Questions 10-19
The strangest-looking fish in the Everglades wetland region of southern Florida is
the Florida gar, whose unusual appearance includes sharp needlelike teeth that ftil a
long snout. Young gars have numerous dark spots and patches on an olive to yellow,
Line long, slender body. Gars darken with age so that adults appear mostly dark brown,
5 especially when seen from above. Several types of gar exist in eastern and central
North America, some of which are extremely large. The aptly named alligator gar is
occasionally mistaken for an alligator and occurs from the lower Mississippi drainage
basin to the rivers of the western panhandle of Florida. Only the relatively small Florida
gar, seldom longer than two feet, lives in the Everglades. (The much larger long-nose gar
as occasionally been found in the Everglades hut historically occurs only north of the
region.) As with all gars, the Florida gar is predatory and is adept at catching smaller
fish from schools by using a fast sideways snap of the jaws. It is also capable of catching
individual prey, pursuing them along the bottom or in douse tangles of vegetation. Using
a slow, stealthy approach, tins technique is effective on fish and grass shrimp.
15 Florida gars are sometimes seen in huge numbers, which is the result of low water
that confines individuals from the expanses of the marshes to limited aquatic habitats
where they remain during the dry season. At these times, gars become prey for the
alligator. The sight of a gar held in an alligator's jaws is a vision of prehistoric imagery.
In fact, gars have changed little from their ancestors that dominated Earth's waters when
20 the dinosaurs flourished; they even have primitive interlocking scales that differ greatly from those of most fish. They also have the dual ability to breathe air and water and can
be observed regularly rising to the surface of the water to renew the air in their swim
bladders. Florida gars are sometimes confused with a similarly shaped but unrelated
needlefish, which are marine but commonly enter freshwater. Needlefish are greenish,
25 bluish, or silvery and have a translucent appearance, hi marked contrast to the darker
and opaque Florida gars.
【題組】14. The word "adept" in line 11 is closest in meaning to
(A) skilled
(B) unusual
(C) alone
(D) observed
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