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請依下文回答第 41 題至第 45 題:
More than 320 million metric tons of plastic are produced every year — and a disturbing amount ends up in the
ocean, with much of it 41 in places like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a massive area measuring more than 1.6 million square kilometers.
Researchers from the Ocean Cleanup foundation conducted a survey of plastic in the area, using planes to 42 from
the sky and boats to trawl the water. They found that the amount of plastic there seemed to be increasing exponentially
and that there could be 16 times as much as previously thought.
There’s far too much plastic in the world’s oceans, and the problem continues to 43 . Every little bit of
plastic that gets tossed into the ocean or swept downstream out to sea either sinks or is picked up by currents. Much of
it is eventually carried into one of five massive ocean regions, where plastic can be so 44 that areas have
garnered names like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
There may be more than 16 times as much plastic in the patch than previous studies have 45 , according to
the researchers behind the study. An aerial view of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch might at first appear to be open
water. But inside there is debris from all over the world — debris that traps or is eaten by marine animals, filling up
their bodies to the point of being fatal and tainting our food supply.
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42 preserve reserve observe conserve
43 put away build up go down take off
44 continued conducted consumed concentrated
45 affected adopted estimated eliminated
請依下文回答第 46 題至第 50 題:
Researchers at Vanderbilt University decided to find out how intelligent various animals are. To rightly compare brain
power in species, it isn’t enough to weigh brain tissue. You must take into account the brain relative to the organism’s
size. But this may fall short of evaluating actual intelligence.
Neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel said, “I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has determined the
richness of their internal mental state and their ability to predict what is about to happen in their environment based on
past experience.” She and her colleagues found that meat eaters have about the same number of neurons as plant eaters.
That means plant eaters need as much brain power to escape from predators as meat eaters need to catch them.
How do cats and dogs measure up? Previous findings had cats ahead at 300 million neurons to dogs roughly 160
million. In this latest study, however, dogs were on top, with 530 million neurons to cats 250 million. Just for
comparison, humans have around 16 billion such neurons. Even so, dogs were way above other meat eaters in the brain
power department.
Having a bigger brain has a downside, researchers have found. “Meat eating is largely considered a problem-solver in
terms of energy,” Herculano-Houzel said, “but in retrospect, it is clear that meat eating animals must impose a delicate
balance between how much brain and body a species can afford.” This may be why you often see large predators like
lions and bears dozing.
46 Which of the following phrases is closest in meaning to the word “species”?
Various food. Various eaters. Various animals. Various brain power.
47 What is the main idea of this passage?
The ratio of the brain size relative to the body size of an animal is a good measure of intelligence.
The number of neurons is an absolute measure of an animal’s intelligence, be it a plant eater or a meat eater.
The number of neurons reveals that plant eaters are generally smarter than meat eaters.
The ratio of the number of neurons relative to the size of an animal’s body can indicate how smart the animal is.
48 According to the latest study, which of the following statements is true?
Dogs are much smarter than most meat eaters, including cats.
Cats have more neurons in their brain than other meat eaters, including dogs.
The number of a cat’s neurons can double that of a dog’s, and that makes cats better pets for humans.
Dogs are quite intelligent and they have as many neurons as humans do.
49 According to the passage, why do plant eaters need to have strong brain power?
To find sufficient food to maintain their brain power.
To predict possible danger to prevent themselves from being eaten up.
To predict possible food sources to support their relatively larger body size.
To find safe places to rest to conserve their energy.
50 Which of the following statements can be inferred from this passage?
Cats are more intelligent than dogs.
Large size meat eating animals tend to sleep a lot.
Plant eating animals tend to have a larger brain size.
Dogs and cats are suggested to live on a vegetarian diet.