Question

Answer the questions  （根据以下内容回答问题）

Some people are standing at a group of low hills in West Texas. Suddenly, they observe glowing reddish - orange lights. Are they the headlights of cars on the highway? Are they the lights of campfires? The people shout and point because the lights are moving! But they aren’t moving the way cars move. They shoot up in the air. They fall back to the earth. And then ... they simply disappear!

Every night, people go to observe the famous Marfa lights. The lights are named for the town of Marfa, Texas, where these lights can be seen in the distant hills east of the town. Over the years there have been many beliefs about these strange lights. One theory is that the lights are the headlights of cars driving down the road.

But that could not be true. Settlers in the 1880s wrote about the lights long before there were cars with headlights. At that time, pioneers thought the Marfa lights were the campfires of Apaches2 in the hills. When the pioneers would ride into the hills, they could find no evidence3 of campsites of fires. Later, the settlers learned that the Apaches, too, could see the lights. They thought the lights were stars that had come down the earth.

Some people say that the lights are moonlight shining on metal in the hills. Others say they are made by gases from swamps4. Some scientists have tried to prove that lights from planets or starts reflect5 in a strange way on the hills. That doesn’t help us understand why the lights “dance”. They move up and down, slow down and speed up. These dancing “stars”, the Marfa lights, stay a mystery.

Word Box

1theory:thoughts or beliefs about a set of facts

2 Apache: a member of a Native American people

3evidence:something that shows proof

4 swamp: land that is always very wet or covered with a layer of water

5 reflect: to return light

1.What colour are the Marfa lights?

2.How do the Marfa lights get the name?

3.Why do many people go to observe Marfa lights every night?

4.Were the strange lights seen earlier or later than the invention of cars with headlights?

5.What does the underlined word THAT in Paragraph 4 refer to?

6.Why does the writer say “the Marfa lights, stay a mystery?” Give your opinions.

Answer

1.Reddish-orange

2.The lights are named after the town of Marfa, Texas.

3.Because people are curious about the cause of the lights.

4.The strange lights were seen earlier than the invention of cars with headlights.

5.That refers to what some scientists have tried to prove.

6.Because people still don’t know why the Marfa lights dance and how they form.

【解析】

本文主要向我们介绍了仍然是个谜的玛法之灯。它是以得克萨斯州马法镇命名的。

1.题干问：玛法之灯是什么颜色的？根据文中“Suddenly, they observe glowing reddish-orange lights”可知，玛法之灯是橘红色的，故填Reddish-orange.

2.题干问：玛法之灯是如何得名的？根据文中“The lights are named for the town of Marfa, Texas”可知，这些灯是以德克萨斯州的马尔法镇命名的，故填The lights are named after the town of Marfa, Texas.

3.题干问：为什么很多人每天晚上都去看灯？根据前文“Are they the headlights of cars on the highway? Are they...And then...they simply disappear!”可知，人们对这些光的成因很好奇，所以每晚来看，故填Because people are curious about the cause of the lights.

4.题干问：这些奇怪的灯是在有前灯的汽车发明之前还是之后出现的？根据文中“the lights long before there were cars with headlights.”可知在有前灯的汽车发明之前，人们就看到了这种奇怪的灯，故填The strange lights were seen earlier than the invention of cars with headlights.

5.题干问：第4段划下划线的That指的是什么？根据前一句“Some scientists have tried to prove that lights ...”可知，That指的是一些科学家试图证明的东西，故填That refers to what some scientists have tried to prove.

6.题干问：为什么作者说“玛法之灯，仍然是一个谜”？说出你的观点。根据文中“Some people say that the lights are moonlight shining on metal in the hills. Others say they are made by gases from swamps.”和“They move up and down, slow down and speed up. These dancing ‘stars’”可知，人们仍然不知道它们是如何形成的以及为什么玛法之灯会跳舞，故填Because people still don't know why the Marfa lights dance and how they form.