Question

It is nice to know what the weather will be like when we plan a trip. Do you know anything about the history of weather? Don’t look at the sky. Don’t look for old weather reports. Looking at the tree rings is more important. Correct weather reports date back only one century, but some trees can provide an exact record of weather even further back.

It is natural that a tree would grow best in a climate with plenty of sunlight and rainfall. It is also expected that little sunlight or rainfall would reduce the growth of a tree. The change from a favorable to an unfavorable climate can be found out by the reading pattern of rings in a tree trunk. To find out the weather of ten years ago, you can count the rings of a tree trunk from the outside to the inside. If the tenth ring is far from the other rings, then it is certain that plenty of sunny and rainy weather occurred. If the rings are close together, then the climate was bad for the tree.

Studying trees is important not only for the history of weather, but also for the history of man. In an area of New Mexico you can find only sand — no trees or people. However, many centuries ago a large population lived there. They left suddenly. Why?

A scientist studied the pattern of the rings of dead trees that had grown there. He made up his mind that the people had to leave because they had cut down all the trees. Trees were necessary to make fires and buildings. So, after the people destroyed the trees, they had to move.

In this example studying tree rings uncovered an exciting fact about the history of man.

1.We can find out the weather of five years ago by counting the rings of a tree trunk ____.

A. from the left to the right

B. from the right to the left

C. from the inside to the outside

D. from the outside to the inside

2.If the ring was far from the others, we can conclude that the weather of that year was ______.

A. bad B. sunny C. favorable D. rainy

3.By studying the rings of dead trees in an area of New Mexico, the scientist found _______.

A. why the people had to leave

B. where the people had to go

C. what the people had to eat

D. how the people left

4.The ancient people usually lived where there were plenty of trees mainly because ______.

A. trees provided an exact record of weather for research

B. trees could supply them with fruit and food to live on

C. trees could supply them with shades

D. trees were materials for fires and buildings

5.By giving the example of an area of New Mexico, the author tries to prove .

A. trees can’t live in the area without population

B. that studying trees is important for the history of man and weather.

C. what the real relation is between tree rings and the history of man and weather

D. the history of man is important for the history of trees

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.D

5.B

【解析】

试题分析：你知道天气的历史吗？由于树木的生长依靠阳光和水分，通过观察树木的年轮，我们可以了解到当地的提天气状况。而且，观察树木的年轮不仅可以了解天气，还可以了解人类的历史。

1.To find out the weather of ten years ago, you can count the rings of a tree trunk from the outside to the inside.”可知，从外向里观察树木的年轮，如果年轮之间间隔较大，说明阳光、水分充足，故选D。

2.The change from a favorable to an unfavorable climate can be found out by the reading pattern of rings in a tree trunk. ...If the tenth ring is far from the other rings, then it is certain that plenty of sunny and rainy weather occurred.”可知，年轮之间间隔距离较大，说明树木生长环境较好，阳光、水分充足，故选C。

3.the people had to leave because they had cut down all the trees. ...So, after the people destroyed the trees, they had to move.”可知，通过研究树木，科学家找到了当地人离开那里的原因，故选A。

4.Trees were necessary to make fires and buildings.”可知，树木是生活和建造房屋的原材料，古时候的人们通常生活在又很多树木的地方，故选D。

5.Studying trees is important not only for the history of weather, but also for the history of man.”可知，研究树木不仅可以了解当时的天气状况，还能了解人类的历史，作者通过举例来验证这个道理，故选B。

考点：自然科学类短文阅读