The landscape of the Giant’s Causeway, lurking below the gaunt sea wall where the land ends, must have struck wonder into the hearts of the ancient Irish, who subsequently felt inspired and created legends about its builder: the giant Finn McCool. The Causeway Coast has an unparalleled display of geological formations representing volcanic activity during the Early Tertiary Period some 5060 million years ago. Its Tertiary lavas of the Antrim Plateau, covering some 3,800 sq km, represent the largest remaining lava plateau in Europe.
The Causeway is a mass of basalt columns packed tightly together. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Altogether there are 40, 000 of these stone columns, mostly hexagonal, but some are quadrangular, pentagonal, heptagonal and octagonal. The tallest ate about 40 feet high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 90 feet thick in places.
A fine circular walk will take you down to the Giant’s Causeway, past amphitheatres of stone columns and formations with fanciful names like the Honeycomb, the Wishing Well, and the Giant’s Granny, past a wooden staircase to Benbane Head, and back along the cliff-top. Further down the coast, the stunning Carrick-a-rede rope bridge spans a gaping chasm between the coast and a small island used by fishermen. The eighty-foot drop can be crossed via the swinging bridge―and is not for the faint-hearted!
The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast site was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The site is of outstanding universal value and meets the criteria set in the World Heritage Convention. Namely, it is an outstanding example representing major stages of the earth’s history including the record of life: significant on-going geological processes in landform developments, and significant geomorphic and physiographic features; moreover, it also contains superlative natural phenomena and areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
Moyle District Council’s Causeway Visitor Centre is open daily all year round and located on the cliff top 1 km from the site. The Centre is the ideal starting point for walks along the coastal and cliff-top paths, providing all excellent range of visitor services. A 12-minute audio-visual presentation, with commentary available in 5 European languages, enables visitors to further explore the origins of the Giant’s Causeway through local folklore and scientific theory, and highlights the many other attractions of the Causeway Coast and Glens of Antrim area.
50. The Giant’s Causeway was created by______.
51. The last sentence in Paragraph 3 implies that the trip on the swinging bridge is quite ______.
52. Which of the Giant’s Causeway’s features best fits with the criteria set in the World Heritage Convention?
53. Which of the following is NOT true of the Giant’s Causeway?
问题1选项
A.the ancient Irish people
B.the giant Finn McCool
C.the volcanic activities
D.the drift of lava plateau
问题2选项
A.inviting
B.intimidating
C.eye-opening
D.heart-breaking
问题3选项
A.Its unparalleled display of geological formations.
B.Its amphitheatres with fancily named stone columns.
C.Its largest remaining lava plateau in Europe.
D.Its swinging rope bridge between the coast and a little isle.
问题4选项
A.It provides visitors grand and breath-taking views.
B.It is a source of literary inspiration for the ancient Irish.
C.It serves as an excellent piece of material for scientific research.
D.It dwarfs many other World Heritage Sites in Europe.
50.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】推理判断题。题干意思是“巨人之路是由……创造的”。根据文章第一句The landscape of the Giant’s Causeway, lurking below the gaunt sea wall where the land ends, must have struck wonder into the hearts of the ancient Irish, who subsequently felt inspired and created legends about its builder: the giant Finn McCool.(潜伏在陆地尽头、荒凉的海堤下的巨人之路,肯定让古代爱尔兰人感到惊奇,他们随后受到启发并创造了有关它的建造者的传说,即巨人芬恩麦库尔)和第二句The Causeway Coast has an unparalleled display of geological formations representing volcanic activity during the Early Tertiary Period some 5060 million years ago.(堤道海岸有着无与伦比的地质构造,代表了约5亿6千万年前第三纪早期的火山活动),以及第四段中的The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast site was inscribed as a World Heritage Site…it is an outstanding example representing major stages of the earth’s history including the record of life: significant on-going geological processes in landform developments, and significant geomorphic and physiographic features(巨人之路和堤道海岸于1986年被联合国教科文组织列入世界遗产名录……它是一个杰出的例子,代表了地球历史的主要阶段,包括生命的记录:在地形发展中的重要的持续地质过程,以及重要的地貌和地貌特征),可知,巨人之路的创造是由于火山的活动而产生了持续的地质过程,从而形成巨人之路,所以C项“火山活动”正确。A项“古代爱尔兰人”错误;D项“熔岩高原的漂移”中的“漂移”文中没有提及;B项“巨人芬恩麦库尔”为干扰项,文章第一句说到了legend(神话),可知巨人之路是由巨人芬恩麦库尔创造的并不是真实发生的事情,而是爱尔兰人们为了解释这一现象而创造出来的神话,该项不选。因此,该题选择C项正确。
51.【试题答案】B
【试题解析】推理判断题。题干意思是“第三段的最后一句话暗示了在摇摆桥上的旅行是相当……”。根据题干定位到第三段最后一句The eighty-foot drop can be crossed via the swinging bridge―and is not for the faint-hearted!(可以通过80英尺落差的摇摆桥,胆小的人可不行!),由最后的faint-hearted(怯懦的,胆怯的)就可以推知,摇摆桥是令人害怕的,B项“令人生畏的”正确。A项“诱人的,有魅力的”、C项“使人开眼界的”和D项“心碎的”都不正确。因此,该题选择B项正确。
52.【试题答案】A
【试题解析】细节事实题。题干意思是“巨人之路的哪一个特征最符合世界遗产公约的标准?”。根据题干定位到文章第四段The site is of outstanding universal value and meets the criteria set in the World Heritage Convention. Namely, it is an outstanding example representing major stages of the earth’s history including the record of life: significant on-going geological processes in landform developments, and significant geomorphic and physiographic features; moreover, it also contains superlative natural phenomena and areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.(该遗址具有突出的普世价值,符合《世界遗产公约》规定的标准。也就是说,它是一个杰出的例子,代表了地球历史的主要阶段,包括生命的记录:在地形发展中的重要的持续地质过程,以及重要的地貌和地貌特征;此外,它还包含了最高的自然现象和特殊的自然美和美学重要性的领域。),可知巨人之路的持续地质过程、重要的地貌和地貌特征以及自然现象和自然美是最符合世界遗产公约的标准,所以A项“无与伦比的地质构造”最能概括这几点。B项“它的圆形凹地有着名字奇特的石柱”、C项“欧洲最大的熔岩高原”和D项“在海岸和一个小岛之间的摇摆绳索桥”都是包括在里面的。因此,该题选择A项正确。
53.【试题答案】D
【试题解析】细节事实题。题干意思是“关于巨人之路,下列哪项是不正确的?”。由最后一段第二句The Centre is the ideal starting point for walks along the coastal and cliff-top paths, providing all excellent range of visitor services.(该中心是沿海岸和悬崖的理想起点,为游客提供各种优质的服务。)可知,A项“它为游客提供了壮丽的景色”符合原文。由文章第一句The landscape of the Giant’s Causeway, lurking below the gaunt sea wall where the land ends, must have struck wonder into the hearts of the ancient Irish, who subsequently felt inspired and created legends about its builder: the giant Finn McCool.(潜伏在陆地尽头、荒凉的海堤下的巨人之路,肯定让古代爱尔兰人感到惊奇,他们随后受到启发并创造了有关它的建造者的传说,即巨人芬恩麦库尔)可知,B项“它是古代爱尔兰文学灵感的来源”正确。由最后一段倒数第一句A 12-minute audio-visual presentation, with commentary available in 5 European languages, enables visitors to further explore the origins of the Giant’s Causeway through local folklore and scientific theory…(12分钟的视听介绍,配有5种欧洲语言的解说,使游客可以通过当地的民间传说和科学理论进一步探索巨人之路的起源……)可知,巨人之路在科学理论的探索上发挥了作用,C项“它是科学研究的绝佳材料”也符合。只有D项“它使欧洲的许多其他世界遗产相形见绌”在文中并没有提到。因此,该题选择D项正确。