11.Scientists from the United States say they have found fish and other creatures living under key waters in Antarctica.They made the announcement after completing three months of research at the Ross Ice Shelf-the world's largest floating ice sheet.
The researchers hoped to find clues to explain the force of the melting ice and its effect on sea level rise.Reed Scherer and Ross Powell are with Northern Illinois University in DeKalb,Illinois.They just finished up their research on our southernmost continent.Money for the project came from America's National Science Foundation.
"We chose a study site where,in the first year,we went into the subglacial(冰川下的)lake and tried to understand the environment there,both ecologically and in terms of the ice dynamics about how the lake operates,and how the sediment(沉淀物)underneath the ice sheet operates,as well,because it's the water and the sediment underneath the ice that control how fast the ice is flowing into the ocean."says Ross Powell,who led the investigation.The team included scientists,engineers,machinery and other supplies across the ice from the main U.S.scientific base at McMurdo Station to the researcher's camp.The camp was near a subglacial lake,where an earlier study took place.
Ross Powell says the latest study may provide evidence that can help predict the effect of climate change on rising sea level.
"What we have found is that these are very sensitive areas to the stability of how dynamic the ice is and how fast the ice may react to increases of melting both from the ocean and the atmosphere."
Among the new instruments built for the project was a powerful hot water drill.The researchers used the drill to dig down some 740 meters.They collected water,sediment and other material from the grounding zone.
Working around the clock before the deep hole refroze,they sent a video camera down to the 400-square-meter undersea area.
Reed Scherer says the video images they saw in the Command Center were a total surprise.
"It's a very mobile environment.The bottom is changing constantly.And so the things that we saw were all very mobile organisms,things that swim and some things that crawl.And obviously they are getting enough nutrition that they can thrive on.Some of the little crustacean-like creatures called amphipods that we saw swam quite quickly and were quite active."
This is the farthest south where fish have ever been seen.How did the creatures get here?What do they feed on?And what effect will the retreating ice have on them?
Ross Powell says the ice and sediment cores taken from the grounding zone can offer clues.
"We know that the ice is melting there at the moment and so by opening up the cores once they get back,we hope to be able to understand what the ice was doing in the past,relative to what it is doing now.And because it is melting so fast or seems to be melting fast at the moment,we anticipate that there will be some differences that we'll see in the history of the ice sheet from the sediment cores,once we open them up."But Ross Powell says the work raises more questions than it answers.
29.Scientists conducted the three-month research at the Ross Ice Shelf with the intention ofD.
A.predicting how climate change influences rising sea level
B.finding out whether there are life forms existing deep under Antarctic ice
C.proving the speed of ice flowing into the ocean is controlled by water
D.discovering an explanation of the effect the melting ice has on sea level rise
30.What made the researchers surprised when they saw the video images?A
A.Researchers saw fish in the farthest south for the first time.
B.A video camera was able to work well under deep icy waters.
C.Sediment cores present differences in the history of the ice sheet.
D.The drill should dig down 740 meters to collect things.
31.From sediment cores taken from the grounding zone,scientists will probably knowD.
A.what the ice will do in the near future
B.the ice in the grounding zone is melting at the moment
C.some differences rarely exist in the history of the ice sheet
D.something about the creatures under icy water in Antarctica
32.What can be inferred from the passage?A
A.Scientists will conduct a follow-up study on the frozen continent.
B.No creatures once appeared or lived in icy water in Antarctica.
C.America's National Science Foundation is in complete charge of the research.
D.Researchers have found how the sediment underneath the ice sheet operates.
分析 美國和其他地方的科學(xué)家一起發(fā)現(xiàn)了在南極洲水域里生活了一些貝類和其他生物,就此展開了一些類調(diào)查.
解答 D A D A
29.D 細(xì)節(jié)題.根據(jù)The researchers hoped to find clues to explain the force of the melting ice and its effect on sea level rise,可知研究人員希望找到線索來解釋融化冰對海平面的影響,故選D.
30.A 細(xì)節(jié)題.在文章里This is the farthest south where fish have ever been seen.How did the creatures get here?What do they feed on?And what effect will the retreating ice have on them?得知,這是最南邊發(fā)現(xiàn)魚的地方,通過后面四個問句得知科學(xué)家對此發(fā)現(xiàn)很驚訝,故選A.
31.D 細(xì)節(jié)題.根據(jù)短語How did the creatures get here?What do they feed on?And what effect will the retreating ice have on them?Ross Powell says the ice and sediment cores taken from the grounding zone can offer clues.推出,這些東西使研究人員得到一點,關(guān)于冰層低下生物信息,故選D.
32.A 推理題.在最后一段we hope to be able to understand what the ice was doing in the past以及But Ross Powell says the work raises more questions than it answers推出,針對此發(fā)現(xiàn),研究人員說還有很多問題是暫時解決不了的,言下之意,科學(xué)家將會繼續(xù)做一些 研究.
點評 解答細(xì)節(jié)理解題時,一個常用的方法就是運用定位法,即根據(jù)題干和選項中的關(guān)鍵詞從原文中找到相關(guān)的句子,與選項進(jìn)行比較從而確定答案;推理判斷題既要求學(xué)生透過文章表面文字信息推測文章隱含意思,又要求學(xué)生對作者的態(tài)度、意圖及文章細(xì)節(jié)的發(fā)展作正確的推理判斷,力求從作者的角度去考慮,不要固守自己的看法或觀點.