Climate change has arrived and is _____ faste...

Climate change has arrived and is _____ faster than many scientists expected.

A.uniting B.accelerating C.declining D.twisting

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Plants are flowering faster than scientists predicted (预测) in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains (链条) and ecosystems.（生态系统）

Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns, scientists say.

Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen (氧气), while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.

“Predicting species’ reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researches of several U.S. universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.

The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated (低估) the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing（长出叶子） by 4 times.

“Across all species, the experiments under-predicted the speed of the advance —for both leafing and flowering —that results from temperature increases,” the study said.

The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change, it said.

Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis (光合作用) to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.

Scientists believe the world’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8℃ since 1900, and nearly 0.2℃ every ten years since 1979.

So far, efforts to cut emissions (排放) of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond（超出） 2℃ this century —a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.

1.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?

A. Plants’ reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystems.

B. The increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists’ expectation.

C. Climate change leads to the change of food production patterns.

D. Food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather.

2.We can learn from the study published on the Nature website that __________.

A. plants’ flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing

B. there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents

C. scientists should improve the design of the experiments

D. the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change

3.Scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because __________.

A. they can prove the climate change clearly

B. they are very important in the food chainsA

C. they play a leading role in reducing global warming

D. they are growing and flowering much faster than before

4. What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the world’s temperature?

A. It has risen nearly 0.2℃ since 1979.

B. Its change will lead to weather extremes.

C. It is 0.8℃ higher in 1979 than that of 1900.

D. It needs to be controlled within 2℃ in this century.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

There is one foreign product the Japanese are buying faster than others and its popularity has caused an uneasy feeling among many Japanese.

That product is foreign words.

Gairaigo — words that come from outside － have been part of the Japanese language for centuries. Mostly borrowed from English and Chinese, these terms are often changed into forms no longer understood by native speakers.

But in the last few years the trickle (涓涓流水) of foreign words has become a flood, and people fear the increasing use of foreign words is making it hard for the Japanese to understand each other and could lead to many people forgetting the good qualities of traditional Japanese.

“The popularity of foreign words is part of the Japanese interest in anything new,”says University Lecturer and Writer Takashi Saito.”By using a foreign word you can make a subject seem new, which makes it easier for the media to pick up.”

“Experts often study abroad and use English terms when they speak with people in their own fields. Those terms are then included in government white papers,” said Muturo Kai, president of the National Language Research Institute.”Foreign words find their way easily into announcements made to the general public, when they should really be explained in Japanese.”

Against the flow of new words, many Japanese are turning back to the study of their own language. Saito’s Japanese to Be Read Aloud is one of many language books that are now flying off booksellers’ shelves.

“We were expecting to sell the books to young people,” said the writer, ”but it turns out they are more popular with the older generation, who seem uneasy about the future of Japanese.”

1.What advantages do foreign words have over traditional Japanese terms?

A. The ideas expressed in foreign words sound new.

B. Foreign words are best suited for announcements.

C. Foreign words make new subjects easier to understand.

D. The use of foreign words makes the media more popular.

2.In the opinion of Takashi Saito, Japanese people ______.

A. are good at learning foreign languages           B. are willing to learn about new things

C. trust the media                                             D. respect experts

3.Which of the following plays an important part in the spread of foreign words?

A. The media and government papers.         B. Best-selling Japanese textbooks.

C. The interest of young Japanese.                     D. Foreign products and experts.

4.The book Japanese to Be Read Aloud ______.

A.sells very well in Japan

B.is supported by the government

C.is questioned by the old generation

D.causes misunderstanding among the readers

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

There is no doubt _________ the world climate has been changing in recent years.

A. that        B. what        C. if          D. whether

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

There is no doubt _________ the world climate has been changing in recent years.

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Due to climate change, Arctic ice is breaking up earlier in the spring, and its area is decreasing. This is creating problems for polar bears that make their homes off northern Alaska and in Hudson Bay.

Polar bears off Alaska normally hunt and raise their young on ice sheets that float on the ocean. But as the ice has melted, the polar bears have been forced to spend more time on land. There, they have begun to frequent beaches, feeding on the remains of whales caught by native hunters. For polar bears, this food is less nutritious than seals that they normally catch on ice sheets. The shrinking（减少） ice has also forced more polar bears into the ocean. In the past, they only had to swim short distances between ice sheets. But as the ice has shrunk, polar bears have been forced to swim longer and longer distances in the open ocean. This poses a severe danger during rough weather, and an increasing number of drowned polar bears have been observed.

In Hudson Bay, the ice breaks up three weeks earlier in the spring now than it did 20 years ago. Polar bears on Hudson Bay fast（绝食） during the summer, waiting for ice to form in the fall to hunt. Every year, the summer gets longer, and the bears get skinnier. Over the past 25 years, the average weight of the female bears has dropped 68 kg. This loss affects their ability to reproduce, and already the number of births has dropped 15 percent. Unless the bears can learn to survive these climate changes, these giants of the ice may one day disappear.

1.What is Arctic ice doing earlier each year?

2.What is true of polar bears that are spending more time on land in Alaska?

3.What do polar bears in Hudson Bay do during the summer?

4.In which publication would you most likely find this passage?

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

With climate change and overfishing threatening our oceans, it is becoming increasingly important for researchers to closely observe and check sea animals and plants. However, it’s almost impossible to make it since human presence scares the animals. Now, thanks to the robot, aka SoFi, researchers may be able to solve the problem.

Built by MIT’s laboratory, the snow-white remote-controlled robot simulates fish, complete with a flexible tail that moves from side to side and two “fins (鳍)”.

When the robot is under the sea, a motor is pumping water into a pair of balloon-like rooms located in the robot’s tail. These rooms operate similarly to the key parts in engines. As one room expands, the tail bends to one side; when the motor pushes water to the other channel, the tail bends in the other direction. Thus the robot gains the ability to move to where it wants to go.

SoFi solves many of the issues that have affected the usefulness(有效性) of previous robots --- some types of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).

AUVs traditionally often have had to be tied to a boat because radio frequency communications do not work well underwater. So researchers use sound waves. The new technology can travel greater distances, allowing drivers, by using a controller, to pilot SoFi from up to 50 feet away. SoFi can move around the ocean, unaffected by ropes. Also limiting traditional AUVs’ usefulness is the risk of hitting something, like hard stones. With the outside made of rubber(橡胶) and plastic that can keep its built-in electronics dry, SoFi can efficiently avoid hitting. So a soft robot is more likely to survive a potential crisis.

During test dives in Rainbow Reef, SoFi swam alongside the unsuspecting(无疑心的) ocean life at depths of 50 feet for up to 40 minutes at a time, obtaining high-quality photos and videos. More importantly, it was able to do so without causing any disturbance. Researchers say sometimes the fish would swim alongside the strange-looking robot in curiosity, while at other times they appeared to completely ignore its existence. “It’s not perfect, but we’re improving it. Our efforts will pay off,” says Robert Katzschmann.

1.The robot SoFi is created to ________.

A.observe climate change B.help to monitor sea creatures

C.catch fish and observe them D.prevent overfishing in oceans

2.What does the underlined word “simulates” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A.Is modeled after. B.Is designed for.

C.Is combined with. D.Is applied to.

3.What’s Paragraph 3 mainly written to show?

A.The shape of SoFi. B.The application of SoFi.

C.The structure of SoFi’s tail. D.The theory of SoFi’s movement.

4.What’s Robert Katzschmann’s attitude towards SoFi?

A.Satisfied. B.Negative. C.Hopeful. D.Neutral.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Television has changed our lives in many ways. Many people now spend more time watching TV than doing anything else. Researchers in the USA has estimated(估计)that when most students leave school they have spent 11,000 hours in the classroom and 22,000 hours watching television. But what effect does this have?

Benefits(好处) of television:

1. Television helps us to learn more about the world and to know and see many mew things. Television can offer present information to us in a more effective way than books. It can also make things more memorable.

2. It entertains (使欢乐) us. It is an enjoyable way to relax. For millions of people around the world, television is a source of companionship and helps them to cope with everyday life.

3. It has increased the popularity of sports and arts.

4. It has made us aware of our global responsibilities. In 2000, for example, 1.5billion people in 147 countries watched a TV pop concert and helped to collect more than $100million for people in Africa.

Dangers:

1. Television can make us passive (消极的). We don't have to think and our brains become lazy.

2. It encourages us to buy things that we don’t need, and can make us unhappy with our own life.

3. It takes time away from activities such as reading, conversation, and games.

4. It gives a false picture of society. A study in 2003 showed that people who watch a lot of TV are more afraid of crime. They also think that there is a lot more crime than there really is .

5. Some critics(批评家) say that television make people violent. A ten-year study in the United States showed that children who watch violent television programmes are more likely to be violent themselves.

1. What’s the proper description of the time American students spend on TV and study?

A、They spend twice as much time on TV as in the classroom.

B、They spend twice as much time in the classroom as on TV.

C、They spend as much time on TV as in the classroom.

D、They spend less time on TV than in the classroom/

2. The underlined word “memorable” is closed in meaning to________.

A、easy to be remembered        B、remembered forever

C、interesting                  D、knowledgeable

3.Which of the following number is NOT true of the pop concert mentioned in the passage?

A、People in more than 140 countries watched it on TV

B、It helped to collect more than $100 million

C、It was held in 2000.

D、1.5million people watched it on TV.

4. According to the passage, the dangers of watching TV too much included all the following except that________.

A、television can make us active

B、television encourages us to buy things that we don’t need

C、television gives us a worse picture of society

D、television takes time away from a lot of activities

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Climate change is projected to have far-reaching____ — including sea level rise flooding cities and shifting weather patterns causing long-term declines in agricultural production.

A.contributions B.confusions C.consequences D.feedbacks

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Is there link between humans and climate change or not? This question was first studied in the early 1900s. Since then, many scientists have thought that our actions do make a difference. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol explained our role in the Earth’s changing atmosphere and set international limits for gas emissions（排放）from 2008 to 2012. Some countries have decided to continue these reductions until 2020. More recently, the Paris Agreement, stuck by nearly 200 countries, also aims to limit global warming. But just now how much warmer it will get depends on how deeply countries cut carbon emissions.

3.5℃: This is how much temperatures would rise by 2100 even if nations live up to the initial Paris promises to reduce carbon emissions; this rise could still put coastal cities under water and drive over half of all species to extinction.

2℃: To meet this minimum goal, the Agreement requires countries to tighten emissions targets every five years. Even this increase could sink some islands, worse drought and drive a decline of up to a third in the number of species.

1.5℃: This is the most ambitious goal for temperature rise set by the Paris Agreement, after a push by low-lying island nations like Kiribati, which say limiting temperature rise to 1.5℃ could save them from sinking.

0.8℃: This is how much temperatures have risen since the industrial age began, putting us 40% of the way to the 2℃ point.

0℃: The baseline here is average global temperature before the start of the industrial age.

1.It can be concluded from Para.1 that _______.

A. the problem of global warming will have been quite solved by 2020

B. gas emissions have been effectively reduced in developed countries

C. the Paris Agreements is more influential than the Kyoto Protocol

D. humans have made continuous efforts to slow down global warming

2.If nations could only keep the initial promises of the Paris Agreement, what would happen by the year 2100?

A. The human population would increase by one third.

B. Little over 50% of all species would still exist.

C. The Agreement’s minimum goal would not be reached.

D. Nations would not need to tighten their emissions targets.

3.If those island nations not far above sea level are to survive, the maximum temperature rise, since the start of the industrial age, should be_______.

A. 0.8℃　　 B. 1.5℃　　 C. 2℃　　 D. 3.5℃

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析