2．What is the most exciting in Antarctica according to the author?

　　 A．Penguins.　　　　　　 B．The whales.

　　 C．The icebergs. D．Elephant seals.

　　解析：选B　细节理解题。从文章第四段第一句"Most exciting of all, though, were the whales."可知，作者认为最令人激动的是见到鲸。

　　3．Which of the following is TRUE about the icebergs?

　　A．They lack attraction.

　　B．They look cold and lifeless.

　　C．They are huge and frightening.

　　D．They are beautiful and in different shapes.

　　解析：选D　细节理解题。从文章第五段可知，冰山形态各异、闪闪发光，它们在作者的笔下也显得生动而美丽。

　　4．Where does the passage probably come from?

　　A．An ad. B．A news story.

　　C．A travel journal. D．A research paper.

　　解析：选C　文章出处题。综合全文，特别是文章最后一段"A journey to Antarctica is a travel experience as special as you can have."可知，本文节选自游记。

　　B

　　Antarctic seabirds are breeding (繁殖) later, because thinner sea ice is causing their food supplies to decline, a new study says.The birds, which nest in East Antarctica, have delayed their spring arrival by an average of nine days and egg­laying by an

　　average of two days over the past 50 years, according to polar researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research in Villiers en Bois, France. Study authors Christophe Barbrand and Henri Weimerskirch attribute this later breeding activity to decrease in sea ice caused by climate change.

　　The researchers say the disappearing sea ice, combined with a longer sea­ice season, has interfered with the birds' breeding cycle by reducing the amount of krill (磷虾) and other prey (猎物) available in early spring in Antarctica.Because Antarctica's seasons are opposite those in the Northern Hemisphere, spring on the icy continent begins in October.

　　The study is based on data collected at seabird colonies between 1950 and 2004 in Adélie Land, on the eastern edge of the frozen continent.

　　The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Of the nine species studied, some arrived up to 30 days later than they had in previous years.