Global warming is causing more than 300,000 deaths and about $125 billion in economic losses each year, according to a report by the Global Humanitarian Forum, an organization led by Annan, the former United Nations secretary general.
The report, to be released Friday, analyzed data and existing studies of health, disaster, population and economic trends. It found that human-influenced climate change was raising the global death rates from illnesses including malnutrition (营养不良) and heat-related health problems.
But even before its release, the report drew criticism from some experts on climate and risk, who questioned its methods and conclusions.
Along with the deaths, the report said that the lives of 325 million people, primarily in poor countries, were being seriously affected by climate change. It projected that the number would double by 2030.
Roger Pielke Jr., a political scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who studies disaster trends, said the Forum’s report was “a methodological embarrassment” because there was no way to distinguish deaths or economic losses related to human-driven global warming amid the much larger losses resulting from the growth in populations and economic development in vulnerable (易受伤害的) regions. Dr. Pielke said that “climate change is an important problem requiring our utmost (极度的) attention.” But the report, he said, “will harm the cause for action on both climate change and disasters because it is so deeply flawed (有瑕疵的).”
However, Soren Andreasen, a social scientist at Dalberg Global Development Partners who supervised the writing of the report, defended it, saying that it was clear that the numbers were rough estimates. He said the report was aimed at world leaders, who will meet in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a new international climate treaty.
In a press release describing the report, Mr. Annan stressed the need for the negotiations to focus on increasing the flow of money from rich to poor regions to help reduce their vulnerability(弱点) to climate hazards(危害)while still curbing (限制) the emissions of the heat-trapping gases. More than 90% of the human and economic losses from climate change are occurring in poor countries, according to the report.What is the finding of the Global Humanitarian Forum?
| A．Global temperatures affect the rate of economic development. |
| B．Rates of death from illnesses have risen due to global warming. |
| C．Malnutrition has caused serious health problems in poor countries. |
| D．Economic trends have to do with population and natural disasters. |
What do we learn about the Forum’s report from the passage?
| A．It was challenged by some climate and risk experts. |
| B．It aroused a lot of interest in the scientific circles. |
| C．It was warmly received by environmentalists. |
| D．It caused a big stir in developing countries. |
What does Dr. Pielke say about the Forum’s report?
| A．Its statistics look embarrassing. |
| B．It is invalid in terms of methodology. |
| C．It deserves our closest attention. |
| D．Its conclusion is purposely exaggerated. |
What is Soren Andreasen’s view of the report?
| A．Its conclusions are based on carefully collected data. |
| B．It is vulnerable to criticism if the statistics are closely examined. |
| C．It will give rise to heated discussions at the Copenhagen conference. |
| D．Its rough estimates are meant to draw the attention of world leaders. |
What does Kofi Annan say should be the focus of the Copenhagen conference?
| A．How rich and poor regions can share responsibility in curbing global warming. |
| B．How human and economic losses from climate change can be reduced. |
| C．How emissions of heat-trapping gases can be reduced on a global scale. |
| D．How rich countries can better help poor regions reduce climate hazards. |
After her parents separated, things at tam’s house changed. Her mom, still working, and Tami became responsible for the house and making meals for herself and her younger sister. Though money was right, they never went without. They had a nice home in a modest neighborhood food, belching and shelter. What Tami missed most of all, though, was family.
Tami spent the summer during her ninth grade year working at a park to ear exam spending money. Her job was to organize activities for the kids who spent their summer days at the park. The kids absolutely loved Tami. She was constantly going out of her way to do things for them. She would plan picnics, organize field trips and even buy ice cream for all of them, using her own money. She always did more than the job required, even if it did mean using her own money.
She got to know one little boy who lived in an apartment across the street from the park. His parents both worked at fast – food restaurants, and she knew that they didn’t have much money. The boy talked about his upcoming birthday and the fire truck he wanted so badly. He said he was going to be a fireman some day and needed the truck to practice. He told Tami more details about the truck than she knew a boy truck could have.
The boy’s birthday came and went. The next day when Tami saw the boy, she expected to see a shiny red truck in his arms. When he arrived empty – handed, she asked whether he had got the truck. The boy said no. his parents were going to get it for him later, when things were better. He seemed a little sad.
That week, Tami eased her paycheck and headed for the toy stores. She found the truck easily – after all, from his descriptions, she felt she knew it inside out. She used the money from her paycheck to buy the truck, and then had it wrapped in birthday paper.
61．What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A．They didn’t need in worry too much about their living.
B．Tami’s sister became more responsible.
C．Tami began to earn money.
D．Her mother changed her job.
62．Why did Tami buy the birthday present for the boy using her own money?
A．Because he was poorer than she.
B．Because he was her best friend.
C．Because she wanted him to be a fireman.
D．because she wanted him to feel love around him.
63．What can we learn from the underlined sentence?
A．She knew how much money she would pay.
B．She knew she should check the toy truck inside out.
C．She was fully aware which toy truck the boy wanted.
D．She walked inside and then out of the toy store several times.
64．Which of the following could be the opening sentence of the next paragraph?
A．The next morning, Tami rode to the boy’s house and left the truck at the door.
B．When the boy showed up at the park that day, he was more excited than ever.
C．He showed off his new truck to Tami, and then played with it all day long.
D．That afternoon, the boy’s mom came to the park and walked over to Tami.
China reported blistering growth for the last three months of 2009, raising expectations of interest rate increases and other measures to head off inflation.
China has declared that it is recovering from the global economic crisis.
Ma Jiantang, of the National Bureau of Statistics, said Thursday the country's economy grew by 10.7 percent in the last three months of 2009.
Ma says China has managed to quickly hold back what he described as “the sliding of the national economy.” He says China has become the first country, on the whole, to achieve economic recovery and stabilization.
According to previous estimates, Ma says China's gross domestic product for 2009 rose 8.7 percent to nearly five trillion dollars.
This goes beyond the official growth rate target of eight percent. The government has long considered eight percent growth essential to creating enough jobs for the country's more than one billion people.
At the same time, Ma says some problems and contradictions are natural.
Ma says the Chinese government will give more priority to economic restructuring and improving peoples’ livelihoods.
To reduce the effects of the global economic crisis that began in 2008, China loosened lending practices, cut interest rates and began massive spending programs. But the government wants to make sure those measures do not contribute to inflation, which can be politically sensitive in a country where hundreds of millions of people remain poor.
Beijing resident Ms. Wang says she is worried. She says she thinks prices are rising really fast. She points to the price of cabbage, which has increased more than 10 times in the past year.
The head of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission, this week said the government will step up monitoring of banks and rein in lending to prevent speculative bubbles (投机泡沫)in real estate(房地产) and other assets.
The World Bank on Thursday released a report that predicts China's economy will grow by nine percent this year. This contrasts with forecasts of 2.5 percent growth rate for the United States and one percent growth for European economies in 2010, because of weaknesses remaining from the global financial crisis.
68. What does the underlined phrase in the first paragraph mean?
A. prevent B. begin C. continue D. reduce
69. How many measures did China take to reduce the sliding of the national economy?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5
70. The global economy in 2010 will ________.
A. increase more quickly than in 2009
B. recover immediately if proper measures are taken
C. remain weak as a result of the global financial crisis
D. remain the same standard as that in 2009
71. The passage is mainly about ________.
A. jobs created for more than one billion people
B. lending practices loosened in China in the new year
C. rapid growth of Chinese economy in last months of 2009
D. fast growth in economy leading to inflation
Living in a foreign culture there are many times when I realize that my perspective (观点) on life is drastically different from those Koreans I interact (相互影响) with on a daily basis. This past week I have been greatly challenged to change my perspective and here is why.
My dream in life is to become a doctor, one who changes the world. But last week I opened an email from UBC that contained the words “regrets”, no interview. I didn’t get an interview to medical school, thus will not be entering school for September 2009. My immediate reaction was one of extreme disappointment and anger—mostly directed at myself for not working hard enough, for not seeking out the opportunities necessary to have a good application, for simply not being good enough. My mind was full of hopelessness and despair that left me with no desire to further seek for the dream that I’ve held for quite a time now.
During the past week two things happened. At church our pastor mentioned perspective in a section of his sermon (说教). He stated that when we take our eyes off ourselves and realize God’s greatness, our circumstances will be seen through a new perspective.
The second thing that reminded me to look at perspective was reading a book. The Mitford Series is so good if you are looking for books to read. So last night I was reading and one of the main characters (who is a priest) is trying to figure out what to say at church. His sermon ended up saying “In everything we give thanks.” It is easy to give thanks when we feel successful in life. It is easy to give thanks when we receive a blessing. But seriously, who in their right mind says thanks for the financial problems I have?
64. Where does the author probably live now?
A. In the USA. B. In Britain.C. In China. D. In Korea.
65. How did she feel when the author received the email from UBC?
A. Surprised. B. Disappointed. C. Excited. D. Pleased.
66. In the first pastor’s view, when we face disappointment or despair, we should _________.
A. turn to God for help B. say thanks to it
C. see it in another way D. praise others for it
67. What can we infer from the passage?
A. The author can’t really free from the disappointment.
B. The author thinks the second sermon is wiser.
C. The author still wants to be a doctor.
D. The author thanks God for not being admitted by the university.
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60. This passage is written to ________.
A. offer some wonderful stories to readers
B. encourage people to write something
C. show that making money is not difficult
D. remind people that life is full of joy
61. The underlined word “karma” is closest in meaning to ________.
A. wish B. explanation C. luckD. imagination
62. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The magazine is mainly intended for entertainment.
B. The more words you write, the more money you get.
C. Anecdotes and Jokes isn’t paid much attention to.
D. New jokes can be sent in for Life’s Like That.
63. Where can you most probably see this passage?
A. In a library. B. In a magazine. C. In a story book. D. On a website.
Instead of hitting the beach, fourteen high school students traded swimming suits for lab coats last summer and turned their attention to scientific experiments.
The High School Research Program offers high school students guidance with researchers in Texas A & M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jennifer Funkhouser, academic adviser for the Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, directs this four-week summer program designed to increase understanding of research and its career potential.
Several considerations go into selecting students, including grades, school involvement and interest in science and agriculture. And many students come from poorer school districts. Funkhouser says, “This is their chance to learn techniques and do experiments they would never have a chance to do in high school.” Warner Ervin of Houston is interested in animal science and learned how to tell male from female mosquitoes. His adviser, Craig Coates, studies the genes of mosquitoes that allow them to fight against malaria and yellow fever. Coates thought this experience would be fun and helpful to the high school students.
The agricultural research at A&M differs from stereotypes. It’s “molecular(分子)science on the cutting edge,” Funkhouser says. The program broadened students’ knowledge. Victor Garcia of Rarcia of Rio Grande City hopes to become a biology teacher and says he learned a lot about chemistry from the program.
At the end of the program, the students presented papers on their research. They’re also paid $600 for their work—another way this program differs from others, which often charge a fee.
Fourteen students got paid to learn that science is fun, that agriculture is a lot more than milking and plowing and that research can open many doors.
72. The research program is chiefly designed for ________.
A. high school advisers from Houston
B. college students majoring in agriculture
C. high school students from different places
D. researchers at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
73. It can be inferred from the text that the students in poorer areas ____.
A. found the program useful to their future
B. could often take part in the program
C. had little chance to go to college
D. showed much interest in their high school experiments
74. When the program was over, the students ________.
A. entered that college B. wrote research reports
C. paid for their research D. found ways to make money
75. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A program for Agricultural Science Students
B. A program for Animal Science Students
C. A program for Medical Science Lovers
D. A program for Future Science lovers