课时跟踪检测（一）
Warming Up & Reading — Pre-reading
阅读理解
A
Even after centuries of exploration, the ocean still holds its mysteries. Although we know more today about the world's oceans and creatures living in them than ever before, every once in a while the sea brings up something so strange, so unexpected, that makes the world wonder what it could be.
Such was the case when the currents (水流) of the Mediterranean Ocean recently washed a 13-foot-long, smelly body onto the shores of the village of Villaricos in Andalusia, Spain. An early report in the Spanish publication Lavante described the strange, horned (带角的) body as what might seem like a big fish, but it was already in pieces. Locals joked that it was some kind of Loch Ness Monster.
The media jumped right on the creature, of course. Some sites called it a horned sea monster. The popular newspaper Boing Boing called it a dragon. Some people guessed that it might be an oarfish, which is actually a rarely seen kind of big fish that can grow up to 55 feet long.
But now the experts have weighed in and we're sorry to report that it's not a dragon, a Loch Ness Monster, or even an oarfish.“That is actually a shark skeleton (骨架)，” Professor Grubbs from Florida State University told NBC News.“The parts toward the back were confusing me, but those are the lower caudal fin (尾鳍) supports. The ‘horns’ are the scapulocoracoids which support the pectoral fins (胸鳍)．” Scapulocoracoids are backbones common to many animals.
So there we go, another mystery solved. Well，the ancient maps that once described areas of the ocean as places of dragons have yet to be proven true. But it's good to know that the ocean still has a few surprises for us, even in cases where they're just dead, smelly bodies.
语篇解读：本文是说明文。海边的一具海洋生物尸体引起了人们的种种猜测，作者由此试图说明海洋神秘的一面。
1．The creature mentioned in the text ________. A．was about 15 feet long with a horn B．could probably grow up to 55 feet long C．was already in pieces but it was still alive
D．was found on the shores of a village in Spain
解析：选D 细节理解题。由第二段中“...washed a 13-foot-long, smelly body onto the shores of the village of Villaricos in Andalusia, Spain”可知，该神秘尸体是在西班牙一个村庄的海岸上发现的，故选D项。
2．What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to? A．A dragon. C．An oarfish.
B．A shark skeleton. D．A horned sea monster.
解析：选B 代词指代题。由第四段中的“‘That is actually a shark skeleton，’ Professor Grubbs from Florida State University told NBC News”可知，这里的it指的是一具鲨鱼的骨架，故选B项。
3．The third paragraph is mainly about ________. A．how the creature was found B．the characteristics of an oarfish C．people's guesses about the creature D．Boing Boing's opinion of the creature
解析：选C 段落大意题。由第三段中的“sea monster”， “dragon”和“an oarfish”等信息可知，本段主要讲述人们对于该神秘尸体的种种猜测，故选C项。
4．The main purpose of the text is to ________. A．show the mystery of the ocean B．ask people to protect sea animals C．introduce a rarely seen kind of fish D．show how go find surprises in the sea
解析：选A 写作意图题。由文章首段中的“the ocean still holds its mysteries”和尾段中的“the ocean still has a few surprises for us”以及文中所举的事例可知，本文的主要目的是向人们展示海洋神秘的一面，故选A项。
B
Nicola MacFarlane, 41, and her daughter Lucy, four, from Portobello, near Edinburgh, were playing on the Portobello Beach when they came across an old glass bottle sticking out of the sand containing a note inside written in Chinese.
It is unclear when the letter was sent off, but it was written on Chinese
Valentine's Day, or Qixi Festival as it is more traditionally known, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
Whether the message has traveled thousands of miles from China or whether it was penned by a love-struck pair much closer to home may remain a mystery. But for Nicola it doesn't matter — she is still excited to read about the Chinese love story after having it translated. She said, “I really do hope that it is from China but even if it is from someone nearer to home, it's still a lovely gesture and an inspiring find. It's a love story regardless of where it came from.”
“We saw the bottle sticking out of the sand and just thought it was junk that someone had left behind. But after picking it up I noticed there was a piece of brown paper rolled up inside and there was some foreign writing on it. We quite excitedly took it home, carefully opened the bottle and took out the sheet of paper using some tweezers (镊子). We knew it was Chinese, but we had no idea what it said.”
Unable to read the Chinese text, Nicola turned to the Internet and her Australian friend, Julie Gould, whose daughter attended a Chinese school in Sydney. Several hours later Julie returned with the news that it was in fact a love letter.
Nicola said, “It sounds to me like the couple are in love but cannot be together so they have sent the message to tell the world of their love. I'm blown_away by it to be honest — it's incredible that it has traveled all this way.”
语篇解读：Nicola和4岁的女儿在英国爱丁堡附近海滩发现了一个藏在沙子里的玻璃瓶，瓶子里装有一封用中文写的情书，它可能从中国漂流而来，真是太不可思议了。
5．According to the passage, we can know that ________. A．the letter was written on Qixi Festival
B．the letter was mailed on Chinese Valentine's Day C．the bottle has traveled a long distance from China D．the bottle was thrown into the sea near Edinburgh
解析：选A 细节理解题。从第二段中的“it was written on Chinese Valentine's Day, or Qixi Festival as it is more traditionally known”可知A项正确。
6．Nicola thought the bottle was thrown into the sea because ________. A．the sender wanted to find a true lover through the letter B．the sender expected to find a partner who liked Chinese
C．a couple couldn't stay together and showed their love in this way
D．a couple fell in love with each other and wished their love to last forever 解析：选C 细节理解题。从最后一段“It sounds to me like the couple are in love
2019-2020学年高中英语 Unit 3 Under the sea 课时跟踪检测(一)新人教版选修7
