Question

   In 1769,William Smith was bom in a little town in Oxfordshire,England. He received basic village schooling but mostly he wandered on his uncle's farm collecting the fossils in the rocks of the Cotswold hills. When he grew older Smith learned surveying from books and at 18 he learned from a local surveyor. He then began to teach himself geobgy (地质学) .

   When he was 24 ,he went to work for the company that was digging the Somerset Coal Canal in the south of England. This job gave Smith an opportunity to study the fresh strata created by the newly dug canal. He later worked on similar jobs across England all the while studying strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel 10 ,000 miles per year. In 1815 he published the first modem geological map UA Map of the Strata of England and Wales with a Part of Scotland”.

   In 1831 when Smith was recognized by the Geological Society of London as the “father of English geology”，it was not only for his maps but also for something even more important. People had hoped strata could be used to calculate geological time,but scientists found the sequences（顺序） of rocks sometimes differed from area to area and that no rock type was ever going to become a dependable time marker. Even without the problem of regional differences,rocks present a difficulty as unique time markers. Quartz （石英) is quartz; there's no difference between two-million-year-old quartz and quartz created over 500 million years ago.

   As he collected fossils from strata,Smith noticed the fossils told a different story from the rocks. Particularly in the younger strata the rocks were often so similar that he had trouble distinguishing the strata,but he never had trouble telling the fossils apart. Some fossils appear in many strata,but others occur only in a few strata,and a few species had their births and extinctions within one particular stratum. Fossils are thus identifying markers for particular periods in Earth's history.

28. What do we know about young Smith?

   A. He spent most of his time reading.

   B. He showed much interest in geology.

   C. He learned surveying just by himself.

   D. He received a very good formal education.

29. Which can be used to describe Smith according to Paragraph 2 ?

   A. Adventurous and brave.

   B. Talented and productive.

   C. Warm-hearted and honest.

   D. Hard-working and devoted.

30. The author mentions quartz to show that .

   A. no rock can be a reliable time marker

   B. no quartz can be found in recent times

   G. quartz can fell people rocks,geological time

   D. the sequences of rocks differ from area to area

31. Which of the following is Smith's greatest achievement?

   A. He drew many maps of strata.

   B. He used fossils to identify strata.

   C. He built a lot of canals in England.

   D. He was the creator of modem geology.

Answer 1

28. B 29. D 30. A 31. B

(个人情况)

本文是记叙文。文章介绍了英国地质之父。

28. B.细节理解题。由第一段的but mostly he wandered on his uncle,s farm collecting the fossils in the rocks of the Cotswold hills 可知，史 密斯小时候对地质学产生了浓厚兴趣。

29. D.推理判断题。由第二段的He later worked on similar jobs across England all the while studying strata and collecting all the fossils he could find. Smith used mail coaches to travel  10.000 miles per year可知，史密斯勤奋而专注地 进行科学研宂。

30. A.推理判断题。由第三段可知，作者提到石英 是为了举一个例子，用来支持no rock type was ever going to become a dependable time marker 或 rocks present a difficulty as unique time markers这个观点。

31. B.细节理解题。由最后两段，特别是文章最后 —句 Fossils are thus identifying markers for particuar periods in Eartfi’s history 可知，史密斯 的这钱成就中，用化石鉴定岩层是最重要的成 就。