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RURAL CANADA 1 In the 1880s, over three-fourths of Canada’s population lived outside urban centers. One view of rural Canada at that time portrays it as a vast wasteland of isolated farm communities. However, a more accurate view shows that rural Canadians had access to considerable information. The postal service was efficient and inexpensive and connected rural Canadians with the outside world. Many farm families received at least one newspaper through the mail, usually within a day of publication. The daily newspapers of the period were more substantial than those of today, and many reproduced precise accounts of court trials and public events. Rural Canadians read magazines and books and held discussions about them at club meetings. 2 Rural Canadians were also able to get together socially. The local school served other functions besides providing formal education, and school districts were often the only sign of political organization in vast regions of the country. Every community valued its one- room schoolhouse as a meeting place, especially during the winter, when work on the farm was much lighter and people had more time for a variety of social and cultural events. People of all ages got together to sing and play musical instruments, perform skits, and play parlor games. 3 Between 1880 and 1920, there was a growing exodus from farms to the city, mainly because smaller farms could not afford to modernize their technology and were no longer able to support the entire family. However, most Canadians continued to hold rural values, and artists and writers romanticized the family farm. In the novel Anne of Green Gables (1908), Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote about a young woman who strove to reconcile the beauty and peace of the rural landscape with the need to leave it in order to fulfill her ambitions. For large numbers of young Canadians, growing up meant leaving the farm to find work in the city. The novel Anne of Green Gables serves to illustrate

A. the need for farmers to modernize their technology
B. the view of rural Canada as an isolated wasteland
C. the importance of social connections in rural Canada
D. the experience of many young Canadians of the period

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THE COYOTE 1 All North American canids have a doglike appearance characterized by a graceful body, long muzzle, erect ears, slender legs, and bushy tail. Most are social animals that travel and hunt in groups or pairs. After years of persecution by humans, the populations of most North American canids, especially wolves and foxes, have decreased greatly. The coyote, however, has thrived alongside humans, increasing in both numbers and range. 2 Its common name comes from coyotl, the term used by Mexico’s Nahuatl Indians, and its scientific name, canis latrans, means "barking dog." The coyote’s vocalizations are varied, but the most distinctive are given at dusk, dawn, or during the night and consist of a series of barks followed by a prolonged howl and ending with short, sharp yaps. This call keeps the band alert to the locations of its members. One voice usually prompts others to join in, resulting in the familiar chorus heard at night throughout the West. 3 The best runner among the canids, the coyote is able to leap fourteen feet and cruise normally at 25-30 miles per hour. It is a strong swimmer and does not hesitate to enter water after prey. In feeding, the coyote is an opportunist, eating rabbits, mice, ground squirrels, birds, snakes, insects, many kinds of fruit, and carrion--whatever is available. To catch larger prey, such as deer or antelope, the coyote may team up with one or two others, running in relays to tire prey or waiting in ambush while others chase prey toward it. Often a badger serves as involuntary supplier of smaller prey: while it digs for rodents at one end of their burrow, the coyote waits for any that may emerge from an escape hole at the other end. 4 Predators of the coyote once included the grizzly and black bears, the mountain lion, and the wolf, but their declining populations make them no longer a threat. Man is the major enemy, especially since coyote pelts have become increasingly valuable, yet the coyote population continues to grow, despite efforts at trapping, shooting, and poisoning the animals. According to the passage, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT:

A. The coyote is a serious threat to human activities.
B. The coyote is a skillful and athletic predator.
C. The coyote hunts cooperatively with other coyotes.
D. The coyote survives despite persecution by humans.

The teacher told the students that they should pay ______ to the pronunciation.

A. experience
B. notice
C. attention
D. sight

ICE 1 Two conditions are necessary for the formation of ice: the presence of water and temperatures below freezing. Ice in the atmosphere and on the ground can assume various forms, depending on the conditions under which water is converted to its solid state~ Ice that forms in the atmosphere can fall to the ground as snow, sleet, or hail. Snow is an assemblage of ice crystals in the form of flakes; sleet is a collection of frozen raindrops, which are actually ice pellets. Hail consists of rounded or jagged lumps of ice, often in layers like the intemal structure of an onion. Ice also forms directly on the ground or on bodies of water. In North America, ice forms in late autumn, winter, and early spring. On very large bodies of water, it may not form until late winter because there must be several months of low temperatures to chill such large amounts of water. 2 On puddles and small ponds, ice first freezes in a thin layer with definite crystal structure that becomes less apparent as the ice thickens. On lakes large enough to have waves, such as the Great Lakes, the first ice to form is a thin surface layer of slush, sometimes called grease ice, which eventually grows into small floes of pancake ice. If the lake is small enough or the weather cold enough, the floes may freeze together into a fairly solid sheet of pack ice. Pack ice may cover the entire lake or be restricted to areas near the shore. 3 Because water expands when it freezes, ice is less dense than liquid water and therefore floats rather than sinks in water. As ice floats on the surface of a lake, ocean, or river, it acts as an insulator and is thus important in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. Without the insulating effect of floating ice sheets, surface water would lose heat more rapidly, and large bodies of water such as the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay might freeze up completely. Which of the following is an effect of the density of ice

A. Ice that forms on large lakes has a greasy consistency.
B. Each ice crystal is unique, but all are six-sided structures.
C. Pack ice is restricted to areas near the shore of a lake.
D. Floating ice sheets prevent bodies of water from losing heat.

The team ______ of scientists and experts in different lines of work.

A. persisted
B. consisted
C. insisted
D. composed

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