The octopus’s（章魚）reputation as a human-killer isn’t simply an exaggeration（夸張）—it is a total myth.The octopus can indeed be a deadly hunter,but only of its natural victims.Some shellfish（殼類動物）and an occasional sick or incautious fish have reason to be frightened of this multi-armed hunter,but a person is much too large to interest even the biggest octopus.Even the largest among octopi is much smaller than most people imagine.Far from being large enough to swallow a ship,as monster octopi in movies have been known to do,the largest octopus,found on the Pacific coast,weighs around 110 pounds and grows to no more than ten feet in width.
The hard,parrot-like beak（喙）of an octopus is not used for attacking deep-sea divers,but for cutting open shellfish.Indeed,the octopus possesses such a tiny throat that it cannot swallow large pieces of meat.Instead,it feeds by pouring digestive juices into its victims,and then sucking up the soupy remains.A shellfish that finds itself in the grasp of an octopus has only a short time to live.But human beings are perfectly safe.Still,people rarely care to go close enough to these careful creatures to get a good look at them.
小題1:This passage is mainly about.
A．the horrors of the octopus
B．the largest octopus in the world
C．octopi and their behavior
D．the octopus’s deadly hunting method
小題2:It is implied but not stated in the passage that.
A．people have unreasonable fears about the octopus
B．the octopus is not interested in human beings
C．the octopus is afraid of human beings
D．the octopus is a very cruel sea animal
小題3:What does the underlined part“careful creatures”refer to in the last paragraph?
A．Octopi.B．Shellfish.C．Fish.D．The victims.
小題4:The hard beak of the octopus is used for.
A．attacking deep-sea divers B．cutting up large pieces of meat
C．cutting open its victims D．defending itself
小題5:From the passage,we can conclude that.
A．the octopus is not dangerous to man
B．people often fear creatures that are not dangerous to them
C．the octopus only hunts its natural victims
D．things described in movies are not to be believed
