The huge Florida wetland known as the Everglades is a slow-moving river 80 kilometres wide but only a few centimeters deep。 People call the Everglades a “river of grass” because sawgrass covers most of it。 Sawgrass is not really grass。 It is a plant that has leaves edged with tiny sharp teeth that can easily cut through clothes—and skin！

Travel in the Everglades is difficult。 You cannot walk through shallow water because the sawgrass will cut you。 The water is too shallow for regular boats。 So， we use an airboat。 An airboat is a flat， open boat。 Like an airplane， it has a big propeller to move it。 The propeller is fixed on the rear of the boat。 It makes a tremendous noise， but it does the job。 The boat skims along the water’s surface。 Although we can still get lost in an airboat， at least we are above the alligators（短吻鱷）。

While hundreds of different kinds of animals live in the Everglades， the most famous is surely the alligator。 Once endangered， alligators are now protected within Everglades National Park。 Visitors are likely to see them both on land and in water。

For a long time， dangers have threatened the Everglades。 Around 1900， some people felt this precious wetland should be drained （排幹）。 They said it was just a big swamp and not good for anything。 In the 1920s， there was a land boom in Florida。 People wanted to build homes everywhere， including in the Everglades。 They built canals， levees （防洪堤）， and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades。 Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland。 These factories dumped poisonous waste that damaged the Everglades ecosystem。

People are now working to preserve the Everglades National Park for the future。 Right now， one big problem is the paperbark tree。 This tree is an invader from Australia。

Paperbark trees soak up a lot of water。 In the early 1900s， people brought them to Florida because they thought they would help drain the Everglades。 However， the invaders adapted too well。 Paperbark trees have taken over hundreds of thousands of acres of the Everglades and killed other trees。 Scientists are cutting down these invaders or spraying them with herbicides （除草劑） to kill them。

【小題1】Which helps to explain why it is difficult to travel in Everglades？

A．Airboats may make a very big noise。

B．You may get lost when passing through。

C．Paperbark trees soak up too much water there。

D．Many different kinds of animals are to be protected。

【小題2】Why do people use airboats instead of normal boats？

A．They have big propellers to move them faster than alligators。

B．The propeller makes loud noise so as to scare alligators。

C．Their flat bottom can skim along the water surface。

D．They can watch alligators without hurting them。

【小題3】The following measures were taken to drain the Everglades except that people______。

A．built canals and levees to stop the rivers flowing into Everglades

B．built factories near rivers that flowed into the wetland

C．brought Paperbark to soak up water in Everglades

D．are cutting down these Paperbark trees

【小題4】The underlined word “invader” probably means something______。

A．that moves in from another place

B．that enters and takes control

C．that has been brought in

D．that is in danger

21世紀教育網來自: 21世紀教育網 2015-12-15

【答案】

【小題1】B

【小題2】C

【小題3】D

【小題4】B

【答案解析】試題分析：本文介紹了美國著名的佛羅里達溼地Everglades，以及人們保護這塊溼地的有關情況。

【小題1】B 細節題。根據第二段第5行Although we can still get lost in an airboat， at least we are above the alligators（短吻鱷）。說明迷路仍然是一個危險，故B正確。

【小題2】C 細節題。根據第二段4，5行It makes a tremendous noise， but it does the job。 The boat skims along the water’s surface。說明這種船能沿著水面前行，不會受到sawgrass的影響，故C正確。

【小題3】D 細節題。根據文章2，3段People wanted to build homes everywhere， including in the Everglades。 They built canals， levees （防洪堤）， and other water systems that stopped the rivers flowing into the Everglades。 Factories were built near rivers that flowed into the wetland

Right now， one big problem is the paperbark tree。 This tree is an invader from Australia。說明ABC三項都是人們所採取的措施，只有D項不是，D項中的砍樹，那是因為這種樹吸收水分太厲害了，導致其它植物的死亡。故D項符合本題要求。

【小題4】B 推理題。根據本句Right now， one big problem is the paperbark tree。 This tree is an invader from Australia。說明這種樹是從澳大利亞引進過來的，根據下一段，說明這種外來的樹種適應性很強，吸水性很強導致其它植物死亡了，故該詞是指入侵者，故B正確。

考點：考查地理類短文閱讀

點評：人們在保護Everglades的同時也給它帶來了很多的麻煩，如引進了Paperbark tree。考查細節題較多，如前3題都是。答題時在文章找到對應的地方，用筆進行標記，這有利於後期有時間檢查時可以立刻找到答案的位置。仔細理解作者所講的意思，再結合選項，透過排除法和自己對全文的把握，選出正確答案。