Question

    The tough challenge of a six-month, 3,200-kilometer walk across the South Pole, in the long darkness of the Antarctic winter when temperatures can fall to -90℃, proved irresistible to the experienced British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Fiennes’s hero, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, wrote “great God, this is an awful place” when he reached the South Pole a century ago, before freezing and starving to death with his team on the return journey.

That journey was made in summer. Nobody before has attempted to cross the pole in winter. In a statement, Fiennes said, “This will be my greatest challenge to date. We will stretch the limits of human endurance.”

However, Fiennes could not explain why anyone should consider such a venture, still less a man aged 68 who has survived cancer, heart surgery and the loss of most of the frozen fingertips on one hand. “It’s what I do,” he said, looking slightly puzzled at the question.

Fiennes, the world’s greatest living explorer, according to the Guinness Book of Records — was the first to cross the Antarctic continent unsupported; the first to cross both polar ice caps; and the first to travel across the globe from pole to pole.

Fiennes admitted his wife, Louise, and their six-year-old daughter were not thrilled. “But I’ve never done anything else; it’s how I earn my living. And you’re much more likely, statistically, to die on the roads than on the polar ice,” he said.

After training in the Swedish Arctic in a relatively balmy -40℃, Fiennes’ team will set sail from London on Dec. 6 on a South African research ship. The ice trek will begin on Mar. 21, the spring equinox (春分) that marks the official start of the polar winter, from the Russian base of Novolazareskaya. Fiennes and his five team members must then climb more than 3,000 meters on to the inland plateau, walk for several hundred kilometers using an ice tractor to pull all the supplies and equipment they need, descend another 3,000 meters and finally reach the Ross Sea. If they reach Captain Scott’s old base at McMurdo Sound by the spring equinox six months later, they will still have to wait for months until the sea ice backs off enough for their ship to collect them.

1.Fiennes is going on this expedition because__________.

A.it is something he always does as a career

B.he wishes to inspire his family

C.he wants to travel with his wife and daughter

D.he hopes to improve his health

2.The underlined word in Paragraph 7 probably means “__________.”

A.warm and pleasant B.cold and harsh

C.tough and unbearable D.agreeable and relaxing

3.According to the article, Fiennes’ expedition will__________.

A.begin at an Antarctic base of Sweden

B.involve climbing and going down a high plateau

C.start and finish exactly at the two spring equinoxes

D.finish in a few weeks after the ship arrives

4.Fiennes is attempting to cross the South Pole__________.

A.on the same route as Captain Scott’s

B.by himself during the winter months

C.by ice tractor for most of the trip

D.on foot during the worst trip

Answer

1.A

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。文章介绍了经验丰富的英国探险家费因斯爵士的冬季南极穿越计划。

1.细节理解题。根据第四段However, Fiennes could not explain why anyone should consider such a venture, still less a man aged 68 who has survived cancer, heart surgery and the loss of most of the frozen fingertips on one hand. “It’s what I do,” he said, looking slightly puzzled at the question. (然而，费因斯无法解释为什么有人会考虑这样的冒险，更不用说一个68岁的人，他曾经历过癌症、心脏手术和失去了一只手大部分冻僵的指尖。“我就是干这个的。”他说，对这个问题有点困惑)及上文可知，费因斯是经验丰富的探险家，他参加这次探险的原因是这是他职业生涯中经常做的事情。故选A。

2.词句猜测题。根据第一段中的in the long darkness of the Antarctic winter when temperatures can fall to -90℃(在漫长黑暗的南极冬季，温会降到零下90摄氏度)可知，零下40摄氏度相对于零下90摄氏度来讲，是相对温暖和舒服的。由此可知，第七段中带下划线的单词可能意味着“温暖和愉快的”。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的Fiennes and his five team members must then climb more than 3,000 meters on to the inland plateau, walk for several hundred kilometers using an ice tractor to pull all the supplies and equipment they need, descend another 3,000 meters and finally reach the Ross Sea. (费因斯和他的五名队员必须爬上3000多米到达内陆高原，然后用一辆冰上牵引车拖着他们需要的所有物资和设备走几百公里，再往下走3000米，最终到达罗斯海)可知，费因斯的探险将包括翻越一个高原。故选B。

4.细节理解题。根据第一段The tough challenge of a six-month, 3,200-kilometer walk across the South Pole, in the long darkness of the Antarctic winter when temperatures can fall to -90℃, proved irresistible to the experienced British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. (在南极漫长黑暗的冬季，气温会降到零下90摄氏度，长达6个月、长达3200公里的艰苦跋涉对经验丰富的英国探险家费因斯爵士来说是无法抗拒的)及第三段中的Nobody before has attempted to cross the pole in winter.(以前没有人试图在冬天穿越南极)可知，冬天穿越南极将是最糟糕的旅行时段，而费因斯则试图徒步穿越南极。故选D。