阅读理解A huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside above a Swiss village Brienz that was evacuated (撤离) last month, stopping just short of the settlement, relieved local officials said Friday. Brienz is a small village in the mountains of Switzerland. For hundreds of years, the mountain rocks above the village have appeared as if it might fall on the village at any moment. It didn't just look that way. The mountain was actually moving. Research indicates that since the 1920s, the mountain has been shifting a little over an inch a year. But the movement increased about 20 years ago. Since then, the mountain's rocks have been moving about a yard every year. In May, the government told the people of Brienz to evacuate. They warned that rock and dirt were expected to slide off the mountain, and it could happen in as little as a week. Last Thursday night, it did happen. It completely covered the road and left a pile of rubble (碎石) as high as a four-story building. But somehow, it missed the village by a "hair". The building closest to the mountain is the village school. The rubble stopped just a few yards from the school. But villagers are still worried about their church, St. Calixtus, which is over 500 years old. Last Friday, a helicopter flew over the village to check the area. The system that's used to keep an eye on the mountain's movements was damaged in the rockslide. Experts have been working day and night to rebuild it. The local government won't have enough information to decide when the villagers can go back to Brienz until the system is repaired. According to scientists, it was climate change that made some other recent landslides in Europe happen. But they say the rockslide that threatened Brienz was not caused by it. In fact, nature has long eaten away the rock in the region, causing the rockslide.

1. 阅读理解

A huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside above a Swiss village Brienz that was evacuated (撤离) last month, stopping just short of the settlement, relieved local officials said Friday.

Brienz is a small village in the mountains of Switzerland. For hundreds of years, the mountain rocks above the village have appeared as if it might fall on the village at any moment.

It didn't just look that way. The mountain was actually moving. Research indicates that since the 1920s, the mountain has been shifting a little over an inch a year. But the movement increased about 20 years ago. Since then, the mountain's rocks have been moving about a yard every year.

In May, the government told the people of Brienz to evacuate. They warned that rock and dirt were expected to slide off the mountain, and it could happen in as little as a week. Last Thursday night, it did happen. It completely covered the road and left a pile of rubble (碎石) as high as a four-story building. But somehow, it missed the village by a "hair".

The building closest to the mountain is the village school. The rubble stopped just a few yards from the school. But villagers are still worried about their church, St. Calixtus, which is over 500 years old. Last Friday, a helicopter flew over the village to check the area. The system that's used to keep an eye on the mountain's movements was damaged in the rockslide. Experts have been working day and night to rebuild it. The local government won't have enough information to decide when the villagers can go back to Brienz until the system is repaired.

According to scientists, it was climate change that made some other recent landslides in Europe happen. But they say the rockslide that threatened Brienz was not caused by it. In fact, nature has long eaten away the rock in the region, causing the rockslide.

(1) On what basis is the author's statement about the movement of the mountain? A. The villagers' reports. B. The published statistics. C. The local people's experience. D. The government's warnings.

(2) What are the experts most concerned about? A. Moving the village school in danger. B. Protecting the time-honored church. C. Repairing the monitoring system. D. Rebuilding the homes of the people.

(3) What caused the rockslide at Brienz according to the scientists? A. Human activity. B. Climate change. C. Heavy rain. D. Rock weathering.

(4) Where is the text most likely taken from? A. A science magazine. B. A local newspaper. C. A geography textbook. D. A guide book.

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推理判断题; 细节理解题; 新闻报道类;

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阅读理解未知普通

1.阅读理解

Every summer, the calls of thousands of swamp sparrows can be heard across North America's wetlands. These little brown birds know only a few songs, but they know them very well. In fact, their musical set list probably hasn't changed much for centuries.

Like humans, baby swamp sparrows learn to communicate by copying adults. From a young age, they learn to copy, or mimic, songs sung by their elders. "Swamp sparrows very rarely make mistakes when they learn their songs," says biologist Robert Lachlan. In fact, their mimicry is so accurate that the music changes little between generations.

Just like children, the sparrows don't remember every song they hear. Lachlan says. "They don't just learn songs at random; they pick up commoner songs rather than rarer songs." In other words, they learn songs they hear most often. It's an example of a strategy that scientists call conformist bias. Until recently, this learning ability was thought to be special only to humans.

Between 2008 and 2009, Lachlan's research team recorded the calls of 615 male swamp sparrows across the northeastern United States. The researchers used computer software to break each song into a collection of notes, or syllables. They then measured the differences between the tunes.

The research revealed that only 2 percent of male sparrows sang a different song from the standard tune. The combination of accurate mimicry and conformist bias allows the birds to create traditions that last for centuries. "With those two ingredients together, you end up with traditions that are really stable," says Lachlan. "The song-types that you hear in the marshes（湿地）of North America today may well have been there 1,000 years ago." Lachlan's study is also among the first to measure the longevity of song traditions within a bird species.

The findings are really exciting, says scientist Andrew Farnsworth. He hopes that future research will evolve from these studies. For example, scientists may be able to identify how other animals are able to preserve their cultural traditions. "Seeing the potential for it in other organisms is super cool," says Farnsworth.

(1) What do we know about Lachlan's research? A. The calls of 615 female swamp sparrows were recorded. B. Accurate mimicry allows the birds to create the centuries-long traditions. C. It aimed to study swamp sparrows' learning ability. D. Computer technology helped a lot during the research.

(2) Which of the following is an example of conformist bias? A. A new slang word becomes popular with a group of teenagers. B. A dog learns to do a trick because its owner rewards it regularly. C. A student memorizes historical events for a history exam. D. A student loves singing and joins the school chorus.

(3) What is Andrew Farnsworth's attitude towards the findings? A. Indifferent. B. Negative. C. Positive. D. Conservative.

(4) Which of the following is the best title for the text? A. The Amazing Lifespan of Swamp Sparrows. B. The Traditional Musical Set List of Swamp Sparrows. C. The Evolution of Swamp Sparrows in North America. D. The Great Learning Ability of Swamp Sparrows.

阅读理解常考题普通

2.阅读理解

Here are some of the prettiest small towns across Europe, from humble fishing towns to hilltop medieval power bases.

Giethoorn, Netherlands

They call it the Dutch answer to Venice, but Giethoorn lacks one crucial thing that the Italian city has in spades: over tourism. As in Venice, life revolves around the water, here-there are no cars in the center so the only way to get around is on foot or on the water.

Roscoff, France

Port towns can be rather dirty. Not lovely little Roscoff, though, in France's Brittany region, which built its fortune on maritime trade. Today, it's a center of thalassotherapy, using seawater to treat medical conditions, as well as a beautiful Breton town. Tiny fishing boats rest in the small harbor—with a larger one, where ferries leave for Plymouth in the UK, further out.

Dinkelsbühl, Germany

A cute historic center, wooden houses and large towers—Dinkelsbühl has it all. Wrapped by medieval walls with a vast Gothic church, St George's Minster, it was the setting for Werner Herzog's film "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser."

Clovelly, UK

Donkeys used to be the only way to get up and down the steep streets of Clovelly, a pretty fishing village in Devon, southwest England.

Today, they still haven't managed to bring cars in —it sits at the bottom of a 400-foot cliff (悬崖). Instead, goods are transported by man-powered sledges (雪橇) and if tourists can't face the walk back up to the car park, they can grab a ride in a Land Rover instead.

(1) Where should visitors go if they want to receive a health treatment? A. Giethoorn. B. Roscoff. C. Dinkelsbühl. D. Clovelly.

(2) What can visitors do at Clovelly? A. Take a boat tour. B. Drive a car. C. Get around on foot. D. Take a man-powered sledge.

(3) What is the purpose of the text? A. To amuse readers. B. To tell the history. C. To educate tourists. D. To introduce sights.

阅读理解未知普通

3.阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

The sounds of the Northern Lights have been a mystery to scientists for over a century. But now it seems that a researcher has figured out how auroras (极光) really make sounds. "It has pretty much been confirmed all over the world," "historian Fiona Amery said. "In Canada, Norway and Russia, they are all hearing very much the same sounds." "The auroras can occur hundreds of kilometers above the ground, which strengthens opinions that their sounds are just a false impression," said Fiona. Many scientists argued that auroras were too far away to hear and that any sound would take several minutes to reach the ground, so it was impossible for them to change in time with the auroras.

However, other scientists were convinced that the Northern Lights really made noises. In the 1920s, Canadian astronomer Clarence Chant first suggested a mechanism by which they could occur: The motion of the aurora caused changes in the electrification of the atmosphere that created crackling sounds close to the ground. Almost 100 years later, Clarence's suggestion seems close to what could be the true reason for the sounds.

In 2012，an expert named Unto Laine showed a recording of auroral sounds after years of monitoring auroras. In 2016, he announced the mechanism that makes the sounds: an inversion layer(逆温层) of cold air in the atmosphere that can form below an aurora and a short distance above the ground in calm weather.

Unto argues that visible changes in the aurora cause changes in the inversion layer, causing accumulated electricity to discharge as sparks (火花) that create sounds that can be heard. That explains how the sounds correspond with the aurora 's visible movements 一they begin to happen in the inversion layer only about 75 meters above the observer.

(1) What are the words Fiona said in Paragraph 2 mainly about? A. The existence of the sounds of the Northern Lights. B. The need to make full use of the Northern Lights. C. The problems caused by the Northern Lights. D. The cause of the Northern Lights.

(2) What can we learn about Clarence's suggestion in the 1920s? A. It matched a lot of old ideas. B. It was well recognized then. C. It might be of great value. D. It was a total failure.

(3) How does the author convey his idea in the text? A. By listing research numbers. B. By making comparisons. C. By providing explanations. D. By giving examples.

(4) Which is the most suitable title for the text? A. Can We Enjoy the Northern Lights? B. Do the Northern Lights Make Sounds? C. Why Should We Study the Northern Lights? D. How Do the Northern Lights Come into Being?

阅读理解常考题普通