A
In October on the east coast of Australia migrating humpback whales (座头鲸) pass very close to the shore.With the help of Max Egan, we went to film them near Byron Bay.It was extremely exciting to spot the little puffs (水柱) of spray on the horizon.When migrating, the whales can be travelling at speeds of about 12 km/h and can dive under anywhere between five and forty minutes，but with many years of experience Max usually guided our boat to exactly the right place to provide us with amazing sighting.As the whales break the surface like submarines (潜水艇), the water spills off their broad dark backs and huge tails.Then, with a powerful down stroke, they dive back into the depths of the sea, leaving just a smooth glassy patch of water or “footprint” on the surface to show where they had been.
One day we had travelled up and down the shore and far out to the sea in search of whales, but the horizon was deserted.There was no report of whales in the area so we decided to test out Max's new, highly sensitive hydrophone(水中听音器) and the result was astonishing.As soon as the hydrophone was in the water, we found ourselves listening to the most beautiful voices.What might have seemed like a vast empty ocean was filled with the singing of whales.
It is the males which sing, as they migrate between feeding and breeding (养育) grounds.No one knows for sure what the purpose of these songs is, whether they are love songs to the females or warnings to other males to stay away.
It was thought that each population of humpbacks had its own song which remained regular but recent findings suggest that the whales appreciate a memorable tune (曲调) and quickly adopt any new songs they hear.
本文介绍了座头鲸迁徙和唱歌的一些情况。
21．Which finding about whales is beyond the writer's expectation?
A．The little puffs.
B．The songs of whales.
C．The travelling speed of whales.
D．The depths of the whale's dive.
答案：B
解析：根据第二段第二句“...the result was astonishing.”可知，发现鲸鱼美妙的歌声是作者的意外收获。
22．The writer's main purpose of looking for whales is ________.
A．carrying out research on whales
B．studying the beautiful songs of whales
C．making films about whales
D．hunting whales for research
答案：C
解析：根据第一段第二句“...we went to film them near Byron Bay.”可知C项正确。
23．What's the WRONG opinion about whales before according to the passage?
A．Each group of humpbacks had the song of their own.
B．Whales can't sing to each other.
C．Whales aren't easy to find.
D．Whales can't dive in the sea as long as forty minutes.
答案：A
解析：由最后一段可知，原先人们认为，每一群座头鲸都有自己相对固定的歌，但这次的发现证明这种观点是错误的。
