Kiribati covers a massive 3.5 million square ...

Kiribati covers a massive 3.5 million square kilometers stretch of the Pacific Ocean, but in population terms it is one of the smallest countries in the world, with only 100,000 people. More than half of them live in the capital Tarawa—strip of coral which measures just 450 meters at its widest point. As well as being narrow, Kiribati is extremely low lying, which makes it one of the most easily influenced countries in the world when it comes to climate change.

“We are counting the days rather than the decades…We don't have the time that we thought we had previously,” Kiribati President Anote Tong said.

Pelenise Alofa returned to Kiribati six years ago. The changes she saw led to her becoming one of the islands principal climate change campaigners. "Things began to change when I came here. I realized the king tides were big, and I told them 'have you heard of climate change, have you heard of global wanning, this is part of it, you're in it,'" Ms Alofa told SBS.

Linda Uan and her New Zealand born husband John have been documenting the changing climate in Kiribati for nearly 20 years. They didn't have to travel far to film the effects of a storm three years ago when for the first time it washed through their home. "There's been a lot of changes," Linda said, “When we were little there was a definite dry season and a definite wet season, now you can't feel the difference anymore.”

Kiribati is not just facing one knock-out punch but a whole round of killer blows. Because of its sensibility to the El Nino and La Nina weather patterns, climate scientists say droughts and floods will be more severe than in the past. Warmer seas could affect the migration patterns of fish, taking away vast taxes it gains from selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers, while increased storms are expected to destroy crops and make the limited supply of water in the shallow water pools undrinkable.

It’s a claim the country will take to Copenhagen as it seeks to get the world's big emitters （排放者） to face up to the consequences of their actions. “It's a whole world issue,” President Tong said. “It’s a moral issue…it's almost criminal.”

1.According to the passage, we can infer that         .

A．Kiribati covers a land area of 3,500,000 km2

B．the country's average altitude is 450 meters in Kiribati

C．Kiribati is one of the countries facing the climate change calmly

D．Over fifty thousand people live in Tarawa

2.President Anote’s words are quoted in order to show          .

A．the high pressure from time      B．the importance of measuring time

C．the different timing units       D．the personal attitude towards time

3.Which of the following statements does Ms Alofa probably agree with?

A．The tides hitting Kiribati used to be bigger than they are now.

B．Most people in the world have never heard of global warming.

C．Nobody can keep away from the effects caused by climate changes.

D．Changes in this country will make you a climate change campaigner.

4.Climate changes have brought about the consequences EXCEPT        .

A．Severe droughts and floods       B．abundant fresh water

C．fiercer storm and tide           D．changed living patterns of fish

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

.China is one of the largest countries in the world, _______ 9.6 million square (平方) kilometers.

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Differences in land usage, building height, tree cover, rooftop color, and even how orderly the streets are all have an effect on temperature. Taken together, these factors can result in hyper-localized differences in the heat felt throughout a city, which in turn can have a big effect on who's most threatened by heatwaves. That is why citizen scientists are starting to map the urban heat island effect.

Later this month, a team of researchers and about 20 volunteers will spread out across Washington D.C. and Baltimore to take the cities’ temperatures. Equipped with instruments that record temperature data every second, they’ll drive or bike the same route three times to create a snapshot(快照) of how temperatures vary throughout the day. Those snapshots will then be collected to produce detailed maps of heat differences.

“If similar research conducted in Richmond, Virginia last July is any guide, those differences can be quite large. Temperatures in more industrial parts of Richmond reached 102°F (38.9°C) on the same day that a nearby shade-filled park topped out at 87°F (30.6°C)”, said Jeremy Hoffman, a researcher with the Science Museum of Virginia.

Based on the data collected throughout Richmond last year, project member Vivek Shandas at Portland State University and his colleagues were able to produce maps of urban heat across the city as well as heat vulnerability(脆弱性), which takes socioeconomic differences into account. Those maps are now being used to inform a citywide master plan update and a climate resilience(复原) plan.

Shandas and Hoffman plan to produce similar maps from this month's campaigns in D.C. and Baltimore. Finally, the two are hoping to scale up this effort even further. Shandas said he wish to create an off-the-shelf set of guidelines that any city can use to launch its own heat island campaign and generate citywide temperature maps.

Hoffman sees this as a way to help people to relate climate change to their own lives, and then actually do something about it. "The volunteers serve as a feedback mechanism to spread the findings," he said. "We can do heat island assessments using satellites, but we want a team of volunteers measuring temperatures in their neighborhoods to gain a better understanding of where they live."

1.The heat differences throughout the city result from the following factors except ________.

A. height of buildings　　 B. usage of land

C. layout of streets　　 D. social economy

2.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. In Richmond, the difference of temperature between industrial parts and the nearby park can reach 15°C on the same day.

B. The maps of heat differences across Richmond make little contributions to the city plans.

C. The researchers will appoint volunteers to take the temperatures in

D. C. and Baltimore to cut down the expense.

3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “off-the-shelf” in paragraph 5?

A. superb　　 B. available

C. tough　　 D. random

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

The massive appeal of China’ s online literature has also ________ its reach to millions of readers worldwide.

A.evolved B.slipped C.extended D.shaped

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The Lushan Mountain, occupying an area of 302 square kilometers,  possesses rich cultural and geological __________.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Tian'anmen Square is the largest square in the world, which covers a total area of 440,000 square meters,　　　 880 meters north to south, and 500 meters east to west.

A. measured　　　 B. to measure

C. being measured　　 D. measuring

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Chinese vessels ________ 646,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean in search of the missing Malaysian flight MH370.

A. have covered     B. have looked        C. has travelled    　　 D. had searched

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Bissel is a small village of the West Sahara. It lies next to a l.5-square-kilometer oasis（绿洲）, from where three days and nights are generally required to go out of the desert. However, before Ken Levin discovered it in 1926, none of the Bissel villagers had ever walked out of the desert. Reportedly, they were not unwilling to leave this barren land. Many had previously tried but failed, always somehow finding themselves back at the oasis after several days of trying to walk out.

When interviewed by Ken Levin, an expert at the British Royal College of Sciences, the villagers explained that no matter which direction they walked it always brought them back to the village.Why couldn’t the Bissel villagers walk out of the desert? Levin was very puzzled. He had, by himself, managed to walk north from the village and reach the nearest town in three and a half days. He decided to carry out an experiment to solve the mystery. He and a Bissel villager called Argutel, would walk out of the desert together. They prepared enough water for a half-a-month journey and two camels. But this time Ken Levin didn't bring his compass. Levin would follow Argutel.

Ten days later, they had walked for about 500 miles but were still in the desert. On the 11th morning, an oasis came into their view. They were back at Bissel. Levin now understood why the Bissel people couldn’t escape the desert. They had no knowledge of the North Star, which had for centuries provided sailors and other travelers with a point of direction. In the desert, if a person goes forward relying only on their senses, they will not be able to travel in a straight line. Rather they will travel in a very large circle and eventually track back to where they began. Levin explained to Argutel the function of the North Star and said, “As long as you rest in the daytime and walk towards the brightest star at night, you would be able to walk out of the desert.” Argutel did as he was told. Three days later, he came to the edge of the desert.

Now in the West Sahara, Bissel has become a bright pearl, where tens of thousands of tourists come every year. Argutel’s bronze statue stands in the center of the town. On its base are the words: __________________________________.

1.Ken Levin asked Argutel to walk to the north in order to ________.

A. prove that people could walk out of the desert see

B. how far away Bissel was to the edge of the desert

C. tell people not to walk in circles

D. show Argutel was a great person

2.According to the passage, Ken Levin ________.

A. knew Argutel before he came to the village

B. came to Bissel to do experiments on behalf of his college

C. became the first man to walk out of the desert from Bissel Village

D. taught Bissel villagers knowledge of the North Star when he first arrived

3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. Ken Levin didn’t walk south because it would take more days

B. the use of a compass was necessary to walk out of the desert

C. tourism in Bissel has been greatly developed and improved

D. Argutel became the leader of Bissel after his return

4.Which of the following can most probably be found at the base of Argutel’s statue?

A. A new life starts from the fixed direction.

B. Where there is a will, there is a way.

C. A long journey starts with the first step.

D. Two heads are better than one.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Bissel is a small village of the West Sahara. It lies next to a l.5-square-kilometer oasis（绿洲）, from where three days and nights are generally required to go out of the desert. However, before Ken Levin discovered it in 1926, none of the Bissel villagers had ever walked out of the desert. Reportedly, they were not unwilling to leave this barren land. Many had previously tried but failed, always somehow finding themselves back at the oasis after several days of trying to walk out.

When interviewed by Ken Levin, an expert at the British Royal College of Sciences, the villagers explained that no matter which direction they walked it always brought them back to the village.Why couldn’t the Bissel villagers walk out of the desert? Levin was very puzzled. He had, by himself, managed to walk north from the village and reach the nearest town in three and a half days. He decided to carry out an experiment to solve the mystery. He and a Bissel villager called Argutel, would walk out of the desert together. They prepared enough water for a half-a-month journey and two camels. But this time Ken Levin didn't bring his compass. Levin would follow Argutel.

Ten days later, they had walked for about 500 miles but were still in the desert. On the 11th morning, an oasis came into their view. They were back at Bissel. Levin now understood why the Bissel people couldn’t escape the desert. They had no knowledge of the North Star, which had for centuries provided sailors and other travelers with a point of direction. In the desert, if a person goes forward relying only on their senses, they will not be able to travel in a straight line. Rather they will travel in a very large circle and eventually track back to where they began. Levin explained to Argutel the function of the North Star and said, “As long as you rest in the daytime and walk towards the brightest star at night, you would be able to walk out of the desert.” Argutel did as he was told. Three days later, he came to the edge of the desert.

Now in the West Sahara, Bissel has become a bright pearl, where tens of thousands of tourists come every year. Argutel’s bronze statue stands in the center of the town. On its base are the words: __________________________.

1.Ken Levin asked Argutel to walk to the north in order to ________.

A. prove that people could walk out of the desert see

B. how far away Bissel was to the edge of the desert

C. tell people not to walk in circles

D. show Argutel was a great person

2.According to the passage, Ken Levin ________.

A. knew Argutel before he came to the village

B. came to Bissel to do experiments on behalf of his college

C. became the first man to walk out of the desert from Bissel Village

D. taught Bissel villagers knowledge of the North Star when he first arrived

3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. Ken Levin didn’t walk south because it would take more days

B. the use of a compass was necessary to walk out of the desert

C. tourism in Bissel has been greatly developed and improved

D. Argutel became the leader of Bissel after his return

4.Which of the following can most probably be found at the base of Argutel’s statue?

A. A new life starts from the fixed direction.

B. Where there is a will , there is a way .

C. A long journey starts with the first step .

D. Two heads are better than one.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

258. There isn’t a cafe within a _________ mile here.

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析