◆地理学

Passage 7

At over 195,000 square miles, Canada’s Baffin Island is the fifth-largest island in the world-more than twice the size of Great Britain. As large as it is, Baffin Island is home to only about 11,000 people, primarily due to its harsh climate. It is surrounded by sea ice and the Arctic Ocean, and the temperature rarely gets above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, even in July. In the center of the island, summer temperatures hover below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. In winter, temperatures throughout the island average well below zero.

Geologically speaking, Baffin Island represents a continuation of the Canadian Shield, an expanse of land scoured by glaciers that extends from the Arctic Archipelago south into the north-central United States, and from the Northwest Territories all the way east to Labrador. The geography of the island features rocky bluffs, a coastal strip of marshland, and a wide plains region that turns into a large plateau at the northern end of the island. Despite its inclement weather, it is a breeding ground for a remarkable variety of seabirds and a wintering place for narwhals, belugas, and walruses.

Things are changing on Baffin Island. Hunters are beginning to see melting of the sea ice. Trekkers are finding glaciers turned to slush in some places. Rock surfaces that have never seen the light of day are starting to emerge from the ice-covered tundra. The last decade has not warmed Baffin Island to the point where it is habitable for any but the hardiest souls—but it has definitely warmed it.

Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

1. Which of the following statements about the climate on Baffin Island is supported by the passage?

A. The climate is intolerable for all but the toughest of animals and humans.

B. Recent changes in the climate have led to changes in local topography.

C. It is rare for temperatures at the island’s center to climb above freezing.

For questions 2 through 3, select one answer choice each.

2. In the first sentence of paragraph two (“Geologically speaking ... Labrador”), the author implies that

A. Baffin Island is huge, but it is dwarfed by its surroundings

B. at one time, Baffin Island was joined to the Canadian mainland

C. glaciers separate Baffin Island from the mainland of Canada

D. a single glacier helped to carve out Baffin Island and Labrador

E. Baffin Island is physically similar to some parts of northern Michigan

3. From the passage, it can be inferred that descriptions of changes on Baffin Island are mostly the product of

A. scientific study

B. satellite surveillance

C. journalists’ reports

D. anecdotal observation

E. pioneer narratives

4. Which of the following evidence would most strengthen the author’s argument that things are changing on Baffin Island?

A. Archaeological proof that the Vikings visited natives on Baffin Island

B. Increased immigration from the provinces to Baffin’s major city, Iqaluit

C. Growth of warm-water lake algae in formerly frozen Baffin lakes

D. Pods of belugas feeding off the coast of Baffin Island

E. Continuous sunlight from May to July in the northeast part of the island

「文章大意」

文章主要描述了加拿大的巴芬岛，第一段讲述了巴芬岛的环境和气候情况，第二段对巴芬岛的地理面貌进行了介绍，第三段指出了巴芬岛上所发生的变化。

答案详解

1. A, B, C  根据“As large as it is, Baffin Island is home to only about 11,000 people, primarily due to its harsh climate”可知，A项正确；根据“Things are changing on Baffin Island”可知B项正确；根据“the temperature rarely gets above 50 degrees Fahrenheit”可知，C项正确，故本题选择ABC三项。

2.E  根据此句可知，巴芬岛和北面的大陆有着共同的特点，故E项的表述正确。

3.D  第三段中作者举出的巴芬岛的变化的例子来自猎人、跋涉者，所以可知D项是正确的。

4.C  作者提到的变化表明气候变暖的一种趋势，故C项是最能支持这一推测的，故选C。

Passage 8

Puget Sound is typically considered a bay; in fact, it is a large saltwater estuary fed by freshwater from the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains watersheds. The sound itself was carved out by glaciers, leaving a complex series of interconnected valleys and ridges called basins and sills. The sound has an average depth of about 450 feet, but north of the city of Seattle, the basin plunges to 930 feet. Water is always circulating within the sound; at certain sills, seaward-moving surface water is sucked down to mix with incoming salt water. The result is a complicated tide pattern, made even more complex by many islands and narrow straits that crisscross the sound. The positive result of all this churning is the deposit of fairly rich and fertile soil along the mudflats and river valleys that border the sound.

Which of these can be inferred about the waters of Puget Sound?

A. The sound is a constantly changing blend of salt and freshwater.

B. The sound is salt water along the surface and freshwater below.

C. The salt in the sound’s water is leached away by the time it reaches shore.

D. Constant tides in Puget Sound leave salt in the basins and freshwater, along the sills.

E．Seaward-moving water in the sound is saltier than incoming water.

「文章大意」

该篇文章主要与美国的皮吉特湾相关，指出虽然皮吉特湾通常被认为是一个海湾，但实际上是一个大的咸水河口，接着描述了皮吉特湾的地理及水流情况。

答案详解

A  根据文段第四句的后半句“seaward-moving surface water is sucked down to mix with incoming salt water”可以推断，A项符合题意；B、C 、D三项在文中没有体现；E项与文章逻辑不符，因此选择A项。