雅思阅读真题+题目+答案：Australia's Platypus

雅思阅读真题+题目+答案：Australia's Platypus

Of all the creatures on the earth, the Australian platypus, Omithorbynchusparadoxus, is perhaps one of the most mysterious and reclusive. Derived from the Latin platys meaning ‘flat and broad’ and pous meaning ‘foot’, the platypus has long been an iconic symbol of Australia. Upon being discovered in Australia in the 1700s, sketches of this unusual creature were made and sent back to England whereupon they were considered by experts to be a hoax. Indeed, the incredible collection of its body parts – broad, flat tail, rubbery snout, webbed feet and short dense fur – make it one of the world’s most unusual animals.

Officially classified as a mammal, the egg-laying platypus is mostly active during the night, a nocturnal animal. As if this combination of characteristics and behaviours were not unusual enough, the platypus is the only Australian mammal known to be venomous. The male platypus has a sharply pointed, moveable spur on its hind foot which delivers a poison capable of killing smaller animals and causing severe pain to humans. The spur – about 2 centimetres in length – is quite similar to the fang of a snake and, if provoked, is used as a means of defence. Those who have been stung by a platypus’ spur report an immediate swelling around the wound followed by increased swelling throughout the affected limb. Excruciating, almost paralysing pain in the affected area accompanies the sting which, in some victims has been known to last for a period of months. One report from a victim who was stung in the palm of the hand states that “…the spur could not be pulled out of the hand until the platypus was killed.” During the breeding season, the amount of venom in the male platypus increases. This has led some zoologists to theorise that the poisonous spur is primarily for asserting dominance amongst fellow-males. To be stung by a male platypus is a rare event with only a very small number of people being on the receiving end of this most reclusive creature.

In the same area of the hind foot where the male has the poisonous spur, the female platypus only develops two buds which drop off in their first year of life never to appear again. The female platypus produces a clutch of one to three eggs in late winter or spring, incubating them in an underground burrow. The eggs are 15-18 millimetres long and have a whitish, papery shell like those of lizards and snakes. The mother is believed to keep the eggs warm by placing them between her lower belly and curled-up tail for a period of about 10 or 11 days as she rests in an underground nest made of leaves or other vegetation collected from the water. The 。。。。。余下雅思阅读真题原文省略！

Questions 1-5

Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer?

In boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet, write

YES                  if the statement agrees with the views of the writer

NO                  if the statement contradicts the views of the writer

NOT GIVEN     if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

1 ________________ The appearance of the platypus caused experts to doubt it was real.

2 ________________ The amount of venom in a male platypus changes during the year.

3 ________________ Most platypus live in Eastern Australia.

4 ________________ Snake venom and platypus venom are very similar.

5 ________________ Because their environment is specialised, platypus cannot be kept as pets.

Questions 6-9

Complete the summary.

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet.

Platypus are unique Australian animals. Although all platypus share many similarities, the male and female are somewhat different from each other. For example, on the hind feet, the male has a 6________________ while the young female has 7________________ .In the 8________________ the mother keeps her eggs warm and, once born, supplies her 9 ________________ . On the other hand, the male platypus does not help raise the young at all.

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