1、1课下能力提升(一)阅读理解AIn summer, people around the world seek rest and relaxation on a beach. To meet the need, Trip Advisor publishes a list of the worlds best beaches.Baia do Sancho, BrazilIts water is calm and clear. Its sand is fine and soft. But getting to Baia do Sancho is not so easy. It is on Ferna
2、ndo de Noronha, a volcanic island more than 300 kilometers off Brazils coast. Travelers must take a plane or boat from major cities in northern Brazil to get there. Getting there involves walking along steep, rocky cliffs and then climbing down a ladder.Grace Bay, Turks and CaicosWhile Baia do Sanch
3、o is difficult to get to, Trip Advisors secondranked beach could not be much easier for tourists to reach. Travelers to the islands often choose to stay at oceanfront hotels right next to Grace Bay. This beach has impossibly clean and clear waters and pure white sand. Its calm waters make it extreme
4、ly safe for swimming.Eagle Beach, ArubaTo get to the thirdbest beach, head south to the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba. Eagle Beach has clear, calm waters and soft white sand. It offers visitors a chance to try different water sports. Eagle Beach may be best known, however, for its dramatic sunsets
5、. On clear nights, the sky turns red, orange, and purple.Playa Paraiso, CubaTrip Advisors fourthbest beach is also in the Caribbean. Playa Paraiso is on Cayo Largo, an island off Cubas southern coast. Paraiso has a fun, laidback restaurant for those who wish to eat and drink. There is little else on
6、 the beach. People come here for the sugarlike sand and calm waters filled with colorful wildlife.Siesta Key, United StatesFloridas Siesta Key is a lowlying island. The scientist known as Dr. Beach recently named Siesta Key the best beach in America. It offers calm and clean waters. Visitors of all
7、ages go to Siesta Key when the tide is low to find beautiful, large and, sometimes, rare seashells.语 篇 解 读 ： 本 文 是 应 用 文 。 文 章 介 绍 了 Trip Advisor选 出 的 几 个 世 界 上 最 好 的 海 滩 。1What do Baia do Sancho and Grace Bay have in common?AThey have oceanfront hotels.BThey are volcanic islands.CThey are hard to r
8、each.DThey are in Brazil.解析：选 C 细节理解题。根据 Baia do Sancho, Brazil部分中的“Getting there involves walking along steep, rocky cliffs and then climbing down a ladder”及Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos部分的“While Baia do Sancho is difficult to get to, Trip Advisors secondranked beach could not be much easier for tour
9、ists to reach”可知选 C项。2Which is most suitable for sunset watchers?APlaya Paraiso. BEagle Beach.CGrace Bay. DSiesta Key.解析：选 B 细节理解题。根据“Eagle Beach, Aruba部分中的“Eagle Beach may be best known, however, for its dramatic sunsets”可知选 B项。23What can we learn from the text?ADr. Beach named Baia do Sancho the b
10、est beach in the world.BVisitors can enjoy different sports on Paraisos beach.CVisitors can find rare seashells at Siesta Key.DCayo Largo is an island of Aruba.解析：选 C 细节理解题。根据 Siesta Key, United States部分中的最后一句可知选 C项。BThe Arctic is a polar region. It surrounds the North Pole.Like Antarctica, the Arct
11、ic is a land of ice and snow. Antarctica holds the record for a low temperature reading 125 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Reading of 85 degrees below zero is common in Antarctica. Winter temperatures average 30 degrees below zero in the Arctic. At the South Pole the winter average is about 73 degre
12、es below zero.One thing alone makes it almost impossible for men to live in Antarctica and in parts of the Arctic. This one thing is the low temperature the killing chill of far North and the polar South.To survive, men must wear the warmest possible clothing. They must build windproof shelters. The
13、y must keep heaters going at all times. Not even for a moment can they be unprotected against the belowzero temperatures.Men have a way of providing for themselves. Polar explorers wrap themselves in warm coats and furs. The cold makes life difficult. But the explorers can stay alive.What about anim
14、als？Can they survive？Do we find plants？Do we find life in the Arctic and in Antarctica? Yes, we do. There is life in the oceans. There is life on land.Antarctica, as we have seen, is a cold place indeed. But this has not always been the case. Expedition (探险) scientists have discovered that Antarctic
15、a has not always been a frozen continent. At one time the weather in Antarctica may have been much like our own.Explorers have discovered coal in Antarctica. This leads them to believe that Antarctica at one time was a land of swamps and forests. Heat and moisture must have kept the trees in the for
16、ests alive.语篇解读：文章首先介绍了南极和北极的气温，然后介绍了人类与动物在极地的情况以及科学家对南极过去环境情况的猜想。4The lowest temperature that man has ever known was recorded _.Ain Antarctica Bin the ArcticCat the North Pole Din the polar region解析：选 A 细节理解题。由第二段第二句可知，史上最低气温是在南极地区测得的。5Polar explorers can stay alive there because they _.Astay insid
17、e the building thereBhave their own way to keep warmCare stronger than other peopleDhave no heaters and windproof shelters解析：选 B 细节理解题。由第五段第二句“Polar explorers wrap themselves in warm coats and furs.”可知，极地考察队员有自己的保暖方法。6Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?AMan can survive in po
18、lar areas as long as they can keep warm.3BDespite the cold, both animals and plants can be found in polar areas.CAntarctica has not always been so cold as it is today, nor has the Arctic.DAt one time, the weather in Antarctica was so warm and damp that trees grew there.解析：选 C 推理判断题。由倒数第二段可知，文中只提到南极曾
19、经并不是一个寒冷的大陆，但并没有提到北极，故 C项符合题意。7Whats the main idea of the passage?AThe Arctic is colder than Antarctica.BThe history of the Arctic and Antarctica.CThe discovery in the Arctic and Antarctica.DThe environmental features in polar regions.解析：选 D 主旨大意题。文章首先介绍了南极和北极的气温，然后介绍了人类与动物在极地的情况以及科学家对南极过去环境情况的猜想。所以
20、 D项正确。CBiologist Robert Pitman and his colleagues tracked orcas, or killer whales, and humpback whales off the coast of Western Australia. To research further, the scientists attached a tracker to a female orca, which allowed them to use satellites to monitor her movements. They followed her for six
21、 days. During that time, the orca attacked eight young humpback whales. During the seven attacks, the orca killed the humpback whale calf (幼兽) on three occasions.But the story doesnt end there. Humpback whales themselves are popularly thought to be large but generally, passive creatures. Pitmans stu
22、dy findings may let people think otherwise.When chased by orcas, humpback whales are known to try to outswim orcas. They are thought to do this at high speed so that the orcas cant keep up. On some occasions, the humpback whales sought out protection. They swam to shallow water, nearby reefs, or eve
23、n under the researchers boats. These ways often reduced the attack. But at other times, the humpback whales decided to stay and fight.As the orcas approached, the mother humpback would sometimes move her calf to her side, or lift it out of the water using her head or flippers. She also blew huge bre
24、aths of air to disturb the orcas, and lunged or charged at them, slashing (劈 ) and slapping her tail and flippers. Perhaps most surprisingly, humpback whales also have adult “escorts (护卫队 )” that try to protect calves that are not their own, joining the mother in defending the smaller whale. These e
25、scort whales either charged at the orcas, or placed themselves between the attackers and calves, slashing their tails and flippers.Despite the efforts of the mother whales and escorts, the orcas were more often than not successful in their attacks. But the presence of the escorts did reduce how many
26、 times a whale calf was killed.语篇解读：本文是说明文。文章主要讲的是科学家使用科学仪器来观察杀人鲸是如何追杀驼背鲸及后者是如何反击和保护幼小的驼背鲸的。8Whats the purpose of the scientists further research?ATo keep a record of whales living habits.BTo observe orcas hunting humpback whales.CTo see what lifeordeath battles whales may face.DTo find out the tech
27、niques orcas use when hunting.解析：选 B 细节理解题。根据文章第一段中的“To research further .the orca attacked eight young humpback whales”可知，科学家进行进一步研究的目的是观察杀人鲸追杀驼背鲸的活动。故选 B。49Why did the humpback whales swim to shallow water?ATo avoid being attacked.BTo hunt for food.CTo protect their young.DTo trick the chasers.解析：
28、选 A 细节理解题。根据文章第三段中的“On some occasions, the humpback whales sought out protection. They swam to shallow water, nearby reefs, or even under the researchers boats”可知，驼背鲸游至浅水区是出于自身的安全考虑，为了避免被攻击。故选 A。10What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 4?AWhy humpback whales fall victim to orcas.BHow humpback whal
29、es protect their calves.CThe great mother love of humpback whales.DSmaller humpback whales ways of surviving.解析：选 B 段落大意题。根据第四段的内容可知，本段主要讲的是在面对杀人鲸的攻击时，驼背鲸是如何进行反击来保护自己的幼崽的。故 B项最能概括本段的大意。11What does Pitmans study find?AOrcas are successful in their attacks.BIts not easy for orcas to obtain food.CHumpb
30、ack whales swim faster than orcas.DHumpback whales could be active animals.解析：选 D 推理判断题。第二段提到“Humpback whales themselves are popularly thought to be large but generally, passive creatures. Pitmans study findings may let people think otherwise”，驼背鲸一般被认为是大型的但是通常被动的生物，Pitman 的研究发现可能会让人不这么认为。下文接着讲了面对杀人鲸的攻击时，驼背鲸所采取的一些应对方式，其中包含积极迎击。故选 D。5
