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Questions 08-18 What makes the sea cucumber unusual (全對！)

      __Certainly no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber.__ All living

creature, especially human beings, have their peculiarities, but everything about the

little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that,

among other eccentricities, eats mud__, __feeds almost continuously day and night but can

live without eating for long periods__, and __can be poisonous but is considered supremely

__edible by gourmets__?

      For some fifty million years, despite all its eccentricities, the sea cucumber has

subsisted on its __diet of mud__. It is adaptable enough to live attached to rocks by its tube

feet, under rocks in shallow water, or on the surface of mud flats. Common in cool

water on both Atlantic and Pacific shores, it has the ability to suck up mud or sand and

digest whatever nutrients are present.

      Sea cucumbers come in a variety of __colors__, ranging from black to reddish-brown to

sand-color and nearly white. One form even has vivid purple tentacle. Usually the

creatures are __cucumber-shaped__－hence their name－and because they are typically

rock inhabitants, this shape, combined with flexibility, enables them to squeeze

into crevices where they are safe from predators and ocean currents.

      Although they have voracious appetites, eating day and night, sea cucumbers have

__the capacity to become quiescent and live at a low metabolic rate__－feeding sparingly

or not at all for long periods, so that the marine organisms that provide their food have

a chance to multiply. If it were not for this faculty, they would devour all the food

available in a short time and would probably starve themselves out of existence.

      But the most spectacular thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself.

Its major enemies are fish and crabs, when attacked, it squirts all its internal organs

into the water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber

will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attached or even touched; it will do the same

if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.

8. What does the passage mainly discuss?

   (A) The reason for the sea cucumber's name

   (B) What makes the sea cucumber unusual

   (C) How to identify the sea cucumber

   (D) Places where the sea cucumber can be found

9. In line 3, the word "bizarre" is closest in meaning to

   (A) odd

   (B) marine

   (C) simple

   (D) rare

10. According to the Passage, why is the shape of sea cucumbers important?

   (A) It helps the to digest their food.

   (B) It helps them to protect themselves from danger.

   (C) It makes it easier for them to move through the mud.

   (D) It makes them attractive to fish.

11. The word "this faculty" in line 20 refer to the sea cucumber's ability to

   (A) squeeze into crevices

   (B) devour all available food in a short time

   (C) such up mud or sand

   (D) live at a low metabolic rate

12. The fourth paragraph of the passage primarily discuss

   (A) the reproduction of sea cucumbers

   (B) the food sources of sea cucumbers

   (C) the eating habits of sea cucumbers

   (D) threats to sea cucumbers' existence

13. The phrase "casts off" in line 24 is closest in meaning to

   (A) grows again

   (B) grabs

   (C) gets rid of

   (D) uses as a weapon

14. Of all the characteristics of the sea cucumber, which of the following seems to fascinate theauthor most?

   (A) What it does when threatened

   (B) Where it lives

   (C) How it hides from predators

   (D) What it eats

15. Compared with other sea creatures the sea cucumber is very

   (A) dangerous

   (B) intelligent

   (C) strange

   (D) fat

16. What can be inferred about the defense mechanisms of the sea cucumber?

   (A) They are very sensitive to surrounding stimuli.

   (B) They are almost useless.

   (C) They require group cooperation.

   (D) They are similar to those of most sea creatures.

17. Which of the following would NOT cause a sea cucumber to release its internal organs into the water?

   (A) A touch

   (B) Food

   (C) Unusually warm water

   (D) Pollution

18. Which of the following is an example of behavior comparable with the sea cucumber living at a low metabolic rate?

   (A) An octopus defending itself with its tentacles

   (B) A bear hibernating in the wintering

   (C) A pig eating constantly

   (D) A parasite living on its host's blood

註釋

• Paragraph 1
  • no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber:
    • eats mud
    • feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods
    • can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets
• Paragraph 2
  • diet of mud
• Paragraph 3
  • color & shape
• Paragraph 4
  • have the capacity to become quiescent and live at a low metabolic rate

    for marine organisms to multiply, no starvation

• Paragraph 5
  • the way it defends itself: squirts all its internal organs into the water

題解

BAB DCCAC ABB

8. 第一段就說了 no creature in the sea is odder than the common sea cucumber，然後三、四、五段都在說它哪裡怪、怎麼怪

9. bizarre ≒ odd (第一段用了許多相近字： odd, bizarre, eccentricties)

10. 第三段最後一句："this shape, combined with flexibility, enables them to squeeze into crevices where they are safe from predators"

11. this faculty 可以看出是在指稱上一句的東西，而上一句主要就是在講 the capacity to live at a low metabolic rate

12. 整段就是在講 eating habit： eat day and night、low metabolic rate

13. cast off ≒ get rid of

14. most，最後一段第一句："But the most spectacular thing about the sea cucumber is the way it defends itself."

15. odd ≒ strange

16. (B)、(C) 沒提過，(D) 相反，選 (A)："it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted."

17. "The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attached or even touched;

        it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted."

       touch, water tempature is high (unusually warm), polluted

18. hibernate 冬眠，也是 low metabolic

單字

• peculiarity 古怪,怪癖,特質 a strange or unusual habit, quality
• bizarre 奇異的;異乎尋常的 very unusual or strange
• eccentricity 怪癖 strange or unusual behaviour
• supremely 至上地 extremely or to the greatest possible degree
• edible 可食的,食用的 something that is edible can be eaten
• subsist on 靠...維持生活 to stay alive when you only have small amounts of food or money
• adaptable 適應性強的 able to change in order to be successful in new and different situations
• mud flats 沼地;淺灘(P) an area of land that is at a low level, especially near water
• tentacle 觸鬚,觸手,觸角
• crevice 裂縫,裂隙,破口 a narrow crack in the surface of something, especially in rock
• voracious 狼吞虎嚥的;貪婪的 (常和 appetite 合用)eating or wanting large quantities of food
• appetites 食慾,胃口 a desire for food
• quiescent 靜止的;沈默的 not developing or doing anything, especially when this is only a temporary state
• metabolic 變化的;新陳代謝的
• sparingly 節儉地,謹慎地,缺少地 using or doing only a little of something
• organism 有機體
• faculty 機能,能力 a particular skill that someone has
• devour 狼吞虎嚥地吃,吃光 to eat something quickly because you are very hungry
• squirt 噴射,注射 if you squirt liquid or if it squirts somewhere, it is forced out in a thin fast stream
• cast off 丟棄 to remove or get rid of something or someone that you no longer want or need
• eviscreate 取出...的內臟 to cut the organs out of a person's or animal's body
• stimuli (stimulus 的複數) 刺激 something that helps a process to develop more quickly or more strongly

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