Passage 3
Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:
There are more species(种类）of beetles(甲虫）than any other form of life. About 380,000 species of beetles are known to exist, and more are discovered all the time. (79) There are several theories about why there are so many beetles, but evidence shows that beetles have the lowest extinction rate of any animal ever.
One of the reasons beetles survive so well is their body design. Most beetle species have two pairs of wings. The front pair of a beetle’s wings are hard and thick. These project he rear set of wings and the beetle’s stomach region. They are not used for flying. Indeed, some species of beetles have lost the ability to fly, but they are still equipped with front wings.
Beetles can also eat a wide range of foods. Beetle species live all over the world, and they have many different types of food available to them. Most beetles are omnivores. That means they eat both plants and animals. The mixed diets help beetles adapt to many different environments.
Finally, beetles are good at moving quickly over long distances. Any change in an animal’s environment can be dangerous to it, but some species can avoid dangerous environment changes by migrating to a new place. Research shows that beetles respond quickly to shifts in temperature. They can migrate to safer environments.
Beetles’ bodies and habits help give them an edge over other creatures. (80) They are unlikely to die out. As a result, beetles make up nearly one quarter of all animal species. There are more types of beetles on earth than there are types of plants. Some types of beetles that exist today were around during the Permian period of history, 284 million years ago. Beetles, clearly, are here to stay.
11. What is the passage mainly about?
Why beetles have two pairs of wings.
Why there are so many species of beetles.
Why there are different types of food for beetles.
Why beetles are good at moving long distances.
【答案】B。主旨题。本题问文章的主要内容是什么。A选项是为什么甲虫有两对翅膀，B选项是为什么有那么多种类的甲虫，C选项是为什么有不同种类的食物供甲虫食用，D选项是为什么甲虫擅长远距离移动。从文章的第一段"There are more species of beetles than any other form of life.”和最后一段“They are unlikely to die out.As a result， beetles makeup nearly one quarter of all animal species.There are more types of beetles on earth than there are types of plants.”可知， 本文主要阐述了甲虫种类繁多及其存活时间长的原因故选B。
12. Beetles survive better than other animals because of their______.
bodies and habits
stomach and diets
diets and ability to fly
ability to fly and migrate
【答案】A。细节理解题。本题问的是甲虫比其他动物生存能力更强的原因是什么。A选项是身体和习性，B选项是胃和饮食，C选项是饮食和飞行的能力，D选项是飞行和迁移的能力。由文章最后一段前两句话“Beetles°bodies and habits help give the man edge over other creatures.They are unlikely to die out.”得知，A选项为正确答案，是对全文的概括。B、C、D三个选项以偏概全，仅仅是其中的一个原因，是对二、三、四段的分别概括。
13. Which of the following is NOT TRUE of beetles?
Some species have existed for 284 million years.
They live all around the world.
They have two pairs of wings to fly.
They are unlikely to die out.
【答案】C。正误判断题。本题要求选出对甲虫的描述不正确的一项。A选项是一些种类存活了2.84亿年， 对应最后一段倒数第二句“Some types of beetles that exist today were around during the Permian period of history， 284 million years ago.”。B选项是甲虫生活在世界各地， 对应第三段第二句“Beetle species live all over the world..”。D选项是它们不太可能灭绝， 对应最后一段第二句“They are unlikely to dic out.”。C选项是它们有两对翅膀用于飞行， 对应第二段第二句“Most beetle species have two pairs of wings."， 而原文说的是大部分甲虫有两对翅膀，C选项的说法过于绝对，故C选项错误。
14. The word edge in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to______.
evidence
margin
survival
advantage
【答案】D。词义猜测题。本题要求选出与文中的edge词义相同的选项。A选项evidence证据， B 选项margin边缘， C选项survival生存， D选项advantage优势。文章最后一段第一句话“Beetles'bodies and habits help give the man edge over other creatures."， 意思是甲虫的身体和习性让它们比其他生物更具优势。由此可见，只有D选项符合句意。
15. How many animal species are there according to the passage?
Around 1.52 million.
Around 380,000.
Around 284 million
Not known.
【答案】A。细节理解题。本题问世界上有多少个物种，涉及简单的计算。根据文章第一段第二句话“About 380， 000 species of beetles are known to exist..和最后一段第三句话“As a result， beetles makeup nearly one quarter of all animal species.”， 可知甲虫种类为38万， 几乎占所有物种数量的四分之一， 可推算出所有物种的数量为1.52 million， 即A选项。