186
Question 57. The word “suitable” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
a. resistant b. altered c. appropriate d. native.
Question 58. According to Christopher McKay, the possibility of transforming Mars
a. could only occur in science fiction stories. b. is completely impractical.
c. will not begin for hundreds, even thousands of years. d. could be started in forty to fifty years
Question 59. The phrase “more profound” in paragraph 4 is closed in meaning to
a. deeper b. more practical c. brighter d. more up-to-date
Question 60. According to the article, the basic knowledge needed to transform Mars comes from
a. the science of astronomy b. a knowledge of Earth’s ecology
c. data from space probes d. science fiction stories
Choose the item among A, B, C or D that best answers the question about the passage.
Green land is the largest island in the world. It covers more than two million square kilometers.
Imagine that a map of Greenland is on top of a map of Europe and Africa. Greenland would stretch from
London to the middle of the Sahara Desert. Most of the island lies in the Artic Circle, and a huge sheet of
ice covers 85 percent of it.
The ice sheet is more than 1,500 meters thick, and it never melts. Probably only rock lies under this
ice, but no one knows for sure. Along the coast, mountains rise from the sea. Huge pieces of ice, called
glaciers, float in the sea between the mountains. Some of them are as tall as ten – storey buildings.
Because Greenland is so cold, it is not very green. There are a few low trees in the southwest, but no
real forests. In the winter, snow covers everything. In the summer, very low plants cover the ground
between the sea and the ice sheet.
The first people to live in Greenland were probably Eskimos who came from Canada anout 3,000 years
ago. Norwegian Vikings were the first Europeans to see the island. They came in 875, but they did not
build towns and live there until 982. At the same time. Another group of Eskimos came to Greenland from
Alaska. In 1261, the people in Greenland decided to join the country of Norway. Then, in 1380, Norway
united with Denmark. This union ended in 1814, and Greenland stayed with Denmark. Today this huge
island is part of the kingdom of Denmark. Greenland is about fifty times as large as Denmark, but
Denmark has about ninety times as many people.
About 62,000 people live in Greenland. Most of them are part Eskimo and part Danish. They call
themselves Greelanders and speak Greenlandic language (which has many Danish words). Almost all of
them live in towns and villages along the southwestern coast because that is the wamest part of the island.
Life in Green land is difficult because the weather is very cold. Temperatures average - 29. 5 degrees
Celsius in January, -10 degrees Celsius in July. It is dark 24 hours a day in the winter, but in the summer
the Sun shines all day and night. This is the time of the midnight Sun.
The island has very few natural resources. The people raise a few kinds of vegetables and sheep. The
most important industry is fishing. In southwest Greenland there are many fish staions and processing
plants where fish are cleaned, dried, salted, or frozen. Much of the processing fish is exported to other
countries.
Life in Greenland is changing fast. For ceturies, people there had no communication with the rest of
the world. They had very traditional lives. Today Greenland is much more modern. Many changes are
taking place, and some of them difficult for the Greenlanders. It is not easy to move from a traditional life
to a mordern life.
Today Greenland is important to the world because scientists study the weather there. They can tell
when storms are developing over the North Atlantic Ocean. This weather information is important
because the North Atlantic is a busy shipping area. Greenland welcomes scientists from many countries of
the world. Together these scientists are making important discoveries about how the weather on our planet
is changing. Because of the work that scientists do in Greenland, people all over the world are learning
more about the weather and the environment.
Question 61. Most of Greenland lies in...
a. north of the Arctic Circle b. Europe c. Denmark d. the Sahara Desert.
Question 62. The huge ice sheet covers........
a. almost all of the area of Greenland b. more than two- thirds of Greenland