In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror or the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun's rays to enter but prevents the heat from escaping.
According to a weather expert' s prediction, the atmosphere will be 3℃ warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt, thus raising sea level several metres and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere (北半球), possibly resulting in an alteration of the earth's chief food growing zones.
In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming, in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.
However, most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude , therefore, that up to now natural influences on the weather have gone beyond those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun. Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and "cold" spots (that is, the relatively less hot spots) on the sun. As the sun rotates (使旋转), every 27. 5 days, it presents hotter or "colder" faces to the earth, and different aspects to different parts of the earth. This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth's atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulation. The sun is also changeable over a long term: its heat output goes up and down in cycles, the latest trend being downward.
Scientists are now finding shared relations between models of solar weather interactions and the actual climate over many thousands of years, including the last Ice Age. The problem is that the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not. One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia (惯性) of the earth's climate. If this is right, the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful opposed balance to the sun's fading heat .
66. It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would_________.
A. mean a warming-up in the Antarctic
B. raise the temperature of the earth' s surface
C. prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth's surface
D. explain the cause of great changes in the climate in the northern hemisphere
67.The article was written to explain ___________.
A. the greenhouse effect
B. the solar effects on the earth
C. the causes affecting weather
D. the models of solar-weather interactions
68. Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere, temperatures there seem to be falling. This is__________.
A. mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising
B. partly due to changes in the output of solar energy
C. possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting
D. only due to the effect of the inertia of the earth' s climate
69. On the basis of their models, scientists believe the opinion that__________.
A. the climate of the world should be becoming cooler
B. the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect
C. the man-made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects
D. it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth's climate to take effect
70. If the assumption about the delay of a new Ice age is correct, ____________.
A. ice would soon cover the northern hemisphere
B. the greenhouse effect could work in favor of the earth
C. the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to burn more fuels
D. the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could warm up the earth even more quickly
When you are in another country, it is important to know the language, but it is equally important to know how to communicate nonverbally(非语言地), before saying anything by making gestures. According to a pioneer in nonverbal communication, only 30 to 35 percent of our communication is verbal. When people don't know the language, the most common way to communicate is through gestures. However, many gestures have different meanings, or no meaning at all, in different parts of the world.
In the United States, for example, nodding your head up and down means “yes”. In some parts of Greece and Turkey, however, this motion can mean “no”. In Southeast Asia, nodding your head is a polite way of saying “I've heard you”.
In ancient Rome, when the emperor wanted to spare someone's life, he would put his thumb up. Today in the United States, when someone puts his / her thumb up, it means “Everything is all right”. However, in Sardinia and Greece, the gesture is insulting and should not be used there.
In the United States, raising your clasped hands above your head means “I’m the champion” or “I’m the winner”. It is the sign prizefighters make when they win a fight. When a leading Russian statesman(政治家) made this gesture after a White House meeting, Americans misunderstood and thought he meant he was a winner. In Russia, however, it is a sign of friendship.
In the United States, holding your hand up with the thumb and index finger in a circle and the other three fingers spread out means “Everything is O.K.” and is frequently used by astronauts and politicians. In France and Belgium, it can mean “You’re worth nothing.”
There are other nonverbal signals that people should be aware of when they go to another country, such as the distance to maintain between speakers. Americans usually feel comfortable when speaking with someone if the distance between them is about eighteen inches to arm’s length. Anything closer makes them feel uncomfortable.
When talking to Americans, it is also important to make eye contact. If you look down when talking to an American, he / she may feel that you are embarrassed, afraid, or trying to hide something.
In addition to knowing how to communicate nonverbally in a country, it is important to know what you and he cannot discuss. In the United States, there are certain topics to avoid when you first meet someone, For example, don’t ask people their age, weight, religion, marital status(婚姻状况), how much money they earn, or how much something costs. You can talk about work, the weather, traffic problems, sports, food, news of the day, where one lives, consumer subjects (computers, car repairs, and so forth), and travel or vacation plans.
These few examples illustrate that your actions can speak louder than your words. In a particular cultural contest, what you say and what you don’t say are equally important. Which of the following is true?
| A．People all over the world only communicate verbally. |
| B．Most of our gestures have no meaning at all. |
| C．Some people think that 65 to 70 percent of our communication is nonverbal. |
| D．Gestures are the most common way to common way to communicate. |
As we can see from the passage there are ______ kinds of nonverbal communication signals.
| A．four | B．five | C．six | D．seven |
Please paraphrase the clause“…your actions can speak louder than your words.
| A．Your deeds are better than your words |
| B．What you do is better than what you say |
| C．You try to show your best manners |
| D．you are better understood by your gestures than through your words |
The main idea of the passage is that when you are in another country, ______.
| A．it is unimportant to know the language |
| B．it is important to know what you can talk about to a foreigner |
| C．to know how to communicate nonverbally is as important as to know the language |
| D．to communicate the rough gestures is more important than to know the language |
I came to live here where I am now between Wounded Knee Greek and Grass Greek. Others came too, and we made these little grey houses of logs that you see, and they are square, It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square.
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the respectful circle of the nation, and so long as the circle was unbroken, the people were getting rich. The flowering tree was the living center of the circle, and the circle of the four quarters nursed it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and strong wind gave strength and continuous power. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our brief. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. Birds make their nests in circle, for theirs are the same as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our places were like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s circle, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to nurse our children.
But the Wasichus (Indian word for “white people”) have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying, for the power is not in us any more. You can look at our boys and see how it is with us. Where we were living by the power of the circle in the way we should, boys were men at twelve or thirteen years of age. But now it takes them very much longer to be bull - grown. According to the passage, the Indians _______.
| A．don’t have modern instruments in their homes |
| B．refused to move from round places |
| C．lived in round places, but were forced to live in square houses |
| D．lived in round places, but then decided to move into square houses |
Two things being compared in the passage are _______.
| A．the Indians’ past and present living conditions |
| B．the Indians’ past and modern beliefs |
| C．the Indians’ old and new power |
| D．people and nature |
In the second paragraph “the four quarters” refers to _______.
| A．the four rooms of the Indian’s house |
| B．the four kinds of natural power |
| C．the four seasons |
| D．the four directions |
According to the author, once the Indians moved into square houses, _______.
| A．they had to move to other houses |
| B．boys took more time to grow into men |
| C．they forgot the old way of life |
| D．everyone was not happy |
CARDIFF, Wales Poets, singers and musicians from across the globe gathered in Wales to celebrate the tradition(传统) of storytelling.
“It might seem strange that people still want to listen in age of watching television, but this is an unusual art form whose time has come again,” said David Ambrose, director of Beyond the Border, an international storytelling festival(节) in Wales.
“Some of the tales, like those the Inuit from Canada, are thousands years old. So our storytellers have come from distant lands to connect us with the distance of time,” he said early this month.
Two Inuit women, both in their mid 60s, are among the few remaining who can do Kntadjait, or throat singing, which has few words and much sound. Their art is governed by the cold of their surroundings, forcing them to say little but listen attentively.
Ambrose started the festival in 1993, after several years of working with those reviving (coming back into use or existence) storytelling in Wales.
“It came out of a group of people who wanted to reconnect with traditions. and as all the Welsh are storytellers, it was in good hands here.” Ambrose said.Ambrose believes that the art of storytelling _______.
| A．will be more popular than TV |
| B．will be popular again |
| C．started in Wales |
| D．are in the hands of some old people |
From the tales told by the Inuit, people can learn _______.
| A．about their life as early as thousands of years ago |
| B．why they tell the stories in a throat-singing way |
| C．how cold it has been where the Inuit live |
| D．how difficult it is to understand the Inuit |
According to the writer, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Storytelling once stopped in Wales. |
| B．Storytelling has a long history in Wales. |
| C．Storytelling is always well received in Wales. |
| D．Storytelling did not come back until 1993 in Wales. |
The underlined phrase in good hands means _______.
| A．controlled by rich people | B．grasped by good storytellers |
| C．taken good care of | D．protected by kind people |
Lucky is the man who has no “skeleton in his closet”. When a man has done something in his life that he is ashamed of, that he wants to hide, he is said to have a “skeleton in his closet”. Some people may have more than one skeleton.
As we have noted many times, it is hard to find out how these expressions begin. Sometimes, we get some hard facts. But more often we have to depend on guesswork. And that is true of this phrase, which came from England.
Before 1932, English law did not permit a doctor to cut open a dead human body for scientific examination, unless it was the corpse(尸体) of an executed(处决) criminal.
But when it became legal, more and more doctors demanded skeletons for a more scientific study of medicine. It was helping in the advance of modern medicine. The demand had become so strong that men began to rob tombs and sell skeletons to doctors at high prices.
We are told that a doctor would usually buy just one skeleton for scientific study. It became very important in his work. But he had to keep it hidden because most people objected to keeping such a thing. As a rule, the doctor would keep his skeleton in some dark corner where it could not be seen, or hide it in a closet.
After a time, people began to suspect(怀疑) every doctor of hiding a skeleton in the closet. From this suspicion, the phrase “a skeleton in the closet” took on a broader, more general meaning to describe anything that a man wanted to keep others from discovering. It could be proof of a criminal act, or something much less serious. Well, that is one theory.
One writer, however, believes that the phrase might have come from something that really happened. It is his guess that a hidden closet in some old English country home may have turned up a real skeleton, clear proof of some old family shame or crime. Well, one man’s guess is as good as another. But this sounds like a story by the great French novelist, Balzac.
Baizac tells us of a man who suspected his wife of having a lover. The husband comes home by surprise. But she hears him and quickly hides her lover in the closet of her bedroom. He enters her room and asks her if she is hiding her lover. He says he will not open the door to the closet if she promises him there is no one there; He will believe her. She answers firmly that she is not hiding anyone in the closet.
The husband then begins to build a solid brick wall against the closet. His wife watches, knowing that her lover will never come out alive. But she will not change her story and admit her guilt.Which of the following situations is suitable for using the phrase “skeleton in the closet” ?
| A．You have stolen something precious and don’t want it discovered. |
| B．You are a doctor and have to keep a skeleton for research. |
| C．If you have cut open a dead human body for scientific examination you should keep the skeleton secret. |
| D．You have done a crime or done something foolish, but you want to keep other from discovering it. |
From the text we know that there are _______ theories about how the phrase “skeleton in the closet” came into being.
| A．one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
In Chinese the world “skeleton” means _______.
| A．尸体 | B．标本 | C．收藏 | D．骷髅 |
Which of the following is right according to the text?
| A．In the 20th century, doctors realized the importance of anatomy(解剖) in the development of medicine. |
| B．The doctors of the ancient times liked to collect as many skeleton as possible. |
| C．The thieves stole skeletons from tombs in order to help the doctors. |
| D．It was legal that corpses of anybody were cut open for scientific examination in history. |
From the story Balzac told we know that the wife’s lover must have become _______.
| A．a corpse | B．a phrase | C．a skeleton | D．a secret |
There are several ways you can find out about the countries and places you wish to visit. You can talk to friends who have travelled to the places. Or you can go and see a colour film. Or you can read travel books.
It would seem that there are three kinds of travel books. The first are those that give a personal, subjective(主观的) account of travels which the author has actually made himself. if they are informative and have a good index(索引), then they can be useful to you when you are planning your travels. The second kind are those books whose purpose is to give a purely objective(客观的) description of things to be done and seen. If a well-read, cultured person has written such a book, then it is even more useful. It can be sorted as a selected guide book. The third kind are those books which are called “a guide” to some place or other. If they are good, they will, in addition to their factual information, give an analysis or an explanation. Like the first kind they can be inspiring and interesting. But their basic purpose is to help the reader who wishes to plan in the most practical way.
Whatever kind of travel book you choose you must make sure that it does not describe everything as “wonderful”, “excellent” or “magical”. You must also note its date of publication because travel is a very practical affair and many things change quickly in the twenty-first century. Finally, you should make sure that the contents are well presented and easy to find.This passage is about _______.
| A．how to travel | B．how to buy travel books |
| C．how to read a travel book | D．travel books |
The following travel books may be of use when you plan your travels except _______.
| A．the book written by some people who have had the same travel experience themselves |
| B．the book which tells you what is worth doing and seeing based on the facts |
| C．the book in which a lot of big adjectives are used to draw your attention |
| D．the book which offers you a lot of useful information like a tour guide |
The date of the publication must be noticed because _______.
| A．the world is changing and so are the places you are going to visit |
| B．the price of the book is always changing |
| C．the author of the book may be different |
| D．the contents of the book are always the same |