1 . For those who have been wishing for real-life chocolate mountains, your dream is about to come true! Just kidding. The chocolate look-alike mounds (土丘) in Bohol, Philippines have absolutely nothing to do with chocolate aside from the fact that during one particular time of the year, they appear to look similar to chocolate.
During the wet season and anytime outside of the dry season, the Chocolate Hills maintain a green color. What attracts people’s attention is the shape of these mounds, as they look as though they were placed there by design, but none of these fields are man-made.
With regard to the origin of the Chocolate Hills, while experts have their own opinions, it’s the Filipinos who have drawn their own conclusion about the Chocolate Hills. According to a popular legend, these hills were a result of two giants (巨人) who ended up throwing mounds of earth at one another during a heated argument. As the fight heated up, they began throwing things such as rocks and sand, which is said to be what created the surrounding area. While some locals believe the legend and some don’t, it is an interesting story nevertheless and fun to think about.
However, the real story lies in the composition (成分) of the hills and this is where experts have a bit more of a scientific reason for the hills being there than just giants. With the help of heavy rainfall and erosion (侵蚀), it’s believed that limestone (石岩) was broken down over time and it’s this dissolution (分解) that created the Chocolate Hills.
The dry season in the Philippines is the only time to see these hills in all their chocolatey glory, and that falls between late November and May. However, since it is just the predicted dry season, it’s recommended that visitors check the weather before planning anything.
1. What is the color of the Chocolate Hills in the wet season?| A．Yellow. | B．Green. | C．Brown. | D．Grey. |
| A．A legend about the Chocolate Hills. |
| B．Locals’ opinions about the Chocolate Hills. |
| C．Who created the Chocolate Hills. |
| D．What the Chocolate Hills are made up. |
| A．the dissolution of limestone | B．the lack of rainfall |
| C．human activities | D．the extreme dry climate |
| A．Early November. | B．Mid-July. |
| C．Late September. | D．Early January. |
2 . ●Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
Stretching for five miles along Ireland’s western coast, the Cliffs of Moher are a sight more than 300 million years in the making. At their highest, the cliffs soar an impressive 702 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, offering millions of visitors who visit each year unbelievable views sure to leave hearts racing both from the beauty and the height.
●White Cliffs of Dover, the UK
These famous cliffs along England’s southeastern coast are as rich in history as they are in beauty. They stand tall along the Strait of Dover, separating England from France and continental Europe. During World War Ⅰ, the first bomb to hit the UK fell in Dover, and it served as an essential location during WWⅡ as well. And nowadays, the city is best known for the beauty of its white cliffs.
●Mount Thor, Canada
The name Mount Thor may inspire fear or respect — as well it should, considering this is the steepest, tallest cliff in the world. Mount Thor reaches an astonishing 4,101 feet above sea level, and the utter greatness of its vertical incline keeps it from being successfully climbed up until 1965. Today, it remains a challenging and popular place for rock climbers.
●Cliffs of Étretat, France
Located along France’s Alabaster Coast, these cliffs offer more than just steep walls. Climb to the top and you’ll have views of arched rock formations, as well as the scenery that inspired the famous painter Claude Monet. At various points along the cliffs’ 80-mile stretch, you can spot natural sculptures that are said to resemble (像) an elephant among other things.
1. What is the purpose of the author?| A．To introduce some of the world’s most amazing cliff views. |
| B．To advise people to climb cliffs in their spare time. |
| C．To ask people to explore why the cliffs are so steep. |
| D．To call on people to protect our environment. |
| A．Cliffs of Étretat. | B．White Cliffs of Dover. |
| C．Cliffs of Moher. | D．Mount Thor. |
| A．Sculptures are commonly seen along most cliffs. |
| B．Mount Thor soars amazing 702 feet above sea level. |
| C．Visitors to White Cliffs of Dover are impressed by their history. |
| D．Claude Monet got his inspiration partly from White Cliffs of Dover. |
3 . Ho Khanh is a middle-aged farmer, living in a village on the edge of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam. What is special about him is that he has discovered Son Doong, the largest cave in the world.
“I first found the cave about thirty years ago, in 1991,” he says. “I was out collecting firewood near the national park. My family were very poor, so I decided to go deeper into the forest to find some aloe, which is very valuable. Not many people went that far into the forest because they were afraid of the wild animals.”
Soon Khanh lost his way. “I sat down with my back to a huge round rock,” he says. “Then I heard the sound of a strong wind and running water coming from behind me.” He found the entrance to a huge cave, with a wide river coming out of it. Khanh thought he was walking into a great cave. With no ropes or lights, he did not go further into it.
Khanh’s story spread like wildfire, but not everyone believed him. “I wanted to prove that I was telling the truth, but I couldn’t remember the way to the cave.” Then one morning early in the winter of 2006, a group of cavers from Britain came to ask Khanh for help, as they had heard about his discovery fifteen years before.
Khanh agreed to help the team to find the cave, but after three days in the jungle, they lost their way. “I just couldn’t remember where it was,” he says. The team came back twice, but each time they were beaten by the thick jungle. Finally the cavers left.
In 2009, Khanh headed to the jungle one cold winter’s morning. “I stopped by a big round rock,” he says. “There was the same strong wind, the sound of water running — I knew I’d found the cave at long last.” Soon the British cavers returned and followed Khanh on a six-hour trip deep into the jungle. On April 14 they found Son Doong.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．How Son Doong was discovered. | B．How Son Doong got its name. |
| C．A young farmer in Vietnam. | D．A national park in Vietnam. |
| A．looking for aloe | B．collecting firewood |
| C．catching some animals | D．cutting down trees in the forest |
| A．They doubted it. | B．They believed it. |
| C．They were uncertain of it. | D．They had little interest in it. |
4 . In the 1960s, while studying the volcanic history of Yellowstone National Park, Bob Christian-sen became puzzled about something that, strangely, had not troubled anyone before he couldn’t find the park’s volcano. It had been known for a long time that Yellowstone was volcanic in nature—that is what accounted for all its hot springs and other steamy features. But Christian-sen couldn’t find the Yellowstone volcano anywhere.
Most of us, when we talk about volcanoes, think of the classic cone(圆锥体)shapes of a Fuji or Kilimanjaro, which were created when erupting magma(岩浆)piled up. These can form remarkably quickly. One day in 1943, a Mexican farmer was surprised to see smoke rising from a small part of his land. In one week he was the confused owner of a cone five hundred feet high. Within two years it had topped out at almost fourteen hundred feet and was more than half a mile-across. Altogether there are some ten thousand of these volcanoes on Earth, all but a few hundred of them extinct. There is, however, a second less known type of volcano that doesn’t involve mountain building. These are volcanoes so explosive that they burst open in a single big crack, leaving behind a vast hole, the caldera(火山口).Yellowstone obviously was of this second type, but Christian-sen couldn’t find the caldera anywhere.
Just at this time NASA decided to test some new high-altitude cameras by taking photographs of Yellowstone. A thoughtful official passed on some of the copies to the park authorities on the assumption that they might make a nice blow-up(放大的照片)for one of the visitors’ centers. As soon as Christian-sen saw the photos, he realized why he had failed to spot the caldera: almost the whole park—2.2 million acres -was a caldera. The explosion had left a hole more than forty miles across-much too huge to be seen from anywhere at ground level. At some time in the past Yellowstone must have blown up with violence far beyond the scale of anything known to humans.
1. What does the underlined word “its” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．The ground. | B．The nature. |
| C．The volcano. | D．The park. |
| A．A single big crack was forming there. | B．Someone was burning stalks there. |
| C．A volcano was erupting underneath. | D．There were some hot springs there. |
| A．By looking at the photographs. | B．By analyzing its steamy features. |
| C．By researching historical documents. | D．By using some advanced equipment. |
| A．Its level is much higher than the surrounding areas. |
| B．The volcano in it involved mountain building. |
| C．It is a large hole left by the explosion. |
| D．Its shape is much like a cone. |
5 . The geographical location of a country and its physical characteristics are very important to its development and progress. The United States is very fortunate in this respect.
First of all, it has a good climate. In almost all sections of the country it is possible to live comfortably during the whole year. It is true that in the south it sometimes gets very hot, and in the north very cold. But the people who live in these regions become accustomed to the climate and never suffer very much when the weather is either very hot or very cold.
In a large country there is usually a great variety of different physical characteristics. In the United States, there are wide plains and high mountains, thousands of lakes and rivets of all sizes, cool forests and hot deserts, and a coastline several thousand miles long.
The many lakes and rivers, as well as the long coastline, have been of great importance to the development of the country, since they made possible the easy transportation of people and all the things people need. Transportation by water is still necessary and important. In modern times, however, trains, automobiles, trucks and airplanes are doing much of the work which was formerly done by ships and boats.
1. What are the principal physical characteristics of the United States?| A．Almost the same. | B．Rather various. |
| C．Very good for farming. | D．Suitable for transportation. |
| A．Geographical location. | B．Good climate. |
| C．Physical characteristics. | D．Both A and C. |
| A．They make the climate better. |
| B．They provide people with a good many opportunities of employment. |
| C．They provide people with good transportation and whatever they need. |
| D．They make the scenery of the country more beautiful and attractive. |
| A．Trains. | B．Trucks. |
| C．Planes. | D．Ships and boats. |
