Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. Death Valley can be dangerously cold during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley.
The air temperature during the summer has been as high as fifty- seven degrees Celsius. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as seventy -four degrees Celsius.
Death Valley contains evidence of several ancient volcanoes that caused huge explosions. Evidence of one of these explosions is called Ubehebe Crater. The explosion left a huge hole in the ground almost a kilometer and a half wide. In many areas of Death Valley it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth. This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations. Some are red. Others are dark brown, gray, yellow or black.
The area was named by a woman in 1849. Thousands of people from other parts of the ountry traveled to the gold mining areas in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December they had reached Death Valley. They did not have to survive the terrible heat of summer, but there was still an extreme lack of water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat.
The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains to the west of the Valley, Slowly, they began co suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the Valley. As they left, one woman looked back and said, "Good -bye, death valley. ” The name has never been changed.
Almost everyone who visits Death Valley visits a huge house called Scotty' s Castle. The building design is Spanish, with high thick walls to provide protection from the fierce heat.
The castle is named for Walter Scott , called Scotty. by his friends. He was a gold miner. He told everyone that he built the house with money he made from his gold mine. Many people believed him. But it was not really the truth.
小题1: The first two paragraphs discuss Death Valley' s ________.
A．geography
B．climate
C．location
D．size小题2:The volcanoes mentioned in the third paragraph proved ________.
A．a valley that is formed by explosions
B．a place where volcanoes are still active
C．a good example of the violence of nature
D．a symbol of rock formations in history小题3:The woman who named Death Valley intended to ________.
A．explore the mystery of the valley
B．find an area with plants for animals
C．experience the terrible heat of summer
D．look for gold in California小题4:If the passage continues, it will be about ________.
A．the truth about Scotty's Castle
B．why Spanish built the castle
C．when the castle was built
D．where the castle lies in小题5:The main idea of the passage is about ________.
A．the interesting place in Death Valley
B．the facts about Death Valley
C．the origin of Death Valley
D．the route to visit Death Valley
小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:A
小题5:B
题目分析：
小题1:B 细节题。根据The air temperature during the summer has been as high as fifty- seven degrees Celsi 故B符合题意
小题2:C 推断题。根据This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations故C符合题意
小题3:D 细节题。根据The area was named by a woman in 1849. Thousands of people from other parts of the ountry traveled to the gold mining areas in California。故D符合题意
小题4:A 猜测题。根据Many people believed him. But it was not really the truth. 根据关联性原则，会接着写出有关Scotty's Castle的真相
小题5:B细节题。根据文章的文体，用客观的语气还原事实的真相。故B符合题意
点评：文章主要向读者介绍了死亡山谷的地理，气候和位置等以及一系列与死亡山谷相关联的故事和传说。
说明文是对事物的特征、本质、性能、状态，或事物的发生、发展、结果、用途、原理等进行介绍、解释、说明的一种文体。它所说明的对象可以是实体的事物，如仪器仪表、自然环境等，也可以是抽象的事理、如概念、原理、定律、规章等。它包括说明书、解说词、文献资料、图表等形式。尽管说明文中可能会掺有一些记述、描写或议论的成分，但说明文的最主要表达方式还是说明。必须说明的是与汉语说明文相比，英语说明文所涉及的范围似乎更大，在英语中，天文地理、人情世故、客观事物、主观意识等宇宙间的一切都可以通过说明文加以阐述说明，象the importance of being on tie（准时的重要性）和the happiness of reading books（读书之乐）之类的话题.
