The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological（生态的） disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little munication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining pany discovered phosphate (磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which a very important fertilizer for farming. The pany began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine（带状矿）. When a pany strip-mines, it removes the top layer（层） of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.
【小题1】What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?A．To seek help for Nauru’s problems.B．To give a warning to other countries.C．To show the importance of money.D．To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.【小题2】What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?A．Rich and powerful. B．Modern and open. C．Peaceful and attractive. D．Greedy and aggressive.【小题3】The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from . A．soil pollutionB．phosphate over mining C．farming activity D．whale hunting【小题4】Which of the following was a cause of Nauru’s financial problem?A．Its leaders misused the money.B．It spent too much repairing the island.C．Its phosphate mining cost much money.D．It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.【小题5】What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?A．The phosphate mines were destroyed.B．The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously. C．The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.D．The ecological damage is difficult to repair.B
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(答案→)B
解析：瑙鲁在欧洲人到来之前是一个安定而美丽的地方。现在却变成了生态灾区。因为含有磷酸盐使得瑙鲁曾经富甲一方，但是领导人使用资金不当使瑙鲁陷入财政困难。专家说修复瑙鲁（岛）需要花$433,600,000的钱、20年的时间。而这几乎不可能。
【小题1】主旨大意题。文章第一段提到瑙鲁前后的变化以及该段最后一句“...other countries might learn from its mistakes.”可知，作者的写作目的是为了引起其他国家的重视，以示警告。故选B项。
【小题2】细节理解题。根据第一段第一句“...used to be a beautiful place.”以及第二段第一句“...lived on the remote island of Nauru，far from western civilization.”可知，瑙鲁在欧洲人到来之前是一个安定而美丽的地方。
【小题3】细节理解题。文章第四段提到一家英国矿业公司发现瑙鲁含有丰富的磷酸盐后开始开采，第五段又说明了其实这种露天矿的开采破坏了土壤的表层，最终使得“the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon”。因此可以看出其生态灾难是由过度的采矿引起的，故B项正确。
【小题4】细节理解题。根据最后一段前两句“...the leader invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars.In addition，they used millions more dollars for personal expenses.”可知，领导人使用资金不当，致使瑙鲁陷入财政困难。故选A项。
【小题5】推理判断题。结合文章最后一段倒数第二句专家所说的修复瑙鲁（岛）需要花的钱和时间，以及最后一句“This will probably never happen.”可以推断一旦造成生态破坏，是很难修复的。故选D项。