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三、阅读理解
It's hard to imagine a place that's more extreme（极端的）than Death Valley in California and Nevada. Death Valley is the hottest and the driest place in North America. Yet Death Valley is full of life.
Death Valley isn't an easy place to live. It gets less than two inches of rain a year, so there isn't much water. It's hot too. In July, temperatures often rise to over $46°\mathrm{C}$. The ground is mostly sand and rocks. There is even a dried-up lake that has turned into salt crystals（结晶）.
Although the weather conditions in Death Valley is terrible, it is still filled with lives. Nothing can stop plants and animals from making it their home. People have found more than 1,000 types of plants there. It also has 51 types of mammals（哺乳动物）, 36 kinds of reptiles（爬行动物）, 6 types of fish, and more than 300 kinds of birds. The animals aren't all small, either. There are big ones like bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and mule deer.
Water is the biggest challenge for anything that lives in Death Valley. Some plants have roots that go fifty feet under the ground to find water. Kangaroo rats get the water they need from the seeds（种子）of desert sunflowers. Tiny pupfish can live in water that is $32°\mathrm{C}$ and five times as salty as the ocean!
(
A. Two inches.
B. Fifty-one inches.
C. At least two inches.
D. Less than two inches.
(
A. There is no life in Death Valley.
B. Death Valley is the coldest and driest in America.
C. It's hot in Death Valley all year round.
D. The ground in Death Valley is mostly sand and rocks.
(
A. Sand.
B. Death Valley.
C. The dried-up lake.
D. The weather condition.
(
A. By listing some numbers.
B. By asking a question.
C. By comparing facts.
D. By telling a story.
(
A. Life in Death Valley
B. Death Valley—An Easy Place to Live
C. Death Valley—A Place You Can't Miss!
D. The Challenge of Living in Death Valley
It's hard to imagine a place that's more extreme（极端的）than Death Valley in California and Nevada. Death Valley is the hottest and the driest place in North America. Yet Death Valley is full of life.
Death Valley isn't an easy place to live. It gets less than two inches of rain a year, so there isn't much water. It's hot too. In July, temperatures often rise to over $46°\mathrm{C}$. The ground is mostly sand and rocks. There is even a dried-up lake that has turned into salt crystals（结晶）.
Although the weather conditions in Death Valley is terrible, it is still filled with lives. Nothing can stop plants and animals from making it their home. People have found more than 1,000 types of plants there. It also has 51 types of mammals（哺乳动物）, 36 kinds of reptiles（爬行动物）, 6 types of fish, and more than 300 kinds of birds. The animals aren't all small, either. There are big ones like bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and mule deer.
Water is the biggest challenge for anything that lives in Death Valley. Some plants have roots that go fifty feet under the ground to find water. Kangaroo rats get the water they need from the seeds（种子）of desert sunflowers. Tiny pupfish can live in water that is $32°\mathrm{C}$ and five times as salty as the ocean!
(
D
)1. How much rain does Death Valley get a year?A. Two inches.
B. Fifty-one inches.
C. At least two inches.
D. Less than two inches.
(
D
)2. What do we know about Death Valley from the first two paragraphs?A. There is no life in Death Valley.
B. Death Valley is the coldest and driest in America.
C. It's hot in Death Valley all year round.
D. The ground in Death Valley is mostly sand and rocks.
(
B
)3. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refer to?A. Sand.
B. Death Valley.
C. The dried-up lake.
D. The weather condition.
(
A
)4. How does the writer show his idea in Paragraph 3?A. By listing some numbers.
B. By asking a question.
C. By comparing facts.
D. By telling a story.
(
D
)5. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?A. Life in Death Valley
B. Death Valley—An Easy Place to Live
C. Death Valley—A Place You Can't Miss!
D. The Challenge of Living in Death Valley
答案
1.D 2.D 3.B 4.A 5.D
解析
【分析】
做这篇阅读理解时，需先通读全文把握主旨，再针对每道题的问题，回到原文定位相关语句，比对选项与原文信息的匹配度，同时注意词义指代、写作手法等题型的解题技巧，逐一排查错误选项得出答案。
【解析】
1. 细节理解题：根据第二段第二句“It gets less than two inches of rain a year”，可知死亡谷年降雨量少于2英寸，对应选项D。
2. 细节理解题：前两段内容分析：A项与第一段末“Yet Death Valley is full of life”矛盾；B项与第一段“the hottest and the driest place in North America”不符；C项与第二段“In July, temperatures often rise to over 46℃”（仅七月高温，非全年）不符；D项与第二段“The ground is mostly sand and rocks”一致，故选D。
3. 词义猜测题：第三段前半句提到“Death Valley is still filled with lives”，后半句“making it their home”中的it指代前文的Death Valley，故选B。
4. 写作手法题：第三段使用了“more than 1,000 types of plants”“51 types of mammals”等具体数字说明死亡谷的生物种类，采用列数字的方法，故选A。
5. 主旨大意题：文章先介绍死亡谷的极端环境，再说明这里的生命情况，最后重点阐述在死亡谷生存的最大挑战（水），核心围绕在死亡谷生存的挑战展开，对应选项D。
【答案】
1.D 2.D 3.B 4.A 5.D
【知识点】
阅读理解细节理解、词义猜测、主旨大意
【点评】
本题为说明文阅读理解，围绕死亡谷的环境与生命展开，考查学生对文章细节的定位能力、词义指代的推断能力、写作手法的识别及主旨的概括能力，题目设置基础，需学生仔细比对原文信息。
【难度系数】
0.6
做这篇阅读理解时，需先通读全文把握主旨，再针对每道题的问题，回到原文定位相关语句，比对选项与原文信息的匹配度，同时注意词义指代、写作手法等题型的解题技巧，逐一排查错误选项得出答案。
【解析】
1. 细节理解题：根据第二段第二句“It gets less than two inches of rain a year”，可知死亡谷年降雨量少于2英寸，对应选项D。
2. 细节理解题：前两段内容分析：A项与第一段末“Yet Death Valley is full of life”矛盾；B项与第一段“the hottest and the driest place in North America”不符；C项与第二段“In July, temperatures often rise to over 46℃”（仅七月高温，非全年）不符；D项与第二段“The ground is mostly sand and rocks”一致，故选D。
3. 词义猜测题：第三段前半句提到“Death Valley is still filled with lives”，后半句“making it their home”中的it指代前文的Death Valley，故选B。
4. 写作手法题：第三段使用了“more than 1,000 types of plants”“51 types of mammals”等具体数字说明死亡谷的生物种类，采用列数字的方法，故选A。
5. 主旨大意题：文章先介绍死亡谷的极端环境，再说明这里的生命情况，最后重点阐述在死亡谷生存的最大挑战（水），核心围绕在死亡谷生存的挑战展开，对应选项D。
【答案】
1.D 2.D 3.B 4.A 5.D
【知识点】
阅读理解细节理解、词义猜测、主旨大意
【点评】
本题为说明文阅读理解，围绕死亡谷的环境与生命展开，考查学生对文章细节的定位能力、词义指代的推断能力、写作手法的识别及主旨的概括能力，题目设置基础，需学生仔细比对原文信息。
【难度系数】
0.6
