v. The piranha is a much-maligned fish. Most people think that this is a deadly creature that swarms through rivers and creeks of
the Amazon rainforest looking for victims to tear apart. And woe betide anyone unlucky enough to be in the same water as a shoal of
piranhas. It takes only a few minutes for the vicious piranhas to reduce someone to a mere skeleton. The truth is that the piranha is
really a much more nuanced animal than the mindless killer depicted in the media. In fact, piranhas are a group made up of
approximately twelve different species. Each piranha species occupies its own ecological niche. One type of piranha takes chunks out
of the fins of other fish. Another type eats fruit falling from trees into the river. Each piranha species plays a unique role in the
ecology of the rainforest floodplains. So what should you do next time you hear someone talking about the “deadly piranha”? You
can remind them that the piranha is not always the notorious killer fish that the tough, muscular heroes of popular nature television
shows would have us believe.
【題組】74. The writer uses the old-fashioned expression woe betide to
(A) highlight the danger posed by piranhas. (B) suggest that the reputation of the piranha is well-deserved.
(C) emphasize the sarcastic tone. (D) indicate that the passage was written in the 19th
century.