单选题 People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea. Erosion (侵蚀) of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea. Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home. (282 words)
单选题 What is the cause of the problem that people living on parts of the south coast of England face?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:本题属于细节推断题。文章第一段谈到主题:生活在英国南海岸的人们发现了令人震惊的事情:一夜之间他们的花园消失得无影无踪。原因是什么呢?原来,海水侵蚀了建筑物下层柔软的石灰石。从四个选项来看,A、B在文中没有提及,D是现象而非问题的起因,显然答案为C。
单选题 The erosion of the white cliffs in the south of England______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:本题属于综合理解题。第二段第一句直接谈到,在英国南海岸海水侵蚀白色悬崖的问题长期存在,但最近几年变得尤为严重。选项A中“central England”与文意不符;选项C在文中并未涉及;选项D与文意不符,故正确答案为B。
单选题 The experts" study on the problem of erosion can______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析:本题属于综合归纳题。在文中第二段最后一句谈到,专家对情况最严重的地方进行研究,并且为当地居民画了一幅图,预报在哪一年他们的房子将被海水吞噬。实际上,他们只能提醒人们采取预防措施,并未提出任何实质性的解决办法。故正确答案为A。
单选题 It is not feasible to build sea defenses to protect against erosion because______.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:本题为细节理解题。文中最后一段提到:建筑物的所有者很愤怒,要求政府建造防护墙来保护他们的家园。而政府勘测员则指出这几乎不可能。原因有两点:一是建防护墙耗资巨大(cost hundreds of millions of pounds);二是即使建成了防护墙。也只会使波浪和水流沿着海岸线前进,从而使侵蚀从一个地方转移到另一个地方(shifting the problem from one area to another)。故答案为B。
单选题 According to the author, when buying a house along the south coast of England, people should______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:本题属于推断题。在文章结尾,作者幽默地说到如果你想买一幢前途不定的房子,那就向英国南海岸危险地区的售房代理商提出申请。可能你会买到价格最低的房子,但是,房子最终可能会被海水破坏。文中的“knockdown”一语双关。“a knockdown price”意为“最低的价格”;“a knockdown home”意为“坍塌的家”。作者的言下之意很明显是在提醒人们注意隐患。故正确答案为D。