2.阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The Most Wonderful Islands
The Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world and are under construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. They are being developed as tourist, leisure, and residential resorts, and will increase the coastline of the country by 120 kilometres.
After four years of planning and careful consideration of the environmental issues, construction started in 2001. Dutch engineers with experience of reclaiming land from the sea were employed in the building of the first two islands. The site for all three islands is an area of the sea where the water is not very deep. Sand is taken from the seabed and sprayed into the construction site. Although the shallow water facilitates this process, the islands are still very exposed to the currents and tidal movements of the sea. Rocks are used to hold the sand in place resulting in a large crescent(月状的)structure. This acts as a breakwater and protects the islands from the sea.
The first two islands are in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk and 17 frond, or leaves coming off the trunk. The first island, named Palm Jumeirah, has three fivestar hotels in the trunk, and luxury homes in the leaves. It is astonishing that when these homes went on sale in 2004, they were all sold within three days.
The second palm, Jebel Ali, was started in 2002 and is designed to be an entertainment centre. Six marinas（小游艇船坞） are planned, with a water theme park, and homes built on stilts（桩柱） in the water.
The Palm Deira planned to be the largest of the three islands, with a length of 14 km and a width of 8.5 km, an area larger than the city of Paris. It will consist of residential properties, marinas, shopping malls, sports facilities, and clubs. These will be open to both residents and tourists.
More artificial islands, the World Islands, are now being constructed near the Palm Jumeirah. They consist of 300 private islands grouped into the shape of the continents of the world and will be used for estates, private homes, community islands, and resorts.
Unquestionably, these artificial islands are one of the wonders of the modern world. They will also maintain Dubai's status as one of the leading tourist destinations in the region.
（1）According to the passage, all the following are right EXCEPT ________.
A．Some Dutch engineers are experienced in reclaiming land from the sea
B．The islands are being built in the shallow water of the sea
C．All the luxury homes on Palm Jumeirah were sold
D．The World Islands are bigger than the Palm Jumeirah
（2）The underlined word “facilitates” in the second paragraph probably means ________.
A．holds back
B．makes easier
C．slows down
D．leads to
（3）What is the passage written for?
A．To introduce the wonderful artificial islands.
B．To show how to build artificial islands.
C．To offer a travel service for tourists.
D．To prove the Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world.
（1）D
（2）B
（3）A
位于迪拜的棕榈岛是世界上最大的人工岛，它们正在建设当中，将会在人工岛上开发旅游、休闲、住宅等项目。棕榈岛由朱美拉棕榈岛(The Palm Jumeirah)、阿里山棕榈岛、代拉棕榈岛和世界岛等四个岛屿群组成。
（1）推理判断题。根据第二段“Dutch engineers with experience of reclaiming land from the sea”可知A项正确；根据第二段“The site for all three islands is an area of the sea where the water is not very deep.”可知B项正确；根据第三段“they were all sold within three days”可知，所有的房子在三天内就售完了，C项正确，故选D。
（2）词义猜测题。根据画线词后“the islands are still very exposed to the currents and tidal movements of the sea”可知，尽管浅滩有利于施工，但是岛屿仍然会受到海流和潮汐的影响，故选B。
（3）写作意图题。根据第一段“The Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world and are under construction in Dubai，... They are being developed as tourist, leisure, and residential resorts”可知，文章主要介绍了一些在建的人工岛屿，故选A。