Question

A famous American John Muir said in 1898: “The Grand Canyon… as unearthly (神秘的) in the color and grandeur (壯觀) of its architecture as if you had found it after death on some other star.” Like Muir, those of us who stand along the rim are prompted to wonder about the unearthliness and the forces that created and are still changing this place.

After more than 100 years of studies, many things are still mysterious. Today visitors come by the thousands -- the great and simple of the earth -- all in a spirit of wonder. Travelers come from every state of the Union, from every country in Europe and Asia.

From the depths of the canyon comes welling silence. Seldom can you hear the roar of the river, for all sounds are swallowed in this gulf of space. “It makes one want to murmur.” A woman once whispered to her companion. This silence is not the silence of death; rather, it is a presence. It is like a great piece of music. But music made of man works up to a climax (高潮) and stops.

Now, visitors to the South Rim alone may number 18,000 in a single day. Some of that number will travel by mule train down Bright Angel Trail to the canyon's floor, cross the raging river by a suspension bridge (吊橋) and walk to the North Rim. Though the two rims face each other across only 12 miles, it is a journey of 214 miles by car from one to the other. Nor can you visit the North Rim except in summer; some 1,200 feet higher than the South Rim, it is snow covered much of the year except in July and August.

   But there is no day that you may not visit the South Rim and find the sun warm on your face and the air perfumed with the incense (香氣) of smoke from an Indian hearth (香爐). No wonder an American writer and journalist said, “I came here an atheist (無神論者), and departed a devout （虔誠的）believer.”

What is it that attracts so many travelers to the Canyon?

A. The unearthliness and the grandeur of its architecture.

B. The presence of American super stars.

C. The saying made by American writers and journalists.

D. The roaring of the river in the Canyon.www..ocm

What does the underlined word “simple” refer to?

A. peaceful stream  B. land surface       C. common people        D. tamed animals

If you want to visit the North Rim from the South Rim, which of the following won’t be the way of traveling for you?

A. By train.                B. By animal.      C. By car.                         D. On foot.

The last sentence “I came here an atheist, and departed a devout believer.” implies that ______.

A. natural wonders such as the Canyon have some effect on human activities

B. all visitors to the Grand Canyon are God believers

C. atheist can’t see the magnificence of the Grand Canyon

D. the Grand Canyon is an unearthly sight that only God could create

Answer 1

【小題1】A

【小題2】C

【小題3】A

【小題4】D

解析:

【小題1】短文第一段約翰繆爾所說的“科羅拉多大峽谷在色彩上神秘莫測，景觀上是壯麗無比，只有在人死之后，在天堂里才能見到”，由此可知科羅拉多大峽谷吸引游客的是它的神秘和壯美。

【小題2】此句意義是“今天來參觀的游客數(shù)以千計，無論是偉人還是普通老百姓”。由前面的the great（偉人，大人物）聯(lián)想猜測可知，the simple是“普通老百姓”www..com。

【小題3】由第四段可知：游客可騎騾子（by mule train）到峽谷底部，然后通過吊橋橫過河，可走路支北邊。南邊與北邊雖相距只有12英里，但如果乘車需繞道214 公里才能到達。由此可知乘坐火車不是旅行方式。

【小題4】此句表面意義是：我來時是無神論，離開時卻是一句虔誠的信徒。用此句來表達科羅拉多大峽谷是一個神奇的地方，只有上帝才能創(chuàng)造出如此神秘壯麗的景色。