The hole in the Earth’s ozone layer(臭氧层) has until now protected Antarctic from the worst effects of global warming, but scientists have warned that as the hole closes up in the next few decades, temperatures on the continent could rise by around 3℃ on average, with melting ice contributing to a global sea level increase of up to 1.4 meters.
In the past decades the western Antarctic has seen rapid ice loss as the world has warmed, but the other parts of the continent have, paradoxically, been cooling, resulting in a 10% increase in ice in the seas around the region. This is because the hole in the ozone layer has increased cold winds in Antarctic, making much of the continent surface colder than usual.
But now that the gases that cause the ozone hole have been banned, scientists expect the hole to repair itself within the next 50 to 60 years. By then the cooling effect will have faded out and the Antarctic will face the full impact of global warming. This means an increase in average air temperatures of around 3℃ and a reduction in sea ice by around a third.
The biggest threat to the continent comes from warming seas. Robert Johnson, a scientist who monitors Antarctic ice sheets, said, “The ice sheets in Antarctic are hundreds of meters thick. But once warm ocean waters start flowing underneath, the ice will begin thinning and could break up very quickly.” Thinning ice sheets cause ice to break away from the continent and to melt even faster. Escaping ice from western Antarctic has already resulted in a 10% rise in global sea level in recent decades.
Johnson believes that international action to reduce global warming is required immediately or it may be too late. “Everything is connected——Antarctic may be a long way away but it is an important part of the Earth’s system,” said Johnson. “It contains 90% of the world’s ice, 70% of the world’s fresh water and that is enough, if it melts completely, to raise sea levels by 63 meters.”
Even in a worse-case situation scientists don’t expect the ice to entirely disappear, but predict that, because of the melting ice sheets, average sea level rise will be around 1.4 meters higher by the end of the century.
The underlined word “paradoxically” (in paragraph 2) most probably means “ ”.
| A．rapidly | B．generally | C．contradictorily | D．apparently |
What is the effect of the hole in the ozone layer on Antarctic?
| A．It is causing the ice to melt faster. |
| B．It is making much of the continent colder. |
C．It is making the e ffects of global warming in the region worse. |
| D．It is reducing the amount of water in Antarctic. |
What do scientists think is the biggest danger facing Antarctic?
| A．Rising sea levels. | B．Warming sea water temperature. |
| C．Water pollution. | D．Growing ice sheets. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Antarctic is currently experiencing the full effects of global warming. |
| B．The average temperature has increased by 3℃ in recent decades. |
| C．Antarctic contains most of the world’s fresh water. |
| D．Ten percent of Antarctic’s ice has already been lost. |
A political scientist from Indiana University whose work exploring how people come together to protect their collective （共有的）resources may provide important clues in the fight against elimate change has become the first woman to win the Nobel prize for economics.
Elinor Ostrom, 76, shares the award with fellow American academic Oliver E. Williamson, 77. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced to the world the pair had been chosen to win the 40th prize in economic sciences.
For Ostrom, the award came, as she showed, as a “big surprise”. To rise to the summit of her area of learning has been an big journey, as she has had to struggle against her own weaknesses and the impediments （妨碍）of the system. At school in Los Angeles she suffered from stuttering（口吃）. She also faced the hurdles （障碍） common to most women of her generation entering the sciences--she was discouraged from taking a PhD when she applied for graduate school.
Her field of study has been striking for how cross-disciplinary （交叉训练的）it is. Early on she gained a reputation for bringing economics, political science and sociology together.
What interests her is how common property can be managed successfully through groups in society. One of the first subjects that interested her was management of water resources.
The findings of her research have been striking, because they have challenged the traditional idea that common property is poorly managed unless it is either regulated by government or privatized. She has shown how individuals can work together and form collectives that protect the resource at hand.
“A lot of people are waiting for more international co-operation to solve global warming,” said Ostrom, “It is important that there is international agreement, but we can take steps at family level community level, and national level … There are many steps that can be taken. That will not solve it on their own but continuously will make a big difference.”
1. Why was Ostrom not advised to take a PhD?
A. Because she was a stutter who didn’t speak fluently.
B. Because she was a woman who was prejudiced then.
C. Because she was as common as other women in science.
D. Because she didn’t receive a degree of master yet.
2. Which of the following statements may Ostrom agree to?
A. Only government can make full use of common property.
B. Private enterprise can control individual behavior.
C. Different people should work together to protect the resources.
D. Individuals play a minor role in fighting climate change.
3. Ostrom was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics because _______.
A. she brought economics and political science into sociology
B. she predicted the breakout of the global financial crisis
C. she worked on the relationship between individuals and government
D. she put forward a new theory to help fight against climate change
4. The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A. the Nobel Prize for economics was first won by a woman
B. Elinor Ostrom’s work may help fight poverty
C. the first woman won the Nobel Prize in America
D. the Nobel Prize for economics is shared this year
Leehom Wang（王力宏）is different from other pop singers. He has a lot of musical talent. He can play the violin, the drums and the piano.
However, this time it is his environmentally-friendly behavior that is making him stand out. When his latest album Change Me came out, Wang used recycled paper rather than plastie to package his album and went by bicycle to the press conference. “Everyone can make the world a better place on a daily basis,” he said.
Wang gives 10 pieces of advice in his new album. For example, he suggests that the temperature of an air-conditioner（空调）should not be lower than 28 ℃.
Wang has Captured the hearts of millions of fans by singing, dancing, acting, composing songs, and working as a producer of many major records. “I admire Wang for his sense of duty, responsibility and hard work,” said Li Xiaoshan, 17, who traveled from Nanjing to see Wang when he was in Beijing to promote （促销）his new CD.
Wang has established himself as a versatile （多才多艺的）musician in the pop scene and a good role model for Chinese youths around the world. He grew up in New York and first became fascinated at the sight of a violin at the age of six. His ambition has always been to be a musician. However, this was not what his parents’ wanted. They hoped he would be a doctor, which they saw as a steady and well-paid job.
Decisions about what Wang should do when he was older created tension in his family. So Wang decided to study biology at university to please his parents. But while he was studying, he continued practising singing and dancing and finally landed a record contract, which was the beginning of his career.
1. Wang rode a bicycle to attend the press conference ________.
A. to avoid the traffic jams B. to show off his cycling skills
C. to cut down on the cost of trips D. to show his environmental awareness
2. Li Xiaoshan travelled to Beijing ________.
A. to buy Wang’s latest album B. to promote his own new CD
C. to welcome Wang’s new album D. to make friends with Wang’s fans
3. Why did Wang’s parents intend him to become a doctor?
A. Doctors have a big and stable salary.
B. Doctors enjoy a high social status.
C. It is easy for doctors to become famous.
D. It is doctors’ duty to save lives.
4. What can we learn from Leehom Wang’s story?
A. Diligence is the mother of good fortune.
B. The wisest men follow their own direction.
C. Determination today leads to success tomorrow.
D. Other people’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并填在答卷卡上。
A guitarist was pleasantly surprised to hear from New York City police that his valuable guitar had been found. It disappeared almost a year ago when he got out of a taxi and forgot to take the guitar with him. Laurence Lennon, 44, said he was running late that day. He was talking to his manager on his cellphone when he rushed out of the taxi. He said that he gave the driver $60 and told him to keep the change. He walked through the front doors of the concert hall, still talking on the phone to his manager.
Upon discovering his loss, Lennon used his cellphone to call the police. The policewoman asked him for the name of the taxi company, the number of the taxi, and the name of the driver. He said that she must have been joking.
She told Lennon that he could apply for a missing item report online. Lennon asked for address. It was www.nypd.gov/toprotectandtoserve/haveaniceday. She told him that finding the guitar might take a couple of years for finding guitars was not as important as finding murderers and marijuana （大麻）smokers. Then she told him to have a nice day.
“This year has been depressing,” said Lennon. “I had to put off the recording of two new CDs. I’ve been using borrowed guitars. And I was losing hope of ever recovering my guitar.”
Lennon was reunited with his $100,000 guitar yesterday. The guitar had been discovered in the corner of a coffeehouse only two blocks from where Lennon had lost it. Lennon had offered a $10,000 reward for its return. He said he would give the reward to the coffeehouse owner, who had informed the police.
1. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Careless guitarist surprised. B. Valuable guitar found.
C. Coffeehouse owner rewarded. D. Taxi driver still unknown.
2. In the first paragraph, the author explained ________.
A. how costly the guitar was B. how important the concert was
C. why the guitarist was late D. why the guitar was left behind
3. By saying “she must have been joking” in Para 2, the guitarist probably means ________.
A. it was impossible for him to answer her questions
B. there must have been something she felt funny
C. she didn’t believe at all that he had lost his guitar
D. she must have felt that his behavior was funny
4. In the policewoman’s opinion, finding the lost guitar _________.
A. was not important at all B. wouldn’t be done online
C. could be a long time hunting D. only depended on the driver
Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development．Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten．
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education．Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life．Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in
Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail．
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early．Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school．Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier．
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years．It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education．Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children．Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap．
1．The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________．
A．to develop the children’s communication
A．to give orphaned children good care and education
C．to get the children prepared for the kindergarten
D．to train the children formally and regularly
2．According to the studies, which of the following is True?
A．Children with good early education may have a rich life．
B．The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life．
C．Children without early education can do well at school．
D．Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children．
3．“the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” suggests that _________．
A．the early childhood education is helpless to the child’s grade
B．it is good for the young children to receive early education
C．the early education can help the children follow the grade
D．the younger the children are, the cleverer they will be
4 The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________．
A．puzzling B．objective C．indifferent D．approving
5．The main idea of the last passage is that __________．
A．the early childhood education is very necessary
B．Head Start programs have helped the children a lot
C．environment is the most important to life’s success
D．better ways should be found to help the poor children
STAGE
| Keep it in the air: The Chaoyang Theater is one of the Beijing theaters to present acrobatics(杂技 ) all year round．Top acrobatic artists invited from all over the country perform for Chinese and foreign tourists．The program contains trick cycling, leaping through hoops and Chinese magic tricks．Some of the artists have won prizes in international competitions． Time: 7∶15 p．m．Daily Place: 36, Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District Tel: 65072421, 65071818 |
| Use your head: Green Hat is a new drama given by a group of young Chinese actors．It’s a rewrite of American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel The Scarlet Letter． It describes the heroine’s great courage in finding the true love against the public disagreement． Time: 7∶15 p．m．until March 5, except Mondays Place: China Children’s Theater Tel: 66037255, 66037265 |
| Mix and match: Story of Puppets tells of a fairy, Zixia, who looks for true love in the human world．After watching a puppet play Peony Pavilion, she thinks there must be true love in reality, so she uses magic to turn the puppet characters into humans, wanting to fall in love with the puppet hero．But things don’t go as she planned．．．Li Liuyi, the director of the play has made several successful attempts to present different traditional operas in one play．This time he combines Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Pingju Opera along with a band, using the structure of modern drama． Time: 7∶ 30 p．m．until March 10, except Mondays Place: Small Playhouse of Beijing People’s Art Theater Tel: 65250123 |
| Peking Opera: The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances at the Chang’an Grand Theater．Each performance includes two classical excerpts(选段)．One is Wenxi(a play focusing on singing and dancing); the other is Wuxi (a play full of acrobatic dancing)．The first night will be The Crossroad and Presenting a Pearl of the Rainbow Bridge．And the second night will see the performance of The Goddess of Heaven Scatters Flowers and Havoc in Heaven． Time: 7∶30 p．m．February 27, 28 Place:Chang’an Grand Theater Tel: 86531043 |
1．We can learn from the text that________．
A．story of puppets is a play held in China Children’s Theater
B．the artists who have won prizes will perform magic tricks
C．on March 5 there will be two plays for us to choose
D．the artists in the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe are from all over the country
2．If a tourist wants to see a performance on March 15, he can call________to book a ticket．
A．86531043 B．65250123 C．66037255 D．65071818
3．According to the text, which of the following statements is true?
A．The director of the Story of Puppets combines different operas in it．
B．Green Hat is based on a famous novel acted by some American artists．
C．Top Acrobatic artists will present their performances around our country．
D．The Beijing Peking Opera Troupe will give two performances with the same excerpts．