2430.What's the hottest topic in your country?Whaling(捕鯨)is one topic that's been dividing nations for many years now. By the 1940s,more than 30,000 whales were being caught worldwide every year.Oil from whales lit the lights of major cities in the US and Europe,and whale oil was used to make soaps paint and even the glaze on photographs. In order to manage the development of the global whaling industry,the International Whaling Commission(IWC)was formed in 1946.However,in 1986,the IWC decided to ban whaling.The biggest concern was the huge decrease in whale populations across the planet.Indeed many people say that it came too late and that commercial(商業的) whaling has already resulted in many animals dying out.According to Greenpeace,sea whales and fin whales are listed as "endangered animals". But there are many other good reasons to fight against whaling.Whales are very intelligent animals.They have social networks very similar to those of humans.On top of that,whaling is also a cruel industry. Still,some countries continue to hunt whales.Japan hunts more than 1,000 whales a year--all of them are caught as part of a supposed "scientific research" programme run by the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research.Many people argue that this research nothing more than a front for commercial whaling.The situation was not helped in 2001,when Masayuki Komatsu from the Japanese Fisheries Agency described minke whales as the "cockroaches(蟑螂)of the sea" in an interview. Many groups have tried to stop the hunts.The Ady Gil(a ship belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society)was hit by a whaling ship.The Ady Gil later sank.At present,the world is fairly divided on the topic with Iceland,Japan and Norway on the pro-whaling side,and the US,Australia,New Zealand and the EU on the anti-whaling side.Asked recently to give a number between one and ten to show how difficult his job was,Dr Simon Brockington,the chairman of the IWC,said "about a twelve".
(1)What fact is presented in the second paragraph?
A.Whale oil was of no use. B.Whaling was once a big industry. C.Few whales were killed by humans. D.The US was the biggest whaling country. (2)What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A.A concern. B.A suggestion. C.The global ban on whaling. D.The list of endangered animals. (3)What did Brockington think of anti-whaling?
A.It was effective. B.It was not realistic. C.It was a dangerous attempt. D.It was difficult to carry out.