C
How would you like to live underground? Many families in the town of Coober Pedy, Australia,
do just that. Their houses, called dugouts, are carved (挖) out of the earth. They are similar to
common houses. They have kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms, but they have few windows. Most
of the light in the houses comes from lamps and overhead lights instead of direct sunlight.
People in the town build dugouts because of where they live. Coober Pedy is in a desert in
southern Australia. The temperature can climb as high as $50°C$ in summer. It can plunge (骤降) as
low as zero in winter. Dust storms and swarms of flies (苍蝇) can make life miserable. Underground,
though, it is always a comfortable $23°C$. People don't even need fans.
Why would people want to live in such a place? Coober Pedy is an opal-mining (蛋白石矿)
town. Opals are colourful stones used for jewellery. The mines (矿) in Coober Pedy produce most of
the world's opals. Early settlers (定居者) there realized that they could avoid the harsh temperatures
by building their homes underground. Today almost half of the 3,500 people in the town live in
dugouts. Restaurants, schools and other buildings are also underground. People enjoy their lives
"down under".
() 56. Where is the town of Coober Pedy?
A. In South Africa.
B. In North America.
C. In southern Australia.
D. In northern Australia.
() 57. What does the underlined word "miserable" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Boring.
B. Meaningful.
C. Busy.
D. Uncomfortable.
() 58. What is the main reason why people in Coober Pedy live underground?
A. To stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
B. To find opals underground.
C. To protect the desert where they live.
D. To avoid the strong sunshine in the desert.
() 59. Which is NOT true according to the article?
A. In Coober Pedy, almost half of the population live in underground dugouts.
B. The dugouts are the same as common houses.
C. Coober Pedy is the main opal-mining area in the world.
D. Coober Pedy is famous not only for its opals but also for its underground homes.
() 60. The purpose of this article is .
A. to tell about the history of making jewellery
B. to advise people to move to Coober Pedy
C. to tell people about an unusual town
D. to tell people how opals are taken out of mines
How would you like to live underground? Many families in the town of Coober Pedy, Australia,
do just that. Their houses, called dugouts, are carved (挖) out of the earth. They are similar to
common houses. They have kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms, but they have few windows. Most
of the light in the houses comes from lamps and overhead lights instead of direct sunlight.
People in the town build dugouts because of where they live. Coober Pedy is in a desert in
southern Australia. The temperature can climb as high as $50°C$ in summer. It can plunge (骤降) as
low as zero in winter. Dust storms and swarms of flies (苍蝇) can make life miserable. Underground,
though, it is always a comfortable $23°C$. People don't even need fans.
Why would people want to live in such a place? Coober Pedy is an opal-mining (蛋白石矿)
town. Opals are colourful stones used for jewellery. The mines (矿) in Coober Pedy produce most of
the world's opals. Early settlers (定居者) there realized that they could avoid the harsh temperatures
by building their homes underground. Today almost half of the 3,500 people in the town live in
dugouts. Restaurants, schools and other buildings are also underground. People enjoy their lives
"down under".
() 56. Where is the town of Coober Pedy?
A. In South Africa.
B. In North America.
C. In southern Australia.
D. In northern Australia.
() 57. What does the underlined word "miserable" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Boring.
B. Meaningful.
C. Busy.
D. Uncomfortable.
() 58. What is the main reason why people in Coober Pedy live underground?
A. To stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
B. To find opals underground.
C. To protect the desert where they live.
D. To avoid the strong sunshine in the desert.
() 59. Which is NOT true according to the article?
A. In Coober Pedy, almost half of the population live in underground dugouts.
B. The dugouts are the same as common houses.
C. Coober Pedy is the main opal-mining area in the world.
D. Coober Pedy is famous not only for its opals but also for its underground homes.
() 60. The purpose of this article is .
A. to tell about the history of making jewellery
B. to advise people to move to Coober Pedy
C. to tell people about an unusual town
D. to tell people how opals are taken out of mines
答案：56. C
57. D
58. A
59. B
60. C
57. D
58. A
59. B
60. C
解析：
56. 根据文章第二段“Coober Pedy is in a desert in southern Australia.”可知，该城镇位于澳大利亚南部，故选C。
57. 根据第二段描述的当地极端气温、沙尘暴和苍蝇群等恶劣环境，可推断“miserable”意为“不舒服的”，与Uncomfortable意思相近，故选D。
58. 由第二段可知，地上环境极端，地下温度常年舒适，人们住地下是为了躲避地上的酷暑严寒，达到冬暖夏凉的效果，故选A。
59. 第一段提到 dugouts与普通房子相似（similar），但并非完全相同（same），它们窗户很少，故B选项表述错误；A、C、D选项均能在文中找到对应依据，故选B。
60. 文章主要介绍了澳大利亚Coober Pedy这个特殊的地下城镇，包括其地下住宅和蛋白石矿等特点，目的是向人们介绍这个不寻常的城镇，故选C。
57. 根据第二段描述的当地极端气温、沙尘暴和苍蝇群等恶劣环境，可推断“miserable”意为“不舒服的”，与Uncomfortable意思相近，故选D。
58. 由第二段可知，地上环境极端，地下温度常年舒适，人们住地下是为了躲避地上的酷暑严寒，达到冬暖夏凉的效果，故选A。
59. 第一段提到 dugouts与普通房子相似（similar），但并非完全相同（same），它们窗户很少，故B选项表述错误；A、C、D选项均能在文中找到对应依据，故选B。
60. 文章主要介绍了澳大利亚Coober Pedy这个特殊的地下城镇，包括其地下住宅和蛋白石矿等特点，目的是向人们介绍这个不寻常的城镇，故选C。