小海馬放歸

李紅娟

主題語境：野生動物保護(hù) 篇幅：343詞 建議用時：7分鐘

In a world?record effort to help save a rare sea creature， Austra?lian scientists have released hundreds of baby seahorses into the wild.The tiny seahorses are endangered， and the scientists hope the new sea?horses will help their numbers grow.

Seahorses are small， thin fish with a long snout （長鼻子）. Theyrecalled“ seahorses” because they look a bit like horses. There are over40 different kinds of seahorses. They mostly live in warm， shallow waters around the world.They are often found in coral reefs， in beds of seagrass， and in areas where rivers emptyinto the sea. Seahorses form an important part of the oceans food chain.They eat tiny seacreatures and are eaten by bigger sea animals， such as crabs. In a way， they play an impor?tant role in keeping the diversity of marine species.

Many kinds of seahorses are threatened， often by the actions of humans. Sometimestheyre caught and sold as pets. They are also sometimes caught by accident when boats aretrying to catch other fish.

Seahorses are unusual because its the males who carry the babies. Males have a spe?cial pouch that allows them to carry over 100 babies at a time. The tiny babies are bornalive and can swim right away. When theyre born， the babies are about the size of a grainof rice.

To begin the project， the scientists collected three pregnant male seahorses. Thoseseahorses were brought back to the aquarium. After the babies were born， the scientistskept them at the aquarium for five months， feeding the baby seahorses to help them growstrong.

About a month before the young seahorses were released， the scientists created eightunderwater“ hotels” for them. The hotels look a little like cages， and provide a safe placefor the seahorses to develop. Putting the hotels into the sea early allowed the cages to becovered with small sea life that can help provide food for the seahorses. The researchersalso put tiny tags under the skin of many of the seahorses to help track them in the future.

1. Whats the purpose of releasing the baby seahorses into the wild？

A. To help increase the number of seahorses in the wild.

B. To study the behavior of seahorses in their natural habitat.

C. To protect the endangered seahorses from being caught by humans.

D. To provide a safe place for the baby seahorses to develop.

2. Why are seahorses important to the marine ecosystem？

A. They help control the population of small fish.

B. They provide food for larger predators.

C. They contribute to the diversity of marine species.

D. They help maintain the health of coral reefs.

3. Why are seahorses endangered according to the text？

A. They are sometimes caught and sold as pets.

B. They are often accidentally eaten by crabs.

C. They are in shortage of food.

D. They are too small to feed themselves.

4. Whats special about seahorses？

A. The females carry the babies.

B. The females can carry over 100 babies at a time.

C. The babies are born alive and can swim right away.

D. The babies are about the size of a mouse when theyre born.

LanguageStudy

Ⅰ. 日積月累

endangered adj. 瀕危的

seahorse n. 海馬

marine adj. 海洋的；海產(chǎn)的

underwater adj. 水下的

pouch n. 育兒袋

aquarium n. 水族館

tag n. 追蹤器

food chain 食物鏈

Ⅱ. 語法填空

Seahorses are unique marine creatures. However， their 1. （endanger） statushas caught the attention of scientists. Seahorses face threats from 2. （capture）and traded as pets， and they are often 3. （accident） caught during fishing activi?ties. Their disappearance would have an impact 4. the entire marine ecosystem，as they are important links in the 5. （ocean） food chain.

The reproductive behavior of seahorses is also 6. （remark）. Male seahorsescarry the babies inside their bodies and continue to care for 7. （they） after birth.During one reproductive cycle， a male seahorse can produce over 100 babies and all ofthem are capable 8. swimming immediately after birth.

9. （ensure） the survival of seahorses， scientists have taken measures toprotect them. After being nurtured at the aquarium for five months， the baby seahorses arereleased into the wild， 10. （aim） to increase the population of wild seahorses andprotect them from human hunting.