2004/10阅读第四篇

Famed for their high-elevation forests, the Appalachian Mountains sweep south

from Quebec to Alabama. Highest in New England and North Carolina, this broad system

covers more than 1,200 miles to form the rocky backbone of the eastern United States. Line

The Blue Ridge Mountains form a substantial part, 615 miles, of the far-reaching

{Appalachians. They begin as a narrow, low ridge in Pennsylvania, then slowly spread

and rise until they reach the height of 5,938 feet at majestic Grandfather Mountain in

North Carolina. The Blue Ridge technically includes among its major spurs the Great}(5-7行)

Smoky Mountains and the Black Mountains; Mount Mitchell, in the latter range, is at

6,684 feet the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Like the rest of the Appalachians,

{these mountains were once substantially higher and bolder. Their uplift was completed

some 289 million years ago, and they have been drastically eroded ever since.}(10-11行)

At one time, immense continental glaciers covered the land as far south as Pennsylvania.

Although they did not spread over the Blue Ridge, plants and animals far beyond their reach

{became adapted to the cold. When the climate warmed and the ice melted, the cold-adapted

species retreated northward, surviving in the south only at higher, cooler elevations.}(14-15行)

Red Spruces and Fraser firs are remnants of the Ice Age, thriving in the higher elevations

of the Blue Ridge; and local belches, birches, and red oaks are typical of forests farther

to the north.

{Sharing the high peaks is another distinctive plant community. This is the "bald"—a

treeless area covered with grass, or more commonly, with broad-leaved shrubs. Often}(19-20行)

large and vigorous, the latter include huckleberries, mountain laurel, and most especially,

rhododendron, an evergreen shrub that blossoms in June and creates some of the most

spectacular wild gardens on Earth.

33. The southernmost point of the Appalachian Mountains is in

(A) Quebec

(B) New England

(C) Alabama

(D) North Carolina

D, 我选C

40. Where in the passage does the author mention what has happened to
the development of  the mountains since they reached their highest
point?

(A) Lines 5-7

(B) Lines 10-11

(C) Lines 14-15

(D) Lines 19-20

B, 我选D. 不是很理解题目的意思

33。肯定是B，the Appalachian Mountains sweep south from Quebec to Alabama. 可以看出

40。选B，Their uplift was completed some 289 million years ago, and they have been drastically eroded ever since.这句话其实跟问题的意思是一样的。就是说当山长到最高之后，就有点开始风化了被侵蚀了。。

{these mountains were once substantially higher and bolder. Their uplift was completed
some 289 million years ago, and they have been drastically eroded ever since.}(10-11行)

蓝色的字，就是说，这些山的上升已经完成了，也就是达到顶峰了，从那以后，他们就开始被剧烈的侵蚀了。

呵呵，确实写错了，想说的是C。。