Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
(2023·河北省衡水中学月考)
British sculptor Jason Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums.Over the years, the environmentalist has put over 850 massive artworks underwater worldwide.On February 1,2021, Taylor launched his latest work The Underwater Museum of Cannes.
“The main goal was to bring attention to the fact that our oceans need our help，”Taylor told Dezeen, an architecture and design magazine.“Ocean ecology has been destroyed by human activity in the Mediterranean over the past few decades, and it is not obvious what is taking place when observing the sea from afar.”
The Underwater Museum of Cannes contains 6 sculptures featuring local residents of various ages.They range from Maurice, an 80-year-old fisherman, to Anouk，a 9-year-old student.Towering over 6 feet and weighing 10 tons, the faces are sectioned into two parts, with the outer part like a mask.The mask indicates that the world's oceans appear powerful and unbeatable from the surface but house an ecosystem that is extremely fragile due to careless human activity.
Though the waters surrounding the sculptures now appear a pristine blue, the seabed was filled with old boat engines, pipes, and other human-made trash when the project began about four years ago.Besides removing the trash, Taylor also restored the area's seagrass.Just one square meter of the seagrass can generate up to 10 liters of oxygen daily.The seagrass also helps prevent coastal erosion and provides habitats for many ocean creatures.
“The idea of creating an underwater museum was to draw more people to the underwater environment and develop a sense of care and protection，”Taylor told Dezeen.“If we threw unwanted waste near a forest, there would be a public outcry.But this is happening every day in our surrounding waters and it largely goes unnoticed.”
语篇导读：本文是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述了泰勒创建水下博物馆的经历以及该项目所造成的积极影响。
1．What are the underwater museums intended to do？_B__
A．To make huge profits.
B．To raise awareness of protecting the ocean.
C．To show Jason Taylor's talent.
D．To draw attention to endangered sea animals.
解析：细节理解题。根据第二段第一句“‘The main goal was to bring attention to the fact that our oceans need our help，’Taylor told Dezeen, an architecture and design magazine.”可知，水下博物馆的主要目标是让人们注意到“我们”的海洋需要“我们”的帮助，也就是提高人们保护海洋的意识。故选B。
2．Why does the outer part of the sculptures look like a mask？_D__
A．To popularize the features of the locals.
B．To remind people to protect themselves.
C．To reflect people's protection of the ocean.
D．To stress the sensitiveness of the ecosystem.
解析：细节理解题。根据第三段第四句“The mask indicates that the world's oceans appear powerful and unbeatable from the surface but house an ecosystem that is extremely fragile due to careless human activity.”可知，这个面具表明，从表面上看，世界上的海洋似乎强大而不可战胜，但它的生态系统由于不顾后果的人类活动而变得极其脆弱。由此可见，雕塑的外部看起来像一个面具就是为了强调生态系统的敏感性。故选D。
3．What's Paragraph 4 mainly about？_C__
A．How the project was started.
B．How the seagrass was restored.
C．What recovery effort the project made.
D．Why the sculptures were removed.
解析：主旨大意题。根据第四段可知，现在雕塑周围的水域呈现出一种纯净的蓝色，但四年前该项目开始时，海底充满了旧的船只引擎、管道和其他人造垃圾。除了清理垃圾，泰勒还恢复了该地区的海草。由此可见，第四段主要讲了该项目为了修复环境做出了哪些努力。故选C。
4．What can we infer from what Jason Taylor said in the last paragraph？_A__
A．The situation of the ocean is easily ignored.
B．The destruction of the ocean is noticeable.
C．Forests play a more important role in ecosystems.
D．People have zero tolerance of damage done to nature.
解析：推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句“If we threw unwanted waste near a forest, there would be a public outcry.But this is happening every day in our surrounding waters and it largely goes unnoticed.”可知，泰勒表示，如果我们在森林附近扔垃圾，会引起公众的强烈抗议。但这种情况每天都在我们周围的水域发生，而且很大程度上被忽视了，因此，我们可从泰勒的话中推断出海洋的状况很容易被忽视。故选A。
