雅思真题

IELTSEXAMINATIONLISTENINGREADINGSection1Youshouldspendabout20minutesonquestions1-15,whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.Sharks——FaceExtinction——ProfessorRobertLaw,headofMarineBiologicalLtd,whichmonitorstheoceanenvironment,andaleadinggovernmentaladvisoronmarinepollution,isclaimingtodaythatsharksareindangerofextinction.ProfessorLaw'smainpointisthatworldwidethenumberofsharksofmostspeciesisdroppingrapidly.Exactfiguresabouttheseelusivecreaturesarehardtocomeby,butthegeneralconsensusisthatcertainkindsofsharkpopulationhavedecreasedbyupto75%inthelast30years.Thegreatwhiteandtigersharkshaveseenthegreatestdropinnumbers,downbyasmuchas90%from20yearsago.Smallersharksarealsounderthreat-thepopulationsofmakos,hammerheads,evencommondogfisharebeingdecimated.EstimatessuggestthatBritishdogfishnumbershavehalvedinthelastdecadealone.Andthisdeclineisworldwide.ThebigsharkscongregatemainlyinthewarmerwatersofthePacificandCaribbean,butcoldwaterareassuchastheAtlanticandthenorthSeahavetheirownspeciesandthesetooareindanger.Thereasonsforthedeclineinnumbersarenothardtosee.OnehugereasonisthecontinueddemandforsharkfinsinSouth-EastAsia,wheretheyareusedtomakesoupandasingredientsinmedicines.MostsharksthatarekilledcommerciallyintheWestareprocessedfortheoilthatcomesfromtheirliversSharksarealsovictimsoffear,sincetheyareroutinelykilledbyfishermenwhentheyarelandedwithothercatches.Sharkshavenoprotection,writesProfessorLaw.Theyarenotoutsidethelaw-mostcountrieshavelawsprotectingthespecieswhicharemostunderthreat-buttheproblemisthatpeoplearesofrightenedofthesecreaturesthatthelawsarenotenforced.ThereareperhapsfivemarinebiologistsinEuropeactivelyinvolvedinattemptstosavesharkspecies,althoughthereisgreaterawarenessinAmericaandAustralia.Sharkshaveanimageproblem.Nobodyassociatesthemwithneedingtobesaved,simplybecausetheyaresuchfearsomepredators.Butthemarketdemandforsharkproductshasalwaysbeenhigh.Therealreasonwhysharkstockshaveplummetedisthesameasthereasonwhyotherfishspeciesareindecline.Modernfishingtechnology-theuseofsonaranddeep-nettinginparticular-hasmadetheshark'snaturaldefencesuseless.CharlesStarkling,authorofJaws:theMythoftheSea,agrees.Theequipmentthesharkhastodefenditselfisperfectintherightenvironment.Againstothersharks,humans,fish,allthenormaldangers,thesharkisvirtuallyinvincible.ButStarklingaddsthatnoanimal,nomatterhowlargeanddangerousonitsown,canfightagainststeelnets.Thenetsthatareputouttoprotectswimmersdon'tjustkeepsharksaway.Theykillthem.Asharkwhichiscaughtinanetdies,becausesharkscan'tstopswimming.Withoutaswimbladder,thesharkdrownsassoonasitstopsmoving.Starklingsaysitiscommonpracticeforsharkstohavetheirfinscutoffbyfishermenandthentobedroppedbackintheoceanalive.Theydiebydrowning.Andtheecologyofsharksmakesthemespeciallyvulnerable.Sharksaretop-of-the-chainpredators,feedingonvirtuallyanythingelseinthewater,andconsequentlytheyarequiterare.ForeverymillionherringintheAtlantic,therewillbeonemako.Sharksaresolitaryandterritorial,withunimaginablyvastareas.Thelargersharksalsoreproduceslowly,givingbirthtoliveyoungoneatatime.Mostpeopleareafraidofsharks,butwithoutgoodreason.Youaremanythousandsoftimesmorelikelytoberunoverordiefromsmoking-evendeathbylightningordrowninginyourbatharemorelikely-thantobeattackedbyashark,andeventhenmostsharkattackvictimssurvive.Recentresearchsuggeststhatmostsharkskillbymistakeaftertakinganexploratorybite-humansarenotsharks'chosenfood.Buttimeisrunningoutfortheseancientpredatorsofthedeeps.Whentheirpopulationshavegonebelowacertainlevel,noamountoflegislationwillprotectthem.ProfessorLawpointsoutthatmostsharkscannotbekeptinzoos,liketigers,andthatoncetheyaregonetheywillbegoneforever.Hecounselsthatsharksurgentlyneedprotectionbylawiftheyaretocontinuetogracetheseas.Questions1-8Completethesummarybelow.Chooseyouranswersfromtheboxbelowthesummaryandwritetheminboxes1-8onyouranswersheet.Therearemorewordsthanspaces,soyouwillnotuseallthegivenwords.SharksFaceExtinctionAllovertheworld,sharkpopulationsareindramatic________(1).Inwarmandcoldwaters,manysharkspecieshavebeenreducedtoa________(2)oftheirformersize.Thishascomeaboutlargelyasaresultofthedemandforsharkproductsinthemedicalandcateringindustries,butsharksarealsoleftbiologically________(3),sincetheylackswimbladdersandcandrowniftheyare________(4).Andtheshark'sreputationmeansitdoesnotenjoythe(5)ofotherendangeredspecies;conservationlawsareoften________(6).Allthesefactorsarecompoundedbyrecent________(7)inthetechniquesoffishing.Sharksarecomparativelyrare,becauseoftheirstatusas________(8),andreproduceslowly.Thismakesthemevenmoreexposedtothedangersofoverfishing.Withstocksalreadyverylow,thetimeforfulllegalprotectionhascome.improvementsprotectiondeclinefollowedfishvulnerablechangetechnologyignoredsectionattackerslawsmovementtrappedopenpartpredatorsmadefractionQuestions9-15DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage1?Inboxes9-15onyouranswersheet,writeYesifthestatementagreeswiththeinformation,Noifthestatementcontradictstheinformation,NotGivenifthereisnoinformationonthisinthepassage.9Weknowprecis