Question

People used to think that wetlands were wasted land. Developers would drain them with ditches（水溝），fill them in with tons of soil，and build houses，schools，and parking areas on them.Then scientists began to realize the important role wetlands played in the environment.

Wetlands act like giant sponges（海綿） during storms.They soak up extra storm water and afterward release it slowly back into the water cycle.This helps prevent flooding. Towns where people have drained wetlands have found that in a big storm，their streets and homes are often flooded because there are no wetlands to soak up the excess water.

Wetlands also act as giant filters where pollutants are absorbed and dissolved over time.Though wetlands can become polluted from dumping，wastewater，and fertilizer run?off from farm fields，they are able to process some pollutants over time because of all the microorganisms and plants living there.

Wetlands are especially important for providing homes and breeding grounds to millions of birds，fish，and amphibians worldwide. Many wetlands have become national wildlife refuges（避難所），where you can go to take pictures and look at birds and animals.

The Everglades are a huge wetland that once covered more than four million acres of southern Florida. Sometimes called the “river of grass”，the Everglades are a shallow sheet of water that slowly flowed across a grassy plain. In the late 1800s people began draining parts of the Everglades for development. Roads were built and towns sprang up.The Everglades shrank to half its original size. Cities like Miami grew up where once there was a thriving wetland. Sewage and waste from the cities were pumped into the remaining wetlands. Over time scientists began to see the importance of the Everglades. Even with its smaller size，the Everglades filtered the pollutants coming from the cities，absorbing the worst of it like a sewage treatment plant. During storms the Everglades protected the cities from storm surge flooding. They also are just a great place to visit and see wildlife.

1.The first paragraph is intended to tell us________.

A．wasted land used to be wetlands

B．people didn’t know the importance of wetlands before

C．wetlands used to be left undisturbed

D．wetlands can be used for building

2.Why can wetlands be compared to giant sponges?

A．They absorb extra water from storms.

B．They become large or small in size.

C．They absorb pollutants and dissolve them.

D．They are made of soft soil.

3.As for the importance of wetlands，how many aspects are mentioned in the passage?

A．Two. B．Three. C．Four. D．Five.

4.The example of the Everglades is given in the last paragraph to show________.

A．the threat to wetlands

B．the protection of wetlands

C．the development of wetlands

D．the importance of wetlands

5.We can infer from the passage that________.

A．some wetlands can be used to build cities or towns

B．wetlands in the world are disappearing fast

C．wetlands play an important role in the ecosystem

D．wetlands are especially important to wildlife

Answer 1

1.B

2.A

3.B

4.D

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：文中主要介紹了人們原來認為濕地的荒廢無用的，而亂開發，實際濕地卻對生態平衡起著重要的作用。

1.推理判斷題。文章第一段說明，人們原先認為濕地是荒廢的土地，因此在那里亂搭亂建，說明人們原先對濕地的重要性認識不足，故選B。

2.細節理解題。從文章第二段可知，濕地可以像海綿一樣，吸收暴風雨中的積水，故選A。

3.細節理解題。從文章第二段到第四段，每段說明濕地重要性的一個方面，故選B。

4.推理判斷題。分析文章最后一段，本段通過美國the Everglades的例子說明，由于受到人類活動的影響，濕地面積減少，但仍然發揮著十分重要的作用，強調濕地的重要性，故選D。

5.推理判斷題。從文章第二段到第四段，分別說明濕地可以吸收暴風雨中的積水、可以過濾污染物以及為鳥類提供棲息繁衍地，說明濕地對生態系統起著重要的作用，故選C。

考點：環境保護類文章