In July 2024， a pod of 77 pilot whales washed up on a beach in Orkney， Scotland. It was the largest mass stranding（集體擱淺） of whales in Scotland for decades. Scientists don’t know exactly why whales beach themselves. One theory is that climate change is driving whales’ food closer to the shoreline， where they then get stuck as the tide goes out. If a single animal is found， it is usually because it is sick or has been injured.

In the Orkney stranding， 12 of the whales were still alive when they became beached. When this happens， marine organisations assess whether a whale can be safely refloated. Professionals and members of the community often come together， cover the animal in wet sheets and pour buckets of water over it， though not the blowhole， until the animal drifts back out to the ocean. Though it’s not always a happy ending.

For those that don’t survive， a post-mortem examination is often carried out. Dr Brownlow of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme told the BBC that these can reveal a lot about the whale’s life and the reasons why it was beached. In 2024， a very rare species of whale turned up on a beach in New Zealand——a spade-toothed whale. While this is sad， the carcass（尸體） was dissected in order to help researchers acquire new information about the species. “From a scientific and conservation point of view， this is huge”， said Gabe Davies， a Department of Conservation official.

Some beached whales who don’t survive have their skeletons sent to museums， while many others are returned to the water. This ensures the marine environment benefits because whale carcasses give off many nutrients. “When they fall and die and sink to the bottom of the ocean， they form these little nutrient-rich islands that can support a huge diversity of life”， says Dr Brownlow.

The more research that can be done， the better. For now， we can only do what we can to keep our oceans clean and safe.

（材料選自ChinaDaily網(wǎng)站，有刪改）

1.What can be inferred in Paragraph 1？

A. 77 pilot whales were killed on a beach in Orkney.

B. It’s the largest mass stranding of whales in Britain.

C. The true reason for the mass stranding isn’t clear.

D. Climate change contributed to the mass stranding.

2.What do professionals avoid doing when refloating a whale？

A. They pour water into the blow hole.

B. They pour water over the wet sheets.

C. They work with people of the community.

D. They use wet sheets to cover the animal.

3.What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 3 and paragraph 4？

A. The reason for a post-mortem examination.

B. The way to perform post-mortem examinations.

C. The places that the dead whales are sent to.

D. The benefits the dead beached whales bring about.

4.What does the author think of research on oceans？

A. Enough research has been done.

B. More research will be needed.

C. There’s no need to do research.

D. To do research about oceans is easy.

1. C。解析：推理判斷題。材料第一段的第三句提到“科學家們不清楚鯨魚為什么會自己去海灘”。由此可知，科學家不知道為什么鯨魚會集體擱淺。C選項與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選C。D選項為干擾項，那只是一個理論上的原因，未得到證實。

2.A。解析：細節(jié)理解題。材料第二段的第三句提到 “專業(yè)人士和社區(qū)成員經(jīng)常聚在一起，用濕床單蓋住動物，在上面倒上一桶桶的水，但是不是在噴水孔里，直到動物漂回大?！?。由此可知，專家把水澆在濕床單上，而不是噴水孔上。A選項與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選A。

3.D。解析：推理判斷題。材料第三段主要講述對死亡的鯨魚進行尸體解剖的益處，材料第四段主要講述死亡的鯨魚的去處及其帶來的益處。綜合起來看，這兩段講述的是死亡的鯨魚所帶來的益處。D選項與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選D。

4.B。解析：推理判斷題。材料最后一段的第一句提到“研究越多越好”。這就意味著我們對海洋的研究還不夠，還須做更多的研究。B選項與材料內(nèi)容相符，故選B。