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The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence—other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived on the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. Then whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate （磷酸盐） on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which is a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip-mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem—their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was almost financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.
1. What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A. To seek help for Nauru’s problems.
B. To give a warning to other countries.
C. To show the importance of money.
D. To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.
2. What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?
A. Rich and powerful.
B. Modern and open.
C. Peaceful and attractive.
D. Greedy and aggressive.
3. The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from ______.
A. soil pollution
B. phosphate overmining
C. farming activity
D. whale hunting
4. Which of the following was a cause of Nauru’s financial problem?
A. Its leaders misused the money.
B. It spent too much repairing the island.
C. Its phosphate mining cost much money.
D. It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.
5. What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?
A. The ecological damage is difficult to repair.
B. The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously.
C. The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.
D. The phosphate mines were destroyed.
ecological adj . 生态的；生态学的
heartbreaking adj . 令人心碎的，令人悲痛的
consequence n . 结果；成果
remote adj . 偏僻的；遥远的
western civilization 西方文明
captain n . 船长
whaling ship 捕鲸船
strip mine 〈美〉露天矿
financially adv . 财政上，经济上
ruin v . 使破产；破坏，毁灭
1. For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived on the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization.
（参考译文） 数千年来，波利尼西亚人居住在瑙鲁这个偏僻的小岛上，远离西方文明。
2. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which is a very important fertilizer for farming.
which引导非限制性定语从句，修饰逗号前面的名词phosphate。
（参考译文） 事实上，它发现瑙鲁岛几乎全部是由磷酸盐组成的，而磷酸盐是一种非常重要的农用化肥。