阅读理解
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 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 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. 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 might be the author's purpose in writing the text?
A . To seek help for Nauru's problems.
B . To give a warning to other countries.
C . To show the importance of money.
D . To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.
(2)
What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?
A . Rich and powerful.
B . Modern and open.
C . Peaceful and attractive.
D . Greedy and aggressive.
(3)
The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from .
A . soil pollution
B . phosphate overmining
C . farming activity
D . whale hunting
(4)
Which of the following was a cause of Nauru's financial problem?
A . Its leaders misused the money.
B . It spent too much repairing the island.
C . Its phosphate mining cost much money.
D . It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.
(5)
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.
答案: B
C
B
A
A