题文
Death Valley, one of America’s great national parks, is a place of strange and silent beauty. As beautiful as this place is, its name provides evidence of very real danger. Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. There are mountains that reach more than 3,000 meters into the sky. There is a place called Badwater that is the lowest area of land in the Western Hemisphere. If there were water there, it would be 86 meters below the level of the ocean.
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 57℃. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as 74℃. The extreme heat of Death Valley has killed people in the past. It will continue to kill those who do not honor this extreme climate. Death Valley does not forgive those who are not careful.
Death Valley is a good example of the violence of nature. It 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. Other areas of rock look as if some huge creature violently broke and twisted the Earth to create unusual, sometimes frightening shapes.
In other parts of Death Valley there are lines in the rock that show clearly that this area was deep under an ocean for many thousands of years. Much of the Valley is flat and extremely dry. In fact, scientists believe it is the driest place in the United States.
Death Valley, part of the Great Mojave Desert, is a huge place. It extends more than 225 kilometers across the southern part of California, and across the border with Nevada.
小题1:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?A．The water in Badwater is 86 meters below the level of the ocean.B．The highest air temperature in summer can reach as high as 74℃.C．The ground has been pushed up violently by explosions of volcanoes.D．There might have been marine lives living in Death Valley.小题2:Why were some people killed by Death Valley?A．Because they didn’t respect Death Valley and thus they were punished.B．Because it is extremely hot in summer and dangerously cold in winter.C．Because they were not careful enough to take with them what they needed.D．Because several volcanoes erupted and caused huge explosions.小题3:The underlined word “twisted” in Paragraph 4 most possibly mean ______.A．bent and turnedB．created and developedC．built and shapedD．changed and ruined小题4:The purpose of the article is to _______.A．encourage people to visit Death Valley, a beautiful national park in AmericaB．warn people not to visit Death Valley because it is quite dangerous thereC．introduce to us readers a special national park in America, Death ValleyD．raise money for the protection of Death Valley because it is in danger now 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:C
解析
文章介绍了美国的一个美丽的国家公园Death Valley及其特点及成因。小题1:推理题。根据倒数第二段1,2行In other parts of Death Valley there are lines in the rock that show clearly that this area was deep under an ocean for many thousands of years.可知知道Death Valley曾经位于海底，那么应该有些海底生物生活在这里。
小题2:细节题。根据第二段最后三行The extreme heat of Death Valley has killed people in the past. It will continue to kill those who do not honor this extreme climate. Death Valley does not forgive those who are not careful.
小题3:猜测词义题。根据上文第四段第一行it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth.可知是海底运动产生了Death Valley，那么这个词意为扭转;扭弯;旋转，应该选A。
小题4:主旨大意题。通读全文尤其是第一段内容可知文章是介绍了美国的一个美丽的国家公园Death Valley。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Death Valley, one of.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
