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—1938 at Aha, 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 Aha 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______.
A. the Forest Service
B. the Resource Bureau
C. the Tourist Board
D. the Sports Bureau

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 该题问：“雪游侠受雇于谁?”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4段中发现“The Forest Service set．out to do it，and did，with its crops of snow rangers”，该句说“林务局及其麾下的雪游侠一起着手做这件事(指控制雪崩)，并且成功了。”所以从这句话确认答案是A。

单选题 A snow ranger himself must be______.
A. a college graduate
B. a physicist
C. a geologist
D. a mountaineer

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 该题问：“雪地管理员必须是什么样的人?”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”。文章第5段的段首句说“成为一名雪游侠需要具备许多条件”，所以判断答案相关句就在该段中。该段第3句说“他必须擅长滑雪，并且是一个熟练的登山者”，所以D是答案。

单选题 A snow ranger uses very powerful guns______.
A. to warn skiers of an approaching avalanche
B. to signal for help in an emergency
C. to create an avalanche
D. to communicate with the ski area' operator

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 该题问：“雪游侠使用威力巨大的枪炮……”这道题可以依据线索词在句中寻找答案。线索词：powerful gun(威力巨大的枪炮)或其近义的短语。于是在第6段中的最后一行中发现gun的近义词artillery(大炮)，所以找到了答案相关句。该句的前一句说雪游侠要“引导雪崩在山麓上发生，减少雪崩的杀伤力”，所以C“制造雪崩”是答案。

单选题 What is the primary duty of the snow ranger?
A. To make sure ski area operators are following safety rules.
B. To predict and control avalanches in mountainous areas.
C. To check skis and repair them.
D. To forecast the weather.

单选题 The passage implies that a snow ranger______.
A. knows how to use a pistol
B. must write lengthy reports on his work
C. may travel many miles when he is on duty
D. has a long working day

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 该题问“文章暗示，雪游侠……”。备选答案中，A说“知道怎样使用手枪”；B说“必须写长篇的工作报告”；C说“值班时可能会滑行数英里”；D说“工作时间很长”。依文章中明确提到了枪的使用，所以A不符合题意。在第5段中说“雪游侠必须具备良好的身体素质，他必须擅长滑雪”，暗示雪游侠工作时可能需要滑行很远的距离，因此C是答案。