Question

【题目】The snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, famous in literature and beloved by tourists, initially formed some 11,000 years ago, but will be gone in two decades, according to researchers who say the ice fields on Africa’s highest mountain shrank by 80 percent in the past century.

Lonnie G. Thompson,one professor from Ohio State University, said measurements using modern navigation satellites show that the oldest ice layers on the famous mountain were deposited during an extremely wet period starting about 11,700 years ago.The mountain appears in literature, most notably Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and some ancient beliefs in Africa hold the mountain to be a sacred place.

But a temperature rise in recent years is destroying the 150-foot-high blocks of ice that gave Kilimanjaro its unique white cap.“The ice will be gone by about 2030,” said Thompson. The disappearing ice already has reduced the amount of water in some Tanzanian rivers and the government fears that when Kilimanjaro is bald of snow the tourists will stop coming.

“Kilimanjaro is the number one foreign currency earner for the government of Tanzania,” said Thompson. “It has its own international airport and some 20,000 tourists every year. The question is how many will come if there are no ice fields on the mountain.”

Africa was not alone in the global drought. Thompson said other records show that civilizations during this period collapsed in India, the Middle East and South America.

Researchers put markers on the ice field blocks in 1962 and Thompson said measurements using satellites show the summit of the ice has been lowered by about 56 feet in 40 years. The____of the ice also has moved back more than six feet in the past two years, much smaller than before.

“That’s more than two meter’s worth of ice lost from a wall 164 feet (50 meters) high,” said Thompson. “That’s an enormous amount of ice.”

【1】The snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro ________.

A. will disappear in two centuries

B. first developed some 11,000 years ago

C. resulted in a temperature rise in recent years

D. has decreased to 80 percent over the past century

【2】According to Thompson, the disappearing of the snow may mainly influence________.

A. the local water supply

B. the local tourism

C. the weather in the surrounding areas

D. the government foreign currency exchange

【3】The underlined word “margin”inParagraph6 means__________.

A. center B. Top C. edge D. back

【4】The writer’s tone in this article is___________.

A. concerned B. casual

C. doubtful D. angry

【5】Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A. Risks of Visiting Mount Kilimanjaro

B. ASacred Place— Kilimanjaro

C. Africa’s Highest Mountain

D. Kilimanjaro Snow Cap May Melt Soon

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【5】D

【解析】试题分析：本文主要介绍了Mount Kilimanjaro这个有这古老历史文化，在文学和旅游业上有名的山将在二十多年后消失，由此将给旅游业到来很大的影响。冰层的高度越来越低，面积越来越小，冰层的融化讲带来不可估量的损失和危害。

【1】细节题。文章第一段The snow cap of Mount Kilimanjaro, famous in literature and beloved by tourists, initially formed some 11,000 years ago.”乞力马扎罗山的雪冠在文学上十分著名且被游客喜爱，最初在11,000年以前形成。故选 B。

【2】细节题。从文中第三最后一句The disappearing ice already has reduced the amount of water in some Tanzanian rivers and the government fears that when Kilimanjaro is bald of snow the tourists will stop coming. ”冰层的消融已经使一些坦桑尼亚河流的水量减少，政府担心当乞力马扎罗山没有雪的时候，他们的游客将停止前往。“The question is how many will come if there are no ice fields on the mountain.”问题是如果这座山没有冰层覆盖了，有多少人会前来。故选B。

【3】分析推断题。Thompson said measurements using satellites show the summit of the ice has been lowered by about 56 feet in 40 years. The margin of the ice also has moved back more than six feet in the past two years, much smaller than before托马斯说使用卫星展示出冰层的顶端已经在40年内下降了大约56英尺。冰层的margin也在过去的两年间后退了6英尺多，比以前大幅减小。前文讲的是冰层总体高度减少的情况，则下面就是介绍冰层水平层面上范围缩小的情况。“margin”是指边缘，范围。故选C。

【4】分析推断题。本文开篇介绍乞力马扎罗山这个在文学和旅游业上有名的山，将在二十多年后消失，接着又讲述了政府对旅游业的担心，可知作者在整篇文章中的感情基调是十分担心、忧虑的，故选A。

【5】文章主旨题。本文首段就介绍乞力马扎罗山在文学上十分著名，深受旅客青睐，，且以“Kilimanjaro Snow Cap May Melt Soon”为题，既具有代表性，又有吸引力，故选D。