A
People are always looking for lost cities and occasionally one is found: Borobudur in Indonesia, for example. But perhaps some of the places people look for never existed—or did they ? Here are just a few famous mythical(神话里的) cities.
El Dorado
El Dorado is a story that began in 1537, when Spanish explorers found the Muisca people in the mountains of what is now Colombia. They heard the story of a man who covered himself with gold and dived into a lake. Then people began to talk of El Dorado— “the golden man". Soon people started to think of El Dorado as a place, too—a city of gold and amazing riches. Nowadays, the name “El Dorado" is still used to mean "a place where you can get rich quickly”.
Atlantis
There was once an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was the mythical island of Atlantis. The people of the island were very rich, thanks to the natural resource on the island. For hundreds of years, they lived simple lives. But slowly they began to change. They started to want power. So the gods decided to destroy Atlantis. Suddenly, the island and its people were swallowed by the sea and were never seen again.
Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Shambhala is a mystical country that is hidden somewhere behind the Himalayas. Shambhala is a word from an old language that means “a place of peace” or “a place of happiness”. It is said that there is no war in Shambhala, and in the future, when the world is full of war, a huge army will come out of Shambhala, destroy the world’s bad rulers, and start a new Golden Age. Some people say this will happen in 2424.
1. Nowadays, the name“ El Dorado” means“ ______”.
A. Colombia B. the golden man
C. a place of great wealth D. a city with mountains
2. Atlantis was destroyed by______.
A. the gods B. its people
C. its powerful enemies D. its neighboring country
3. What will probably happen in 2424 according to the last paragraph?
A. The Himalayas will disappear. B. The world will be full of peace.
C. Shambhala will save the world. D. There will be a war in Shambhala.
【答案】1-3 CAC
【语篇解读】这是一篇说明文。主要介绍了三个著名的神话城市。
1. C 细节理解题。根据第二段中“Nowadays, the name ‘El Dorado’ is still used to mean ‘a place where you can get rich quickly’.”可知如今，“El Dorado”这个名字仍然被用来表示“你可以迅速致富的地方”。由此可知，如今“El Dorado”这个名字的意思是“富庶之地”。故选C。
2. A 细节理解题。根据第三段中“So the gods decided to destroy Atlantis. Suddenly, the island and its people were swallowed (淹没)by the sea and were never seen again.”可知所以众神决定摧毁亚特兰蒂斯。突然，这个岛和岛上的人被大海吞没，再也没有出现过。由此可知，亚特兰蒂斯被诸神摧毁了。故选A。
3. C 细节理解题。根据最后一段中“It is said that there is no war in Shambhala, and in the future, when the world is full of war, a huge army will come out of Shambhala, destroy the world’s bad rulers, and start a new Golden Age. Some people say this will happen in 2424.”可知据说Shambhala没有战争，在未来，当世界充满了战争，一支庞大的军队将从Shambhala出来，摧毁世界的坏统治者，并开始一个新的黄金时代。有人说这将发生在2424年。由此可知，2424年，Shambhala将拯救世界。故选C。
