Revision for the mid-second term test-grade 11 (N03)

 
*Task 4: Read the passage and choose the best answer. 
A rather surprising geographical feature of Antarctica is that a huge freshwater lake, one of the 
world's largest and deepest, lies hidden there under four kilometers of ice. Now known as Lake Vostok, 
this huge body of water is located under the ice block that comprises Antarctica. The lake is able to exist 
in its unfrozen state beneath this block of ice because its waters are warmed by geothermal heat from the 
earth's core. The thick glacier above Lake Vostok actually insulates it from the frigid temperatures on the 
surface.
The lake was first discovered in the 1970s while a research team was conducting an aerial survey 
of the area. Radio waves from the survey equipment penetrated the ice and revealed a body of water of 
indeterminate size. It was not until much more recently that data collected by satellite made scientists 
aware of the tremendous size of the lake; the satellite-borne radar detected an extremely flat region where 
the ice remains level because it is floating on the water of the lake.

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The discovery of such a huge freshwater lake trapped under Antarctica is of interest to the 
scientific community because of the potential that the lake contains ancient microbes that have survived 
for thousands of years, unaffected by factors such as nuclear fallout and elevated ultraviolet light that have 
affected organisms in more exposed areas. The downside of the discovery, however, lies in the difficulty 
of conducting research on the lake in such a harsh climate and in the problems associated with obtaining 
uncontaminated samples from the lake without actually exposing the lake to contamination. Scientists are 
looking for possible ways to accomplish this.
Question 1: The word "hidden" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ____. 
A. undrinkable
B. untouched
C. unexploitable
D. undiscovered
Question 2: What is true of Lake Vostok?
A. It is completely frozen.
B. It is saltwater lake.
C. It is beneath a thick slab of ice.
D. It is heated by the sun.
Question 3: Which of the following is closest in meaning to "frigid" in paragraph 1?
A. extremely cold
B. easily broken
C. quite harsh
D. lukewarm
Question 4: All of the following are true about the 1970 survey of Antarctica EXCEPT that it ____. 
A. was conducted by air
B. made use of radio waves
C. could not determine the lake's exact size
D. was controlled by a satellite
Question 5: It can be inferred from the passage that the ice would not be flat if ____. 
A. there were no lake underneath
B. the lake were not so big
C. Antarctica were not so cold
D. radio waves were not used
Question 6: The word "