The octopus’s（章鱼）reputation as a human-killer isn’t simply an exaggeration（夸张）—it is a total myth.The octopus can indeed be a deadly hunter,but only of its natural victims.Some shellfish（壳类动物）and an occasional sick or incautious fish have reason to be frightened of this multi-armed hunter,but a person is much too large to interest even the biggest octopus.Even the largest among octopi is much smaller than most people imagine.Far from being large enough to swallow a ship,as monster octopi in movies have been known to do,the largest octopus,found on the Pacific coast,weighs around 110 pounds and grows to no more than ten feet in width.
The hard,parrot-like beak（喙）of an octopus is not used for attacking deep-sea divers,but for cutting open shellfish.Indeed,the octopus possesses such a tiny throat that it cannot swallow large pieces of meat.Instead,it feeds by pouring digestive juices into its victims,and then sucking up the soupy remains.A shellfish that finds itself in the grasp of an octopus has only a short time to live.But human beings are perfectly safe.Still,people rarely care to go close enough to these careful creatures to get a good look at them.
小题1:This passage is mainly about.
A．the horrors of the octopus
B．the largest octopus in the world
C．octopi and their behavior
D．the octopus’s deadly hunting method
小题2:It is implied but not stated in the passage that.
A．people have unreasonable fears about the octopus
B．the octopus is not interested in human beings
C．the octopus is afraid of human beings
D．the octopus is a very cruel sea animal
小题3:What does the underlined part“careful creatures”refer to in the last paragraph?
A．Octopi.B．Shellfish.C．Fish.D．The victims.
小题4:The hard beak of the octopus is used for.
A．attacking deep-sea divers B．cutting up large pieces of meat
C．cutting open its victims D．defending itself
小题5:From the passage,we can conclude that.
A．the octopus is not dangerous to man
B．people often fear creatures that are not dangerous to them
C．the octopus only hunts its natural victims
D．things described in movies are not to be believed
答案
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:A
小题4:C
小题5:A
解析
文章介绍了章鱼和它们的习性，也解释了人们对章鱼作为人类杀手的误解。消除人们对章鱼的害怕。
小题1:主旨题：从全篇文章的第一段的句子：it is a total myth.The octopus can indeed be a deadly hunter,but only of its natural victims.可知文章介绍了章鱼和它们的习性，选C
小题2:推理题：从最后一段的句子：But human beings are perfectly safe.Still,people rarely care to go close enough to these careful creatures to get a good look at them.
可以推断出人们对于章鱼有着莫名的恐惧，选A
小题3:猜词题：从最后一句话：A shellfish that finds itself in the grasp of an octopus has only a short time to live.可知贝壳类被章鱼抓住只能存活很短时间，但是人很安全，可是人还是不敢看这种温顺动物，说明这种温顺动物是章鱼，选A
小题4:细节题：从第二段的句子：The hard,parrot-like beak（喙）of an octopus is not used for attacking deep-sea divers,but for cutting open shellfish.可知章鱼的硬喙是用来咬开贝类的，选C
小题5:总结题：从最后一句话：But human beings are perfectly safe.Still,people rarely care to go close enough to these careful creatures to get a good look at them.可知对人来说，章鱼是没有威胁的，选A