题目内容
The dusty air makes it ________ to get a clear picture of space.
- A.hardly
- B.likely
- C.impossible
- D.difficulty
Construction workers in Southern California have made a wild discovery. They were digging at a building site in San Timoteo Canyon (峡谷) when they unearthed hundreds of ancient animal fossils. Researchers say the bones hold important clues about the history of the region.
Nearly 1, 500 fossils were recovered from the dusty canyon. The remains are about 1.4 million years old. They include the bones of a new species of deer, several small rodents (啮齿目动物) and more. A giant cat fossil was also found. Scientists believe the animal was an ancestor of the saber- toothed tiger. Signs of plant life were uncovered as well.
“This is a huge find,” says Rick Greenwood, a scientist studying the site. “I don’t think most people had any idea that those types of animals were wandering around here more than a million years ago.”
San Timoteo Canyon is located about 85 miles from Los Angeles. The area of the canyon where the fossils were found was once part of a green river valley. Today, the region is dry and plant life is rare.
Most of the fossils are well preserved. Experts say a muddy lake bed may have trapped thirty animals that wandered over for a drink. The mud helped to protect the animal fossils.
The remains are a million years older than those discovered at the famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. Scientists studying the bones will be able to learn more about how the animals adapted to changes in the environment.
“We have a confused view of what this time period was like, ” says another scientist. “A discovery like this could really be an important contribution.”
About 35 different animal species are represented in the fossil collection. Scientists began removing bones from the site last fall. The project was completed this summer. Starting next year, the fossils will be on display at the Western Science Center in the nearby city of Hemet, California.
【小题1】
What does the passage mainly focus on?
| A．The secret of ancient animals’ deaths. |
| B．The preparation for a future fossil exhibition. |
| C．A great discovery of fossils. |
| D．The history of San Timoteo Canyon. |
From what Rick says, we know ________. (原创)
| A．fossils were discovered in the canyon for the first time. |
| B．the canyon in ancient times was quite different. |
| C．more research work will be carried on in the canyon. |
| D．the river water helped to protect the animal fossils. |
Compared to the discovery at the La Brea Tar Pits, the canyon-involved fossils _______.
| A．are far older | B．include more species |
| C．are better preserved | D．make experts more confused |
What do we know about the fossils from the passage?
| A．All of them are of new species. |
| B．Some of them have been destroyed |
| C．They were looked for under experts’ guidance. |
| D．They will be on show in the near future. |
People who traveled in the past had to put up with many discomforts which we do not have nowadays, and of course they traveled far more slowly. Roads were bad indeed and you often found you could not get along at all because of the mud. In dry weather many places were thick in dust and when it was stormy, trees might fall across the road and it was nobody’s business to clear them away.
Ordinary people traveled on foot or on horseback, but everyone who could afford it kept a private coach. There were public coaches too. called “stage coaches” because long journeys took several days and were done in stages, with stops over night at inns. Some stage, coaches ran only in the summer months. Others all the year around. They were very slow and crowded and passengers often became in on the way because of the swaying (摇晃).
Break downs were frequent, since many roads were not smooth. So a coach might very easily turn right over. Early in the century coach and wagon builders were encouraged to put very wide wheels on their vehicles. So that these might level the roads a little. But many people complained of this since it slowed travel down a good deal.
Most travelers during the 18th century wrote bitterly about the state of the roads. One visitor to Sussex took six hours to travel nine miles in his coach; another wrote to a friend that on time of his journeys “almost every mile was marked by the overturn of a carriage”.
【小题1】Which of the following mainly prevented people from travelling fast in the past?
| A．Falling trees | B．Thick dust |
| C．Muddy road | D．Many discomforts |
| A．the discomforts | B．the blocked roads |
| C．the dusty places | D．the fallen trees |
| A．the long journey was broken into several parts |
| B．they were slow and crowded |
| C．they stopped for meals at inns |
| D．they served public people only |
| A．the coaches were of poor quality |
| B．the writers liked to describe the road bitterly |
| C．the road condition was really poor |
| D．travelling about in the past was extremely slow |