Scientists have good news—numbers of blue whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean（太平洋）are the highest they have been in over a century. The University of Washington says that there are over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and Alaska. Blue whales were killed closed to extinction in that area. Whaling became illegal in 1971. So numbers of whales started increasing. It has taken 40 years for the blue whale to increase. Dr Monnahan was very happy at this good news. He said: "For us, this is a great success story." 

    Dr Monnahan said the number of blue whales might not rise above 2,200. He said: "Some people thought that number should be going up, but if there were about 2,200 whales to begin with, then that is what the environment can support." He warned that the animal still needs protection and only survived because people took action to stop killing and start watching. He said without this, the whales could be extinct. He added that the rise in numbers shows "the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and protection". 

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1.Numbers of_____in the eastern Pacific Ocean are the highest in over a century.

A dolphins

B sharks

C penguins

D blue whales

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第1段第一句...numbers of blue whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean（太平洋）are the highest they have been in over a century.可知，故选D。

2.How many whales are there between Mexico and Alaska?

A About 2,200.

B More than 2,200.

C Less than 2,200.

D Nearly 2,200.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第1段第2句The University of Washington says that there are over 2,200 blue whales between Mexico and Alaska.可知，故选B。

3.What does the underlined word “Whaling” mean in Chinese?

A 猎鲸

B 养鲸

C 卖鲸鱼

D 买鲸鱼

解析：选A。A语义猜测题。根据illegal（非法的）一词可知whaling理解为“猎鲸”比较恰当，故选A。

4.Which is RIGHT according to the passage?

A It was OK to kill whales in 1981.

B The number of blue whales grows very fast.

C Blue whales were almost killed to extinction.

D The meat of blue is very delicious.

解析：选C。C 内容理解题。根据第1段第3句Blue whales were killed closed to extinction in that area.可知，故选C。

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

A The number of blue whales increasing

B The number of blue whales reducing

C How to kill a blue whale

D How to protect blue whales

解析：选A。A文章标题题。A项“蓝鲸数量增加”契合文章内容；B项“蓝鲸数量减少”不符合文章内容表述；C项“如何猎鲸”文中未提及；D项“如果保护蓝鲸”不是文章表述重点，故选A。