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 meters and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere(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 sports 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 effe
ct on the distribution of the earth’s atmospheric pressure, and consequently on wind circulati
on. 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 hot. 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.It can be concluded that concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would ____.
| A．mean a warming-up in the Arctic. |
| 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. |
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 of solar weather interactions. |
Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere, temperature there seems 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 |
On the basis of their models, scientists are of 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 w arning effect helps to increase the solar effects |
| D．it will take thousands of years for the interia of the earth’s climate to take effect. |
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. |
Kids will often ignore your requests for them to shut off the TV, start their chores (杂事), or do their homework as a way to avoid following your directions. Before you know it, you’ve started to sound like a broken record as you repeatedly ask them to do their assignments, clean their room, or take out the trash. Rather than saying, “Do your chores now,” you’ll be more effective if you set a target time for when the chores have to be completed. So instead of arguing about starting chores, just say, “If chores aren’t done by 4 p. m., here are the consequences.” Then it’s up to your child to complete the chores. Put the ball back in their court. Don’t argue or fight with them, just say, “That’s the way it’s going to be.” It shouldn’t be punitive (惩罚性的) as much as it should be persuasive. “If your chores aren’t done by 4 p. m., then no video game time until chores are done. And if finishing those chores runs into homework time, that’s going to be your loss.” On the other hand, when dealing with homework, keep it very simple. Have a time when homework starts, and at that time, all electronics go off and do not go back on until you see that their homework is done. If your child says they have no homework, then they should use that time to study or read. Either way, there should be a time set aside when the electronics are off.
When a kid wears his iPod or headphones when you’re trying to talk to him, make no bones about it；he is not ignoring you, he is disrespecting you. At that point, everything else should stop until he takes the earplugs out of his ears. Don’t try to communicate with him when he’s wearing headphones—even if he tells you he can hear you. Wearing them while you’re talking to him is a sign of disrespect. Parents should be very tough about this kind of thing. Remember, mutual respect becomes more important as children mature.According to the passage, it seldom happens that________.
| A．kids turn a deaf ear to their parents’ requests |
| B．parents’ directions sound like a broken record |
| C．children are ready to follow their parents’ directions |
| D．parents are unaware of what they are repeating to their kids |
Parents will be able to deal with their child more effectively if they ________.
| A．avoid direct ways of punishment |
| B．make him do things at their request |
| C．argue and fight with their child |
| D．allow their child to behave in his own way |
When the kid is doing his homework, parents________.
| A．should provide him with a good learning environment |
| B．can do whatever they like |
| C．can stay aside watching TV |
| D．must switch off the power |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
| A．parents should take off their headphones when trying to have a talk with their child |
| B．it will make no difference that a kid is wearing his earplugs while talking to his parents |
| C．parents shouldn’t give in to their kid when he shows no sign of respect |
| D．kids’ purposely talking to their parents with iPod gives them a sense of power and control |
The main idea of the passage is________.
| A．that respecting each other is more important than anything else |
| B．how kids behave to ignore and disrespect their parents |
| C．that children should make choices and decisions on their own |
| D．how parents can deal with their kid’s behavior effectively |
Most people consider skydiving (高空跳伞) a product of the 20th century, but its history actually goes further back than that. The Chinese attempted to parachute (跳伞) in the 10th century, a thousand years before we did. The Chinese did what we would today call base diving; that is, they jumped off a place that would allow them to float from a height to the ground.
The first person to attempt to parachute was a Frenchman named Jacques Garnerin. He jumped from his hot-air balloon at the end of the 18th century and did tricks on the way down and stupefied the crowds by landing safely on the ground. At the end of the 19th century, Kathie Paulus, a brave German woman, became famous for her skydiving skills.
Once the airplane was invented, skydiving took on a whole new form. The airplane made it possible to dive from greater heights at greater speeds, allowing for more range in the movements in the air. A woman named Tiny Broadwick became the first woman to jump from a plane in 1913 and dive free fall in 1914.
Skydiving was not called skydiving until the middle of the 1950s, when Ronald Young invented the word. It had been called parachuting before this and was mainly used by the military (军事) to land troops in inland locations, or for pilots to jump out of their planes when necessary. Once World War I was over, parachuting became a sport, which we now call skydiving.
After World War II, this activity became more a hobby than a military action. Soldiers were trained in parachuting and enjoyed the thrill so much that they continued on for fun. From this, teams and competitions were formed. Skydiving schools appeared in the late 1950s and now it is a recognized extreme sport enjoyed by many.The underlined word “stupefied” in paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
| A．disappointed | B．encouraged | C．surprised | D．attacked |
Who was the first woman to jump from a plane?
| A．Jacques Garnerin. | B．Kathie Paulus. | C．Tiny Broadwick. | D．Ronald Young. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Chinese attempted different skydiving skills in the 10th century. |
| B．Skydiving became popular after the airplane was invented. |
| C．The word skydiving was first used in a military action. |
| D．There were no skydiving schools until the late 1950s. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Skydiving is not a military action any more. |
| B．Kathie Paulus is famous for her skydiving skills. |
| C．The first person who parachuted was from Germany. |
| D．The history of skydiving is longer than that of parachuting. |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．The history of skydiving | B．The popularity of skydiving |
| C．What is skydiving? | D．Why is skydiving an extreme sport? |
There is a very special wolf that lives in Africa. They are actually called, the African wild dog, of painted dogs.
These animals live in open woodlands, or in the plains of Africa. Today, however, most of the animals can be found in eastern or southern Africa. These animals are beautiful. They have rounded ears instead of pointed like most dogs, and they have four toes (脚趾) on each of their four feet, also a unique characteristic because other dogs have five. Their fine fur is always different from each other. The fur is usually a combination of black, brown, red, and white, and sometimes even yellow. No wonder they’re called the painted wolf.
The African wild dog is a very social animal. They live in groups and have numbers from five to about twenty. The members of a group are always very close to one another. They communicate in their own language or body language. When someone is very old or sick, the others will help, and they are willing to share the food with the elders and with those who are weak, which is what we should learn from.
The family does everything together, from raising young, to sleeping together, to hunting. When they hunt, they will work together suing team work to kill animals that are larger than them.
They sometimes hunt farm animals. This is unfortunate, because both poachers (偷猎者), and people who own farms shoot the painted dogs who are just trying to survive.
Before, there used to be many large groups throughout the land, but now the African wild god is very rare. They are also losing their population because of their own loss of habitat thanks to human’s farming and forest cutting.From the text we learn that the African wild dog .
| A．lives in the north of Africa |
| B．has sixteen toes altogether |
| C．has pointed ears like most dogs |
| D．lives in forests in groups |
Why do African wild dogs get the name “painted dogs”?
| A．They all have colorful fur. |
| B．The dogs in the same group are of different colors. |
| C．Artists love to paint them in different colors. |
| D．None of them has the same color. |
According to the author, what should we learn from African wild dogs?
| A．They always do everything together. |
| B．They help the sick, the elderly and the weak. |
| C．They are always very close to one another. |
| D．They communicate in their own language. |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why African wild dogs are becoming very rare?
| A．Poachers kill some of them. |
| B．They are short of food sometimes. |
| C．They are losing their habitat. |
| D．Farmers shoot some of them. |
Where could this passage probably be found?
| A．The Travelers | B．Fashion Weekly | C．Animal World | D．Star Magazine |
[1]Why is physical education important for students? There are many reasons. First of all, this subject helps them achieve the primary goal of physical education, which is physical fitness. As part of this, they can learn that it is highly important to include exercise and physical activities as part of their lifestyle.
[2]Physical education helps children achieve a healthy lifestyle. Inside the classroom, teachers educate kids about highly relevant issues such as the importance of hygiene (卫生) and health. This subject will help them realize the importance of having strong bodies. Likewise, it will also teach them how to have a healthy and an active lifestyle.
[3]Taking PE classes can help of students. Being confident is very important to them as they grow and become responsible as well as competitive adults someday. This aspect (方面) of physical education is extremely important in the character development of students. Furthermore, it will teach them how to have a positive attitude.
[4]Physical education can teach students a set of all-important values. For example, it teaches students to fight like sportsmen and to cooperate with others to achieve one common goal as a team.
[5]Physical education also helps students develop their motor skills. On this kind of program, they are placed in situations where they can further develop and improve their reflexes (反应), concentration and body posture. By taking this class, they can realize their full potential as individuals and as part of a team.
[6]Moreover, physical education is also a means of enjoyment for students. By engaging in sports and physical activities, they can spend some pleasant time away from their other usual academic subjects. By doing so, they can achieve healthy minds and bodies. What’s the text mainly about? (no more than 6 words)
What does the underlined word “it” (Line 3 paragraph 2) probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)
Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with proper words. (no more than 4 words)
Based on the text, list two values that students can learn in PE classes. (no more than 6 words)
How can a student keep healthy physically and mentally? (no more than 9 words)
Tony Burke, Australia’s environment minister, says he won’t decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala’s population.
In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala’s population is on the decrease. “But they may not yet be eligible (符合条件) for listing as a threatened species,” said Senator Doug Cameron. “To have such a significant Australian icon(偶像) included on the threatened species list would be a national shame.”
The koala is found only in the eucalyptus (桉树) forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings’ development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads.
Putting off the decision on protection for the koala “is really bad news,” said Debbie Pointing, the president of the Koala Action Group. “We’ve worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations,” Pointing said. “That data should be enough to make a decision.”
However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 million on koala conservation efforts since 1996. senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland – the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out of harm’s way.
Some people say that is not enough. “What we’re doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction,” Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said.
“Koalas are an iconic Australian animal,” Burke told Australians. “They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians.”
But it is a fact that if more isn’t done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians’ memories. Tony Burke put off announcing the koala as an endangered species because .
| A．he needed more time to examine latest information |
| B．he doubted whether koalas’ number is decreasing |
| C．he was thinking about ways to protect koalas |
| D．he had more important issues to deal with |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．The habitat of the koala. |
| B．Australia’s traffic problems. |
| C．The importance of koalas for Australians. |
| D．Reasons for the decrease of the koala population. |
According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that .
| A．the construction of special koala bridges is of little use |
| B．the government should announce the koala as an endangered species |
| C．the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population |
| D．koala are becoming less important in Australians’ hearts |
It can be learned from the text that Tony Burke .
| A．decided to construct more fences along roads |
| B．called on Australians to take care of the koala |
| C．thought the government has done much for koalas |
| D．was optimistic about the koalas’ future |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Australia puts off the decision on whether the koala is endangered. |
| B．Australia is taking special measures to protect koalas. |
| C．The population of koalas is reducing rapidly. |
| D．Australians are concerned about koalas. |