Passage 25
（2010 重慶 D）

Sitting on the peaceful coast of Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, watching the sun move quietly into the sea, you shouldn't forget that charles darwin （1809—1882）arrived here in 1835.He stayed on the islands for five weeks, observing various animals.This finally inspired （啟發）his famous work, On the Origin of Species.You can certainly follow darwin's footsteps and enjoy a trip from four to seven days to the islands.

The most well-known animals of the Galapagos is the giant tortoise （巨型海龜），which can be seen moving slowly around the highlands of Santa cruz, the second largest island in the archipelago （群島）.Some of these creatures are so old that they might have been in their youth by darwin himself.

despite strict control over activities and timing, your stay on the Galapagos will be remembered as a chain of incomparable pictures: diving with sea lions that swim and play within inches of you; feeling small sharks touch your feet as you swim; and most magically, seeing a whale and her baby surface with a great breath of air.

Travelling between the islands and observing the wildlife that so inspired darwin, so you will feel as though you are getting a special view of an untouched world. at night you will sleep on board the ship, leaving the wildlife in complete occupation of the islands, which are as undisturbed now as they have been since the beginning of time.

1.What do we know about darwin's visit to the islands?

A. He studied different creatures on the islands.

B. He completed his famous book on the islands.

C. He was touched by the geography of the islands.

D. He was attracted by well-know animals of the islands.

2.Which of the following plays a role in making the islands “a paradise for wildlife”?

A. animals on the islands feed on grass.

B. Local government forbids killing wildlife.

C. People cannot visit the islands as they wish.

D. Tourists are not allowed to touch the animals.

3.Your stay on the islands will be most impressive mainly because of ______.

A. the beautiful sea views

B. darwin's inspiring trip

C. a closer view of animals

D. various daring activities

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the Passage?

A. a Unique attraction for Wildlife Lovers

B. Galapagos as a Paradise for adventures

C. charles darwin as a Symbol of Galapagos

D. a Successful Example of Wildlife Protection

【重點詞匯】

inspire v.給……以靈感

On the Origin of Species 《物種起源》

footstep n.足跡

highland n.高地，高原（地區）

incomparable adj.無雙的，無比的

sea lion 海獅

inch n.英寸

shark n.鯊魚

magically adv.如魔法般地，神奇地

whale n.鯨魚

surface v.浮出水面，升到水面

wildlife n.野生生物，野生動植物

undisturbed adj.未受驚擾的，未被打攪的

【疑難長句】

1.The most well-known animals of the Galapagos is the giant tortoise, which can be seen moving slowly around the highlands of Santa cruz, the second largest island in the archipelago.

本句結構相對簡單，which引導定語從句，修飾tortoise，從句中使用了被動語態。the second largest island in the archipelago是Santa cruz的同位語。

（參考譯文）加拉帕戈斯群島最著名的動物是巨型海龜，在圣克魯斯島的高地，可以看到它們緩慢地移動，圣克魯斯島是加拉帕戈斯群島中的第二大島。

2.despite strict control over activities and timing, your stay on the Galapagos will be remembered as a chain of incomparable pictures: diving with sea lions that swim and play within inches of you; feeling small sharks touch your feet as you swim; and most magically, seeing a whale and her baby surface with a great breath of air.

despite引導狀語從句，主句采用被動語態，a chain of 表示“一連串，許多個”，pictures后面的幾個動詞短語是對“一幅幅無與倫比的畫面”的具體描述。

（參考譯文）盡管游覽活動及游覽時間都有嚴格的限制，加拉帕戈斯群島之旅在你的記憶中仍將是一幅幅無與倫比的畫面：與海獅一起潛水，它們在與你近在咫尺的地方游泳、嬉戲；游泳時感受小鯊魚輕觸你的腳；最神奇的是，看到鯨魚和她的寶寶浮出水面，大大地呼出一柱水汽。