(2019·昆明摸底)When she was found off the coast of California four years ago, the fur seal, known as Ziggy Star, was skinny and fragile. She was unfit to return to the wild. And though a professional rescue team took her in to care for her, Ziggy continued to decline.“I wouldn’t have given her next week，” says Uriarte, a surgeon who led a recent firstofitskind brain operation on the seal.
The operation was the first of its kind to treat hydrocephalus in fur seals. The surgical team at Tufts was unable to find any documented evidence of a similar procedure, so they needed a lot of preparation to operate on Ziggy’s brain. The biggest concern in operating on Ziggy was how to control the animal’s anesthesia(麻醉)．“When they’re under anesthesia their body’s reaction includes decreasing their heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing，”says Flower, who observes Ziggy and the other animals’ care, describing the special challenges of operating on seals. On the day of the surgery, Flower says that she and her team “were all quite anxious not knowing what would happen”. Moving quickly was extremely important; the longer she was under anesthesia, the more likely that she could lose her breathing, says the surgeon. The seal has been kept on land to prevent water from entering the cut on her head.
Now, Ziggy is eating a full diet and is beginning to gain weight again.“Recently I’ve allowed her to go swimming，” says Flower. However, the source of Ziggy’s neurological disorder(神经紊乱) is still a mystery.“My theory is that when she was found, she had a head injury，”Uriarte says.“Hit by a boat maybe... That happens a lot with seals.” Flower is less willing to guess.“I don’t think there’s enough information to make that assumption. We just don’t know what happened to her.”
【解题导语】 本文是一篇记叙文。Ziggy Star是一只在加利福尼亚海岸被发现的非常瘦弱的海豹，因为Ziggy有脑积水，医生为她进行了手术，她现在已经能够正常进食，体重也在逐步恢复，但究竟是什么导致了她的神经紊乱，这依旧是一个谜。
1．When first found, Ziggy Star looked ．
A．thin and weak
B．active and excited
C．bloody and fierce
D．strong and energetic
A 解析：细节理解题。根据第一段第一句“When she was found off the coast of California four years ago, the fur seal, known as Ziggy Star, was skinny and fragile.”中的skinny(极瘦的)和fragile(虚弱的)可知A项正确。
2．What was the most challenging task on the day of the operation?
A．Helping the seal regain her breathing.
B．Using anesthesia properly on the seal.
C．Making full preparations for the operation.
D．Balancing the functions of the seal’s organs.
B 解析：细节理解题。题干中的关键词是the most challenging task(最有挑战性的任务)，据此定位到第二段中的“The biggest concern in operating on Ziggy was how to control the animal’s anesthesia(麻醉)．”，由此可知，手术最大的挑战是如何控制麻醉，所以选B。
3．What can we learn about Ziggy after the operation?
A．She is strong enough to live in the wild.
B．She is suffering from a heart rate disorder.
C．She has already become as heavy as before.
D．She is recovering from the brain operation.
D 解析：推理判断题。题干的关键词是after the operation，据此定位到文章最后一段第一句“Now, Ziggy is eating a full diet and is beginning to gain weight again.”，由此可知，手术后，海豹已经能够正常进食，体重也在恢复，所以选D。
4．What is probably the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A．To show humans’ love for a creature.
B．To find out a way to operate on a seal.
C．To remember an injured seal in danger.
D．To explore the reasons for a seal’s injury.
A 解析：写作意图题。作者在文章中介绍了拯救受伤海豹的过程，旨在说明人们对于动物的爱护，所以选A。
