A
Treasure hunting is something that usually only appears in pirate tales; however, a complex pit (坑) on Oak Island, on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, sparked a more than 200 years real life treasure hunt. Sixteenyearold Daniel McGinnis took a simple fishing trip on the island in 1795. Upon exploring a wooded part of the island, he came across a tree with markings which led to him finding a thirteen feet wide depression (下陷) in the ground. Thoughts of buried pirate treasure inspired him to dig and see what was causing this. After gathering his friends John Smith and Anthony Vaughan, they dug only two feet into the ground before reaching flagstones (石板). Once these stones were removed, the boys continued to dig only to find logs at the ten and twentyfive feet level. At this point they knew they could not dig any farther without more help.
Years passed as the boys likely searched for some financial assistance and digging help. In 1803, with the backing of Simeon Lynds, another excavation was attempted. This time there were various oak platforms, putty, coconut fiber mats, stones and charcoal they kept encountering every ten feet and eventually they reached a flat stone that was inscribed with strange letters and markings. This stone later was translated to read “Forty Feet Below Two Million Pounds Are Buried”， but at the time was just quickly removed only to find more wood below. After this discovery two days passed and upon returning to the pit they found it had flooded with seawater. All attempts to remove the water failed.
Many theories still exist on who created the pit and what may be at the bottom. Some say it may have been built by pirates, but to create a dry dock and not hide treasure. Many would like to claim aliens landed and created this pit for something from their world. One last theory is that it is simply a natural sinkhole and that through years of various objects sinking it could appear that there were “platforms” of trees and such.
语篇解读：本文主要介绍了加拿大橡树岛上的天坑所引发的寻宝热。
1．Why did Daniel McGinnis go to Oak Island at first?
A．To go fishing.
B．To find a tree with markings.
C．To hunt treasures.
D．To make an exploration.
解析：选A 细节理解题。由文章第一段第二句“Sixteenyearold Daniel McGinnis took a simple fishing trip on the island”可知，Daniel McGinnis最初去橡树岛的目的是钓鱼。
2．What made the boys stop digging?
A．The weather.
B．Lack of money and help.
C．The flagstones.
D．A feeling of despair.
解析：选B 细节理解题。由文章第二段第一句“Years passed as the boys likely searched for some financial assistance and digging help.”可知，因为他们缺少经费和帮助，所以停止了挖掘。
3．The last paragraph implies that ________.
A．no one knows exactly how the pit was created
B．the pit was a natural sinkhole
C．treasures are to be discovered in the pit
D．the pit was created to fool people
解析：选A 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段可知，人们对天坑是如何产生的众说纷纭，没有定论。
