Mysterious Nazca Drawings
One of the most mysterious archaeological spectacles in the world is the immense complex of geometrical symbols, giant ground-drawings of birds and animals, and hundreds of long, ruler-straight lines, some right across mountains, which stretch over 1,200 square miles of the Peruvian tablelands, at Nazca.
Nazca was first revealed to modern eyes in 1926 when three explorers looked down on the desert from a hillside at dusk and briefly saw a Nazca line highlighted by the rays of the sun. But it was not until the Peruvian airforce took aerial photographs in the 1940s that the full magnificence of the panorama was apparent. Hundreds of what looked like landing strips for aircraft were revealed. There were eighteen bird-like drawings, up to 400 feet long; four-sided figures with two lines parallel; and long needle-like triangles which ran for miles. Among the many abstract patterns were a giant spider, a monkey, a shark, all drawn on the ground on a huge scale.
The scale is monumental, but from the ground almost invisible and totally incomprehensible. The amazing fact about Nazca, created more than 1,500 years ago, is that it can only be appreciated if seen from the air. Many, therefore, regarded it as a prehistoric landing ground for visitors from outer space, but Jim Woodman, an American explorer, who was long fascinated by the mystery of Nazca, had a different opinion. He believed that Nazca only made sense if the people who had designed and made these vast drawings on the ground could actually see them, and that led him to the theory that the ancient Peruvians had somehow learned to fly, as only from above could they really see the extent of their handiwork. With this theory in mind, he researched into ancient Peruvian legends about flight and came to the conclusion that the only feasible answer was a hot-air balloon.
To prove his theory, Woodman would have to make such a thing using the same fabrics and fibers that would have been available to the men of Nazca at the time. He started by gathering information from ancient paintings, legends, books and archaeological sites. After many attempts, Woodman built a balloon-type airship. It took him into the air, letting him have the sensation he had never had from viewing the same ground that he had seen many times. His flight was a modern demonstration of an ancient possibility.
41 One of the “most mysterious archaeological spectacles in the world” is __________.
A the size of Nazca
B the lines over mountains
C the Peruvian tablelands
D the huge and complicated ground-drawings
42 Nazca was discovered in 1926 when __________.
A the light shone on the lines
B three explorers viewed the lines from above
C the lines were not hidden by cloud
D the lines followed the rays of the sun
43 The “landing strips for aircraft”(in Paragraph 2) were really __________.
A mysterious archaeological spectacles
B balloon landing places
C deserted airports
D ground-drawings on a vast scale
44 Jim Woodman felt sure that __________.
A the designs could be seen from the air
B the ancient people had learned to fly by accident
C the ancient people were clever and had learned to fly
D Nazca had been designed to help people fly
45 Woodman's flight proved __________.
A Nazca could be seen from a balloon
B the ancient Peruvians somehow managed to see the drawings from above
C the ancient Peruvians flew in balloons
D Nazca was a magnificent sight from the air
41 D第一句话中的complex和giant与D中的complicated和huge相对应。
42 B第二段的第一句话描述了这些巨大图形是如何被发现的。
43 D第二段的第三句话描述了这些像简易机场的图形。它们是画在地面上的巨型图案。A非常不确切，B和C根本不对。
44 C C中的clever一词虽未在原文中有明确体现，但如果Woodman确信古秘鲁人能够制造某种飞行器，他一定会认为他们非常聪明。B中的by accident(意外地；偶然地)未在原文中体现。A是客观事实，不会随Woodman的看法有变化。D未在原文中体现。
45 B Woodman建造飞行器的材料古秘鲁人也能找到。因此，仅就材料而言，古秘鲁人曾经飞上过太空，从天上往下看到过这一图形。这也就是B所表达的意思。C的含义太确切、肯定，未留有余地。除非确实发现了古秘鲁人用过的载人气球，这个说法欠妥当。
2017年职称英语卫生类C级阅读理解模拟题6.doc
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