2017届全国高考英语阅读理解专练（2）_高考复习指南

2017届全国高考英语阅读理解专练（2）

　　Not all bodies of water are so evidently alive as the Atlantic Ocean，an Sshaped body of water covering 33 million square miles.The Atlantic has，in a sense，replaced the Mediterranean as the inland sea of Western civilization.Unlike real inland seas，which seem strangely still，the Atlantic is rich in oceanic liveliness.It is perhaps not surprising that its vitality has been much written about by ancient poets.

　　“Storm at Sea”，a short poem written around 700，is generally regarded as one of mankind's earliest artistic representations of the Atlantic.

　　When the wind is from the west

　　All the waves that cannot rest

　　To the east must thunder on

　　Where the bright tree of the sun

　　Is rooted in the ocean's breast.

　　As the poem suggests，the Atlantic is never dead and dull.It is an ocean that moves，impressively and endlessly.It makes all kinds of noise—it is forever thundering，boiling，crashing，and whistling.

　　It is easy to imagine the Atlantic trying to draw breath－perhaps not so noticeably out in midocean，but where it meets land，its waters bathing up and down a sandy beach.It mimics(模仿)nearly perfectly the steady breathing of a living creature.It is filled with symbiotic existences，too：unimaginable quantities of creatures，little and large alike，mix within its depths in a kind of oceanic harmony，giving to the waters a feeling of heartbeat，a kind of subocean vitality.And it has a psychology.It has personalities：sometimes peaceful and pleasant，on rare occasions rough and wild；always it is strong and striking.