Imagine you are in a boat far out at sea. Suddenly, you hear a loud, deep and beautiful song. Just as you are starting to enjoy it, the song ends. Then, it starts again. You look around but can just see water everywhere. So, who is making such mysterious (神秘的) but beautiful music?

Scientists call this a whale song. It is made by some kinds of whales like the blue whale and the humpback whale, and it is mainly sung by the male (雄性的) whales. The whales sometimes produce these songs when they are feeding. Male humpbacks also use them to show their fitness and health to female whales. According to scientists, some whales communicate their feelings of loneliness through these songs. They may also sing to express sadness over the loss of a loved one.

Each song lasts from a few minutes to half an hour, and it is then repeated. The singing can go on for hours or days. It’s very loud, and can be heard even far away. More surprisingly, whales from the same social group sing the same song at the same time even when they are very far apart. Whales from different social groups sing differently even when staying together. Research shows that this helps the whales to track (追踪) their group members, and to communicate important information within the group.

Although scientists have been studying whale songs for a long time, they continue to wonder why whales sing. They haven’t found out the exact meanings of these songs yet. But this is not a bad thing, for the beauty of nature often lies in its mystery. And the mystery of this music created by Mother Nature could be part of the reason why it sounds so beautiful to the human ear.

1.1.How does the writer start the text?

A By using a saying.

B By listing numbers.

C By creating a situation.

D

解析：选C。写作手法题。文章开头 “Imagine you are in a boat far out at sea.”，imagine想象，给读者虚构出海遇鲸歌的画面，属于创设情景开篇。文中没有谚语、没有开篇列举数字，排除 A、B。

2.2. What do we know about whale songs from Paragraph 2?

A They can express whales’ feelings.

B They are sung when whales fall ill.

C They mostly come from baby whales.

D

解析：选A。细节理解题。第二段 “some whales communicate their feelings of loneliness … express sadness”，鲸鱼借歌声表达孤独、悲伤等情绪。B 文中未提及生病唱歌；原文说明主要是雄性鲸鱼发声，不是幼鲸，C 错误。

3.3. What helps whales track their group members?

A Singing loudly.

B Singing for days.

C Singing the same song.

D

解析：选C。细节理解题。解析：第三段 “whales from the same social group sing the same song… Research shows that this helps the whales to track their group members”，this指代前面 “唱同一首歌” 这件事，选 C。大声唱歌、歌唱数日不是追踪同伴的原因。

4.4. What does the mystery of whale songs mainly show?

A The beauty of music.

B The wonder of nature.

C The life of whales.

D

解析：选B。推理判断题。解析：最后一段 “for the beauty of nature often lies in its mystery”，鲸歌的神秘正是大自然的奇妙体现。A 偏离核心，不是讲音乐艺术美；C 错误，不是展现鲸鱼日常生活。