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Filip,13, found what he thought was a normal plastic (塑料的) duck on his local beach in the Orkney Islands. But it turns out the little plastic duck has quite a backstory. After considering “throwing it away”, Filip and his mum Marion looked closer and discovered that it’s been missing for nearly two decades (十年) after disappearing from its home. “It said world record duck race, Ireland 2006,” Marion said. “After so many years in the sea, it has even still got its number on the back!”

In 2006, people came together in Ireland’s capital city, Dublin, to try and break the world record for the largest ever plastic duck race. Around 150,000 ducks were released, with the plan being that they would travel one mile down the River Liffey. Well it’s safe to say that one of these rubber ducks went rather “off-quack” by at least 423 miles. That’s a small estimate of how far the duck would have travelled to get to Stronsay, one of Scotland’s remote islands in Orkney, where it washed up on a beach.

While duck races can be fun, there is a more serious side to them when plastic is released into the water and not collected. Because plastic doesn’t easily biodegrade (生物降解), it can hang around for ages polluting seas and oceans where it can harm the animals and plants living there.

Generally speaking, a plastic bag takes around 20 years to biodegrade, and for a plastic bottle this can take up to 250 years. This is why many rubber duck races now make sure to collect their ducks before they compete for freedom. Maybe it’s time to leave the swimming to the real-life ducks.

1.The plastic duck Filip has been in the sea for _______.

A 20 years

B 18 years

C 10 years

D 8 years

解析：选B。B数字计算题。根据第一段的“It said world record duck race, Ireland 2006”可知这只鸭子来源于2006年，至今（2024-2006=）18年。故选B。

2.What does the underlined part “went rather ‘off-quack’” probably mean?

A Became unusual.

B Was common.

C Turned stupid.

D Got normal.

解析：选A。A词义猜测题。根据第二段划线部分上文“with the plan being that they would travel one mile down the River Liffey”计划沿利菲河游一英里，和下文的“by at least 423 miles”至少423英里，可知，这只鸭子很“另类”。故选A。

3.What’s the third paragraph mainly about?

A The difficulty of dealing with plastic.

B Information about duck races.

C Researches about plastic.

D Bad side of duck races.

解析：选D。D段落大意题。根据第三段第一句的“While duck races can be fun, there is a more serious side to them”虽然鸭子比赛很有趣，但也有它严肃的一面，结合后文“harm the animals and plants”可知此处讲的是鸭子比赛的不好的一面。故选D。

4.Why does the writer ask the question in the last paragraph?

A To ask for freedom of real ducks.

B To give some advice for races.

C To call for environmental protection.

D To provide help to wild animals.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据最后一段内容，塑料袋需要20年来生物降解，塑料瓶需要250年来生物降解，可知，鸭子比赛用的塑料鸭子对环境的影响很大，或许应该用真的鸭子来进行比赛，以减小对环境的伤害。故选C。

5.Which of the following stories is more like this one?

A Five cool facts for the cold weather.

B Can you tell a bird from its song?

C What’s it like to have a guide dog?

D Why is plastic a problem?

解析：选D。D推理判断题。根据全文内容可知，文章由菲利普发现的塑料鸭展开，由此拓展到塑料对海洋环境的影响，由此可知，本文是一篇关于环保的文章，选项D最符合。故选D。