The United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1988. The panel is a committee made up of hundreds of scientists. Last week, an IPCC working group released a report about climatic conditions around the world.
Scientists are surer than ever before that the Earth is warming and that human activity is to blame. That is the message of the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. As we hear from Christopher Cruise, the report's findings will help inform policy makers and the public as they consider action to fight climate change.
One-hundred-ten governments approved this scientific agreement:
"It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20th century."
The head of the World Meteorological Organization, Michael Jarraud, spoke at a press conference about the new report.
"It should serve as yet another wake-up call that our activities today will have a profound impact on society, not only for us, but for many generations to come."
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass and glaciers continue to shrink, the report says. It calls the decrease of Artic sea ice, "unprecedented," meaning nothing like this has been noted before. The report also examines the mean rate of sea level rise. It says that since the middle of the 19th century, the rate is higher than at any time in the past 2000 years.
The working group also examined the connection between extreme weather events and climate. Brenda Ekwurzel is a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit group. She has worked with the scientists who prepared the IPCC report.
"The most we can say is that extreme events dealing with coastal flooding and extreme heat, (we have) very, very high confidence with these events being highly linked to climate change."
She says the report blames human activity for half of the increased warming over the past fifty or so years. One such activity is the burning of fossil fuels in factories, buildings and cars. This produces heat-trapping gasses.
Past IPCC reports have led the way to international agreements like the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. It ended in 2012. The United Nation's top climate official, Christiana Figueres, says the new report will help move new climate talks forward.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is sometimes criticized as appearing to be too conservative in its predictions. But, Ms. Figueres says this report is right on the mark.
"Everything that we thought we knew about climate change has been underestimated, that we will have much faster and much more intense effects from the growing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. So, it's a very sobering message that calls for a more invigorated and more accelerated policy response to address that."
Government leaders and climate experts will get a chance to do that at the climate negotiations next month. The talks will take place in the Polish capital, Warsaw.505
What does the underlined word “sobering”mean in the last paragraph?
| A．satisfactory |
| B．serious |
| C．disappointing |
| D．unbelievable |
According to the passage, the Earth is warming due to_______.
| A．human activity |
| B．the burning of fossil fuels |
| C．heat-trapping gasses |
| D．the burning of fossil fuels in cars |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage？
| A．Christopher Cruise says that our activities today will have a profound impact on society. |
| B．Ms. Figueres says that climate change calls for a more invigorated and more accelerated policy response to address that. |
| C．Michael Jarraud says that the report blames human activity for half of the increased warming over the past fifty or so years. |
| D．Brenda Ekwurzel says that It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20thcentury. |
Would you eat a ready meal from the fridge rather than cook? Have you been doing internet shopping rather than going to the stores? What can’t you be bothered to do?
A study into how lazy British people are has found more than half of adults are so idle（闲散的）they’d catch the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs.
Just over 2,000 people were quizzed by independent researchers at Nuffield Health, Britain’s largest health charity. The results were shocking. About one in six people surveyed said if their remote control (遥控器)was broken, they would continue watching the same channel rather than get up. More than one third of those questioned said they would not run to catch a bus. Worryingly, of the 654 questioned people with children, 64% said they were often too tired to play with them. This led the report to conclude that it’s no wonder that one in six children in the UK are classifted as obese（肥胖）before they start school.
Dr Sarah Dauncey, medical director of Nuffield Health, said: “People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families， too. If we don’t start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the simplest tasks.”
And Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, was shamed as the laziest city in the UK, with 75% surveyed admitting they do not get enough exercise, followed closely by Birmingham and Southampton, both with 67%.
The results pose serious challenges for the National Health Service, where obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer have been on a steady increase for the past 40 years and are costing billions of pounds every year.
1. According to the researchers at Nuffield Health, about ________ people who were surveyed would not run to catch a bus.
A. 10 B. 150 C. 330 D. 660
2. One in six children in the UK are classified as obese before they start school because ________.
A. they stay too long a time with their pets
B. they spend too much time watching TV
C. their parents don’t play with them much
D. they suffer from obesity-related illnesses
3. ________ is the second laziest city in the UK.
A. Scotland B. Glasgow C. Birmingham D. Nuffield
4. What’s the writer trying to tell us?
A. Parents have much to do with their children’s obesity-related illnesses.
B. British people are getting lazier, which can cause serious social problems.
C. The National Health Service has to face a lot of serious challenges every year.
D. A study into how lazy British people are has been carried out at Nuffield Health.
As I was reading a recent story in Slate on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled children who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, I certainly share their disappointment: my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we too are burdened by student loans(贷款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?
Consider some of these views shared in the Slate story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet.
I read that, and I thought, what planet is she living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country? Home ownership is a luxury(奢华), not a fertility requirement.
A 26-year-old in the story despairs(绝望) that he can’t afford to get a Ph.D. in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.
Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations are slowly adjusting, but today’s 20-somethings grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be expanding.
It seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful－for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day－than on longing for some kind of luxury life.
1．What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?
A．They expect everything to be easy for them.
B．They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.
C．They are reluctant（不情愿的） to face all of the challenges.
D．They are burdened by student loans.
2．The underlined word “fertility” in Paragraph 3 probably means .
A．baby production B．pleasant
C．baby comfort D．essential
3．Which of the following is NOT one of the complaints of the 20-somethings?
A．They can’t have children for at least a decade to buy a house.
B．They have only one-bedroom apartment to live in.
C．They can’t buy a house until 40 because of student loans.
D．They despair at not being able to afford a Ph.D. in literature.
4．What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
A．To tell us what the author’s attitude towards the 20 – somethings.
B．To explain why young people can’t afford to buy a house.
C．To suggest what we should do when young people’s high hopes create despair.
D．To explain what the 20 – something’s high expectations are.
Every day, life is made and lost. Every day, life goes on. Every day we experience some of the most important parts of life and may not even realize it: love, generosity, and perseverance. These values aren’t just important to us; they make the world what it is.
Scientists say that gravitaional(重力的)force makes the world turn, but some people say that love makes it go round. Love can be found anywhere: in families, friends, even complete strangers. Even if you can’t see it, you know it’s there.
Love may connect people all over the world, but what would the world be without generosity? Whether after a national disaster, or a school fund-raiser, one thing is certain----it is better to give than to receive. Generosity is found everywhere and whether it’s a large or small act, it makes a difference. Sometimes, though, it takes effort to be generous, which leads us to perseverance.
Founding a country, riding a bike, or finishing an essay, these are all finished with perseverance. Perseverance is the one thing that can help us achieve whatever we want. It is what helps scientists to discover cures for diseases, and athletes to become champions.
There is an infinite(无穷的) number of things we value, but without love, generosity and perseverance, we just don’t think that our life or the world would be the way it is.
1. The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “________”.
A. the world B. gravitational force
C. value D. experience
2. To be generous, the author thinks________.
A. you needn’t make efforts B. you should be qualified
C. you should give all you have D. you will find it good to give
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Perseverance is the only thing that can halp us to achieve success.
B. People don’t understand the life they are experiencing at all.
C. We can find love in complete strangers sometimes.
D. What the world is like depends on gravity and love.
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Success and Failure B. Three Values
C. Endless Love D. Life Full of Hope
Wednesday, October fifteenth, is the first Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.
Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so–called key (关键的)moments. These include after using the toilet , after cleaning a baby and before touching food .
The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs (细菌).They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Rub for at least twenty seconds. Then , wash well under running water . Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth or wave them in the air.
The Partnership for Handwashing says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing . Soap also helps to break up the grease （油脂）and dirt that hold most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the likelihood that people will wash again.
The partnership says washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any vaccine or medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea (腹泻)by almost half. And it could reduce deaths from pneumonia(肺炎)and other breathing infections by one fourth.
Diarrhea is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year. Pneumonia is the leading cause, killing about two million children under five each year. Hand washing can also prevent the spread of other diseases.
When people get germs on their hands, they can infect themselves by touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Then they can infect others .
1.Why is there the Global Handwashing Day?
A. To increase the sale of soap around the world.
B. To save the chidren in the developing world.
C. To advice people to wash hands more often.
D. To encourage people to wash hands with soap
2.What’ s the correct order of washing hands?
a. Cover the hands with soap
b. Rub the hands for twenty seconds
c. Dry the hands with a clean cloth
d. Wet the hands with a small amount of water.
e. Wash the hands well under running water
A. d,a,b, e,c B. d,b,a,e,c C. a,e,d,b,c B. a,b,d ,e,c
3. Which of the following is NOT the reason why soap can help to remove germs?
A. It makes people spend more time washing hands.
B. It helps break up the grease and dirt on the hands
C. The pleasant smell kills off the disease-causing germs.
D. It raises the possibility of people washing hands again
4. What can we leam from the last three paragraphs?
A. Washing with soap will save our lives instead of medicine
B. Diarrhea and pneumonia get many children killed every year
C. People shouldn’t touch eyes and noses with hands for fear of germs.
D. We won’t get infected if we get our hands washed well.
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题，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，选出最佳项。
To Whom It May Concern:
My husband and I got married in 1965 and for the first ten years of our marriage I was very happy to stay at home and raise our three children. Then four years ago, our youngest child went to school and I thought I might go back to work.
My husband was very supportive and helped me to make my decision. He emphasized all of the things I can do around the house, and said he thought I could be a great success in business.
After several weeks of job-hunting I found my present job, which is working for a small public relations firm. At first, my husband was very proud of me and would tell his friends, "My clever little wife can run that company she's working for."
But as his joking remark approached reality, my husband stopped talking to me about my job. I have received several promotions and pay increases, and I am now making more money than he is. I can buy my own clothes and a new car. Because of our combined incomes, my husband and I can do many things that we had always dreamed of doing, but we don't do these things because he is very unhappy.
We fight about little things and my husband is very critical of me in front of our friends. For the first time in our marriage, I think there is a possibility that our marriage may come to an end.
I love my husband very much, and I don't want him to feel inferior（自惭形秽）, but I also love my job. I think I can be a good wife and a working woman, but I don't know how. Can you give me some advice? Will I have to choose one or the other or can I keep both my husband and my new career?
Please help. "Distressed"
1. The letter was most probably written ________.
A. in 1975 B. around 1980 C. four years ago D. in 1965
2. Her husband ________ when she first found her present job.
A. was very critical of her B. felt disappointed
C. was proud of her D. was happy but critical
3. What does the underlined word "promotion" mean?
A. scolding B. criticism C. prize D. advancement
4. As her income increased, ________.
A. she found a gap（分歧）emerged（显露）between her and her husband
B. she bought more clothes and a house
C. she did the many things she and her husband dreamed of
D. she felt very proud of herself