四、阅读理解
Scientists believe the earth is 4.6 billion years old. However, the mountains, valleys (山谷), hills, rivers, deserts and forests we see today are much younger than that. For example, Mount Qomolangma is about 60 million years old and the Amazon rainforest is only 10 million years old. The youngest sea in the world is the Baltic Sea, about 15,000 years old.
The earth is always changing because of volcanoes (火山), earthquakes (地震) and of course, wind and rain. Some of these changes are very slow and others are quick. Water and ice can make very great changes to our planet. For example, rivers of ice can cut through mountains and make lakes and deep valleys. Many volcanoes are under the oceans and sometimes they become new islands (岛屿).
It’s normal for our planet to change, but at the moment, scientists think it’s changing faster than usual. Some deserts are growing and many forests are getting smaller. The weather is getting wetter in some places and drier in others, and there are more big storms. Then the sea level will go on rising in the next hundred years. As a result, many cities will possibly be covered by water and many of the farming areas will be lost. Some island countries may disappear (消失) in the world.
These changes will bring great harm (伤害) to the planet. However, they can be beneficial to some people. For example, as the Arctic (北极) is getting warmer, some people in Greenland now own businesses and sell vegetables they grow on their land. That wasn’t possible in the far north 50 years ago. Farmers in Greenland like the warm weather and hope it will continue.
(
A. The earth.
B. The Baltic Sea.
C. Mount Qomolangma.
D. The Amazon rainforest.
(
A. the age of the earth
B. problems of the earth
C. the life of the farmers
D. the importance of the mountains
(
A. harmful
B. normal
C. helpful
D. powerful
(
A. Art.
B. Maths.
C. Music.
D. Geography.
Scientists believe the earth is 4.6 billion years old. However, the mountains, valleys (山谷), hills, rivers, deserts and forests we see today are much younger than that. For example, Mount Qomolangma is about 60 million years old and the Amazon rainforest is only 10 million years old. The youngest sea in the world is the Baltic Sea, about 15,000 years old.
The earth is always changing because of volcanoes (火山), earthquakes (地震) and of course, wind and rain. Some of these changes are very slow and others are quick. Water and ice can make very great changes to our planet. For example, rivers of ice can cut through mountains and make lakes and deep valleys. Many volcanoes are under the oceans and sometimes they become new islands (岛屿).
It’s normal for our planet to change, but at the moment, scientists think it’s changing faster than usual. Some deserts are growing and many forests are getting smaller. The weather is getting wetter in some places and drier in others, and there are more big storms. Then the sea level will go on rising in the next hundred years. As a result, many cities will possibly be covered by water and many of the farming areas will be lost. Some island countries may disappear (消失) in the world.
These changes will bring great harm (伤害) to the planet. However, they can be beneficial to some people. For example, as the Arctic (北极) is getting warmer, some people in Greenland now own businesses and sell vegetables they grow on their land. That wasn’t possible in the far north 50 years ago. Farmers in Greenland like the warm weather and hope it will continue.
(
A
) 1. Which is the oldest according to paragraph 1?A. The earth.
B. The Baltic Sea.
C. Mount Qomolangma.
D. The Amazon rainforest.
(
B
) 2. From paragraph 3, we can mainly learn about problems of the earth
.A. the age of the earth
B. problems of the earth
C. the life of the farmers
D. the importance of the mountains
(
C
) 3. The underlined word “beneficial” is the closest in meaning to “helpful
”.A. harmful
B. normal
C. helpful
D. powerful
(
D
) 4. Which subject will give you the information above?A. Art.
B. Maths.
C. Music.
D. Geography.
答案：1 - 4 ABCD
解析：
【解析】
1. 细节理解题。根据第一段“Scientists believe the earth is 4.6 billion years old. However, the mountains... are much younger than that. For example, Mount Qomolangma is about 60 million years old... the Amazon rainforest is only 10 million years old. The youngest sea in the world is the Baltic Sea, about 15,000 years old.”可知，地球的年龄最久，故选A。
2. 段落主旨题。第三段主要介绍了当前地球变化速度异常快带来的一系列问题，如沙漠扩张、森林减少、天气异常、海平面上升等，故选B。
3. 词义猜测题。根据前文“These changes will bring great harm to the planet. However, they can be beneficial to some people.”的转折关系，以及后文格陵兰岛居民因气候变暖能种植蔬菜开展生意的例子，可知“beneficial”意为“有帮助的”，与helpful意思相近，故选C。
4. 推理判断题。文章内容围绕地球的地貌、变迁及相关地理现象展开，属于地理学科范畴，故选D。
【答案】
1-4 ABCD
【知识点】
词义猜测技巧、段落主旨归纳、地理类阅读理解
【点评】
本文围绕地球的年龄、自然变化及当前的异常变化展开，考查学生的细节查找、词义猜测和主旨归纳能力，同时渗透地理学科知识，帮助学生认识地球的变迁。
【难度系数】
0.7
1. 细节理解题。根据第一段“Scientists believe the earth is 4.6 billion years old. However, the mountains... are much younger than that. For example, Mount Qomolangma is about 60 million years old... the Amazon rainforest is only 10 million years old. The youngest sea in the world is the Baltic Sea, about 15,000 years old.”可知，地球的年龄最久，故选A。
2. 段落主旨题。第三段主要介绍了当前地球变化速度异常快带来的一系列问题，如沙漠扩张、森林减少、天气异常、海平面上升等，故选B。
3. 词义猜测题。根据前文“These changes will bring great harm to the planet. However, they can be beneficial to some people.”的转折关系，以及后文格陵兰岛居民因气候变暖能种植蔬菜开展生意的例子，可知“beneficial”意为“有帮助的”，与helpful意思相近，故选C。
4. 推理判断题。文章内容围绕地球的地貌、变迁及相关地理现象展开，属于地理学科范畴，故选D。
【答案】
1-4 ABCD
【知识点】
词义猜测技巧、段落主旨归纳、地理类阅读理解
【点评】
本文围绕地球的年龄、自然变化及当前的异常变化展开，考查学生的细节查找、词义猜测和主旨归纳能力，同时渗透地理学科知识，帮助学生认识地球的变迁。
【难度系数】
0.7