Today, most countries in the world have
canals. Many countries have built canals near the coast, and parallel{{U}}
(67) {{/U}}the coast. Even in the twentieth century, goods can be
moved more cheaply by boat than by any other{{U}} (68) {{/U}}of
transport. These{{U}} (69) {{/U}}make it possible for boats to travel{{U}}
(70) {{/U}}ports along the coast without being{{U}} (71)
{{/U}}to the dangers of the open. Some canals, such as the Suez and the
Panama, save ships weeks of time by making their{{U}} (72) {{/U}}a
thousand miles shorter. Other canals permit boats to reach cities that are
not{{U}} (73) {{/U}}on the coast; still other canals{{U}} (74)
{{/U}}lands where there is too much water, help to{{U}} (75)
{{/U}}fields where there is not enough water, and{{U}} (76)
{{/U}}water power for factories and mills. The size of a canal.
{{U}}(77) {{/U}}on the kind of boats going through it. The canal must be
wide enough to permit two of the largest boats using it to{{U}} (78)
{{/U}}each other easily. It must be deep enough to leave about two feet of
water{{U}} (79) {{/U}}the keel of the largest boat using the canal. When
the planet Mars was first{{U}} (80) {{/U}}through a telescope, people
saw that the round disk of the planet was crises-crossed by a{{U}} (81)
{{/U}}of strange bluegreen lines. These were called "canals"{{U}} (82)
{{/U}}they looked the same as canals on earth{{U}} (83) {{/U}}are
viewed from an airplane. However, scientists are now{{U}} (84)
{{/U}}that the Martian phenomena are really not canals. The photographs
{{U}}(85) {{/U}}from space-ships have helped us to{{U}} (86)
{{/U}}the truth about the Martian "canals".
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】惯用搭配题。固定搭配parallel to意为“与…平行”，符合句意，所以C正确。
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】惯用搭配题。means of transport意为“交通工具/方式”，是固定搭配，所以B正确。
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】词义辨析题。waterway意为“水道”，waterfront意为“城市的滨水区”，channel意为“海峡”，paths意为“小路”，结合上下文可知，运河其实就是水道，所以A正确。
[考点] waterway多指“水路，排水沟”，还泛指一切“航道或可航行之水体”。
waterfront意为“靠水边的地”尤指船只停靠的码头区。
channel除了指“海峡”以外，还可指“引导，指导，使经过某种路线行动或引导”，如：The teacher channels her curiosity into research．老师将她的好奇心引到了研究上去。
【答案解析】词义辨析题。在水量不足的地区，通常需要用外界的水来灌溉，irrigate意为“灌溉”，符合句意，所以D正确。water意为“浇水，喷淋”，wet意为“弄湿”，soak意为“浸透”，均不符合句意，故排除。
[考点] wet作及物动词时相当于make wet和moisten。
soak指 “浸透，湿透”，所指的湿度要大于雨淋的湿度，例如指把硬东西放在水里泡软，如：We soak dirty dishes in soapy water to loose the food particles．我们把用过的盘子泡在肥皂水里以使黏附的食物残渣容易被清洗掉。
irrigate多指“灌溉，滋润”，也有“冲洗伤口”等义。
【答案解析】词义辨析题。a number of表示“大量的”，后跟可数名词，符合句意，所以B正确。plenty of意为“大量的”，后既可跟可数名词，又可跟不可数名词，但没有a plenty of这种用法；a deal of表示“大量的”，但不能修饰可数名词；也没有a supply of这样的用法，所以排除A、C、D项。
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】逻辑衔接题。结合句意可知，这里要用表原因的连词来引导原因状语从句，所以B正确。
[考点] seeing, considering, now that等引导的从句，以及很多用在形容词之后的由that引导的从句也可起到原因状语的作用，如：She was glad that she had controlled herself.她很高兴她做到了自制。
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】逻辑衔接题。分析句子结构可知，此处应填入一个能引导定语从句的关系代词，由于先行词是canals，所以A正确。注意，不要看到as，就想到as...as...结构而错选。这里的as是the same as...结构的一部分。