昝亞娟

Artificial reefs have been used in many parts of the world. Made from submerged （在水中的） subway cars or buses， or even 3-d printed， these man-made structures are giving new homes to coral and other marine life. But now， theres a new dual-purpose reef that is helping to protect the fragile shoreline in Rotterdam， Netherlands， as well.

Officially called a Reef Enhancing Breakwater， reported Wired， the underwater modular structure is made of 17 blocks that weigh 16 tons each that are piled on the floor of the Mass River， just outside of Rotterdam. It is the first project of the startup Reefy and is designed to protect against the damage caused by large ships that go in and out of one of Europes busiest ports.

The startup was founded by Jaime Ascencio， a business development engineer in Latin America who was concerned about the loss of sand in the regions beaches that threatened the tourism industry. “If there is no sand， there are no guests，” Ascencio told Wired.

He knew about artificial reefs to provide natural breakwaters but nothing was available that was sustainable and stable enough to handle the waves. So he decided to get a masters degree in coastal engineering from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands in order to learn how to develop one himself.

Ascencio co founded Reefy with Leon Haines， a marine biologist who worked on coral reef restoration projects. It took them five years of research and development to come up with the artificial reef that is being tested in the Mass river.

The interlocking blocks that were used to construct the reef fit together like LEGO blocks. But before the blocks could be used to construct the underwater structure， there were many tests that had to be run.

（材料出自“Goodnet”網(wǎng)站，有刪改）

1.What happens to Rotterdam with so many large ships coming and going？

A. The beaches are damaged.

B. Many tourists come to visit.

C. Local wildlife disappears.

D. The air becomes polluted.

2. What do we know about Jaime Ascencio？

A. He was a native of Rotterdam.

B. He is a famous environmentalist.

C. He is an engineer in Latin America.

D. He majors in Artificial Intelligence.

3. Why did Ascencio go to the Delft University of Technology？

A. To make his company sustainable.

B. To promote the local tourism industry.

C. To get an advanced degree in engineering.

D. To learn how to protect the shoreline in Rotterd?am.

4. What is Paragraph 5 mainly about？

A. Where Reef Enhancing Breakwater is located.

B. How the artificial reef has come into being.

C. The current situation of the artificial reef.

D. An introduction to a marine biologist.

1. A。解析：細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)材料第二段，我們可知，大型船舶頻繁進出鹿特丹港，對當?shù)氐暮┰斐闪艘欢ǖ膿p害。故最佳答案為A。

2. C。解析：細節(jié)理解題。材料第三段提到“這家初創(chuàng)公司的創(chuàng)始人是拉丁美洲的一位業(yè)務開發(fā)工程師——Jaime Ascencio”，故最佳答案為C。

3. D。解析：推理判斷題。根據(jù)材料第四段的第二句，我們可知，Jaime Ascencio決定在荷蘭的代爾夫特理工大學攻讀海岸工程碩士學位，以便學習如何自己開發(fā)一個防波堤。故最佳答案為D。

4. B。解析：主旨大意題。材料第五段介紹了這個人工魚礁的由來，故最佳答案為B。