Question

Direction: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Iceland shows off nature

Found just south of the Arctic Circle, it’s far from the northernmost country on Earth. But as a travel destinations, Iceland is on top of the world.

Known as‚ “the land of fire and ice”, the country has many natural wonders. As the Today website put it, “It is 1. nature choose Iceland to be its shop window to…remind humanity that nature is still the unstoppable force.”

As the world was reminded when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted six years ago, Iceland is a country “still in the making, and few other places offer the same opportunities to see the earth 2. action, ” commented National Geographic magazine.

Ice is Iceland’s other big attraction-to be exact, the huge glaciers which travel toward the coast, 3. (make) strange pools of water. Even better are the northern lights, which are 4. (good) to see from October to March.

On Sept 28, the country’s capital Reykjavik decided to turn off all streetlights for an hour at night to give people a unique chance to enjoy the northern lights. Thanks to the glaciers and the dark sky, the  bright,  colourful 5. (dance)  lights  became  “a  heavenly  light  display”,  travel guidebook publisher Lonely Planet noted.

And 6. Iceland’s unique natural features are the biggest attractions for visitors, the country also offers inspiration. Iceland has 7. higher percentage of writers in its population than any other country in the world, the BBC reported. And it is not surprising 8. the country publishes more books per person than any other country in the world, reported the NPR radio station, Iceland 9. (be) the birthplace of important literary works and authors-from the Vikings’ Iceland sagas(传说) to author Halldór Laxness, winner of the 1955 Noble Prize in literature.

“The beast in Iceland, with its harsh(严酷的) nature and bitter, ever-changing weather. We cannot escape it,” Haraldur Jonsson, an Icelandic artists, told the Observer newspaper while describing   his   inspiration.   “So   we   find  ways to live with it. We 10. have a rich life to fill the empty spaces.”

Answer

1.as if

2.in

3.making

4.best

5.dancing

6.although

7.a

8.that

9.has been

10.have to

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了冰岛独特的自然条件及其对冰岛人民的影响。

1.考查连词。句意：正如《今日》网站所说，“好像大自然选择了冰岛作为它的橱窗……提醒人类，大自然仍是不可阻挡的力量”。上文说冰岛被称为“冰火之国”，有许多自然奇观，此处是《今日》网站做的一个比喻，表示“仿佛、好像”，故填as if。

2.考查介词。句意：《国家地理》杂志评论说，六年前埃亚菲亚德拉冰盖火山爆发时，全世界都意识到，冰岛仍是一个正在形成中的国家，几乎没有其他地方能提供这样的机会，让人们看到地球是如何活动的。in action表示“在活动”，故填in。

3.考查非谓语动词。句意：确切地说，冰是冰岛的另一个大的吸引物，巨大的冰川向海岸移动，形成奇怪的水池。the huge glaciers与make之间是逻辑上的主谓关系，表示主动，用现在分词作结果状语，故填making。

4.考查形容词最高级。句意：更好的是北极光，从10月到3月是观赏北极光的最佳时间。根据句意可知此处表示“最好的、最佳”，故填best。

5.考查非谓语动词。句意：由于冰川和黑暗的天空，明亮多彩的舞动极光成为“天光展示”。lights 与dance之间是逻辑上的主谓关系，表示主动，此处表示“舞动中的”，所以用现在分词作定语，故填dancing。

6.考查连词。句意：尽管冰岛独特的自然景观是吸引游客的最大因素，但冰岛也提供了灵感。据英国广播公司报道，冰岛的作家比例高于世界上任何一个国家。根据句意可知前后是让步关系，此处表示“尽管”，故填although。

7.考查冠词。句意同上。a percentage of表示“……的百分比”，故填a。

8.考查主语从句。据美国国家公共广播电台报道，冰岛是重要文学作品的发源地，从维京人的冰岛传奇到1955年诺贝尔文学奖得主哈尔多尔拉克内斯，冰岛的人均图书出版量超过世界上任何一个国家，这一点也不足为奇。分析句子结构可知，本句it作形式主语，真正的主语是后面的that从句，故填that。

9.考查时态。句意同上，此处强调过去的动作对现在的影响，所以用现在完成时，主语是Iceland，谓语用第三人称单数形式，故填has been。

10.考查情态动词。句意：冰岛的野兽，以其严酷的自然和严酷的，不断变化的天气，我们无法逃避，于是我们找到了适应它的方法，我们不得不（必须）用丰富的生活来填补这些空白。空后为动词原形，此处需要填情态动词，根据句意可知此处表示“不得不、必须”，故填have to。