C
How would you like to live underground? Many families in the town of Coober Pedy, Australia,
do just that. Their houses, called dugouts, are carved (挖) out of the earth. They are similar to
common houses. They have kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms, but they have few windows. Most
of the light in the houses comes from lamps and overhead lights instead of direct sunlight.
People in the town build dugouts because of where they live. Coober Pedy is in a desert in
southern Australia. The temperature can climb as high as $50°C$ in summer. It can plunge (骤降) as
low as zero in winter. Dust storms and swarms of flies (苍蝇) can make life miserable. Underground,
though, it is always a comfortable $23°C$. People don't even need fans.
Why would people want to live in such a place? Coober Pedy is an opal-mining (蛋白石矿)
town. Opals are colourful stones used for jewellery. The mines (矿) in Coober Pedy produce most of
the world's opals. Early settlers (定居者) there realized that they could avoid the harsh temperatures
by building their homes underground. Today almost half of the 3,500 people in the town live in
dugouts. Restaurants, schools and other buildings are also underground. People enjoy their lives
"down under".
() 56. Where is the town of Coober Pedy?
A. In South Africa.
B. In North America.
C. In southern Australia.
D. In northern Australia.
() 57. What does the underlined word "miserable" in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Boring.
B. Meaningful.
C. Busy.
D. Uncomfortable.
() 58. What is the main reason why people in Coober Pedy live underground?
A. To stay cool in summer and warm in winter.
B. To find opals underground.
C. To protect the desert where they live.
D. To avoid the strong sunshine in the desert.
() 59. Which is NOT true according to the article?
A. In Coober Pedy, almost half of the population live in underground dugouts.
B. The dugouts are the same as common houses.
C. Coober Pedy is the main opal-mining area in the world.
D. Coober Pedy is famous not only for its opals but also for its underground homes.
() 60. The purpose of this article is .
A. to tell about the history of making jewellery
B. to advise people to move to Coober Pedy
C. to tell people about an unusual town
D. to tell people how opals are taken out of mines