Notsolongago,asailorsailingacrossthecold watersofthenorthern Pacific Ocean mighthave had every chance of meeting aseacow.Thiscow would have measured10meterslongandweighedbetweenfiveand10tonsanditwouldspendmost ofitsday movingslowlyintheseas,eatinggrassgrowingunderwater.Thecowin questionwasknownasSteler�sseacow,whichhasnowdiedout.

高二英语试题第4页 (共12页 )

Today,manypeopledon�tknow thatsuchastrangecreatureonceexisted,or don�t know its unbelievable story.but many scientists have discovered many fundamentalfactsaboutthismystical (神秘的)animal.

Surprisingly,thefirstrecordedsightingofaSteler�sseacowdidn�thappenuntil 1741.Whenasailingexpedition (探险)wasstuckonanuninhabitedisland,later namedBeringIsland.Thesailorssurvivedbyhuntingandeatingtheenormousseacow. Likeits modernrelatives,theseacow livedin groups.Thatanditsslow moving behaviormadeiteasytobecaught.

Thosesailorsthatescapedfromtheislandspreadwordoftheamountofmeattobe foundoffitsshore.Asaresult,moreandmorepeoplecametohunttheanimals.Itis saidthatoneseacowcouldfeed33menforamonth

However,just27yearsaftertheislandandspecieshadbeendiscoveredbymodern man,thelastseacowwasreportedkiled.Thismakestheseacowoneofthefewtruly largemammalsknowntohavebeendrivenextinctinthemodernage.

24.Whatdoestheunderlinedphrase"inquestion"inPara1mean?

A.Indanger. B.Referredto.

C.Indoubt. D.Beingquestioned.

25.WhendidtheSteler�sseacowbecomeextinct?

A.In1717. B.In1741. C.In1768. D.In1775.

26. WhichofthefolowingwordscanbestdescribetheSteler�sseacow? A.Endangered. B.Huge. C.Strange. D.Mild.

27. Whatisthetextmainlyabout?

A.AnunbelievablestoryabouttheSteler�sseacow.