Four women have been chosen for an unusual job in Antarctica—running the world’s most southerly post office and gift shop — and counting penguins.

Port Lockroy, the post office which also serves as a museum, has been closed since COVID-19 began. To re-open Port Lockroy, the U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust posted four job positions: a base leader, a postmaster, a shop manager and a wildlife monitor(监督员). They received 6,000 applications, but four women were chosen to do the job: Clare Ballantyne, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett and Lucy Bruzzone. Vicky Inglis, who had worked there before, will return for 10 weeks as the team’s leader to help them.

Clare Ballantyne is the postmaster. She will be in charge of(负责) dealing with about 80,000 postcards mailed from Port Lockroy each year. Mairi Hilton is the wildlife monitor. She will be in charge of counting the penguin population and keeping an eye on baby penguins and nests. Natalie Corbett will be the shop manager. She will look after the gift shop, which can receive up to 18,000 visitors during the season. Lucy Bruzzone is the base leader. She will manage the team, and manage all ship visits.

The team will work for five months at Goudier Island in the Antarctic Peninsula, abandoning all “home comforts”. They won’t have running water or a flushing toilet, and will deal with low temperatures. They will live in almost entire(整个的) daylight, as the place has about six months of daylight during its summer months—October to February—and six months of darkness in its winter months, March to September.

The women will begin training this month. They will begin their task in early November and will stay in Antarctica until March 2023.

1.Why was Port Lockroy closed?

A Because none visited there.

B Because COVID-19 spread.

C Because the war broke out.

D Because the owner was ill.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据第二段第一句“Port Lockroy, the post office which also serves as a museum, has been closed since COVID-19 began.”可知，洛克罗伊港邮局由于新冠疫情暂停营业。故选B。

2.How many people will go to Port Lockroy in early November?

A 4.

B 5.

C 6.

D 7.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据第二段最后两句的“but four women were chosen to do the job: Clare Ballantyne, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett and Lucy Bruzzone. Vicky Inglis, who had worked there before, will return for 10 weeks as the team’s leader to help them.”可知，前面四人即将在十一月初前往洛克罗伊港邮局工作。而Vicky Inglis(之前曾在那里工作过)将在前十周协助她们。因此十一月初共有五人前往洛克罗伊港邮局。故选B。

3.Who will count penguins?

A Clare Ballantyne.

B Natalie Corbett.

C Lucy Bruzzone.

D Mairi Hilton.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第三段的“Mairi Hilton is the wildlife monitor. She will be in charge of counting the penguin population and keeping an eye on baby penguins and nests.”可知，四个人中，负责“数企鹅”的是Mairi Hilton。故选D。

4.What does the underlined word “abandoning” mean?

A Giving up.

B Cheering on.

C Looking for.

D Picking up.

解析：选A。A词义猜测题。根据划线句子后面的“They won’t have running water or a flushing toilet, and will deal with low temperatures. They will live in almost entire daylight”可知，她们所要面对的工作环境非常艰苦，洛克罗伊港邮局被称作是全世界最偏远、最寒冷的邮局，常年温度在0度以下，没有电、没有自来水也没有冲水马桶；因此她们“放弃”家里的舒适生活。故选A。

5.What type of writing is this text?

A A technology report.

B An exhibition guide.

C A news report.

D An art show review.

解析：选C。C推理判断题。本文讲了南极邮局招聘4名工作人员，6000名求职者只录用了4人，该文属于一篇新闻报道。故选C。