单选题

Snow Ranger

The two things—snow and mountains—which are needed for a ski area are the two things that cause avalanches, large mass of snow and ice crushing down the side of a mountain—often called "White Death."
It was the threat of the avalanche and its record as a killer of man in the western mountains that created the snow ranger. He first started on avalanche control work in the winter of 1937-38 at Alta, Utah, in Wasatch National Forest.
This mountain valley was becoming well known to skiers. It was dangerous. In fact, more than 120 persons had lost their lives in 1936 and another 200 died in 1937 as a result of avalanches before it became a major ski area.
Thus, development of Alta and other major ski resorts in the west was dependent upon controlling the avalanche. The Forest Service set out to do it, and did, with its corps of snow rangers.
It takes many things to make a snow ranger. The snow ranger must be in excellent physical condition. He must be a good skier and a skilled mountain climber. He should have at least a high school education, and the more college courses in geology, physics, and related fields he has, the better.
He studies snow, terrain, wind, and weather. He learns the conditions that produce avalanches. He learns to forecast avalanches and to bring them roaring on down the mountainsides to reduce their killing strength. The snow ranger learns to do this by using artillery, by blasting with TNT, and by the difficult and skillful art of skiing avalanches down.
The snow ranger, dressed in a green parka which has a bright yellow shoulder patch, means safety for people on ski slopes. He pulls the trigger on a 75 mm. Recoilless rifle, skis waist deep in powder testing snow stability, or talks with the ski area's operator as he goes about his work to protect the public from the hazards of deep snow on steep mountain slopes.

单选题 The snow rangers are employees of ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】该题问“雪地管理员受雇于谁?”。借助备选答案的特点：答案都是专有名词(首字母都大写且名词前有定冠词the)，所以可以在文章中迅速查找首字母大写的专有名词，然后确认答案。很容易在第四段中发现“The Forest Service set out to do it，and did，with its crops of snow rangers”，该句说“森林服务部和它的护雪场工作人员队伍一起着手做这件事(指控制雪崩)并且做到了”，所以从这句话确认答案是A。

单选题 A snow ranger himself must be ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】该题问“雪地管理员必须是什么样的人?”。这道题可以依据常识判断：备选答案中：A说“大学毕业生”；B说“物理学家”；C说“地质学家”；D说“登山运动员”。依据常识，D最合理，所以选择D。而如果依据原文：文章中的第五段的段首句说“要成为雪地管理员需要很多的条件”，所以判断答案相关句应在该段中。该段说“雪地管理员应是优秀的登山运动员”，所以D是答案。

单选题 A snow ranger uses very powerful guns ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】该题问“雪地管理员使用有很强杀伤力的枪?”。这道题可以依据线索词在句中寻找答案。线索词：powerful gun(很强杀伤力的枪)或其与其近义的短语。于是在第六段中的最后一行发现gun的近义词artillery，所以找到了答案相关句。该句的前一句说“雪地管理员要使雪崩沿着山坡轰隆隆地滚下”，C说“制造雪崩”，所以C是答案。

单选题 What is the primary duty of the snow ranger?

单选题 The passage implies that a snow ranger ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】该题问“该短文暗示雪地管理员怎样?”。这道题可以依据常识判断：备选答案中：A说“知道怎样使用手枪”；B说“必须写有关其工作的长篇报告”；C说“值班时可能会滑行数英里”；D说“工作时间很长”。依据常识和已有的对文章的了解推断C最合理。而如果依据原文：文章中提到了“枪”的使用，所以A不是答案。在第5段中说“雪地管理员”必须身体素质好”所以暗示答案为C。