British sculptor Jason Taylor has made it his mission to use his talent to conserve our ecosystems by creating underwater museums. Over the years, the environmentalist has put over 850 massive artworks underwater worldwide. On February 1, 2021, Taylor launched his latest work — The Underwater Museum of Cannes.

―The main goal was to bring attention to the fact that our oceans need our help,‖ Taylor told Dezeen. ―Ocean ecology has been destroyed by human activity in the Mediterranean over the past few decades, and it is not obvious what is taking place when observing the sea from afar.‖

The Underwater Museum of Cannes contains 6 sculptures featuring local residents of various ages. They range from Maurice, an 80-year-old fisherman, to Anouk, a 9-year-old student. Towering over 6-feet-tall and weighing 10 tons, the faces are sectioned into two parts, with the outer part like a mask. The mask indicates that the world’s oceans appear powerful and unbeatable from the surface but house an ecosystem that is extremely fragile to careless human activities.

Though the waters surrounding the sculptures now appear a pristine blue, the seabed was filled with old boat engines, pipes, and other human-made trash when the project began about four years ago. Besides removing the trash, Taylor also restored the area’s sea grass. Just one square meter of the sea grass can generate up to 10 liters   of oxygen daily. The sea grass also helps prevent coastal erosion and provides habitats for many ocean creatures.

―The idea of creating an underwater museum was to draw more people underwater and develop a sense of care and protection,‖ Taylor told Dezeen. ―If we threw unwanted waste near a forest, there would be a public outcry. But this is happening every day in our surrounding waters and it largely goes unnoticed.

【小题1】Why does the outer part of the sculptures look like a mask?

A．To popularize the features of the locals.

B．To remind people to protect themselves.

C．To reflect people’s protection of the ocean.

D．To stress the sensitiveness of the ecosystem.

【小题2】What’s paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．How the project was started.

B．How the sea grass was restored.

C．What recovery effort the project made.

D．Why the surroundings were improved.

【小题3】What can we infer from what Jason Taylor said in the last paragraph?

A．The situation of the ocean is easily ignored.

B．The destruction caused to the ocean is noticeable.

C．Forests play a more important role in ecosystems.

D．People have zero tolerance to damage done to nature.

【小题4】What might be the best title for the text?

A．The Underwater Museum, a long way to go.

B．The Underwater Museum, a big difference to the sea.

C．The Underwater Museum, an appeal to conserve ecosystems.

D．The Underwater Museum, a masterpiece of Jason Taylor.