In an unusual move, the wildlife workers in Florida, the US, are feeding manatees (海牛) to keep them from hunger. So far, they have already given out 25 tons of lettuce (生菜). Manatees can be as long as 13 feet when they grow up. They can weigh up to 590 kilos. Although they look big, manatees only eat sea grass and other sea plants. That’s one reason why they’re sometimes called “sea cows”. They spend most of their time in warm water which is not deep looking for food.
But Florida’s manatees have been on the US government’s list of endangered animals since 1967. One of the biggest problems for manatees is boats. Manatees are curious, and quite slow. That has led to thousands of manatees being hurt or killed by boats!
With protection, manatees managed to pick themselves up. At one point, there were only about 2,000 manatees left in Florida. But in 2016, there were about 8,800 manatees.
But now manatees are facing a new problem. Many of the beds of sea grass that manatees depend on have been killed by pollution. Polluted warm sea water and fertilizers (化肥) from farmlands have created huge growths of algae (海藻) on the ocean’s surface. It prevents the sunlight that allows the sea grass to grow. The problem is especially serious in Indian River Lagoon. About 90% of the sea grass beds in the area have died off.
So last December, the wildlife experts came up with a plan to get emergency food for the manatees. They decided to feed them green vegetables like lettuce. It has been very successful. They’re working hard to make a difference.
13. The writer describes manatees by ________.
A.telling stories | B.raising questions |
C.listing numbers | D.giving examples |
14. What is the main purpose of Paragraph 2?
A.To tell us what can cause manatees’ illness. |
B.To explain why manatees are in great danger. |
C.To introduce several ways of protecting manatees. |
D.To offer some information about the US government. |
15. Why is lettuce called “emergency food” for manatees?
A.Because lettuce is easy to grow in the United States. |
B.Because sea grass nearly dies off because of pollution. |
C.Because manatees eat nothing but vegetables like lettuce. |
D.Because wildlife experts create a new way to feed manatees. |
16. What is the subject discussed in the text?
A.Let’s save endangered manatees. | B.Manatees face serious problems. |
C.What manatees’ living habits are. | D.What we should feed manatees on. |