Global warming does more than just kill plant species-it also changes the way plants grow. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) joined forces with the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry (IPB) to discover the molecular processes of plant growth. In Current Biology, a scientific journal, they presented their findings on high-temperature plant growth. This could lead to developing plants that can survive global warming.
Plants react to even small temperature changes, but they are unable to move to new locations. “When temperatures rise, plants grow taller... to cool themselves off. Their stalks become taller, and their leaves become narrower and grow farther apart. Yet, this makes the plant more unstable overall,” explains Professor Marcel Quint, an agricultural scientist at MLU. Unstable plants bend faster in the rain and produce less food that’s also less nutritious.
There’s still lots to learn about plant reactions to temperatures. “We are just starting to understand how plants detect the changes in temperature...,” Quint says. Earlier studies have shown that the protein PIF4 directly controls plant growth and is also dependent on temperature. When it’s cold, PIF4 is less active, meaning the plant doesn’t grow. At higher temperatures, PIF4 activates growth-promoting genes, and the plant grows taller. This is new information, says Quint.
To understand it, they investigated the growth of thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana,) seedlings. Normally, its seedlings form short stems at 20℃. These stems become considerably longer at 28℃. They discovered a hormone that activates the PIF4 at high temperatures, thus producing the protein. The findings of the Halle group may help to breed plants that remain stable even at high temperatures and produce many crops.
1.Why did the researchers at MLU and IPB conduct their research?
A.To study the negative effects of global warming.
B.To find out how plants help reduce global warming.
C.To observe how global warming affects plant growth.
D.To understand the ways that plants cause global warming.
2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A.Low temperatures have little impact on plants.
B.Plants prefer dry weather to rainy weather.
C.Plants are very sensitive to changes in soil.
D.High temperatures decrease crop production.
3.What do we know about PIF4?
A.It mainly exists in the cress seedlings.
B.It works differently at different temperatures.
C.It is a kind of gene that controls plant growth.
D.It is a plant hormone that works at high temperatures.
4.Who will probably benefit most from the findings?
A.Farmers. B.Botanists.
C.Researchers. D.Environmentalists.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Global warming does more than just kill plant species-it also changes the way plants grow. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) joined forces with the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry (IPB) to discover the molecular processes of plant growth. In Current Biology, a scientific journal, they presented their findings on high-temperature plant growth. This could lead to developing plants that can survive global warming.
Plants react to even small temperature changes, but they are unable to move to new locations. “When temperatures rise, plants grow taller... to cool themselves off. Their stalks become taller, and their leaves become narrower and grow farther apart. Yet, this makes the plant more unstable overall,” explains Professor Marcel Quint, an agricultural scientist at MLU. Unstable plants bend faster in the rain and produce less food that’s also less nutritious.
There’s still lots to learn about plant reactions to temperatures. “We are just starting to understand how plants detect the changes in temperature...,” Quint says. Earlier studies have shown that the protein PIF4 directly controls plant growth and is also dependent on temperature. When it’s cold, PIF4 is less active, meaning the plant doesn’t grow. At higher temperatures, PIF4 activates growth-promoting genes, and the plant grows taller. This is new information, says Quint.
To understand it, they investigated the growth of thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana,) seedlings. Normally, its seedlings form short stems at 20℃. These stems become considerably longer at 28℃. They discovered a hormone that activates the PIF4 at high temperatures, thus producing the protein. The findings of the Halle group may help to breed plants that remain stable even at high temperatures and produce many crops.
1.Why did the researchers at MLU and IPB conduct their research?
A.To study the negative effects of global warming.
B.To find out how plants help reduce global warming.
C.To observe how global warming affects plant growth.
D.To understand the ways that plants cause global warming.
2.What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A.Low temperatures have little impact on plants.
B.Plants prefer dry weather to rainy weather.
C.Plants are very sensitive to changes in soil.
D.High temperatures decrease crop production.
3.What do we know about PIF4?
A.It mainly exists in the cress seedlings.
B.It works differently at different temperatures.
C.It is a kind of gene that controls plant growth.
D.It is a plant hormone that works at high temperatures.
4.Who will probably benefit most from the findings?
A.Farmers. B.Botanists.
C.Researchers. D.Environmentalists.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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.
1.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. |
2. 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. |
3. 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. |
4. 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. |
5. 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. |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
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 Kofi 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 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 politicalscientist 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（在...中间） 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 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 to climate hazards while still controling 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.
1.What is the finding of the Global Humanitarian Forum?
A. Rates of death from illnesses have risen due to global warming.
B. Global temperatures affect the rate of economic development.
C. Malnutrition has caused serious health problems in poor countries.
D. Economic trends have to do withpopulation and natural disasters.
2. What do we learn about the Forum’s report from the passage?
A. It caused a big stir in developing countries.
B. It was warmly received by environmentalists.
C. It caused a lot of interest in the scientific circles.
D. It was challenged by some climate and risk experts.
3. 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.
4.What does Kofi Annan say should be the focus of the Copenhagen conference?
A. How human and economic losses from climate change can be reduced.
B. How rich countries can better help poor regions reduce climate hazards.
C. How emissions of heat-trapping gases can be reduced on a global scale.
D. How rich and poor regionscan share responsibility in curbing global warming.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
1.
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a raise in the world’s temperature. But rising sea levels causing by it have resulted from the first evacuation（撤离）of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave for their homeland.
During 20th century, sea level rose 8-12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experiencing lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drink water.
Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusual high number of fierce storm in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and much damaging storms.
高三英语短文改错困难题查看答案及解析
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature But rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation（撤离）of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century, sea level rose 8—12 inches. As a result .Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa , a Tuvaluan government official ,reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years .Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions（导致温室效应的气体排放）,which are a main cause of global warming . “By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries .
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable （易受影响的）to rising sea levels .Maumoon Gayoon ,president of the Maldives ,told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.
1.The text is mainly about ________.
A．rapid changes in earth’s temperature
B．bad effects of global warming
C．moving of a country to a new place
D．reasons for lowland flooding
2.According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is ________.
A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B．higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C．continuous global warming
D．rising sea levels
3.Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not ________.
A．agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C．allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
4.The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is ________.
A．Australia B．New Zealand C．the Maldives D．the United States
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The most effective way 1.(fight) global warming is to plant lots of trees, a study has said. And there is enough space for new trees to cover 3.5 million square miles, Swiss 2.(scientist) reported in Science. That area is roughly the size 3.the United States.
The study calculated that over the decades, those new trees could suck up nearly 830 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. That’s about as much carbon pollution 4.humans have caused in the past 25 years.
Six nations with the most room for new trees 5.(be) Russia, the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and China.
Study co-author Thomas Crowther 6.(figure) that there were other more effective ways besides 7.(cut) emissions ( 排放物 ), such as people switching from meat-eating to vegetarianism. But, he said, tree planting was by far the cheapest climate change solution.
Thomas Lovejoy, a George Mason University conservation biologist, called it “a good news story” because planting trees would also help promote the 8.(protect) of biodiversity.
“It is not easy or realistic to think the world will suddenly start planting trees everywhere, although many groups have started,” Crowther said. “It’s 9.(certain) a monumental challenge, 10. is exactly what people are saying about the problem of climate change.”
高三英语语法填空困难题查看答案及解析
C
A crisis is on the way．Global warming? The world economy? No，the decline of reading．People are just not doing it anymore，especially the young．Who’s responsible? What is responsible? The Internet，of course，and everything that comes with it—Facebook，Twitter，etc..
There’s been a warning about the coming death of literate civilization for a long time．In the 20th century，first it was the movies，then radio，then television that seemed to end the written world．None did．Reading survived；in fact it not only survived，it has developed better．The world is more literate than ever before — there are more and more readers．and more and more books．
The fact that we often get our reading material online today is not something we should worry over．The electronic and digital revolution of the last two decades has arguably shown the way forward for reading and for writing．Interconnectivity allows for the possibility of a reading experience that was barely imaginable before．Where traditional books had to make do with photographs and illustrations，an e-book can provide readers with an unlimited number of links：to texts，pictures，and videos．
On the other hand，there is the danger of trivialization(碎片化)．One Twitter group is offering its followers single-sentence-long“digests”of the great novels．War and Peace in a sentence? You must be joking．We should fear the fragmentation(碎片)of reading．There is the danger that the high-speed connectivity of the Internet will reduce our attention span—that we will be incapable of reading anything of length or which requires deep concentration．
In such a fast-changing world，in which reality seems to be remade each day，we need the ability to focus and understand what is happening to us．This has always been the function of literature and we should be careful not to let it disappear．Our society needs to be able to imagine the possibility of someone entirely in pace with modern technology but able to make sense of a dynamic，confusing world．
1.In Paragraph 2，we can learn ．
A．the disappearance of traditional books
B．the development of human civilization
C．the historical challenges for reading
D．the birth of pioneering e-books
2.According to the passage，the advantage of e-books is ．
A．1imited link
B．imaginative design
C．low cost
D．varied contents
3.How does the author feel towards single-sentence-long novels?
A．Doubtful B．Worried
C．Shocked D．Hopeful
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A．Technology is an opportunity and a challenge for traditional reading．
B．Technology pushes the way forward for reading and writing．
C．Interconnectivity is a feature of new reading experience．
D．Technology offers a greater variety of reading practice．
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
More and more carbon dioxide is being released into the air，________the more severe global warming effects.
A．contributed to B．to contribute to
C．contributing to D．to be contributed to
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
It is global warming, rather than other factors,_____ the extreme weather.
| A．that have led to | B．which has caused | C．which are causing | D．that has led to |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
The global warming is more and more serious，for which human beings ________.
A．are blaming B．are to blame
C．are going to blame D．are to be blamed
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析