7．One of the blue whales，the largest animal alive today，has been caught making an appropriately big journey through the South Pacific．The whale was first recorded near the Galapa gos Island，west of Costa Rica．Years later，that same whale was photographed off the coast of Chile in South America，a new study reports．The two places are separated by some 5，200 Kilometers （3，200miles），which means it swam farther than the distance between New York and Los Angeles．
Scientists reported the whale's mammothjourney on June 11 in"Marine Mammal Science"．
Blue whales are surprisingly difficult to study because they are found in all the world's oceans but live in deep waters．Moreover，the species nearly died out as a result of hunting a century ago．Populations are recovering thanks to the laws，but because there are so few of the animals，this speci es is still considered endangered．
To aid the species'recovery，scientists need to know more about where they travel，explains study leader Juan Pablo Torres-Florez．He is a whale researcher at Austral University of Chile in Valdivia．Understanding the whales'mi grations could help guide protection measures，he says．
In 1998，a group of scientists surveyed blue whales in the waters off islands known as the Gala pagos （Gah-LOP-ah-GOES） where they photographed the whales they saw．And，without hurting the animals，they also collected samples of some of the whales'meat which let them later look at the animals'DNA．A different group of scientists collected similar data from whales off the coast of Chile from 2002 to 2013．
To make the comparison job easier，scientists focus on the area around a whale's fin（鳍），which is on its back．"Comparing those patterns we are able to identify if a whale is the same one we saw in different places or if the same whale is sighted during different years in the same place，"he says．
One whale showed up in the Gala pagos on November 6，1998，among a group of nine animals．It appeared again in Chile on February 23，2006．The photographs and the DNA matched．The whale was nicknamed"Isabela，"a combination of Torres-Florez's daughter and the island near which it was sighted．The whale's journey was at least 5，200 kilometers（3，200miles）．That makes it the longest north-south journey ever recorded for a member of her species．
28．The underlined word"mammoth"is the nearest in meaning toB．
A．driven B．huge C．mysterious D．natural
29．What do you know about the species of blue whale？C
A．They live in deep waters，so they can survive．
B．They have fins on the back so that they can be recognized．
C．They weren't protected effectively 100 years ago．
D．They were driven to the shallow sea and nearly died out．
30．The researchers have managed to get the species'DNAD．
A．form the whale named Isabela
B．by catching whale from the sea
C．to study which species it belongs to
D．using methods friendly to the whales
31．The study leader is Juan Pablo Torres-Florez，A．
A．who recorded the longest journey of blue whales
B．who got the whales'DNA in 1998
C．who first recognized blue whales'back fins
D．who uses the fingerprint to recognize blue whales．
分析 本文属于说明文阅读，作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了关于蓝鲸的一些知识，100年前蓝鲸没有得到有效的保护，而现在科学家们已经研究了通过和平的手段了解它们．
解答 28．B．词义猜测题．根据第二段Scientists reported the whale's mammothjourney on June 11 in"Marine Mammal Science可知6月11日，科学家在"海洋哺乳动物科学"上报告了鲸鱼的庞大旅程；意为巨大的；故选B．
29．C．推理判断题．根据第三段Moreover，the species nearly died out as a result of hunting a century ago可知100年前蓝鲸没有得到有效的保护；故选C．
30．D．细节理解题．根据第四段In 1998，a group of scientists surveyed blue whales in the waters off islands known as the Gala pagos （Gah-LOP-ah-GOES） where they photographed the whales they saw可知研究人员已经设法获得物种的dna用了不伤害动物的方法；故选D．
31．A．细节理解题．根据第二段That makes it the longest north-south journey ever recorded for a member of her species可知他记录蓝鲸的最长的旅程；故选A．
点评 考察学生的细节理解和推理判断能力，做细节理解题时一定要找到文章中的原句，和题干进行比较，再做出正确的选择．在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
