题目内容
B. brought down
C. gave away
D. gave out
Rescue workers at the San Jose gold and copper mine in northern Chile had reason to sing this week．A small hole drilled into the earth became a passage（通道） to freedom for thirty-three trapped miners．They spent sixty-nine days underground．"Never have people been trapped for so long so deeply," says a doctor at NASA, the American space agency, which helped in the rescue．
But the chief medical officer for the miners said most are in good enough health to leave the hospital within a day or so．The first three were released from the hospital Thursday night．
For much of the day the miners relaxed with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera．The thirty-two Chileans and one Bolivian still wore special sunglasses to protect their eyes．
A partial mine collapse（坍塌） on 5th of August trapped them more than half a kilometer underground．They had to stretch a two-day food supply．For two weeks no one knew if they were alive or dead．
Later, they received supplies（供给） and a video link lowered through drill holes．That link was how Ariel Ticona watched his wife give birth to their daughter．
The miners have apparently agreed to share the money they earn from selling their story．
They have already received gifts of money and travel offers．Edison Pena has been invited to the New York City Marathon and to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee．Mr．Pena described how he ran in the mine tunnels to ease the stress．And he led the miners in singing Elvis songs．
The first miner rescued on Wednesday was Florencio Avalos．The second was Mario Sepulveda, who talked about how the experience tested his faith．He said: "I was with God and I was with the devil, they fought me, but God won．He took me by my best hand, the hand of God．"
The last miner up was Luis Urzua．He was the shift leader when his crew became trapped．
Rescuers used a metal cage to pull the miners to safety in less than twenty-four hours -- faster than expected．The rescue capsule was a half-meter wide and known as the Phoenix．
【小题1】How many miners had been rescued according to the report?
| A．Three | B．Sixty-nine | C．Thirty-three | D．Thirty-two |
| A．sharing money | B．Running to ease stress |
| C．Watching a video showing his wife giving birth | D．Singing songs |
Edison Pena was invited to Graceland probably because ________________．
| A．he ran in the mine tunnel． | B．he prayed to God． |
| C．he led the miners in singing Elvis songs． | D．he was the shift leader． |
From the passage, we can infer the followings EXCEPT that _______________．
| A．Rescue workers were happy about their rescue work． |
| B．People felt surprised to find the miners safe and sound． |
| C．People might have been quite worried about the miners’ safety． |
| D．The trapped miners drilled a small hole themselves to escape． |
| A．A mining accident | B．Miners saved, safe and sound |
| C．A difficult rescue | D．Miners trapped deep underground |
My mother, Marisol Torres, came with her family to Australia in the early 1960s. Then my parents’ marriage ended and Mum began the study of precious stones. Her interest in opals (猫眼石) took her to the New South Wales remote town of Lightning Ridge. There were no luxuries (奢华的享受), but she was closer to nature and had a chance to find black opals and make some money.
My mother was beautiful with dark hair and brown eyes, but she was also quiet and shy. Early in the Ridge years, she kept to herself, but later, she started going to the neighbourhood centre to make friends.
It was her dream to mine, but her get-rich-quick thinking was unrealistic. She was cheated and she was never very successful. But she kept a sense of humour and a charming smile.
Then, just as friendships began to blossom, she was diagnosed with cancer and had to return south for treatment. She had the intention of cooking Spanish food as special treat for her Ridge friends, but died too soon. In her honour, my aunt, Marisa, and I fulfilled her desire when we visited the Ridge in March last year.
People who mine the Ridge come from a cross section of society, from lawyers to travels. Looks don’t mean much: it can be hard to tell who is millionaire and who is poor. Opals attracted Sebastian and Hanna Deisenberger to Lightning Ridge. They planned a two-year stay, but became permanent residents.
Then there’s Neil Schellnegger, 45, who moved to the area with his parents when he was a child. He lives with his son, Luke. Luke is a shy 19-year-old boy who enjoys helping his dad. They haven’t had much luck over the past couple of years, but their passion for opals conquers disappointment. They love the peaceful lifestyle.
Danny Hatcher, 38, is a second-generation miner and president of the Lightning Ridge Miners’ Association. He is an optimistic man, driven by the desire to find the perfect opal. “It’s magic,” he explains. “Once you start opal mining you don’t want to do anything else… There is always the potential for finding a million dollars. Nothing beats it.”
It’s a place where dreams --- spiritual or material --- can be fulfilled; a place, for one last bet in life.
【小题1】What made the author’s mother go to Lightning Ridge?
| A．The luxurious life there. | B．Her new marriage there. |
| C．Her interest in opals. | D．Her passion for nature. . |
| A．treating her mother’s Ridge friends with Spanish food |
| B．writing a biography about her whole life |
| C．decorating her house in Lightning Ridge |
| D．finding a lot of black opals in Lightning Ridge |
| A．the rich and the poor can be distinguished by their looks |
| B．Luke is a successful miner, just like his father |
| C．Sebastian is planning to leave Lightning Ridge |
| D．Danny Hatcher’s parents were miners in Lightning Ridge |
| A．there are precious stones and life is peaceful |
| B．there are people from all walks of life |
| C．there are rich people who can help poor people |
| D．there is a lot of gold hidden in the ground |
| A．To show the magic power of opal mining. |
| B．To tell people it isn’t always hard to mine opals. |
| C．To warn people not to take up this kind of job. |
| D．To persuade people to look for more resources for the country. |
Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. Death Valley can be dangerously cold during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley.
The air temperature during the summer has been as high as fifty- seven degrees Celsius. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as seventy -four degrees Celsius.
Death Valley contains evidence of several ancient volcanoes that caused huge explosions. Evidence of one of these explosions is called Ubehebe Crater. The explosion left a huge hole in the ground almost a kilometer and a half wide. In many areas of Death Valley it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth. This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations. Some are red. Others are dark brown, gray, yellow or black.
The area was named by a woman in 1849. Thousands of people from other parts of the ountry traveled to the gold mining areas in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December they had reached Death Valley. They did not have to survive the terrible heat of summer, but there was still an extreme lack of water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat.
The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains to the west of the Valley, Slowly, they began co suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the Valley. As they left, one woman looked back and said, "Good -bye, death valley. ” The name has never been changed.
Almost everyone who visits Death Valley visits a huge house called Scotty' s Castle. The building design is Spanish, with high thick walls to provide protection from the fierce heat.
The castle is named for Walter Scott , called Scotty. by his friends. He was a gold miner. He told everyone that he built the house with money he made from his gold mine. Many people believed him. But it was not really the truth.
1. The first two paragraphs discuss Death Valley' s ________.
|
A．geography |
B．climate |
C．location |
D．size |
2.The volcanoes mentioned in the third paragraph proved ________.
|
A．a valley that is formed by explosions |
B．a place where volcanoes are still active |
|
C．a good example of the violence of nature |
D．a symbol of rock formations in history |
3.The woman who named Death Valley intended to ________.
|
A．explore the mystery of the valley |
B．find an area with plants for animals |
|
C．experience the terrible heat of summer |
D．look for gold in California |
4.If the passage continues, it will be about ________.
|
A．the truth about Scotty's Castle |
B．why Spanish built the castle |
|
C．when the castle was built |
D．where the castle lies in |
5.The main idea of the passage is about ________.
|
A．the interesting place in Death Valley |
B．the facts about Death Valley |
|
C．the origin of Death Valley |
D．the route to visit Death Valley |