Question

    I never soon the night nor seen a star; I’ve seen neither spring nor fall nor winter. I was born at the end of the Reining Age(刹车时代), just as the Earth’s rotation(旋转)was coming to a final stop.

The Reining lasted for 42 years, three years longer than the Unity Government had planned. My mother once told me about the time our family witnessed the last sunset. The Sun had ever so slowly crept toward the horizon, almost as if it had stopped moving altogether. In the end, it took three days and three nights to finally set. Naturally, that was the end of all “days” and all “nights”. The Eastern Hemisphere(半球)was covered in weak light for a long time then, perhaps for a dozen years or so - with the Sun hiding just beyond the horizon - its rays reflected by half of the sky. It was during that long sunset that I was born.

Dusk did not mean darkness. The Northern Hemisphere was lit up by the Earth Engines. These giant engines had been raised all across Asia and North America; only the solid plates beneath those two continents could resist the great pushing forces they exerted. There were about 12,000 Earth Engines built and distributed across the Asian and American plains.

From my home 1 could see the bright plasma plumes(等离子气柱)of several hundred Earth Engines. Just imagine a titanic palace, one as large as the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Now imagine countless titanic pillars rising from that palace, reaching to the heavens, each releasing brilliant, bluish-white light like a titanic shining tube. And then there is you; you are a microbe on the palace’s floor. This only begins to paint the picture of the world we lived in.

This picture, however, is not yet complete. In order to survive the melting temperature of the expanding sun, we have to push the Earth away from it. First, the Earth must be stopped from rotating. Only the forces acting tangentially(正切地)to the Earth’s rotation could slow it, so the Earth Engines had to be built to a specific angle. Those gigantic pillars of light were leaning to that angle. Now imagine what that meant for our palace, with its pillars all leaning on the point of falling down! Many who came from the Southern Hemisphere went mad when suddenly seeing this awesome view.

Worse than the view was the burning heat released by the Earth Engines. Outdoors the temperature was stuck at around 160 to 180 degrees, forcing us to wear special suits just to leave the house. The extremely high temperatures often brought pouring rains. It was always a terrifying scene when the beam of an Earth Engine cut through dark clouds. The clouds scattered the brilliant, bluish-white light of the beam, erupting it into endless rainbow light that covered the entire sky like white-hot magma(岩浆).

To my generation, born in the Northern Hemisphere, all of this was perfectly normal and natural, just like the Sun, stars and Moon had been to generations before the Reining Age. We called the entire history of the human race that had come before us the Pre-Solar Age; what a fascinating and golden era that had truly been!

The Reining Age left the earth with a horrifying result. The sea tides, quickened by the Earth Engines, had swallowed two out of every three cities in the Northern Hemisphere; then the global increase in temperatures melted the polar icecap, resulting in floods that spread to the Southern Hemisphere. Thirty years earlier my grandfather had witnessed giant 300-foot waves that had engulfed Shanghai. Even now, he could never tell us about it without his gaze slipping into a thousand-mile stare.

Our planet had already changed beyond recognition before it even set out on its journey. Who knew what hardships were waiting for us on our long travels through outer space?

1.What happened when the author was born?

A. The earth had stopped turning for forty-two years.

B. The sun was making its last fall towards the horizon.

C. All the Earth Engines had not been finished.

D. His family were suffering from the summer hotness.

2.Which of the following about the Earth Engines is right?

A. They were built in Asia and North America due to their huge number and weight.

B. Their light and heat provided necessary energy for people to survive.

C. They were all built to point straight upward to the sky to stop the earth rotating.

D. Their existence brought both opportunities and inconvenience to people on the earth.

3.What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?

A. People born in the Southern Hemisphere could enjoy four different seasons.

B. The author missed his Pre-Solar Age lifestyle very much.

C. Grandfather would never forget the scene of Shanghai being swallowed.

D. The author was discouraged but optimistic about the future of the earth.

4.In this excerpt(节选)we can clearly see that the author is good at __________.

A. describing mental activities B. visualizing vivid scenes

C. doing experimental analysis D. expressing personal belief

5.This excerpt is a part of __________.

A. a documentary novel B. an academic essay

C. a scientific research report D. a science fiction

6.What is the best title of this chapter?

A. The Last Sunset. B. The Earth Engines. C. The Reining Age. D. The Post-Solar Life.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.B

5.D

6.C

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。此文系《流浪地球》的节选，短文叙述了讲“刹车时代”地球，太阳的运行状况和人们的生活现实。

1.细节理解题。由第二段“My mother once told me about the time our family witnessed the last sunset. The Sun had ever so slowly crept toward the horizon, almost as if it had stopped moving altogether. In the end, it took three days and three nights to finally set. Naturally, that was the end of all “days” and all “nights” ”可知，我妈妈曾经告诉我，我们家见证了最后一次日落。太阳曾经如此缓慢地向地平线移动，几乎就像完全停止了移动一样。最后，花了三天三夜才最终停止下来。这就是所有“白天”和所有“夜晚”的结束。作者出生时，太阳最后一次落向地平线。故B选项正确。

2.细节理解题。由第三段“Dusk did not mean darkness. The Northern Hemisphere was lit up by the Earth Engines.”第五段“ Many who came from the Southern Hemisphere went mad when suddenly seeing this awesome view.”第六段“ Worse than the view was the burning heat released by the Earth Engines. Outdoors the temperature was stuck at around 160 to 180 degrees, forcing us to wear special suits just to leave the house”可知，黄昏并不意味着黑暗。地球引擎照亮了北半球。许多来自南半球的人突然看到这种令人敬畏的景象时都疯了。比景色更糟糕的是地球引擎释放的燃烧热量。室外的温度停留在160到180度左右，迫使我们穿上特殊的衣服离开房子。所以引擎既给我们逃离高温的机会但也给我们带来诸多的不便。故D选项正确。

3.推理判断题。由倒数第二段“thirty years earlier, my grandfather had witnessed giant 300 foot waved that had engulfed Shanghai. Even now, he could never tell us about it without his gaze slipping into a thousand-mild stare.”可知，三十年前，我的祖父目睹了300英尺高的巨浪吞没了上海。即使是现在，他也无法告诉我们这件事，他的目光凝视着远方。所以判断出祖父永远不会忘记上海被吞并的情景。故C选项正确。

4.推理判断题。由第四段“Just imagine a titanic palace, one as large as the Parthenon on the Acropolis.Now imagine countless titanic pillars rising from that palace, reaching to the heavens, each releasing brilliant, bluish-white light like a titanic shining tube. 第五段“ Now imagine what that meant for our palace, with its pillars all leaning on the point of falling down!”可知，想象一下一座巨大的宫殿，有卫城的帕台农神庙那么大。现在想象无数根巨大的柱子从那座宫殿升起，伸向天空，每根巨大的柱子都像发光管一样发出明亮的蓝白色光。现在想象一下这对我们的宫殿意味着什么，它的柱子都要倒了！所以通过作者的描写可以看出，所以作者是在把抽象的东西具体化，以生动的方式调动读者的多重感官。故判断出在这篇节选中，我们可以清楚地看到作者善于将生动的场景形象化。故B选项正确。

5.推理判断题。 科幻小说是西方近代文学的一种新体裁。它的情节不可能发生在人们已知的世界上，但它的基础是有关人类或宇宙起源的某种设想，有关科技领域（包括假设性的科技领域）的某种虚构出来的新发现。从语言风格来以及故事的主要内容，这篇文章科幻色彩浓郁，属于科幻系列。故判断出这段短文摘录于科幻小说。故D选项正确。

6.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，短文主要在讲“刹车时代”地球，太阳的运行状况和人们的生活现实。所以刹车时代能够给短文提供一个恢弘气势的时代背景球，同时所有的内容都是围绕着“刹车时代”而展开的。故短文最佳的标题是“刹车时代”。故C选项正确。