The planet is getting greener, and we are responsible. Carbon dioxide generated by human activities is promoting photosynthesis (光合作用) and causing a beneficial greening of the Earth’s surface.
For the first time, researchers claim to have shown that the increase in plant cover is due to this “CO2 fertilisation (肥沃化) effect” rather than other causes. However, it remains unclear whether the effect can reduce any negative effects of global warming, such as the spread of deserts.
To home in on the effect of CO2, Randall Donohue of Australia’s national research institute, the CSIRO in Canberra, monitored vegetation (植被) at the edges of deserts in Australia, southern Africa, the US Southwest, North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia. These are regions where there is plenty of warmth and sunlight, but only just enough rainfall for vegetation to grow, so any change in plant cover must be the result of a change in rainfall patterns or CO2 levels, or both.
If CO2 levels were constant, then the amount of vegetation per unit of rainfall ought to be constant, too. However, the team found that this figure rose by 11 per cent in these areas between 1982 and 2010, mirroring the rise in CO2 emissions (排放). Donohue says this lends strong support to the idea that CO2 fertilization drove the greening.
The extra plant growth could have knock-on effects on climate, Donohue says, by increasing rainfall, affecting river flows and changing the likelihood of wildfires. It will also absorb more CO2 from the air, potentially damping down (抑制) global warming but also limiting the CO2 fertilization effect itself.
Donohue cannot yet say to what extent CO2 fertilisation will affect vegetation in the coming decades. But if it proves to be significant, the future may be much greener.According to the author, the increase in plant cover _____.
A.will speed up global warming |
B.results from human activities |
C.will stop the spread of deserts |
D.promotes the CO2 fertilization effect |
What does the underlined phrase “To home in on” in Para 3 probably mean?
A.To hold back. | B.To cut down. |
C.To improve. | D.To observe. |
The amount of vegetation in those monitored areas rose with _____.
A.the rise in CO2 emissions | B.annual rainfall |
C.the temperatures around | D.the amount of sunlight |
What’s the best title of the text?
A.More rainfall, less CO2 emission |
B.How to deal with carbon emissions |
C.Positive effects of global warming |
D.CO2 emission making Earth greener |
A new study from Harvard University revealed that the message parents mean to send to children about the value of sympathy(同情心) is being mistaken by the message they actually send. In fact they value achievement and happiness above all else.
The Making Caring Common Project at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education surveyed 10,000 middle and high school students about which is more important to them—achievement, happiness, or caring about others. Almost 80 percent of students placed achievement or happiness over caring about others. Only 20 percent of students considered caring about others as their top aim.
In the study “The Children We Mean to Raise: The Real Message Adults Are Sending about Values”, the authors refer to a reality gap, an incongruity (不一致) between what adults tell children they should value and the message we grown-ups actually send through our behavior.
Simply talking about sympathy is not enough. While 96 percent of parents say they want to raise caring children, and cite the development of moral character as “very important, if not essential”, 80 percent of the youths surveyed reported that their parents “are more concerned about achievement and happiness than caring about others”. Approximately the same percentage of the students reported that their teachers put their achievement over caring.
As the report shows, simply talking about sympathy is not enough. Children are sensitive creatures, fully capable of telling the true meanings in the blank spaces between well-organised words. If parents really want to let their kids know that they value care and sympathy, the authors suggest, they must make a real effort to help their children learn to care about other people—even when it’s hard, even when it does not make them happy, and yes, even when it is at odds with their personal success.The first paragraph suggests that parents _____.
A.value achievement less |
B.fail to make students realize the importance of sympathy |
C.don’t intend to value success |
D.regard achievement and happiness as the same |
What can be concluded from the study?
A.20% of the students are not ambitious. |
B.Kids care more about achievement. |
C.About 80% of the students are not caring. |
D.A majority of the kids are kind students. |
What may be the cause for the reality gap?
A.Children’s failure to understand parents’ well-organised words. |
B.The generation gap between parents and children. |
C.Children’s desire for getting individual achievement. |
D.Parents’ lack of a real effort to guide children. |
Yesterday my old neighbor knocked on my door angrily. Obviously, my cat, Rocco, had left a turd (粪便) in his perfect flower beds.
Fortunately, I wasn’t home when this happened, so he angrily complained to my friend and neighbor Kate about this. She was kind enough to listen to him and to go down into the garden with him to have a look. She even took a picture.
When I got home later, Kate had left a message on my answering machine about the incident. Hearing it was about my cat again, my stomach turned. Several weeks before, he’d gotten so upset that he threatened to put rat traps on the ground, hoping that would frighten me into keeping my cat indoors. So, I was a little apprehensive this time.
But I couldn’t help but laugh when Kate told me the whole story. I understood what gardening meant to him. Since my old neighbor retired ten years ago, he had spent all of his time on his garden. So when I saw him in the garden later on, I went to talk to him. To my surprise, it turned out quite nice. I was really surprised to find that I had the grace (雅量) not to respond to his bad words. Instead, I engaged (使忙于) him in a conversation on the beautiful flowers he’d planted, the color combinations and the care he took to create such a sense of order. I tried to convey my understanding and appreciation without complimenting or talking down to him. I was really amazed by how that turned out. We hadn’t had a conversation like that for over a year!The story happened .
A.between family members | B.between strangers |
C.between friends | D.between neighbors |
What does the underlined word “apprehensive” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.Anxious. | B.Satisfied. | C.Angry. | D.Excited. |
What can we learn from the text?
A.The author’s friend dealt with the incident patiently after it happened. |
B.The author’s old neighbor had a bad relationship with all his neighbors. |
C.It was the first time that the author’s cat had made the neighbor angry. |
D.The neighbor didn’t say bad words about the cat’s action. |
We can infer from the text that after the talk with his old neighbor, the author would .
A.throw his cat away | B.send his cat to others |
C.feel relaxed and happy | D.become more nervous |
Lying on his sickbed in hospital, all 86-year-old Lin Ruiming can do is stare out at a tiny part of sky through the small window. The old man used to ride his motorbike through the busy streets of downtown Beijing. All the while he could only dream of touring the world.
He has been suffering from terminal lymphoma (晚期淋巴瘤) since February. As a last gift, his granddaughter,Lin Yifan,asked China’s Internet population to give her grandfather a shot at globetrotting (环球游). Last week, Lin Ruiming’s image travelled the world, from Sydney Harbor, Australia, to the River Thames in London, UK, and even to a volcano in Auckland, New Zealand.
Lin Yifan, 29, had promised to paint a portrait (画像) of her grandfather, but had almost forgotten her word until the old man got ill. “I had put off the painting for many years because I believed I would have plenty of time to do it,” she said. She spent one evening last week working on a portrait, based on a photo taken on her grandfather’s birthday last year. She posted the portrait on Sina Weibo, and called for Web users to take photos with the portrait in different locations and send them to her on May 11.Over the following five days she received about 20,000 photos, most of which were sent by people she had never met.
She says that her grandfather, while too weak to view all the photos, has said that he is happy. “Thanks to all these helpers, I have become a celebrity (名人) around the world,” the old man joked.The underlined “image” that “travelled the world” actually refers to _______.
A.a photo the girl had taken of the old man | B.the old man himself |
C.a painted picture mailed from the post office | D.a portrait of the old man |
Lin Yifan put off painting the portrait mainly because _______.
A.her grandfather was seriously ill |
B.she believed she could do it anytime |
C.she was too busy with her work |
D.her grandfather wanted to travel himself |
Which is the kind of photo Lin Yifan asked Web users to take and send to her?
Now the old man _______.
A.is unable to view any pictures |
B.has friends all over the world |
C.is pleased with the girl’s effort |
D.has viewed all the pictures |
News 1
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday delivered a speech at a gathering marking the 15th anniversary of Macao’s return to China. He stressed the importance to strengthen the future-oriented education and upbringing of the young people in Macao, which was striving to address the shortage of human resources.
“We need to strengthen the education and upbringing of young people to ensure that fine tradition of loving the motherland and loving Macao will be carried forward from one generation to another and that the cause of ‘one country, two systems’ will be continuously advanced,” he said.
News 2
China has already built the largest high-speed rail network in the world, and leads especially in making high-speed trains, most of the rail makers are focusing more on enhancing innovation with a view to develop “China-designed” high-speed trains and to transfer technology to overseas countries.
China’s railway investment during the first 10 months of this year rose 37 percent from a year ago to 590 billion yuan, according to the country’s top economic planner.
News 3
Halloween is becoming the third-biggest imported festival after Christmas and Valentine’s Day in China.
As the festival approaches, lots of malls and theme parks have taken the card of “ghost”. All kinds of scary designs and various pumpkin shapes have pushed the festival atmosphere to its prime.
Many themes parks have planned “Halloween night”. In recent years, these kinds of activities have attracted more and more young people.
News 4
Li Yifeng is probably the most sought-after celebrity right now. Since the actor shot to fame with TV series Legend of the Ancient Sword (《古剑奇谭》), he has been offered the opportunity to participate in a variety of movies and programs. And as the New Year is approaching, Hunan TV, Dragon TV, Zhejiang TV and Jiangsu TV are all fighting to get Li at their New Year gala. However, Li’s representative revealed that Li is sure to appear in Hunan TV’s gala. No plan has been made for Li to take the stage on Dragon TV.In President Xi’s speech, he mainly talked about ________.
A.the shortage of human resources |
B.the cause of “one country, two systems” |
C.the tradition of loving the motherland |
D.the education of the young people in Macao |
News 2 is likely to be about ________.
A.politics | B.economy | C.culture | D.entertainment |
Which is the best title for News 3?
A.The Activities of Halloween |
B.The Designs of Halloween |
C.Halloween Night in Theme Parks |
D.Halloween Gains Popularity in China |
What can we learn from News 4?
A.Li Yifeng is famous for acting in a TV series. |
B.Li Yifeng has played leading roles in many films. |
C.Dragon TV got the chance to interview Li Yifeng. |
D.Li Yifeng is likely to appear in Zhejiang TV’s gala. |