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Joy English · レベル B1 · 自然と公園joy-english.com

デスバレー：大地、植物、動物

名前:日付:

VOA Learning English の、デスバレー国立公園の大地、野生生物、昔の人々についての報道の一部を読みます。

Life in Death Valley National Park

In other parts of Death Valley, there are lines in the rock. The lines are evidence of the past presence of water. The area was deep under an ocean for many thousands of years.

Much of Death Valley is flat and extremely dry. In fact, scientists believe it is the driest place in the United States. In some areas the ground is nothing but salt. Nothing is able to grow in this salty ground.

However, it would be wrong to think that nothing lives in Death Valley. The valley is full of life. Wildflowers grow very quickly after even a small amount of rain. Some desert plants can send their roots down more than 18 meters to reach water deep in the ground.

Several kinds of birds live in Death Valley, as do mammals and reptiles. Visitors might see the dog-like animal called the coyote, or wild bighorn sheep, or other animals like the desert jackrabbit, the desert tortoise, and a large reptile called a chuckwalla. Many different snakes live there too. Some are dangerous, like the one sidewinder rattlesnake. It is an extremely poisonous snake with long sharp teeth, or fangs.

Throughout history, Native Americans found ways to survive in Death Valley. Rock art and other remains show that humans lived in the valley as far back as 9,000 years ago.

Death Valley is a huge place. It extends more than 225 kilometers across the southern part of California into the neighboring state of Nevada. The valley is part of the Mojave Desert.

文章を理解しましょう

文章を読んで、正しい答えを選んでください。

  1. What do the lines in the rock show?
    • a) That people once built roads there
    • b) That there was water there in the past
    • c) That the area once had a lot of snow
  2. What do scientists believe about Death Valley?
    • a) It is the largest desert in the world.
    • b) It is the hottest city in California.
    • c) It is the driest place in the United States.
  3. Plants cannot grow in the salty ground.
    • a) True
    • b) False
  4. What happens to wildflowers after even a small amount of rain?
    • a) They grow very quickly.
    • b) They lose their colour.
    • c) They die.
  5. Why do some desert plants have very long roots?
    • a) To hold the sand in place
    • b) To reach water deep in the ground
    • c) To protect themselves from animals
  6. Which animal does the text describe as extremely poisonous?
    • a) The chuckwalla
    • b) The desert tortoise
    • c) The sidewinder rattlesnake
    • d) The coyote
  7. How long ago did humans live in the valley, according to the evidence?
    • a) About 900 years ago
    • b) Only since the 1800s
    • c) As far back as 9,000 years ago
  8. Death Valley is completely inside the state of California.
    • a) True
    • b) False

文脈の中の単語

最も適切な答えを選ぶか、文章から1語を入力してください。

  1. "The valley is full of life." This means that ...
    • a) it is crowded with tourists
    • b) many plants and animals live there
    • c) it is a dangerous place
  2. A coyote is described as a dog-like animal. This means it ...
    • a) belongs to a dog
    • b) looks similar to a dog
    • c) is afraid of dogs
  3. Fangs are long, sharp ___.
  4. Rock art and other ___ show that people lived in the valley long ago.
  5. "It extends more than 225 kilometers." Extends means ...
    • a) stretches
    • b) falls
    • c) moves
  6. Death Valley is part of the Mojave ___.

解答

文章を理解しましょう

  1. b) That there was water there in the past文章によると、その線は過去に水があった証拠です。その地域はかつて海の下にありました。
  2. c) It is the driest place in the United States.文章には次のように書かれています：scientists believe it is the driest place in the United States.
  3. a) True文章には次のように書かれています：Nothing is able to grow in this salty ground.
  4. a) They grow very quickly.野生の花は、少しの雨が降っただけでも、とても早く育ちます。
  5. b) To reach water deep in the ground植物の中には、地中深くにある水に届くよう、18メートル以上も根を下ろすものがあります。
  6. c) The sidewinder rattlesnakeサイドワインダー・ガラガラヘビは、長くて鋭い歯を持つ、非常に毒性の強いヘビです。
  7. c) As far back as 9,000 years ago岩絵やその他の遺物から、人間が9,000年も前からそこに住んでいたことがわかります。
  8. b) Falseその谷は、カリフォルニア州南部にまたがり、隣のネバダ州にまで広がっています。

文脈の中の単語

  1. b) many plants and animals live there筆者は、その谷に野生の花、砂漠の植物、鳥、哺乳類、爬虫類がすべて生息していると説明しています。
  2. b) looks similar to a dog語尾の -like は「〜に似た」という意味です。dog-like animal は犬に似た動物です。
  3. teeth文章はその語を説明しています：long sharp teeth, or fangs。
  4. remainsRemains は、古い道具や建物のように、長い時間が経ったあとに残っているものです。
  5. a) stretchesここでの Extend は「距離にわたって伸びる、届く」という意味です。
  6. Desert最後の文には次のように書かれています：The valley is part of the Mojave Desert.

Joy English · 無料の英語練習 · https://joy-english.com/ja/reading/death-valley