📖 原文
(1) What geologists call the Basin and Range Province in the United States roughly (2) coincides in its northern portions with the geographic province known as the Great Basin. (3) The Great Basin is hemmed in on the west by the Sierra Nevada and on the east (4) by the Rocky Mountains; it has no outlet to the sea. The prevailing winds in the Great Basin (5) are from the west. Warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean is forced upward as it (6) crosses the Sierra Nevada. At the higher altitudes it cools and the moisture it carries is (7) precipitated as rain or snow on the western slopes of the mountains. That which reaches (8) the Basin is air wrung dry of moisture. What little water falls there as rain or snow, (9) mostly in the winter months, evaporates on the broad, flat desert floors. It is, therefore, (10) an environment in which organisms battle for survival. Along the rare watercourses, (11) cottonwoods and willows eke out a sparse existence. In the upland ranges, piñon pines (12) and junipers struggle to hold their own. (13) But the Great Basin has not always been so arid. Many of its dry, closed depressions (14) were once filled with water. Owens Valley, Panamint Valley, and Death Valley were (15) once a string of interconnected lakes. The two largest of the ancient lakes of the Great (16) Basin were Lake Lahontan and Lake Bonneville. The Great Salt Lake is all that (17) remains of the latter, and Pyramid Lake is one of the last briny remnants of the former. (18) There seem to have been several periods within the last tens of thousands of years (19) when water accumulated in these basins. The rise and fall of the lakes were (20) undoubtedly linked to the advances and retreats of the great ice sheets that covered (21) much of the northern part of the North American continent during those times. (22) Climatic changes during the Ice Ages sometimes brought cooler, wetter weather to (23) midlatitude deserts worldwide, including those of the Great Basin. The broken valleys (24) of the Great Basin provided ready receptacles for this moisture.
❓ 试题解析
问题 40： What is the geographical relationship between the Basin and Range Province and the Great Basin?
A. The Great Basin is west of the Basin and Range Province.
B. The Great Basin is larger than the Basin and Range Province.
C. The Great Basin is in the northern part of the Basin and Range Province.
D. The Great Basin is mountainous; the Basin and Range Province is flat desert.
✅ 正确答案： C）The Great Basin is in the northern part of the Basin and Range Province.
📝 解析： “the Basin and Range Province ... roughly coincides in its northern portions with the geographic province known as the Great Basin” — 大盆地位于盆岭省的北部。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位“northern portions”。
问题 41： According to the passage, what does the Great Basin lack?
A. Snow
B. Dry air
C. Winds from the west
D. Access to the ocean
✅ 正确答案： D）Access to the ocean
📝 解析： “it has no outlet to the sea” — 没有通往海洋的出口。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位“no outlet to the sea”。
问题 42： The word “prevailing” in line 4 is closest in meaning to
A. most frequent
B. occasional
C. gentle
D. most dangerous
✅ 正确答案： A）most frequent
📝 解析： “The prevailing winds in the Great Basin are from the west” — prevailing = 盛行的/最常出现的。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：prevailing = dominant = most frequent。
问题 43： It can be inferred that the climate in the Great Basin is dry because
A. the weather patterns are so turbulent
B. the altitude prevents precipitation
C. the winds are not strong enough to carry moisture
D. precipitation falls in the nearby mountains
✅ 正确答案： D）precipitation falls in the nearby mountains
📝 解析： 暖湿空气上升穿越内华达山脉时，降水落在山脉西坡，到达盆地的空气已被 wrung dry of moisture。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题定位“wrung dry of moisture”。
问题 44： The word “it” in line 5 refers to
A. Pacific Ocean
B. air
C. west
D. the Great Basin
✅ 正确答案： B）air
📝 解析： “Warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean is forced upward as it crosses the Sierra Nevada” — it 指 air。
💡 解题技巧： 代词题找前一个名词（air）。
问题 45： Why does the author mention cottonwoods and willows in lines 10-11?
A. To demonstrate that certain trees require a lot of water
B. To give examples of trees that are able to survive in a difficult environment
C. To show the beauty of the landscape of the Great Basin
D. To assert that there are more living organisms in the Great Basin than there used to be
✅ 正确答案： B）To give examples of trees that are able to survive in a difficult environment
📝 解析： 它们在水道边 eke out a sparse existence — 在艰苦环境中艰难生存。
💡 解题技巧： 例证题看例子要说明的环境恶劣（battle for survival）。
问题 46： Why does the author mention Owens Valley, Panamint Valley, and Death Valley in the second paragraph?
A. To explain their geographical formation
B. To give examples of depressions that once contained water
C. To compare the characteristics of the valleys with the characteristics of the lakes
D. To explain what the Great Basin is like today
✅ 正确答案： B）To give examples of depressions that once contained water
📝 解析： “Many of its dry, closed depressions were once filled with water. Owens Valley, Panamint Valley, and Death Valley were once a string of interconnected lakes。”
💡 解题技巧： 例证题定位“once filled with water”。
问题 47： The words “the former” in line 17 refer to
A. Lake Bonneville
B. Lake Lahontan
C. the Great Salt Lake
D. Pyramid Lake
✅ 正确答案： B）Lake Lahontan
📝 解析： “The Great Salt Lake is all that remains of the latter, and Pyramid Lake is one of the last briny remnants of the former” — the latter = Lake Bonneville, the former = Lake Lahontan。
💡 解题技巧： 指代题找“latter”和“former”的对应关系。
问题 48： The word “accumulated” in line 19 is closest in meaning to
A. dried
B. flooded
C. collected
D. evaporated
✅ 正确答案： C）collected
📝 解析： “when water accumulated in these basins” — accumulated = 聚集/汇集。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：accumulate = collect = build up。
问题 49： According to the passage, the Ice Ages often brought about
A. desert formation
B. warmer climates
C. broken valleys
D. wetter weather
✅ 正确答案： D）wetter weather
📝 解析： “Climatic changes during the Ice Ages sometimes brought cooler, wetter weather to midlatitude deserts worldwide”。
💡 解题技巧： 细节题定位“cooler, wetter weather”。
问题 50： Where in the passage does the author explain the formation of lakes in the Great Basin?
A. Lines 6-7
B. Lines 10-11
C. Lines 13-14
D. Lines 21-24
✅ 正确答案： D）Lines 21-24
📝 解析： 冰期气候变化带来更冷更湿的天气，大盆地的破碎山谷为水分提供了 receptacles。
💡 解题技巧： 定位题找冰期与湖泊形成的因果关系。
🌐 中文翻译
美国地质学家称之为盆岭省的地区，其北部大致与被称为大盆地的地理省 coincident。大盆地西边被内华达山脉 hemmed in，东边被落基山脉包围；它没有通往海洋的出口。大盆地盛行的风来自西方。来自太平洋的暖湿空气在穿越内华达山脉时被迫上升。在较高海拔处，空气冷却，携带的水分作为雨或雪降落在山脉的西坡。到达盆地的空气是被 wrung dry of moisture 的空气。降落在那里作为雨或雪的少量水（大多在冬季）在广阔平坦的沙漠地面上蒸发。因此，这是一个 organisms 为生存而 battle 的环境。沿着 rare 水道，三角叶杨和柳树 eke out 稀疏的生存。在高地山脉中，矮松和杜松 struggle to hold their own。 但大盆地并非一直如此 arid。它的许多干燥、封闭的 depression 曾经充满水。欧文斯谷、帕纳明特谷和死亡谷曾经是一串 interconnected 的湖泊。大盆地两个最大的 ancient 湖泊是拉洪坦湖和邦纳维尔湖。大盐湖是后者仅存的遗迹，而金字塔湖是前者最后的 briny 残迹之一。 在过去的几万年里，似乎有几个时期水 accumulated 在这些盆地中。湖泊的 rise and fall 无疑与那些时期覆盖北美大陆北部大部分地区的大冰盖的 advances and retreats 有关。冰河时期的气候变化有时给全球中纬度沙漠（包括大盆地的沙漠）带来了更凉爽、更潮湿的天气。大盆地破碎的 valleys 为这些水分提供了现成的 receptacles。
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