In Antarctica，when the long dark winter gives way to spring, ice begins to melt, and the sun stays in the sky all night long.

Into this brightly lit world, the large gray head of a Weddell  seal(韋德爾海豹)appears through a crack in the ice. The seal takes several deep breaths, and then she opens her mouth, turning her head from side to side. With her teeth, she gets rid of bits of ice. Seals are mammals, and they need to breathe air, for which Weddell seals use their teeth to make sure their breathing holes stay open.

The seal makes the hole bigger, and when she can fit her large body through it, she jumps out onto the ice—she is getting ready to have a baby. On the ice shelf, the Weddell seal gives birth to a pup(小海豹).The pup is about three feet long and is covered with thick fur that protects it from the cold wind. The pup drinks its mother’s milk and grows quickly. Within a few weeks, it is more than six feet long. Under the seal’s skin is a thick layer of fat called blubber, which keeps the seal warm in its frozen world.

     When the pup is about two weeks old, it begins to dive with its mother. They slide through the breathing hole into the water below the ice, where the pup learns to swim, diving deeper and deeper. In order to stay underwater, it must learn to hold its breath and control its heart rate.

     Below the ice, the sun shines brightly through the hole. Finding the opening to breathe is easy, but getting back onto the slippery ice can be difficult for a young seal. With practice and its mother’s help, the pup soon feels at home both on the ice and under it.

     The young seal spends more and more time below the ice, where it learns to hunt for food. When the pup is about two months old, it will have to feed itself independently. When the pup becomes an adult, it will swim farther out in search of food, but it will always live on or under the ice.

67. Paragraph 2 is mainly about_________.

A. the function of Weddell seals’ teeth

B. the living conditions of Weddell seals

C. how Weddell seals move under the ice

D. how Weddell seals keep their breathing holes open

68. According to Paragraph 3 ,the pup __________.

A. grows slowly             B. is born in winter

C. is born under the sea       D. is covered with thick fur

69. The pup begins learning to swim and dive when it is about ________

A. two days old            B. two weeks old

C. two months old          D. two years old

70. For a young Weddell seal,___________.

A. its father’s help is important

B. getting onto the ice shelf is easy

C. finding the breathing hole is easy

D. learning to hunt for food is unnecessary

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Ship tourism to Antarctica is on the rise: More than 35,000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctic this summer. In 1992-1993, 6,750 visited Antarctica, according to the Antarctica Treaty. All of this tourism, however, is putting both tourists and the environment in great danger.

Among the tourist ships that visit the continent, the Explorer, a Canadian ship, was one of the first. Put to use in 1969, it was built to carry tourists to Antarctica. Last week, however, it became the first commercial passenger ship to sink beneath the waters. Fortunately, all of the passengers and crew members were rescued from the ship. However, the sunken ship endangered the Antarctic’s fragile(脆弱的) environment. The ship was estimated to be holding 48,000 gallons of fuel.

The accident was not unexpected. Both the US and UK had warned a conference of the Antarctic Treaty member countries in May that the tourism situation in this area was a potential disaster. The US said in a paper, people “should take a hard look at tourism issues now, especially those related to ship safety.” Although the Antarctic seas are relatively(相對地) calm, floating ice causes a potential threat to ships. The owner of the Explorer blamed the sinking on a fist-like hole in the ship created by ice.

Many of the other large ships now visiting Antarctica are not designed especially against thick ice. Such ships generally can only come to the continent in summer. But the tourist rush is pushing ships into dangerous situations. “The increasing number of ships operating in Antarctic means that the ship are under great pressure to get there in time for the key visiting sites,” the British government wrote in a paper at the meeting of member countries.

As a natural frontier, Antarctica is in a messy legal situation. There are no obvious answers as to who is responsible for dealing with the threat that tourist may cause to human life and the environment.

There is no coast guard for Antarctica. Do we want it to become Disneyland, or do we need some controls?

Which of the following is true according to this passage?

A. Antarctica tourism has a history of about 17 years

B. The number of tourists to the Antarctic is over 5 times as large as that of 17 years ago.

C. The tourism boom has caused holes in the floating ice in the Antarctic.

D. The Antarctica Treaty is responsible for the problem.

The sinking of the Explorer____________.

A. led to a conference about the tourism situation in the Antarctic.

B. was caused by the rough seas

C. had been predicted

D. did harm to the Antarctic.

It can be inferred from the passage that_________.

A. a Disneyland will be built in the Antarctic

B. fewer people are visiting the Antarctic because of the warnings given

C. not all the ships are suitable to go to the Antarctic

D. some ships take risks visiting the Antarctic in other seasons rather than in summer

In this passage, the writer suggests that___________.

A. people had better not make a tour of the Antarctic

B. ships to the Antarctic should be built strong enough

C. there should be legal controls over tourism in the Antarctic

D. the Antarctic’s environment is fragile

What attitude does the writer hold towards Antarctic tourism?

A. Supportive.     B. Positive.       C. Indifferent.        D. Anxious.

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科目：高中英語 來源：全國通用2010屆高考閱讀理解專項練習 題型：閱讀理解


（三）
A
I recently spent two years in the Arctic filming the series Blue Planet. I love being in an environment that hasn't changed for 20,000 years. Of course it's freezing, but it must be a healthy place because you never catch colds.
When I'm filming, I like to really feel how lonely the environment is. Filming underwater involves cutting through thick ice and diving in tied to a line. The person at the other end has to be ready to pull you out fast if necessary.
Originally I was a research diver for the British Antarctic Survey project, but for me science lacked excitement. I'd always enjoyed photography, and whenever camera teams passed through, they encouraged me to watch and learn. I was then able to move into filming in 1985 and have concentrated on Arctic and Antarctic wildlife ever since.
I prefer to be faced with the animals I'm filming. I haven't got in the water with killer whales yet, but I plan to. Of course, it's dangerous if you choose the wrong moment. They're big animals and can move fast, so I'd be stupid to film them searching for food!
I've never had problems with polar bears, although once I was frightened when one tried to get into my tent. Polar bears are bold, clever and dangerous. But I made this one see I wasn't about to attack it - I'm sure it realised I wouldn't hurt it.
When I come home back from my trips, I work in the mornings and spend the afternoons swimming to keep fit. Now I'm fifty, filming is harder. The challenge for me is to continue to deliver high-quality work.
56. In this text, the writer is describing __________.
A. the challenges of the environment he works in       B. the beautiful scenery of the Arctic
C. the career opportunities in TV camera work.  　　D. the difficulties of having to work alone
57. What does the writer say about his early career?
A. He was bored by working only in Antarctic.
B. It taught him how to become a skilled diver.
C. He wasted the years he spent as a scientist.
D. It provided him with a chance to learn about filming.
58. When talking about killer whales, the writer says that __________.
A. he has always been careful when diving with them
B. he tries to avoid any danger by facing them
C. he will only film them from a safe distance
D. he believes there are safe opportunities to film them
59. How does the writer describe his experience with a polar bear?
A. The writer realized he was wrong to trust polar bears.
B. The writer felt nervous that the bear might come back.
C. The bear seemed to know the writer wasn’t a danger.
D. The animal was much more afraid than the writer was.

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科目：高中英語 來源：2014屆甘肅白銀平川中恒學校高一下學期期末考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：單項填空

It is so cold in Antarctic that the penguins have to stand _______to each other to keep warm.

A．closely

B．closed

C．closing

D．close

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：全國通用2010屆高考閱讀理解專項練習 題型：閱讀理解

（三）

A

I recently spent two years in the Arctic filming the series Blue Planet. I love being in an environment that hasn't changed for 20,000 years. Of course it's freezing, but it must be a healthy place because you never catch colds.

When I'm filming, I like to really feel how lonely the environment is. Filming underwater involves cutting through thick ice and diving in tied to a line. The person at the other end has to be ready to pull you out fast if necessary.

Originally I was a research diver for the British Antarctic Survey project, but for me science lacked excitement. I'd always enjoyed photography, and whenever camera teams passed through, they encouraged me to watch and learn. I was then able to move into filming in 1985 and have concentrated on Arctic and Antarctic wildlife ever since.

I prefer to be faced with the animals I'm filming. I haven't got in the water with killer whales yet, but I plan to. Of course, it's dangerous if you choose the wrong moment. They're big animals and can move fast, so I'd be stupid to film them searching for food!

I've never had problems with polar bears, although once I was frightened when one tried to get into my tent. Polar bears are bold, clever and dangerous. But I made this one see I wasn't about to attack it - I'm sure it realised I wouldn't hurt it.

When I come home back from my trips, I work in the mornings and spend the afternoons swimming to keep fit. Now I'm fifty, filming is harder. The challenge for me is to continue to deliver high-quality work.

56. In this text, the writer is describing __________.

A. the challenges of the environment he works in       B. the beautiful scenery of the Arctic

C. the career opportunities in TV camera work.  　　D. the difficulties of having to work alone

57. What does the writer say about his early career?

A. He was bored by working only in Antarctic.

B. It taught him how to become a skilled diver.

C. He wasted the years he spent as a scientist.

D. It provided him with a chance to learn about filming.

58. When talking about killer whales, the writer says that __________.

A. he has always been careful when diving with them

B. he tries to avoid any danger by facing them

C. he will only film them from a safe distance

D. he believes there are safe opportunities to film them

59. How does the writer describe his experience with a polar bear?

A. The writer realized he was wrong to trust polar bears.

B. The writer felt nervous that the bear might come back.

C. The bear seemed to know the writer wasn’t a danger.

D. The animal was much more afraid than the writer was.

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：20102011重慶九龍區(qū)楊家坪中學高二下學期第二次月考英語試題 題型：閱讀理解

The hole in the Earth’s ozone layer(臭氧層) has until now protected Antarctic from the worst effects of global warming, but scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures on the continent could rise by around 3℃ on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level increase of up to 1.4 meters.

In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10% increase in ice in the seas around the region. This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctic, making much of the continent surface colder than usual.

But now that the gases that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair itself within the next 50 to 60 years. By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face the full impact of global warming. This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3℃ and a reduction in sea ice by around a third.

The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas. Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors Antarctic ice sheets, said, “The ice sheets in Antarctic are hundreds of meters thick. But once warm ocean waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly.” Thinning ice sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster. Escaping ice from western Antarctic has already resulted in a 10% rise in global sea level in recent decades.

Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too late. “Everything is connected——Antarctic may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth’s system,” said Johnson. “It contains 90% of the world’s ice, 70% of the world’s fresh water and that is enough, if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 meters.”

Even in a worse-case situation scientists don’t expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 meters higher by the end of the century.

1.

The underlined word “paradoxically” (in paragraph 2) most probably means “      ”.

A. rapidly         B. generally        C. contradictorily        D. apparently

2.

What is the effect of the hole in the ozone layer on Antarctic?

A. It is causing the ice to melt faster.

B. It is making much of the continent colder.

C. It is making the effects of global warming in the region worse.

D. It is reducing the amount of water in Antarctic.

3.

 What do scientists think is the biggest danger facing Antarctic?

A. Rising sea levels.                  B. Warming sea water temperature.

C. Water pollution.                   D. Growing ice sheets.

4.

 Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Antarctic is currently experiencing the full effects of global warming.

B. The average temperature has increased by 3℃ in recent decades.

C. Antarctic contains most of the world’s fresh water.

D. Ten percent of Antarctic’s ice has already been lost.

 

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