Lajamanu, a remote community in the Australian outback, near the Tanami Desert, recently experienced its fourth rain of fish in the last 50 years.

The dry town of Lajamanu sees very little normal rain, but somehow it has experienced no less than four “fish rains” in the last half-century — once in 49 years ago, another in 19 years ago, again in 13 years ago, and last Sunday. Although the nearest fish-containing body of water is many miles away, locals say that live fish started falling from the sky during a powerful storm, and they even have photos to back up those claims.

Such unusual natural phenomena have been reported in the past, but Michael Hammer, a curator(馆长) of fishes who has investigated such incidents in the past, claims that many times people just come out after the rain and see the fish everywhere. They don’t actually see it falling out of the sky, but prefer to believe it rained from the clouds. However, in the case of Lajamanu, there is plenty of reason to believe that the fish did rain down during a storm. There are no watering holes near the remote town, and the fish picked up from the streets were identified as spangled perch, common freshwater fish that are not supposed to be in Lajamanu.

“They are a relatively large fish and they’re not able to be drawn up out of the water and held up in the sky for very long,” ichthyologist(鱼类研究者) Jeff Johnson said. “But clearly that’s what has happened.” Another confusing thing about this most recent case of raining fish is that the people of Lajamanu insist that at least some of the fish were alive. Dr. Hammer admits that, as long as they were not lifted too high, it would not be impossible for fish to remain alive as they are carried by the storm, even over long distances.

1.When did the four “fish rains” happen respectively?

A In 1984, 2000, 2020, 2023.

B In 1974, 2000, 2020, 2023.

C In 1974, 2004, 2010, 2023.

D In 1984, 2004, 2010, 2023.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第二段的“once in 49 years ago, another in 19 years ago, again in 13 years ago, and last Sunday.”可知，在过去半个世纪里，此地经历了不下四次“鱼雨”——一次是1974年，另一次是2004年，还有2010年，最近一次是2023年。故选C。

2.How is the latest fish rain different from previous ones?

A There are more fish than ever.

B People see fish falling.

C Fish come out everywhere.

D Rare fish are carried here.

解析：选B。B推理判断题。根据第三段的“They don’t actually see it falling out of the sky, but prefer to believe it rained from the clouds”可知，之前几次下的“鱼雨”，人们并没有亲眼看见；结合第二段的“ they even have photos to back up those claims.”以及第三段的“However, in the case of Lajamanu, there is plenty of reason to believe that the fish did rain down during a storm”可知，最近这一次“鱼雨”中，人们亲眼看见了鱼落下来。故选B。

3.What is TRUE about spangled perch?

A They are commonly sold in Lajamanu.

B They are native to Lajamanu.

C They are large in size and heavy.

D They come from the deep sea.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句“the fish picked up from the streets were identified as spangled perch, common freshwater fish that are not supposed to be in Lajamanu”可知，这种鱼是一种常见的淡水鱼，不应该出现在这里；根据最后一段第一句的“They are a relatively large fish and they’re not able to be drawn up out of the water and held up in the sky for very long”可知，这种鱼的体型比较大，重量比较重。故选C。

4.What type of writing is this text?

A A travel guide.

B A science report.

C A news report.

D An announcement.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。本文主要报道了澳大利亚一偏远小镇发生的罕见的下“鱼雨”这一新闻事件，属于新闻报道。故选C。