Loch Ness, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, is twenty four miles long and, at one point, one mile wide. It has an average depth of four hundred and fifty feet and at times drops close to a thousand. It is cold and murky (混沌的), with dangerous currents. In short, it is the perfect place to hide a monster from even the sharpest eyes of science.
The Loch Ness Monster, also called Nessie, is supposedly living in this area. The earliest recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster was in the biography of
Life of St. Columba by Adamnan in the year AD 565. The monster apparently attacked a man who was swimming in the River Ness.
The monster didn’t make headlines again until August 27, 1930, when 3 fishermen reported seeing a creature with 20 feet long approaching their boat, throwing water in the air. In 1933, after a new road was built along the edge of the Loch, the number of reports rose suddenly. Early in 1934, Author Grant, a young student, was out on his motorcycle one evening when he almost ran into the monster as it crossed the road. Grant’s description of the thing – small head, long thin neck and tail with a big body, seemed to match the appearance of the plesiosaur (蛇頸龍), an aquatic (水生的) type of dinosaur that has been extinct (已滅絕的) for 65 million years.
The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was formed in 1962 to act as a research organization for information about the creature. Even now, efforts have continued to find the monster. A great deal of information was discovered about the Loch, but there isn’t any yet to produce any specific evidence of a monster.
Skeptics (懷疑論者) argue that the water in the Loch is too cold for a plesiosaur to live in. They also argue that an air-breathing animal, like a whale or seal, would spend much more time on the surface than the creature seems to, and would be spotted more often.
Some scientists have wondered if the sightings might be caused by an underwater wave which is known to sometimes occur in deep, long, and cold lakes, like Loch Ness. Such a wave might push debris (廢棄物) to the surface that might look like a strange animal.
However, none of these is identified.
小題1:According to the skeptics, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．It is impossible for a monster to live in cold water. |
| B．The Loch Ness Monster often stays under the water. |
| C．The Loch Ness Monster is an air-breathing animal. |
| D．There is no so-called monster in Loch Ness. |
小題2:Which of the following is the correct order for the things that happened in the passage?
a. A young student met with a monster crossing the road.
b. A swimmer was attacked by a monster in Loch Ness.
c. A new road was built along the edge of the Loch.
d. The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was set up.
e. Three fishermen saw a creature swimming towards their boat.
| A．b, e, c, a, d | B．a(chǎn), b, e, d, c |
| C．b, d, a, c, e | D．d, c, e, b, a |
小題3:What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．The natural scenery of Loch Ness. |
| B．The Nessie. |
| C．Skeptics’ opinions on Loch Ness Monster. |
| D．The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau’s research results. |
