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.
词汇：
scan vt审视，细看,浏览
elbow n.肘，肘部
surface n, 表面，外表;vi.浮出水面，浮现
drown vi.淹死，溺死
注释：
1. ... cut two of his fingers on the shark’s teeth.被鲨鱼咬掉了两个指头。
2. A person has a greater chance of being struck by lightning or drowning in a bath than of being killed by a shark.比起被鲨鱼杀死,人类更有可能被闪电击中或是淹死在浴缸中。
练习：
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.
答案与题解：
1. C选项A(鲨鱼咬冲浪板)和B(鲨鱼咬他的手指)两个选项发生在Craig落水之前，故排除这两项。从第二段第三行可以得到如下信息：当Craig落入水中，手指上的鲜血在水中散开之时，这条五米长的鲨鱼却自己游走了。此信息排除了选项D(鲨鱼攻击他)，因此答案为C (鲨鱼自己游走了)。
2. A从第二段第一行我们可以看出：鲨鱼被人类视为杀手，这是一条常识，很容易理解，因此选项B(杀人)被排除。而选项C(有很多牙)和D(长到六米长或是更长)只是对鲨鱼的简单描述，也属于常识;而且文中并未出现对它们的质疑，说明作者也默认了这两条常识。因此选项C和D也被排除。所以答案是A(常常让人类逃脱)，这在文中第三段得到了验证， 第三段整段就是在说虽然鲨鱼可以轻松杀死人类，但是它们却很少杀人。第三段最后两行甚至提到就连鲨鱼研究者们都在尽力寻找人类屡屡能鲨口逃生的原因，这就更能证明选项 A是正确答案。
3. B本题要求读者根据上下文的语境猜测第四段第二行斜体标出的词组make up的意思。 结合make up词组前出现的单词seal和sea lion以及它后面出现的词组a large part of their diet,通过常识我们可以猜出：海豹和海狮应该是鲨鱼的主要食物来源。比对四个选项，我们可以发现选项A(创造)、选项C(增加)和选项D(依靠)在意思上都说不通，代入原文无法构成有意义的一句话。因此只有选项B(是)在意思上和make up最为接近，代入原文也说得通。在本文中，词组make up的意思为：组成，构成。
4. B本题要求读者根据上下文的语境猜测第四段第二行斜体标出的单词their的意思。结合第四段前两行的内容，我们可以很容易推测出，在这里their指代的是the great whites(大白鲨)，因此答案为B。
5. C本题要求读者总结出第四段的主要内容。第四段主要介绍的是：人们起初以大白鲨视力不好为由来解释人类为何屡屡鲨口脱险，但是最近的信息表明大白鲨的视力并不差，不会把人类误认为是海豹或海獅。大白鲨不吃人是由于它们觉得人类太瘦，没有海獅和海豹的肉那么肥。对比四个选项：选项A略显片面，不是本段的主要内容，故排除。选项B中提到大白鲨也把人类当作食物来源，这点是错误的，故排除B。选项D中说的是人们开始怀疑这一论断的正确性，但是选项D的表述和文中的信息正好相反;人们现在开始怀疑的是“大白鲨 由于视力不好才去攻击人类”这一论断，而不是“大白鲨由于视力很好才去攻击人类”，故排除D。所以正确答案为C(我们现在知道大白鲨不会把人类误以为是其他动物)。
参考译文
第三篇 小心鲨鱼!
克雷格•罗杰斯正坐在他的冲浪板上估算着下一波浪离他还有多远，就在这时冲浪板不动了。他低头向水下看，惊悚的一幕出现了： 一条大白鲨正在撕咬冲浪板的前端。“我的肘部可能都已经碰到了它的眼睛”，克雷格谈道。原来，这条鲨鱼悄悄地浮上了水面，完全没让克雷格听到。
克雷格惊慌害怕，手足无措，但是偶然之间他被鲨鱼咬掉了两支手指，然后随着滑板翻了个个儿，他也掉进水里。就在那时，处于水中的克雷格两支手指鲜血直流，但这条五米长 的鲨鱼却径直游开，消失在深海之中。
虽然鲨鱼常被认为是疯狂杀人的猎手，但事实上这是不准确的。鲨鱼很少猎杀人类。比起被鲨鱼杀死，人类更有可能被闪电击中或是淹死在浴缸中。在上个世纪，有报道的只有74人命丧鲨鱼之口。然而大白鲨可以长封6米长、2200公斤重或是更重。3000颗牙齿排成数排长在鲨鱼那可怕的血盆大口中，它们可以轻易杀死并吃掉无助的落水者。但为什么大多数人受到大白鲨攻击之后都能鲨口逃生呢?鲨鱼研究者们正在努力寻找使得人类鲨口脱险的原因。
最常用的解释是说大白鲨的视力不好。人们认为大白鲨会把人类错当成是海豹或是海狮，后两者是鲨鱼的主要食物来源。但是人类又找到了理由来质疑这一论断。最近的研究信息表明大白鲨视力不错。并且当大白鲨在攻击海豹时，它们会迅速窜上海面，用力撕咬。但当大白鲨在攻击人类时，它们在大多数情况下会慢慢浮上海面，撕咬的力度也轻得多。它们很快就会发现人类的肉不够肥。“它们把我们吐出来是因为我们太瘦了”，艾丹•马丁说道，他是鲨鱼研究暗礁搜索中心的领头人。
诸如马丁这样的鲨鱼研究者们提出了这样一种假设：大白鲨实际上是一种好奇心很重的动物，它们喜欢探索新鲜事物。有可能它们撕咬物体不仅仅是为了猎杀和吃掉，也是为了搜集信息。虽然这种经历对于像克雷格·罗杰斯这些人来说很不幸，但是当鲨鱼在撕咬冲浪板， 或是别的物体，甚至是人类时，很可能它们只是在尽量了解那到底是个什么东西。
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