1 The Norse made the first documented European voyages to North America, and there is evidence of these visits in the medieval sagas, a collection of stories that tell the history of the Icelandic people. The Icelandic sagas relate how the Norse captain Leif Eriksson and his brother sailed from Norway to Greenland and landed to the west of Greenland. The sagas also describe Thorfinn Karlsefni"s attempt to colonize a place called Vinland. Although some historians doubt their accuracy, the sagas are a source of intriguing details, and until the twentieth century they were the primary source of information about the Norse exploration of North America.
2 In the tenth century, Norsemen ventured from their homeland in Scandinavia to build settlements on the Greenland coast. A trader named Bjarni Herjolfsson sailed for Greenland in the summer of 985 or 986. Driven off course by a storm, he subsequently discovered a coastline he described as wooded and hilly. Although Bjarni did not go ashore, this discovery made him the first European to set eyes on the continent of North America. Bjarni"s account of his voyage encouraged another Norseman, Leif Eriksson, to undertake a southward voyage, starting around the year 1000, with a crew of 35 men.
3 According to the sagas, Leif Eriksson and his men first landed in a place they called Stoneland, which was probably the rocky, barren Labrador coast of North America. The party finally landed in a place they called Vinland, where they spent a winter in rough huts in a seemingly frost-free land of abundant vines and wild grapes. They established the first European colony in North America at Vinland, the precise location of which remains a subject of scholarly dispute to this day. The Norsemen returned home in the spring, abandoning the rude settlement that, a few years later, would serve as home base for Thorfinn Karlsefni of Greenland.
4 Around 1004, the expedition led by Thorfinn set off southward, evidently with a longer stay in mind, as women and cattle accompanied the sailors in three ships. The party of 160 made several landings and eventually found a place with vines, where they settled at a site up a river that widened into a lake. They passed two years at Vinland, exploring the coast, building huts, fishing, and gathering native foods. During that time, Thorfinn"s wife gave birth to a boy, the first child of European descent born in the Americas. The settlers had several hostile encounters with the local aboriginal tribes, whom they called "skrelings." In one fight with a native group, Thorfinn and another Norseman were killed. The continuing prospect of attack and growing dissension in the settlement may have thwarted the Norse attempt at colonization. For some reason, they departed their settlement; however, Greenlanders continued to make occasional visits there in later years, using it as a fishing camp. Historians have made many attempts to identify the lands visited by Thorfinn and to discover his campsites, but no single theory has won general acceptance.
5 In the twentieth century, the Icelandic sagas served as inspiration for Norwegian explorer and writer Helge Ingstad, who in the early 1960s traveled the coasts of eastern North America searching for evidence of Vinland. Encouraged by an alternative interpretation of "vin" as meaning "meadow" rather than vine or wine, Ingstad discovered a grassy site on the northern tip of Newfoundland that local people had believed was an aboriginal site haunted by ancient ghosts. Ingstad excavated the remains of eight sod huts, together with bronze and stone tools of Norse origin. He concluded that the grassland called L"Anse aux Meadows was, if not the Vinland of the sagas, then certainly a Norse settlement of some kind.
6 Huddled for protection from the wind, the cluster of sod-built structures at L"Anse aux Meadows was no temporary camp. Sod walls and sod roofs built over a timber frame indicated dwellings that were substantial enough for permanent occupation. The eight huts included three long, narrow buildings with features similar to those found in Norse structures in Greenland and Iceland. The largest of these measured 29 by 15 meters and consisted of several rooms. Smaller buildings, probably used for storage and workshops, included a forge that used iron ore extracted from peat bogs—evidence of the first iron working in North America. Also among the artifacts were a spindle and a bone knitting needle, suggesting the presence of women in the settlement.
Glossary:
sod: soil held together by the roots of grass

单选题 What can be inferred from paragraph 1 about the Icelandic sagas?

单选题 The phrase set eyes on in paragraph 2 is close, in meaning to

单选题 According to the passage, who was probably the first European to step on the continent of North America?

单选题 The word abundant in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

单选题 Which sentence below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 3? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

单选题 Why does the author mention women and cattle in paragraph 4?

单选题 The word thwarted in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to

单选题 What became of Vinland after Thorfinn Karlsefni"s party left?

单选题 What led to the discovery at L’Anse aux Meadows in the 1960s?

单选题 The word substantial in paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to

单选题 Paragraphs 5 and 6 support which of the following statements about the site at L’Anse aux Meadows?

填空题 Look at the four squares, A, B, C, and D, which indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
They then sailed south to Woodland, which could have been Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or Maine, all of which are wooded.
A According to the sagas, Leif Eriksson and his men first landed in a place they called Stoneland, which was probably the rocky, barren Labrador coast of North America. B The party finally landed in a place they called Vinland, where they spent a winter in rough huts in a seemingly frost-free land of abundant vines and wild grapes. C They established the first European colony in North America at Vinland, the precise location of which remains a subject of scholarly dispute to this day. D The Norsemen returned home in the spring, abandoning the rude settlement that, a few years later, would serve as home base for Thorfinn Karlsefni of Greenland.

填空题 An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 point.

Evidence suggests that the Norse were the first Europeans who attempted to colonize North America.

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A. The Icelandic sagas document the voyages of Norsemen who landed in North America and explored the coast.
B. The trader Bjarni Herjolfsson was sailing for Greenland when he was blown off course by stormy weather.
C. Leif Eriksson discovered a place called Vinland, and Thorfinn Karlsefni later established a settlement there.
D. Norseman traveled by ship to distant lands with the purpose of conquering native peoples and taking their land.
E. Early Norse settlers in North America had several violent encounters with native tribes, so they did not stay long.
F. Many signs of an early Norse settlement have been discovered at a grassy meadow in Newfoundland.