Global warming threatens to hold back human progress, and make unachievable all UN targets to reduce poverty, according to some of the world’s leading international and development groups.
In a report published today, Oxfam, Greenpeace, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, WWF and 15 other groups say rich governments must immediately address climate change to avoid even “unbearable levels” of worldwide poverty.
“Food production, water supplies, public health and people’s living environment are already being damaged,” the report says. “The world must meet its promise to achieve poverty reduction and also deal with climate change.”
The report, which draws on UN predictions of the effects of climate change in poor countries over the next 50 years, says poor countries will experience more flooding, declining food production, more disease and the worsening or disappearing of entire ecosystems(生态系统)on which many of the world’s poorest people depend.
“Climate change needs to be addressed now. The poor will bear the burden of it. The frontline experience of many of us working in international development indicates that communities are having to fight against more extreme weather conditions.”
Climate change will play havoc(浩劫)with agriculture and water supplies and will increase diseases. “By 2025 the proportion of the world’s population living in countries of great water stress will almost double, to 6 billion people. Tropical and sub-tropical areas will be hardest hit — those countries already suffering from food shortage”.
Poor countries mostly do not need high-tech solutions, but would most benefit from education, research and being shown how to farm better. The report says unchecked global warming, more than wars or political confusion, will displace millions of people and destabilize (不安定) many countries.
9. ________ should play a leading role in resisting the more extreme weather conditions according to the report.
A. International groups B. Poor countries
C. Rich countries D. Tropical and sub-tropical countries
10. Which of the following is not the effect of global warming according to the report?
A. More natural disasters and starvation. B. Increasing the world’s population.
C. Making millions of people move to other places.
D. Shaking the foundation of a country.
11. Which of the following is not true according to the text?
A. Poverty and climate change are closely linked.
B. More and more people will suffer from the water stress and food shortage.
C. What the poor countries need badly is high technology.
D. International communities have to take steps to resist the bad climate.
12. What is the best title of the passage?
A. International Development Brings in Climate Change
B. Global Warming Is a Bigger Threat to Poor
C. International Groups Work Together to Reduce Poverty
D. Worldwide Poverty Shall Be Avoided
For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of each day alone. They are called latchkey children. They’re children who look after themselves while their parents work. And their bad condition has become a subject of concern.
Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school. She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys attached. I was constantly telling them to put them inside shirts. There were so many keys, it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly, she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the impact(影响) working couples and single parents were having on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall, under a bed in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it at high volume. It’s hard to get statistics(情况, 材料)on latchkey children, the Longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
1. The main idea about “latchkey children” is that they _______.
A. are growing in numbers
B. are also found in middle-class neighborhoods
C. watch too much television during the day
D. suffer problems from being left alone
2. Which sentence in the second paragraph is the topic sentence?
A. We had a school rule against wearing jewelry.
B. A lot of kids had chains around their necks.
C. I was constantly telling them to put inside their shirts.
D. They were house keys.
3. The main feeling these children have when they are at home by themselves is _______.
A. tiredness B. freedom C. loneliness D. fear
4. We may draw a conclusion that _______.
A. latchkey children enjoy having such a large amount of time alone
B. latchkey children try to hide their feeling
C. latchkey children often watch TV with their parents
D. it’s difficult to find out how many latchkey children there are
As the saying goes, nothing succeeds like success. People like to deal with a successful person. Why? You see there must be a reason why the person has achieved success. And most obviously it is because he is expert at what he is doing.
When given a chance, people would deal with the best. Naturally, the best way to produce a success is to do a lot of work. Your achievement and the fame it leads to will make it known to the public how good you really are. People will know this by your completed record or simply by recognizing it upon seeing you in action. Just as it becomes quite obvious that a man is a full-time tennis player when you see him play on the tennis court, it will become obvious that you are skilled in your work when people see you do your work. But many other image building ways are practical in producing a success image, as will be discussed in the following…
1. People like to deal with a successful person probably because _______.
A. they hope to know the secret of being successful
B. they don’t believe what he has achieved
C. they are eager to show respect to him
D. they feel uncertain if he is an expert
2. How can we know how good a person is at his work?
A. Work with him.
B. Study how he has achieved success.
C. Just look at him doing his work.
D. Watch him playing tennis on the tennis court.
3. The passage mainly tells that _____.
A. success image may come after success
B. people like to deal with a successful person
C. there are many image building ways
D. success image is or has been built in one’s work
(1—3 ACB)
How many men do housework? Recently a European commission(委员会) tried to find out people’s ideas and reactions to the women’s movement. As part of their survey(调查), they asked many men and women the question, “Who does the housework?” The men answered very differently from the women!
The housework they asked people about was: preparing meals, washing dishes, cleaning the house and babysitting. 48% of British husbands said they did these things. 37% of Danish(丹麦的) men helped in the house. But only 15% of Italian men said they did the housework; many of them said they never helped at all!
But there was an interesting point of view from the wives. According to British wives, only 38% of their husbands helped in the house. And Italian wives said that their husbands hardly ever helped. The Italian and British men did not tell the truth! The Commission found that Danish men were the most truthful husbands; their answers were the same as their wives’ answers.
Do the men you know help in the house? Do you think the survey gives a true picture in your experience? Write and tell us what you think.
1. The survey was carried out in _______.
A. Britain B. Italy C. Denmark D. Europe
2. The subject for the survey is_______.
A. how many boys do the housework?
B. who does the housework at home
C. how many women do the housework?
D. who are more diligent, wives or husbands
3. From the passage we can see that _______.
A. there are more husbands who did the housework than wives
B. husbands do half of the housework all the time
C. there are more wives who do the housework than husbands
D. wives do almost all the housework at home
4. More _______ husbands help in the house than _______ husbands.
A. British; Danish B. Italian; Danish
C. Danish; British D. Italian; British
In 1901, H.G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers(探险者) landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon
was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why,”they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don't even use your inner space?”H.G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “channel”, a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan's Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities”.The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome(太阳能穹顶) would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth's space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H.G. Wells' “moon people” would agree. Would you?
1.The explorers in H.G. Wells' story were surprised to find that the “moon people” ________.
A.knew so much about the earth
B.understood their language
C.lived in so many underground cities
D.were ahead of them in space technology
2.What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) refer to?
A.Discovering the moon's inner space.
B.Using the earth's inner space.
C.Meeting the “moon people” again.
D.Travelling to outer space.
3.What sort of underground systems are already here with us?
A.Offices, shopping areas, power stations.
B.Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.
C.Gardens, car parks, power stations.
D.Tunnels, gardens, offices.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.Alice Cities —Cities of the Future
B.Space Travel with H.G. Wells
C.Enjoy Living Underground
D.Building Down, Not Up
The wedding took place in a Birmingham hotel.The bride and her father arrived in a new black American sports car.Her father looked nervous and uncomfortable in front of the cameras.The bride wore a silk wedding dress.She smiled nervously at the waiting photographers and went to a room on the first floor where she met her future husband for the very first time.Carla Germaine and Greg Cordell were the winners of a radio station's competition.The aim of the competition was to find two strangers prepared to marry without having met each other.Miss Germaine,23,is a model.Mr Cordell,27,is a TV salesman.They were among the two hundred people who entered for a peculiar “experiment”organized by BMRB radio in Birmingham,England.Greg and Carla were among eight finalists who were interviewed live on radio.They took a lie detector(测谎仪) test and the station also spoke to their friends and family about their personalities.The competition judges included an astrologer (占星家)who eclared that they were suited.
The couple celebrated their wedding with a wedding breakfast and a party for 100 guests in the evening,but not everyone shared their joy.Miss Germaine's mother looked anxious throughout the wedding and Mr Cordell's parents are reported to be less than delighted.
Organizations,including the marriage guidance service Relate,have criticized the marriage.As one person put it,“We have enough problems getting young people to take marriage seriously without this.Marriage should always be about love.”
The couple are now on a Caribbean honeymoon followed by journalists.Their other prizes include a year's free use of a wonderful apartment in the centre of Birmingham,and a car.But will it last?
1.How did the couple's parents react to the wedding?
A.The bride's mother shared their joy.
B.The bride's father felt uncomfortable about the wedding.
C.The bridegroom's parents were quite delighted.
D.The bridegroom's parents were not that joyful.
2.Some experts believe that _______ .
A.marriage without the couple's meeting each other first ends up in divorce
B.young people nowadays are too careless about marriage
C.taking a lie detector test can not solve all the marriage problems
D.most young people take marriage seriously except this couple
3.One of the prizes for the couple is _______ .
A.to spend their honeymoon wherever they like
B.to use an apartment free for some time
C.to have a wedding dress free
D.to own an American sports car
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Two Strangers and a Wedding
B.A Wedding Based on Love
C.A ShortLived Marriage
D.A WellMatched Couple