Question

In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The flattened (变平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots (点). During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.

The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain—usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but is never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.

At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmers had found. They could not do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.

Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circles to communicate（交流）with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.

Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles—the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash (坠毁). Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.

1.In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that ________.

A. some of his wheat had been damaged

B. his grain was growing up in circles

C. his grain was moved into several circles

D. some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground

2.According to the text, the underlined part “a hoax” (line 1, para. 3 ) probably means ________.

A. an action made to fool people

B. a special way to plant crops

C. a research on the force of winds

D. an experiment for the protection of crops

3.Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man？

A. The farmers couldn’t step out of the field.

B. The farmers couldn’t make the circles round.

C. The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints.

D. The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

【解析】

试题分析:本文讲述从1978年夏天，农民发现田地里的庄稼被某种不知名的力量形成了许多的圆圈，多数以五点式存在，并就此现象展开论述。

1.】细节理解题。从文中第一段The flattened (变平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots (点).可知农民发现谷物变平，并且形成了直径6米的圆圈，在这个周围还有四个小的麦子形成的圆圈，整个庄稼就形成了五个圆形，故选B。

2. young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists.大概是年轻人是为了制作笑话而这样做，或者是农民为了用来吸引游客。故可推测出，人们认为hoax是人们的愚蠢行为所做。故选A。

3. prove that the circles were a hoax, They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.为了证明是人类所做成的这样的圆，但是他们发现没有离开的痕迹，他们就不能进入田地，若不破坏它，就不能把庄稼变平。故可排除选项A，B，D。C没有足迹，农民不能离开，与文章照应。故选C。

考点：考察社会科学类阅读