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It will be a dark Christmas for the people of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, who have grown used to going without sunlight for more than two months each year. The city is in the Arctic Circle, the highest circle of latitude on Earth. Because of the Earth’s slight tilt (倾斜), the Arctic Circle is either fully exposed to the sun or completely shaded from it at different times of the year as the planet orbits. In late November, the sun sets for the final time as the Arctic Circle enters two months of “polar nights”— a phenomenon in which night lasts for more than 24 hours.

A video clip from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, taken from a sea ice camera at Utqiaġvik, showed the strange experience of 24 hours without sun. The sky turned from pale to bright blue, before complete blackness came on for several hours. The waves crashed against “landfast ice” — frozen seawater that is stuck to the coast in cold climates — while a few people and cars moved about. The glimmer (微光) of pale blue light seen at the start of the clip is known as “civil twilight”, when the light from the sun is just barely visible but the sun itself has not risen above the horizon (地平线).

Utqiaġvik, which is the northernmost city in the US, will not experience another sunrise until about 1:09pm local time on January 23, 2024. Even then, the sun will only be up for about an hour. After that date, daylight hours will get longer and longer throughout spring until reaching “midnight sun” — the opposite of polar night. At that point, Utqiaġvik will see 24 hours of sunlight each day for several months.

University of Alaska Fairbanks explained its Utqiaġvik sea ice camera helps to monitor not just day to day conditions but also longer-term environmental changes.

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1.What does the underlined word “it” in the first paragraph refer to?

A The city.

B The Earth.

C The sun.

D The orbit.

解析：选C。C 词意指代题。根据划线词前面的“Because of the Earth’s slight tilt, the Arctic Circle is either fully exposed to the sun”可知，由于地球的轻微倾斜，北极圈要么完全暴露在阳光下，要么就完全照射不到太阳，由此推断此处的it指的是太阳。故选C。

2.Which question does Paragraph 2 answer?

A Why do polar nights occur?

B What’s it like during the polar nights?

C When do polar nights start?

D How do people spend polar nights?

解析：选B。B 段落大意题。结合本段第一句的“showed the strange experience of 24 hours without sun”可知，一段视频揭示了在极夜现象下的奇特经历；再结合后文对视频内容的描述可知，本段主要介绍了极夜现象究竟是什么样子。故选B。

3.What is TRUE about “midnight sun”?

A It occurs on January 23, 2024.

B The sun is up for about an hour.

C The sun doesn’t set for several months.

D Utqiaġvik experiences hours without sun.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。结合第三段最后一句“‘midnight sun’ — the opposite of polar night. At that point, Utqiaġvik will see 24 hours of sunlight each day for several months.”可知，“极昼”现象发生时，人们可以连续几个月24小时都能见着太阳，即太阳几个月都不落下。故选C。

4.What’s the main idea of the text?

A A city never experiences sunlight.

B A city gets into icy darkness.

C A special Christmas is coming.

D A place where the sun never sets.

解析：选B。B 主旨大意题。本文主要介绍了美国最北端城镇乌特恰格维克开始进入为期两个月的“极夜”，期间黑暗又寒冷。故选B。