2019英语专业八级阅读理解练习：南极洲与环境

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Antarctica and Environment

Antarctica has actually become a kind of spacestation a unique observation post for detectingimportant changes in the world' s environment.Remote from major sources of pollution and thecomplex geological and ecological systems that prevail elsewhere, Antarctica makes possiblescientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made inother parts of the world.

Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, wherepotentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. Onepromising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland,and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for thehealth of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet一a concern they believe the world at large should share.

The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continentinto two very different regions. The part of the continent to the "east" of the mountains is ahigh plateau covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. "West" of the mountain, the half ofthe continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests onrock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, thewestern part of the continent would be reduced to a sparse cluster of island.

While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus onthe mysterious "dry valley" of Antarctica, valleys that contain little ice or snow even in thedepths of winter. Slashed through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys onceheld enormous glaciers that descended 9,000 feet from the polar plateau to the Ross Sea.

Now the glaciers are gone,perhaps a casualty of the global warming trend during the 10,000years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blasted out by viciouswinds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea. Left bare are spectacular gorges,rippled fields of sand dunes, clusters of boulders sculptured into fantastic shapes by 100-mile-an-hour winds, and an aura of extraterrestrial desolation.

Despite the unearthly aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry amessage of hope of the verdant parts of the earth. Some scientists believe that in some casesthe dry valleys may soak up pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.

【阅读练习题】

1.What is the best title for this passage?

[A] Antarctica and environmental Problems.

[B]Antarctica: Earth' s Early-Warning station.

[C] Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post.

[D] Antarctica: a Mysterious Place.

2.What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?

[A] The western part of the continent would be disappeared.

[B]The western part of the continent would be reduced.

[C] The western part of the continent would become scattered Islands.

[D] The western part of the continent would be reduced to a cluster of Islands.

3.Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?

[A] Vicious wind blasts the snow away.

[B]It rarely snows.

[C] Because of the global warming trend and fierce wind.

[D] Sand dunes.

4.Which of the following is true?

[A]The "Dry Valleys" have nothing left inside.

[B]The "Dry Valleys" never held glaciers.

[C]The "Dry Valleys"may carry a message of hope for the verdant.

[D]The "Dry Valleys"are useless to scientists.

【答案详解】

1.A南极洲和环境问题。B.南极洲:地球zui早的报警战。C南极洲:独一无二的观察哨。D.南极洲:神秘的地方。三项都是总内容众的组成部分。

2.D大陆西部成为一群岛屿。第三段“横断南极的山脉，有的高达一万四千多英尺，把这大陆分成情况各异的两个地区。山脉以东的大陆部分是由差不多两英里厚的冰层覆盖的高原;山脉以西，即美洲以南的半个大陆也为冰层所覆盖。可是，这里冰层覆盖在大大低于海平面的岩石。如果西南极洲冰层消失，那这大陆西部将成为稀疏的岛群。”A.大陆西部将小时。B.大陆西部缩小。D.大陆西部将成为分散的岛屿。

3.C因为地球变暖和狂风劲吹。在第四段:“……这些干谷甚至在寒冬季节也很少有冰雪。它们插在南维多利亚陆地的山脉中，一度曾有从极地高原到罗斯海的深度为9000英尺的冰河。现在冰河已不存在，很可能是冰期之后一万年问地球变暖的结果。即使落入干的雪也被从极地高原咆哮入海的邪恶狂风吹散了。留下来的是裸露的壮观的峡谷，沙丘起伏的原野，被时速一百英里的大风雕刻成奇形怪状的大砾石，形成与世隔绝的荒凉景象。”

A.邪恶的狂风吹走了雪。B.它很少下雪。D.沙丘。这三项只是干谷现象的一部分。

4.C他们可能为地球上绿色地区带来了希望的信息。答案是第五段第1句“尽管干谷具有神秘的一面，科学家却相信他们可能为地球上葱绿的地方带来了希望的信息。”

A.干谷内什么都没有留下。B.干谷内从没有冰河。D.按照科学家的看法，干谷毫无用处。

【阅读词汇学习】

l.distant-early-warning sensor远距离早期报警传感器

2.plateau高原，高地

3.slash挥砍

4.blast一阵疾风/狂风

5.vicious邪恶的，凶魔般的

6.gorge峡谷

7.ripple起伏，使起微波

8.sand dune沙丘

9.verdant绿色

l0.extraterrestrial地球之外的

ll.aura气氛

【难句解析】

1.Growing numbers of scientists therefore see Antarctica as a distant-early waning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north.

[简析]see…as把……看作。Where定从修饰Antarctic .

【译文】因此，越来越多的科学家把南极洲视为一个远距离早期报警敏感器，在那里地球许多潜在的危险动向早在它们出现于北方以前就能发现。

2.The part of the continent to the "east" of the mountain

东指的使印度正南的这一部分。或山移动的那部分洲。

3.an aura of extraterrestrial desolation

与地球格格不入的一种荒凉隔绝的气氛。或与世隔绝的一种荒凉气氛。

【写作方法与文章大意】

这是一篇有关南极洲科研考察的重要性的科普文章。采用因果，点面结合写法。首先提出:由于南极洲远离污染，又不同于其它任何地方，普遍存在着复杂的地质和生态环境，所以这块地方就可能得到更敏锐又易解释的科学测量结果。它成了监察世界环境变化的观察哨和空问站，后面儿段就写了进行考察的方面和结果。

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