Question

Alaska’s state fair, which runs until September 5^th, began as a celebration among residents of the Mantanuska Colony, a project under which 200 farm families were moved to Alaska to see whether agriculture could be possible in the coldest state. The state fair lives on, but little more than a decade after the start of the project most of the participants had abandoned their farms. The project was widely seen as a flop.

In this state, glaciers cover 300 times more acres than farms. Only 5% of the food consumed is grown locally, compared with 81% nationwide. The growing season is short and summer temperatures chilly. Tomato plants wither(凋谢). Fruit trees, in most parts of the state, are just a dream.

Enter the high tunnel: a greenhouse consisting of a metal frame with plastic stretched across it. Its few millimeters of plastic separate crops inside from the great outdoors. But this is enough for Alaskan growers to produce tomatoes as well as sweetcorn, peaches and kiwi fruit, and to boost production of crops by a quarter or more.

In a place where no one blinks(眨眼) if you call yourself a fisherman, boat captain or gold miner, an increasing number of Alaskans are thinking of themselves as people who grow food. Since the start of the programme, the number of farms registered(登记)with the state has nearly doubled. Local restaurants have begun shaping their menus around what neighboring farms can grow.

Eight decades ago, the Mantanuska Colony tried to turn farmers into Alaskans. Today, the high tunnels are turning Alaskans into farmers.

1.Which can replace the underlined word “flop” in Paragraph 1?

A. failure    B. surprise

C. worry    D. problem

2.How did the Matanuska project try to help Alaska’s agriculture?

A. By planting trees.

B. By moving farmers.

C. By building high tunnels.

D. By holding nationwide fairs.

3.What can we infer about Alaska today?

A. Few people are needed for farming.

B. Fishing industries are being ignored.

C. Locally-grown tomatoes are on menus.

D. Most agricultural fields are abandoned.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. Alaska’s new residential programme.

B. Alaska as a chilly and barren state.

C. A dream realized in Alaska.

D. Food sources of Alaska.

Answer

failurre就是a flop. ☞A选项failure

1.B

细节理解题。根据第一段中的“a project under which 200 farm families were moved to Alaska to see whether agriculture could be possible in the coldest state”可知是通过让农民搬迁到最冷的州。故B符合题意。

2. C

理解判断题。根据倒数第二段中的“an increasing number of Alaskans are thinking of themselves as people who grow food.”是越来越多的人想从事农业，可知A是错误的。由本段的第一句可知渔业没有被忽略，故B是错误的。第三段中的“Alaskan growers to produce tomatoes as well as sweetcorn, peaches and kiwi fruit,”可知当在人种植了西红柿和甜玉米、桃子、猕猴桃等。倒数第二段中“Local restaurants have begun shaping their menus around what neighboring farms can grow”当地的餐馆已经根据周围种植的东西来制定菜单，由此可知西红柿出现在菜单上，故选C。

3.C

主旨大意题。第二段中“. The growing season is short and summer temperatures chilly. Tomato plants wither(凋谢). Fruit trees, in most parts of the state, are just a dream”阿拉斯加州原来由于气候寒冷，生长季节短，夏季气温寒冷。在大部分地区，果树只是一个梦。在第三段中“Enter the high tunnel:…But this is enough for Alaskan growers to produce tomatoes as well as sweetcorn, peaches and kiwi fruit, and to boost production of crops by a quarter or more.”第四段中的“Local restaurants have begun shaping their menus around what neighboring farms can grow.”但现在却有自己种植的食物和果树。因此他们实现了自己的梦想。故C最符合题意，故选C。

【解析】本文主要讲述了阿拉斯加州原来由于气候寒冷，生长季节短，夏季气温寒冷。在大部分地区，果树只是一个梦。但现在却有自己的农业，自己种植的食物和果树。因此他们实现了自己的梦想。

1.A

【名师点睛】词义猜测型

在阅读理解题中，由于上下文中的生词不是孤立存在的，所考查的词或短语的意义往往不停留在字面上，其词义与句中其它词的词义或具体的语境有着密切的联系。因此要根据短文提供的语境，充分利用上下文中相关的词汇并结合具体的语境，从形式和内容上把握语言之间的内在联系，理顺语言之间的逻辑关系，进而达到猜词的目的。命题者为了考查学生的这种猜词能力，常采用依据逻辑推理猜测词义。

运用逻辑推理猜测词义是使用最广考查最多也最易失分的猜词方式。要求考生具备整合分散、复杂信息的能力，充分利用上下文中相关的词汇常见的逻辑关系有：因果关系，同位关系，对比关系，转折关系等。

【解题剖析】此题属于猜测词义中的依据逻辑推理猜测词义。

【答案定位】根据文章第一段中的“but little more than a decade after the start of the project most of the participants had abandoned their farms. The project was widely seen as a flop.”可推知：这个项目中的大部分参与者都放弃了他们的农场，由此可推理出这个项目被普遍认为失败了。此处的flop就是failure.

【推理关系】题干Which can replace the underlined word “flop” in Paragraph 1? ☞文章内容.The project was widely seen as a flop.