Death Valley is famous for its moving rocks. Since the early 1900s, visitors to Racetrack Playa, a dry lake bed in California, have wondered how the rocks can move on their own.
These rocks leave long tracks (轨迹) behind them. The long tracks show that the rocks have moved along the ground. Those rocks move only at night and only move once every year or two. And they don’t move at the same time or in the same direction. But how do they move? How can a 350-kilogram rock move? Now scientists have known the key to the question!
Here’s how it happens.
Death Valley is one of the hottest places in the world, but it is cold at night. When it rains, the hard ground becomes soft and wet. When it gets cold enough, the water on the ground will change into very thin ice. Then the strong wind can move flat rocks along the flat ground. In the morning, the sun comes up and dries the ground.
Moving rocks can be found at other places in the world as well, but Death Valley is the most famous.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。1. What interests visitors most in Death Valley?
| A．The mountains around Death Valley. | B．The scenery of Death Valley. |
| C．The reason why the lake is dry. | D．The secret of the moving rocks. |
| A．The dry lake bed. | B．The long tracks behind them. |
| C．The weight of the rocks. | D．The shapes of the rocks. |
| A．Hot in the day and humid at night. |
| B．Cool in the day and dry at night. |
| C．Hot in the day and cold at night. |
| D．Cold in the day and windy at night. |
| A．Culture. | B．Health. | C．Nature. | D．Animals. |
| A．A Dry Lake Bed | B．Moving Rocks in Death Valley |
| C．Tracks of Rocks | D．Soft and Wet Ground |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】When I arrived, it was early morning and it was raining. I looked to the east—the sky was becoming grey. I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a dark path. There was nothing to see, but I knew it was there.
After about a mile, a stranger appeared beside the path. “Am I going the right way?” I asked. He knew where I was going. “Yes,” he replied, “you’ll get there in five minutes.” Finally, I came to some rocks and stopped. I looked over them, but it was silent and there was no sign of it.
Suddenly, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared. The sun rose behind me and shone on the rocks. Far below me, the ground fell away and down to a river. I was looking across one of the wonders of the natural world—the Grand Canyon.
I looked down to the Colorado River, a silver stream nearly one mile below me. If you put the two tallest buildings in the world on top of each other at the bottom of the canyon, they still would not reach the top. Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon. It was about fifteen miles away, maybe more. Finally, I looked to my left and to my right, and on both sides the canyon went far away for more than 200 miles. The Grand Canyon was not just big. It was huge!
I remained by the canyon for about half an hour, and I asked myself, “Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder of the natural world ?” I certainly know the answer. What do you think?
1. Where does the passage most probably come from?| A．A magazine. | B．A grammar book. | C．A dictionary. | D．A story book. |
| A．Because there was nothing. | B．Because it was too dark. |
| C．Because it was raining. | D．Because it was in the morning. |
| A．South. | B．North. | C．East. | D．West. |
| A．To give facts about the natural world. |
| B．To say how he feels about the natural world. |
| C．To tell an interesting story about the Grand Canyon. |
| D．To attract people to visit the Grand Canyon. |
【推荐2】In the most southern part of our planet, there’s a place that’s covered with snow and ice all year round. But it has the clearest and cleanest air. Amazingly, in this place, the sun sometimes hangs even in the midnight sky. This place is Antarctica (南极洲): the coldest, windiest and harshest (恶劣的) place on the Earth.
As the world’s least-known place, Antarctica is of great interest to scientists around the world. During 30 years, China has sent many scientists to Antarctica. They mostly look at the resources under the icy land and do research about climate change and marine (海洋的) biology.
Antarctica is a place with fantastic views. However, life there is very hard. Food is one of the biggest problems. Frozen food which can be heated easily is people’s daily food. Fresh vegetables are hard to grow in the cold weather.
Sleep is also difficult. In Antarctica, summer lasts from November to March. During this period, Antarctica points to the sun and receives sunlight 24 hours a day. In order to get some sleep, scientists cover the windows with black plastic cloth to create “night”.
Working in Antarctica is dangerous, especially when meeting gale-force (七级以上的) winds. They can easily blow people away. So there are ropes that connect buildings of some research stations. People can hold these ropes to keep their balance in forceful winds.
What’s more, communicating with others is difficult. Without cables and Internet in some research stations, two-way radios are the only tools to communicate. If people want to say hello to friends and relatives, they can use satellite phones.
Although it is challenging to work in Antarctica, scientists’ passion to learn about this mysterious land will never end. It is hopeful that one day they will step every corner of this icy land.
1. Scientists from China go to Antarctica to ________.| A．find out ways to control water pollution | B．grow plants and vegetables in special condition |
| C．research climate change and marine biology | D．stop the hunters from killing the marine life |
| A．wear more clothes to keep warm | B．cover the windows with black cloth |
| C．connect research stations with ropes | D．eat more fried and canned vegetables |
| A．full preparation | B．amazing imagination |
| C．pleasant introduction | D．strong love |
| A．climate changes of Antarctica | B．exploring Antarctica |
| C．how to survive in Antarctica | D．views of Antarctica |
【推荐3】People often think of the North Pole（北极） and the South Pole as similar frozen（冰冻的）wastelands. They are both places with very cold temperatures and few people live there. However, the North and South Poles are not much alike as people may imagine.
The North Pole has no land, only thick ice. Temperatures seldom go above 32 °F, at which water turns into ice. Most of the time, it stays below zero. In winter temperatures are usually as low as -30°F.
Although conditions were very poor, people tried for many centuries to reach the North Pole. About 100 years ago, two men, Robert Peary and Mathew Henson, were able to get to this environment full of troubles and difficulties. They reached the North Pole on March 8th, 1909. It was really a hard trip for them.
There are few things more dangerous than crossing the Arctic（北极圈） on foot. People who stayed there may face many problems: very cold temperatures, sudden storms, and even hunger. Most of the area is uninhabited. Few people can live in such a difficult place.
People might think that with such low temperatures for most of the year, the ice would be thick and hard. However, this is not true in the Arctic. The movement of the ocean water under the ice may often cause many different changes on the surface. Sometimes the ice breaks into two opening lanes of water（水道）called “leads”. Anyone who falls into a lead can be frozen to death in a few minutes.
1. According to the passage, what happened about 100 years ago?| A．Two men succeeded in getting to the North Pole. |
| B．Temperatures in the North Pole went above 32°F. |
| C．The environment in the North Pole suddenly became worse. |
| D．The North Pole changed into thick ice because of the temperatures. |
| A．气候恶劣的 | B．无人居住的 | C．困难重重的 | D．充满危险的 |
| A．that the temperature suddenly drops |
| B．that the water under the ice is frozen |
| C．that the ocean water under the ice moves |
| D．that the surface is covered with lots of ice |
| A．The thick ice in the North Pole. |
| B．A difficult trip to the North Pole. |
| C．The real situation in the North Pole. |
| D．The differences between the North Pole and the South Pole. |
【推荐1】Beauty sleep is a real thing, researchers have shown that people who have enough sleep look more attractive to others.
A few bad nights is enough to make a person look “especially” more ugly, their sleep experiments（实验）show.
The researchers asked 25 university students to join in their sleep experiment. They were asked to get a good night’s sleep for two nights.
A week later, they were asked to sleep for only four hours every night for two nights in a row. The researchers took make-up free（素颜）photos of the volunteers after both the good and the bad sleep.
Next, they asked 122 strangers to have a look at the photos and judge（评价）them on attractiveness（吸引力）, health, and sleepiness, as well as asking them, “How much would you like to make friends with this person in the picture?”
The strangers were good at judging if the person they were looking at was tired, and, if they were sleepy, their attractiveness score was low.
The strangers also said they wouldn’t want to socialize（与人交往）with the tired students. The researchers say this is natural for people. An unhealthy-looking face makes people run away. In other words, people don’t want to hang around with people who might be ill.
Dr. Brewer, an expert（专家）at the University of Liverpool said, “Judgement of attractiveness is often un-conscious（无意识的）, but we all do it, and we are able to judge on even something small like whether someone looks tired or unhealthy. This study is a good reminder of how important sleep is to us.”
1. When did the researchers take make-up free photos?| A．After both two nights’ good sleep and two nights’ bad sleep. |
| B．After two nights’ bad sleep. |
| C．Before the experiment. |
| D．After two nights’ good sleep. |
| A．telling who looked healthier | B．telling who didn’t have many friends |
| C．telling who missed a lot of sleep | D．telling who was attractive |
| A．The people who were tired. | B．The people who were sleepy. |
| C．The people who were attractive and energetic. | D．The people who were unhealthy. |
| A．More Sleep, More Attractive | B．More Sleep, Fewer Friends |
| C．Less Sleep, Fewer Friends | D．No Attractiveness, No Friends |
【推荐2】①You have waited 45 minutes for the valuable 10 minutes’ break. But when the bell for the next class rings, you can’t believe how quickly time has passed. If you have this experience, you’ll know how time flies when you are having fun and drags when you are bored. Now scientists have come up with a reason why this happens.
②They have found that the brain changes its way to work according to how we direct our attention to a task. When we are bored, we pay more attention to how time is passing. And this makes our brains think the clock is ticking more slowly.
③Recently some researchers who want to understand the conditions carried out an experiment. In the experiment, twelve volunteers watched a picture while researchers paid attention to their brain activity.
④The volunteers were told to first notice how long a picture appeared, then the color of the picture, and thirdly, study the both. The results showed that the brain was more active when the volunteers paid attention to more subjects.
⑤It is thought that if the brain is busy noticing many aspect（方面）of a task, it has to spread its resources, and pays less attention to the clock. Therefore, time seems to go quickly. If the brain is not so active, it spends its full energy on the passing of time. As a result, time seems to move slowly.
⑥Next time you feel bored in class, perhaps you should concentrate（聚精会神）on what the teacher is saying.
1. What does the underlined word “drags” probably mean?| A．passes slowly | B．passes quickly | C．passes actively | D．passes meaningfully |
| A．We will be full of energy if we do nothing. |
| B．Time goes by slowly when we are interested in things. |
| C．Concentrating on more subjects is a way to make people more active. |
| D．Time goes by slowly when the brain is noticing many things at the same time. |
| A．The best way to save time. | B．The importance of planning time. |
| C．The reason for time flying and dragging. | D．The importance of saving time. |
| A．①②/③④⑤/⑥ | B．①/②③④⑤/⑥ | C．①②/③④⑤⑥ | D．①/②③④/⑤⑥ |
Now emojis (表情符号) are very popular (流行的). Lots of people use them. Using emojis is becoming (变成) a part of many people' s everyday life (日常生活).
Emojis were used in Japan first. Now more and more Chinese people also like to use emojis on QQ and WeChat (微信). Some funny emojis are even created (创造) in China. For example, the popular emoji “ Funny” is created in China.
Do you like emojis ? Do you want to have emoji pillows (枕头)? There are different kinds of emoji pillows. You can buy them on the Internet (互联网上).
Amy, an English girl, said: "I love emoji pillows very much. They are lovely. When I see them, I feel happy.”
1. Now Chinese people like to use emojis __________.| A．only on QQ | B．only on Wechat | C．on QQ and Wechat | D．only on their blogs |
| A．China | B．Japan | C．Australia | D．America |
| A．To show how funny emojis are. | B．To show why people love emojis. |
| C．To show emojis are very popular. | D．To show some emojis are created in China. |
| A．in a school | B．on the Internet | C．in a hospital | D．in a market |
| A．She likes them. | B．she doesn’t like them. |
| C．She doesn’t mind them. | D．She can’t afford (买得起) them. |
【推荐1】The story of the fig (无花果) goes back a very long time. Many people think that the fig tree was the first plant ever grown by people for food. They were grown in the Middle East at least 11, 000 years ago! Figs are now grown in warm countries all around the world. Turkey, a small country in the sunny south of Europe, grows more figs than any other country in the world.
In rainforests, the fig tree gives food and a home to all kinds of animals. Figs were so useful to the people of ancient times that many believed figs were gifts from the gods. In Greece, another country in Europe, figs were so precious that people weren’t even allowed to sell them to other countries. Back then in Greece, there was no sugar, so people used sweet figs to make cooked fruits and food taste better.
Figs can be black, green, purple or white, and all of them are delicious! Fresh figs break easily, so they are often dried, to make them easier to keep and carry around. Fresh figs are full of healthy vitamins, and dried figs have even more good things. So why not feast on figs? Your body will thank you a lot.
1. Why does Turkey grow more fig trees than any other country?| A．It is a big country. | B．It is a warm country. |
| C．Figs were first planted there. | D．Figs are the main food there. |
| A．They have a long history. | B．They have sweet fruits. |
| C．They are useful. | D．They are expensive in Greece. |
| A．Figs are gifts from the gods | B．Figs are popular in Europe |
| C．Dried figs can be kept easily | D．The history, use and value of figs |
【推荐2】
① Everybody has a brain, but not many people know how the brain works. Some people believe that the brain is like the hard disk (磁盘) of a computer. We use it to store things-pictures, language (words, texts, sounds) and so on. Others compare the brain to a huge container with lots of shelves and boxes in it. We put information into these boxes and hope to find it again later.
②The brain is not a computer disk, And it isn’t a container. Look at the picture here. It looks a bit like weeds (杂草) in a garden, doesn’t it? The picture actually shows a child’s neocortex—a part of the brain. You can guess what happens—more ‘weeds’ grow as the child gets older. Scientists call these neuronal (神经元的) networks. What makes them grow? Learning! “Learning is brain change,” says Professor James Zull from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. “Without learning, nothing changes in the brain. For every new word you learn in your English lesson, every problem you solve in maths, every new song you learn to sing, a neuronal network grows in your brain and the brain changes.”
③There are many ways to make your brain stronger. The more neuronal networks we grow, the better we can think and the better we remember. You may wonder if there is anything you can do to make the networks in your brain grow better. Professor Zull says yes, there is. He says that brain change is the strongest in the following situations:
·You are interested in and like what you are learning;
· You are in control of what you learn;
· You get challenging tasks that make you think hard.
Choose a right way to learn something, and you may develop your brain better than you think.
根据材料内容选择最佳答案。1. How does the writer start this text?
| A．By telling a story. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By asking a question. | D．By listing two different opinions. |
| A．A disk used in the computer to store things. |
| B．A wild plant that grows in a garden. |
| C．An object used to carry or store things. |
| D．A task that helps to develop your brain. |
| A．learn languages | B．have problems | C．enjoy songs | D．plant trees |
| A．The brain is a fantastic computer. |
| B．What people believe about the brain. |
| C．How to make your brain stronger. |
| D．We remember better when things are easy. |
| A．Interest is the best teacher | B．Meeting life’s challenges |
| C．Never too old to learn | D．Learning is brain change |
【推荐3】What do people in different cities think about health? China Daily app and DX Doctor, a health information sharing platform, surveyed 56,196 Chinese people and gave a health report on Feb 5. Here are some interesting findings.
People in Beijing are the most confident in their health. 60% of them exercise every day. | 29% of people in Hangzhou believe “becoming wealthy” is the most important in life. | Many people in Shantou think everything can be solved by tasty food in life. | People in Shanghai like to use skin care products and beauty products the most in China. |
56% of people in Chongqing improve their health by knowing the latest information. | 88% of people in Shenzhen and Guangzhou believe mental health is important in life. | People in Tianjin never worry about accidents. They always stay happy every day. | 94% of people in Wuhan believe being in good condition is the most important in life. |
1. 29% of people in Hangzhou think the most important thing is ________.
| A．being good-looking | B．staying happy daily |
| C．making much money | D．tasting delicious food |
| A．88% people in Chongqing know all about health. |
| B．60% people in Beijing buy beauty products every day. |
| C．People in Shantou are interested in going on walks every day. |
| D．People in Tianjin, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are always happy. |
| A．people’s health | B．delicious food | C．daily exercise | D．hard work |
