Section B Trying Your Hand
Consolidation Exercises
Use word formation clues to determine the meaning of the underlined words.
More than 3，500 miles from Moscow， between the Arctic Circle and Mongolia， lies Siberia， a frozen land more than ten times the size of Italy but with only half a million inhabitants. There the temperature can fall as low as seventy degrees centigrade below zero.The intense cold makes life immensely difficult and dangerous for anyone unaccustomed to it.But Siberia is not a permanently frozen waste. Though parts of the region are colder than the North Pole itself， the temperature in summer may reach 40 ℃. When this happens， the topsoil thaws to a depth of about two meters and can support rich vegetation，though none of the trees grows to any great height as the roots have to spread sideways. The summer days are so long that the earth stores enough heat to bear a variety of flowers which blossom between the trees. It is almost impossible for anyone to enter the forests during this season because insects， especially mosquitoes， cloud.
A deep， permanently frozen layer of earth has acted as a natural refrigerator or millions of years， and the bodies of prehistoric animals are sometimes dug up and eaten by the wild dogs. In 1901， an expedition went to search for the remains of a prehistoric mammoth，reported to have been found in the area.The men found the mammoth frozen into the side of a mountain. Part of the head had been exposed by a fall of frozen rock，and bears and wolves had managed to tear off some of the flesh. Most of the frozen mammoth was in excellent condition， complete with flesh， skin and a thick covering of coarse hairs. The men were able to study the prehistoric food found on the creature's tongue and teeth and in its stomach.Eventually the whole body was excavated and taken away for preservation and study. It may be， too， that there are still living dinosaurs to be found. Far up in the mountains is the Lake of Labankur. No one has ever had the courage to take a boat out on it. Some time ago， a group of men made an expedition to examine it.They pushed in a reindeer，forced it to swim out towards the centre of the lake and saw it disappear abruptly. Then they sent a dog， which was also swallowed up. Suddenly a black monster emerged from the still waters of the lake，blew threateningly and plunged back into the depths.
Choose the best answer.
1. “But Siberia is not a permanently frozen waste.” The underlined word is likely to mean________.
A. dirty island B. dangerous island
C. abandoned island D. strange island
2. “Part of the head had been exposed by a fall of frozen rock， and bears and wolves had managed to tear off some of the flesh.” The underlined word is likely to mean the frozen rock of the mountain________.
A. cracked open B. disappeared C. broke D. dropped
3. “Suddenly a black monster emerged from the still waters of the lake， blew threateningly and plunged back into the depths.” The underlined word is likely to mean the monster went back________.
A. deep in the lake B. to the bottom of the lake
C. to its nest in the lake D. into the lake very quickly
Explanations
1. The key is C. waste （n.） is converted from waste （v.）. So， waste refers to an abandoned island.
2. The key is D. fall （n.） is converted from fall （v.）. So， fall here means drop.
3. The key is A. The noun of deep. So depths means somewhere deep in the lake.