquake is about to happen or is it frightened because there is an enemy
nearby?"
(1)
What happened to the elephants in Yala National Park on December 26, 2004?
A . They died in the natural disaster.
B . They were disturbed by the tourists.
C . They moved from the hill to the seaside.
D . They behaved strangely before the tsunami.
(2)
The author supports his point of view in paragraph 3 mainly by .
A . giving examples
B . making comparisons
C . telling interesting stories
D . showing research findings
(3)
The underlined word vibrations in paragraph 4 means .
A . changes in temperature
B . a kind of chemical power
C . continuous shaking movement
D . serious environmental pollution
(4)
What may be Marina Haynes' attitude towards the warning system in the last paragraph?
A . Positive.
B . Doubtful.
C . Hopeful.
D . Supportive.
答案: D
A
C
B