I was fascinated (著迷的) by the images of the eruption of the volcano in Iceland. Legend has it that the early settlers called the place “Iceland” to make it sound forbidding to their enemies. But for me it's the fire that makes Iceland such a kick.
When I first traveled to Iceland, the first thing that caught my eye was a cloud of steam in the distance. It was a geothermal (地?zé)岬?/span>) lake. I couldn't resist taking a dip in the mineralrich waters that had been heated by the primal (原始的) fire.
Later I attended a horse show. Although it was June, it was cold. As horses walked in green fields, I grew increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, I lay down and curled up in the grass. Within minutes I could feel it — warmth. But it was not coming from me. It was flowing up from below.
On a day trip with an Icelandic friend, as we drove, he pointed out a rise of steam in the distance. “That's Hveragerdi，” he said. “An important farming town.” Farming town? In Iceland? Well, there were no waves of grain, but there were greenhouses that grew tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, etc. These were built over steam vents (蒸氣裂口), using the free energy.
We saw a burning pile of bananas outside one of these greenhouses. “Have you ever seen such a thing？” asked my friend. “No，” I said, “but in America there's a famous book that describes the burning of grapes during the Great Depression, because the price had fallen so low that it was cheaper to destroy them.” “Yes，” said my friend, “That's the way it is here.”
My friend's home in Reykjavik was heated by geothermal energy. We enjoyed hot tea and sweet bread. “This is delicious，” I remarked. “Did you bake it yourself？” “No，” he said. “It comes from Hveragerdi. They put the dough (生面團(tuán)) on the ground and the fires of the earth bake it overnight.”
語篇解讀 本文介紹了冰島當(dāng)?shù)鼐用袷褂玫責(zé)岬那闆r。
1．The author first experienced the fires of the earth in Iceland when ________.
A. he swam in a geothermal lake
B. he ate bread baked by the fires of the earth
C. he tasted bananas grown in the greenhouses
D. he lived in a hotel heated by geothermal energy
答案與解析 A 細(xì)節(jié)判斷題。由第二段中的“I couldn't resist taking a dip in the mineralrich waters that had been heated by the primal (原始的) fire”可知，作者第一次體驗(yàn)?zāi)抢锏牡責(zé)崾窃谝粋(gè)湖里游泳。
2．How did the author keep warm when watching a horse show?
A. By riding a horse in green fields.
B. By lying down on the ground.
C. By hiding in the heavy grass.
D. By running after horses quickly.
答案與解析 B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由第三段中的“Within minutes I could feel it — warmth. But it was not coming from me. It was flowing up from below”可知，作者躺在了地上，從而獲取了地?zé)帷?/span>
3．Why did farmers burn bananas?
A. They couldn't eat up them at all.
B. The greenhouses needed heat.
C. The price of bananas was too low.
D. People preferred grapes to bananas.
答案與解析 C 推理判斷題。由倒數(shù)第二段中的“because the price had fallen so low that it was cheaper to destroy them”可知，農(nóng)民們燒掉香蕉是因?yàn)閮r(jià)格太低了。
4．The purpose of this passage is to ________.
A. recall the unforgettable visit to Iceland
B. introduce the origin of the name “Iceland”
C. attract more people to travel in Iceland
D. show how Icelanders use the fires of the earth
答案與解析 D 寫作意圖題。本文主要介紹了作者在冰島體驗(yàn)當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駥?duì)地?zé)岬母鞣N利用，所以D項(xiàng)符合作者意圖。
