Question

    Caterpillars（毛毛虫）are cute. They star in children's books. They turn into pretty butterflies. And now it turns out they may hold the key to solving plastic pollution.

Like many great findings and inventions, the discovery of a caterpillar that eats plastic was made accidentally. Bertocchini, a biologist in Madrid, was cleaning her hobby beehives(蜂箱）and used a plastic shopping bag to collect the caterpillars which eat wax(蜂蜡）. When she looked at the bag later, she was surprised to see it was full of holes. She decided to look into this plastic-eating wonders of caterpillars with her team.

They offered a plastic bag from a UK supermarket to a group of 100 wax-eating caterpillars. They began creating holes after 40 minutes; 12 hours later, they had reduced the mass of the bag by 92mg. While there have been other creatures that eat plastics, none of them have been able to do so better than these caterpillars.

"This discovery could be an important tool for helping to cut down the problem of plastic waste and save our oceans and rivers," Bertocchini said. "The caterpillar will be the starting point. Before using this finding in a practical way to solve plastic problems, we need to understand the chemical secrets behind the natural degradation(降解）of plastic. Something in the caterpillar一as well as the caterpillar itself—might play a role".

1.How did Bertocchini find that caterpillars was able to eat plastic?

A.By cleaning her beehives.

B.By making holes in a plastic bag

C.By doing research with her teammates.

D.By putting caterpillars into a plastic bag.

2.Which statement is TRUE about the wax-eating caterpillar?

A.Plastic is their favourite food.

B.They are only found in beehives

C.They are the best in eating plastic.

D.They can eat up a plastic bag in 12 hours.

3.The underlined word "They" in Para 3 refers to _________.

A.wax-eating saterpillars B.Bertocchini and her teammates

C.plastic bags D.UK supermarkets

4.From the last paragraph, we can know that how the caterpillar breaks down plastic is ________.

A.unknown B.interesting C.important D.powerful

5.Which can be the best title of the passage?

A.Animals That Eat Plastic. B.A Possible Key to Plastic Problems.

C.An Important Science Discovery. D.Protecting Environment.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.A

5.B

【解析】

本文主要讲述毛毛虫可能是解决塑料污染的关键。通过实验发现毛毛虫可能成为帮助减少塑料垃圾问题、拯救海洋和河流的重要工具。

1.细节理解题。根据“used a plastic shopping bag to collect the caterpillars which eat wax”可知，贝托奇尼发现毛毛虫能吃塑料是通过把毛毛虫放进塑料袋中。故选D。

2.推理判断题。A项：塑料是他们最喜欢的食物。文中并未提及，该项表述错误；B项：它们只能在蜂房里找到。文中并未提及，该项表述错误；C项：他们是吃塑料最好的东西。根据“none of them have been able to do so better than these caterpillars.”可知，它们中没有一只能比这些毛毛虫做得更好，该项表述正确；D项：它们可以在12小时内吃掉一个塑料袋。根据“12 hours later, they had reduced the mass of the bag by 92mg.”可知，12小时后，他们将袋子的重量减少了92毫克，该项表述错误。故选C。

3.词句猜测题。A项：吃蜂蜡的毛毛虫；B项：贝托基尼和她的队友；C项：塑料袋；D项：英国超市。根据前文“They offered a plastic bag from a UK supermarket to a group of 100 wax-eating caterpillars.”可知，此处they指的是前文吃蜂蜡的毛毛虫。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据“we need to understand the chemical secrets behind the natural degradation(降解）of plastic”可知，我们需要了解化学秘密背后的自然降解的塑料，所以毛毛虫是如何分解塑料的还是未知的。故选A。

5.最佳标题题。A项：吃塑料的动物；B项：塑料问题的一个可能的关键；C项：一个重要的科学发现；D项：保护环境。分析文章可知，本文讲述毛毛虫可能是解决塑料污染的关键。故选B。