中考英语百日阅读Day45

Penguin Feathers and Ocean Mercury Pollution

Penguins are special birds living in the Southern Hemisphere, mainly in Antarctica. They can’t fly but are great swimmers. Their thick feathers keep them warm in the coldest places.

Now, penguins are facing a new serious danger—ocean mercury pollution. Mercury is a kind of harmful chemical, and it mainly comes from human activities like industrial waste and mining. It goes into rivers and finally reaches the ocean.

The food chain in the ocean carries mercury to penguins. Penguins eat fish and krill, and these small sea animals take in mercury from seawater. When penguins hunt for food, mercury slowly builds up in their bodies. Most mercury is kept in their feathers. Scientists find that the more mercury in penguins’ feathers, the more polluted the ocean is.

Mercury pollution is bad for penguins’ health. It hurts their nervous system and makes it hard for mother penguins to lay healthy eggs. Baby penguins may die young because of mercury. What’s worse, climate change and overfishing make this problem even more serious.

Scientists study mercury in penguins’ feathers to learn about ocean pollution. They call on people to cut down mercury emissions and protect the ocean. It’s time for us to do something to save penguins and keep our oceans clean.

阅读理解

1. Where do most penguins live?

A. In the Northern Hemisphere.

B. In cold areas like Antarctica.

C. In warm tropical seas.

D. In forests near the ocean.

2. Where does ocean mercury mainly come from?

A. Natural sea animals.

B. Cold sea ice in Antarctica.

C. Human industrial activities.

D. Penguins’ daily activities.

3. The underlined phrase “builds up” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.

A. 积聚

B. 消失

C. 传播

D. 反弹

4. What harm does mercury pollution do to penguins?

A. It makes their feathers thicker.

B. It helps them find more food.

C. It damages their health and affects their babies.

D. It makes them swim faster.

5. Why do scientists study mercury in penguins’ feathers?

A. To make penguins live longer.

B. To know about the level of ocean pollution.

C. To change penguins’ living habits.

D. To help penguins catch more food.

参考答案

1. B

2. C

3. A

4. C

5. B

词汇积累

1. mercury /ˈmɜːkjəri/ n. 汞；水银

2. pollution /pəˈluːʃn/ n. 污染

3. harmful /ˈhɑːmfl/ adj. 有害的

4. chemical /ˈkemɪkl/ n. 化学物质 adj. 化学的

5. industrial /ɪnˈdʌstriəl/ adj. 工业的

6. mining /ˈmaɪnɪŋ/ n. 采矿

7. feather /ˈfeðə(r)/ n. 羽毛

8. nervous /ˈnɜːvəs/ adj. 神经的

9. system /ˈsɪstəm/ n. 系统

10. emission /ɪˈmɪʃn/ n. 排放

11. ocean mercury pollution

 海洋汞污染

12. industrial waste 工业废料

13. food chain 食物链

14. take in 吸收

15. hunt for food 觅食

16. build up 积聚；累积

17. be bad for 对……有害

18. nervous system 神经系统

19. cut down 减少

20. call on sb. to do sth. 

呼吁某人做某事

21. Mercury is a kind of harmful chemical, and it mainly comes from human activities like industrial waste and mining.

（汞是一种有害的化学物质，它主要来自工业废料、采矿等人类活动。）

22. When penguins hunt for food, mercury slowly builds up in their bodies.

（企鹅觅食时，汞会在它们体内慢慢积聚。）

23. It’s time for us to do something to save penguins and keep our oceans clean.

（我们是时候做些什么来拯救企鹅、保持海洋清洁了。）