一、完形填空

A team of Chinese scientists has found a new giant sinkhole(天坑). It's 192 metres 1. What did they find at the bottom? An ancient forest!
This was something that scientists are very interested in. And this 2 discovery was found in Leye County, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Leye County is famous 3 “the museum of sinkholes”. People have 4 about 30 sinkholes there so far.
How do sinkholes form?
China has a karst(喀斯特) landscape, Veni told *Live Science*. Karst landscapes are made when rainwater runs through little cracks(裂缝) in the ground. The cracks 5 grow into tunnels(隧道) and then big caves(洞穴). Over time, a cave can get too 6. Its ceiling then falls slowly, opening up huge sinkholes.
Veni called China's sinkholes “spectacular” because of their great sizes.
7 are sinkholes important?
Besides looking cool, karst caves and sinkholes can be the 8 to all kinds of plants, animals and microbial life. The newly discovered one has ancient trees up to 40 metres tall. “I wouldn't be surprised to know that some species(物种) in these caves have never been reported or described by science until now,” said the leader of the exploration team, Chen Lixin. This is 9 the sinkholes are separate(使分离) from the outside world. That provides an environment for new species to form.
“Sinkholes also have deep stores of underground water. They are like nature's water pipes(管道). They bring 10 to 700 million people worldwide,” Veni told *Live Science*.
1. A. tall
B. thin
C. deep
D. long
2. A. terrible
B. amazing
C. early
D. careful
3. A. as
B. by
C. to
D. with
4. A. made
B. dug
C. reached
D. found
5. A. luckily
B. easily
C. slowly
D. heavily
6. A. small
B. beautiful
C. straight
D. big
7. A. Why
B. When
C. Where
D. What
8. A. school
B. home
C. office
D. house
9. A. because
B. but
C. whether
D. after
10. A. rain
B. snow
C. water
D. food

【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文，介绍了中国科学家发现的巨大天坑及其形成过程和重要性。
1. C 根据“a new giant sinkhole”可知，此处指天坑的深度。故选 C。
2. B 根据“An ancient forest!”可知，这个发现是惊人的。故选 B。
3. A 根据“Leye County is famous...‘the museum of sinkholes’.”可知，此处考查 be famous as“作为……而出名”。故选 A。
4. D 根据“about 30 sinkholes there so far”可知，此处指“人们发现”，其他选项不符合句意。故选 D。
5. C 根据“Over time, a cave can get too... Its ceiling then falls slowly, opening up huge sinkholes.”可知，整个过程是缓慢地发展的。故选 C。
6. D 根据“grow into tunnels and then big caves”可知，久而久之洞穴会变得太大。故选 D。
7. A 根据“Besides looking cool... an environment for new species to form.”可知，此段主要说明天坑为什么重要。故选 A。
8. B 根据“some species in these caves”可知，此处指“家园”，be home to“……的家园”。故选 B。
9. A 此处在解释上文“I wouldn't be surprised”的原因，This is because“这是因为……”。故选 A。
10. C 根据“Sinkholes also have deep stores of underground water.”可知，此处指“提供水”。故选 C。

【分析】
解题时需先通读全文，把握文章介绍中国科学家发现巨大天坑及其形成、重要性的主旨；再针对每个空格，结合上下文语境、词义辨析、固定搭配等知识逐一分析选项，确定答案。比如第1题需结合天坑属性选表深度的词，第3题考查固定搭配，第9题需判断因果逻辑关系等。
【解析】
1. 选C。根据前文“giant sinkhole（天坑）”及常识，天坑具有深度属性，此处指深度达192米，故选deep。
2. 选B。前文提到发现了“An ancient forest（古森林）”，这一发现是令人惊讶的，amazing符合语境。
3. 选A。考查固定搭配“be famous as”，意为“作为……而出名”，此处指乐业县作为“天坑博物馆”而出名，故选as。
4. 选D。句意为“到目前为止，人们在那里已经发现了约30个天坑”，found（发现）符合句意，其他选项不符合语境。
5. 选C。根据后文“Over time（随着时间推移）”可知，裂缝是缓慢发展成隧道再到洞穴的，slowly符合逻辑。
6. 选D。根据后文“Its ceiling then falls slowly（它的顶部慢慢塌陷）”可知，洞穴变得太大，big符合语境。
7. 选A。本段主要阐述天坑重要的原因，此处用Why提问引出下文内容，故选Why。
8. 选B。考查固定搭配“be home to”，意为“……的家园”，此处指天坑是各类动植物和微生物的家园，故选home。
9. 选A。前文说“我不会惊讶这些洞穴里有未被科学报道的物种”，后文解释原因“天坑与外界隔绝”，This is because表示原因，符合逻辑。
10. 选C。根据前文“Sinkholes also have deep stores of underground water（天坑有丰富的地下水）”可知，此处指天坑为全球7亿人提供水，故选water。
【答案】
1.C 2.B 3.A 4.D 5.C 6.D 7.A 8.B 9.A 10.C
【知识点】
完形填空解题、固定搭配、词义辨析
【点评】
本文是关于自然景观的说明文，考查学生对词汇、固定搭配及上下文逻辑的理解能力，需结合语境分析每个空的选项，难度适中，是常见的初中完形填空题型。
【难度系数】
0.6

二、阅读理解


How do you describe(描述) the surface of one thing? Round? Square? Or smooth? You may have different answers. But we know that we can describe the earth's surface through landforms. A landform is a natural mixture of rock and soil found on earth. Landforms come in different kinds of shapes and sizes. The whole mountains, small hills, plateaus(高原), and plains are the four main kinds of landforms. A landform might be as large as a land or as small as a pool.
Landforms are made by some kinds of forces(力量) of nature. This force could be wind, water or ice. And it usually takes a very long time to form different landforms. It could be hundreds or thousands of years or even longer. For example, you may see many valleys(山谷). It used to be a high hill, but with time going by, water and wind wear down high land into a plain, and then create valleys. Many landforms are formed by water. Both processes(过程) happen over a long time, sometimes millions of years.
What are the differences among the landforms? Valleys are located between hills or with many high mountains around. And there is usually a river at the bottom of the valleys. A delta(三角洲) is another two landforms created by water. Deltas can be found at the mouths of rivers. They are created when sand, soil(土壤), and rock mix together. Hills and mountains are another two landforms. A hill is raised land. A mountain is usually higher with a top. Most mountains are like towers but a few of them are like tables which have flat tops.
1. What does the underlined phrase “wear down” in Paragraph 2 most probably mean in Chinese?
A. 侵蚀
B. 堆砌
C. 崩塌
D. 沉没
2. How are landforms formed mostly?
A. By water.
B. By wind.
C. By ice.
D. By soil.
3. Where can you find the delta?

【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了不同的地貌及其形成的原因。
1. A 词义猜测题。根据“It used to be a high hill, but with time going by, water and wind wear down high land into a plain, and then create valleys.”可知，山峰受到侵蚀会变成平原和山谷。故选 A。
2. A 细节理解题。根据“Many landforms are formed by water. Both processes happen over a long time, sometimes millions of years.”可知，大多数地貌都是因为水流形成的。故选 A。
3. D 图示理解题。根据“Deltas can be found at the mouths of rivers. They are created when sand, soil, and rock mix together.”可知，三角洲可以在河口找到，是由沙子、土壤和岩石混合而成的。由此推断选项 D 最为符合。故选 D。

【分析】
解答这三道题需运用英语阅读理解的核心解题方法：1. 词义猜测题要定位划线短语的语境，结合上下文逻辑和常识推断词义；2. 细节理解题需精准锁定原文中对应问题的关键信息句；3. 图示理解题要根据原文描述匹配对应图示位置。
【解析】
1. 词义猜测题：定位到第二段划线短语所在句“It used to be a high hill, but with time going by, water and wind wear down high land into a plain, and then create valleys”，由“高山演变为平原、山谷”的语境可知，水和风对高地的作用是“侵蚀”，故选A。
2. 细节理解题：定位到第二段最后一句“Many landforms are formed by water”，明确大多数地貌由水形成，故选A。
3. 图示理解题：定位到第三段关于三角洲的描述“Deltas can be found at the mouths of rivers”，三角洲位于河口处，匹配对应图示选项，故选D。
【答案】
1.A 2.A 3.D
【知识点】
词义猜测题、细节理解题、图示理解题
【点评】
本文为介绍地貌的说明文，题目设置为英语阅读基础题型，侧重考察定位原文信息、结合语境猜词的基本能力，整体难度较低，适合巩固阅读解题技巧。
【难度系数】
0.8