单选题 The landscape of the Giant"s Causeway, lurking below the gaunt sea wall where the land ends, must have struck wonder into the hearts of the ancient Irish, who subsequently felt inspired and created legends about its builder: the giant Finn McCool. The Causeway Coast has an unparalleled display of geological formations representing volcanic activity during the Early Tertiary Period some 50-60 million years ago. Its Tertiary lavas of the Antrim Plateau, covering some 3,800 sq km, represent the largest remaining lava plateau in Europe.
The Causeway is a mass of basalt columns packed tightly together. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Altogether there are 40,000 of these stone columns, mostly hexagonal, but some are quadrangular, pentagonal, heptagonal and octagonal. The tallest ate about 40 feet high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 90 feet thick in places.
A fine circular walk will take you down to the Giant"s Causeway, past amphitheatres of stone columns and formations with fanciful names like the Honeycomb, the Wishing Well, and the Giant"s Granny, past a wooden staircase to Benbane Head, and back along the cliff-top. Further down the coast, the stunning Carrick-a-rede rope bridge spans a gaping chasm between the coast and a small island used by fishermen. The eighty-foot drop can be crossed via the swinging bridge—and is not for the faint-hearted!
The Giant"s Causeway and Causeway Coast site was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The site is of outstanding universal value and meets the criteria set in the World Heritage Convention. Namely, it is an outstanding example representing major stages of the earth"s history including the record of life: significant on-going geological processes in landform developments, and significant geomorphic and physiographic features; moreover, it also contains superlative natural phenomena and areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
Moyle District Council"s Causeway Visitor Centre is open daily all year round and located on the cliff top 1 km from the site. The Centre is the ideal starting point for walks along the coastal and cliff-top paths, providing all excellent range of visitor services. A 12-minute audio-visual presentation, with commentary available in 5 European languages, enables visitors to further explore the origins of the Giant"s Causeway through local folklore and scientific theory, and highlights the many other attractions of the Causeway Coast and Glens of Antrim area.

单选题 The word "lurking" underlined in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.

单选题 The Giant"s Causeway was created by ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据第一段内容“The Causeway Coast has an unparalleled display of geological formations representing volcanic activity during the Early Tertiary Period some 50～60 million years ago”可知，海岸堤道地质层是火山活动的典型代表，所以C符合题意。A项“古代的爱尔兰人”，文中提到巨人堤是古爱尔兰人心中的奇观，但不是古爱尔兰缔造的；B项“巨人芬恩·麦克库尔”，这是传说中的缔造者，不是真实的；D项“溶岩高原的移动”，根据文中内容，也不是巨人堤的成因。

单选题 The word "remaining" underlined in Paragraph I is closest in meaning to ______.

单选题 The basalt columns may have ______ sides.

单选题 The last sentence in Paragraph 3 implies that the trip on the swinging bridge is quite ______.

单选题 The word "inscribed" underlined in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.

单选题 Which of the Giant"s Causeway"s features best fits with the criteria set in the World Heritage Convention?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文中第四段的内容“它是包括生命记载在内的世界历史主要阶段的突出代表：地形发展过程中突出的、持续的地质过程，突出的地形地貌特征；而且，还包括突出的天然奇迹、具有奇异自然名胜及美学价值的地区。”很明显，四个选项中A为正确答案。B项“带想象的石柱的圆形剧场”，C项“它最大的在欧洲留下的溶岩高原”，D项“在海岛和海岸之间摇摆的索桥”，这三项和文中的第四段内容不符合。