(共3篇，限时22分钟)
A
(2013·辽宁大连双基测试)Under the cold clear water of Lake Huron, researchers have found a fiveandahalffootlong piece of wood that is 8,900 years old. The wood, which is tapered (使成锥形) on one side in a way that looks deliberate, may provide important clues to a mysterious period in North American prehistory.
“This was the stage when humans gradually shifted from hunting large animals to fishing, gathering and agriculture，” said anthropologist John O'Shea. “But because most of the places in this area that prehistoric people lived in are now under water, we don't have good evidence of this important shift itself. We just have clues from before and after the change.”
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), O'Shea and his colleague Guy Meadows began exploring the area several years ago. In 2009 they reported finding a series of stone features that they believe were “drive lanes” used by ancient Indian hunters.
Since that discovery, O'Shea and Meadows have worked on identifying human campsites, which are typically located away from hunting areas. On their 25foot boat, the researchers first spotted the ancient wood object using a small piece of equipment with a camera. Then a team of divers — including O'Shea — went down about 100 feet to get it.
The wood's age has now been fixed by means of carbon dating. It is currently undergoing more detailed analyses to determine whether there has been human modification, which visual examination suggests. “The first thing you notice is that it appears to have been shaped with a rounded base and a pointed tip，” O'Shea said. “It must have been created. It looks like it might have been used as a tent pole or a pole to hang meat.”
In addition to the wood, the researchers have collected many other samples from the bottom of the lake. O'Shea and his colleagues will need to wait for calmer weather before they can resume their search for evidence of human life under the great lake.
语篇解读：考古学家们的新发现有望印证远古人类从游猎文明到农耕文明的转变。
1．During the mysterious period mentioned in the passage, the Lake Huron area ________.
A．was deserted by ancient Indians
B．witnessed the start of agriculture
C．was taken up by large animals
D．began to be covered by water
解析：选B 推理判断题。从第一、二段的“... may provide important clues to a mysterious period in North American prehistory ... when humans gradually shifted from hunting large animals to fishing, gathering and agriculture”可知B项正确。
2．What's the fourth paragraph mainly about?
A．How the wood was found.
B．Why the wood is important.
C．Preparations that were made for the discovery of the wood.
D．Conclusions the experts have made from the discovery of the wood.
解析：选A 主旨大意题。本段主要交代了 John O'Shea 和同事们从何时开始使用何种方法找到了这块木头。
3．According to the passage, ________.
A．experts haven't found out the age of the wood
B．experts first noticed the wood when they were diving
C．the wood was probably a humanmade tool
D．the wood is the most important discovery among all the samples found under the lake
解析：选C 推理判断题。从第五段的最后一句可知C项正确。
4．What do we know about the future plan of John O'Shea and his colleagues?
A．They will explore another lake soon.
B．They will study the weather around Lake Huron.
C．They will have a long holiday before going back to work.
D．They will continue to explore Lake Huron.
解析：选D 细节理解题。从文章最后一句可知答案。
B
(2013·天津和平区二模)100 years after the sinking of the Titanic, experts are still debating what caused the tragedy. Now, new research by British historian Tim Maltin points to an unusual optical illusion (视错觉) that may have hidden the iceberg that caused the Titanic's deadly crash.
Maltin read weather records from survivors and the ship logs to research his theory. The Titanic sailed from warm Gulf Stream waters into the freezing Labrador Current. There, the air column was cooling from the bottom up, creating layers of cold air below layers of warmer air. This is called a thermal inversion (逆温)．
“The thermal inversion，” Maltin says, “caused light to refract (折射), abnormally downward.” The refraction created a mirage (海市蜃楼): objects appeared higher — and therefore nearer — than they actually were, before a false horizon.
The area between the false horizon and the real horizon appeared as haze (霾). The iceberg was hidden in the haze, so those aboard the Titanic didn't see it until the ship was about to collide with it. As Titanic First Officer William McMaster Murdoch recalled, “That iceberg came right out of the haze.” But by that time, the Titanic was too close to avoid hitting it.
Shortly before the Titanic hit the iceberg, it sailed into the view of another ship, the Californian. But the refraction of the light made it appear too near and too small to be the Titanic — the largest ship in the world at the time. The Californian signaled to the Titanic by the Morse lamp, which uses flashes of light to send signals. The Titanic, now in trouble, also signaled to the Californian by the Morse lamp, but the thermal inversion disrupted the signals. The Titanic finally sank at 2：20 am local time on April 15.
Although some experts agree with Maltin's theory, others say the Titanic sank simply because it ignored several warnings of heavy ice and because it was going too fast in dangerous waters. Whatever the cause, people remain fascinated with the Titanic, and researchers and historians will likely come up with new theories for years to come.
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。英国一位历史学家最新研究发现：一个非同寻常的视错觉——海市蜃楼，是让泰坦尼克号撞上冰山并且未能获得附近船只救援的原因。
5．According to Tim Maltin's new research, ________may have been the cause of Titanic's tragedy.
A．extremely terrible weather conditions at sea
B．an unusual visual illusion caused by a thermal inversion
C．First Officer William's wrong direction judgement D．sailing too fast in dangerous waters
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第一、二段内容可知，Tim Maltin的研究发现，一种由逆温造成的不寻常的视错觉导致了泰坦尼克号悲剧的发生，故答案为B项。
6．Why did the Californian fail to come to the Titanic's rescue?
A．The Californian didn't successfully signal to the Titanic.
B．The Titanic didn't understand the signals.
C．The Titanic signaled back to the Californian by a wrong Morse lamp.
D．The Californian didn't successfully receive the Titanic's response.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段倒数第二句可知，泰坦尼克号也用摩尔斯信号灯回应了加利福尼亚号，但是，逆温扰乱了这些信号，使加利福尼亚号没有收到泰坦尼克号的回应，故答案为D项。
7．What does the underlined word “disrupted” in Paragraph 5 most probably mean?
A．disturbed B．received C．predicted D．spread
解析：选A 词义猜测题。根据倒数第二段可知，加利福尼亚号轮船用摩尔斯信号灯向泰坦尼克号发出信号，泰坦尼克号也用摩尔斯信号灯回应了加利福尼亚号。但是，逆温“扰乱”了这些信号，disturbed意为“干扰，妨碍”，意思最为贴近，故答案为A项。
8．If a mirage forms, one may have a visual illusion that ________ before a false horizon.
A．a slow ship seems to be sailing at a high speed B．a ship on the sea seems to be sailing in the sky
C．a ship sailing far away appears much nearer than it really is
D．a faraway ship seems to be sailing upside down
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据第三段内容可知，海市蜃楼现象会使物体在一个假的地平线前面，从而显得比实际情况更高、更近，故答案为C项。
9．From the passage we can draw the conclusion that ________.
A．the Titanic had hardly hit the iceberg when it almost crashed into another ship
B．the Titanic didn't receive any warnings of heavy ice in advance
C．the Californian was sailing too far away to come to the Titanic's rescue
D．the Californian didn't believe it was the Titanic that was sailing there
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据倒数第二段第二句可知，光的折射使泰坦尼克号显得太近太小，根本不像是当时世界上最大的轮船，所以D项正确。
C
(2013·黑龙江哈九中二模) With the average temperature for January standing at －50℃， it is no wonder the Russian village of Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world. Known as the “Pole of Cold”，the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon is －71.2℃. This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the northern hemisphere (北半球)．
Ironically, Oymyakon actually means “nonfreezing water” due to a nearby hot spring. Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences.
Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer (驯鹿) meat and horsemeat. A single shop provides the town's bare necessities and the locals work as reindeerbreeders, hunters and icefisherman.
There are few modern conveniences in the village — with many buildings still having outdoor toilets — and most people still burn coal and wood for heat. When coal deliveries are irregular, the power station starts burning wood. If the power ceases, the town shuts down in about five hours, and the pipes freeze and crack.
Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power. Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them. Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception, the phones themselves would not work in such conditions.
Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies, which can take anything up to three days. The earth must first have thawed (融解) sufficiently in order to dig it, so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours. Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole couple of inches deep is dug. The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin.
Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions.
语篇解读：俄罗斯的奥伊米亚康村庄一月份的平均气温达到零下50摄氏度，是全球最寒冷的永久居住点。
10．Oymyakon gets its name because ________.
A．it is extremely cold there
B．its water is nonfreezing
C．there is a hot spring nearby
D．it is known as the “Pole of Cold”
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据第二段的第一句话“Ironically, Oymyakon actually means ‘nonfreezing water’ due to a nearby hot spring.”可知，它是因附近的一个温泉而得名。
11．From the passage we can infer that people in Oymyakon ________.
A．prefer meat to any other kind of food
B．seldom have fresh vegetables and fruits
C．can buy anything in the shop
D．might row a boat to catch fish
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第三段中的“Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer (驯鹿) meat and horsemeat.”可推知，那里的人很少吃到新鲜的蔬菜和水果。
12．Why do the locals have their cars running all day?
A．They are afraid they can't get the car started.
B．They want to keep warm in the car.
C．They have abundant oil resources.
D．They have little awareness of saving.
解析：选A 细节理解题。根据第五段中的“Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them.”可知，他们这样做是因为他们害怕不能让车重新启动。
13．Mobile phones would not work in Oymyakon because ________.
A．the batteries are of poor quality
B．there was no coverage for phone reception
C．batteries can't be charged in such conditions
D．the extreme coldness makes the batteries lose power
解析：选D 推理判断题。根据第五段中的“include pen ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power”和“Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception, the phones themselves would not work in such conditions.”可知，手机在那儿不能用的原因是D项。
