Many nations have promised to reduce greenhou...

Many nations have promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but are falling short of the _______ reduction of 25 to 40 percent of 1990 levels.

A．target            B．option            C．profit             D．refund

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

What is the single most effective way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions? Go vegetarian (素食)？ Replant the Amazon? Cycle to work? None of the above. The answer is: make air-conditioners better. On one calculation， replacing refrigerants (制冷剂) damaging the atmosphere would reduce total greenhouse gases equaling 90bn tonnes of CO2 by 2050. Making the units more energy-efficient could double that. By contrast, if half the world’s population gave up meat, it would save 66bn tonnes. Replanting two-thirds of tropical forests would save 61 bn tonnes. A one-third increase in global bicycle journeys, just 2.3bn tonnes.

Air-conditioning is one of the world's great overlooked industries. Automobiles and air-conditioners were invented at roughly the same time, and both have had a huge impact on where people live and Work. Unlike cars, though， air-conditioners have drawn little criticism for their social impact, emissions or energy efficiency. Most hot countries do not have rules to govern their energy use. There is not even a common English word for “coolth” (the opposite of warmth).

Yet air-conditioning has done more than most things to benefit humankind. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, called it “perhaps one of the signal inventions of history”. It has transformed productivity in the tropics(热带地区)and helped turn southern China into the workshop of the World. In Europe, its spread has pushed down heat-related deaths to 10% since 2003, Men 70,000 people than usual, most of them elderly, died in a heatwave. For children, air-conditioned classrooms are associated with better grades at school.

Environmentalists who call air-conditioning“a luxury we cannot afford” have half a point, however. In the next ten years, as many air-conditioners will be installed(安装)around the world as were put in between 1902(invention time)and 2005.Unless energy can be produced without carbon emissions, these extra machines will warm the world. At the moment, therefore, air-conditioners create a vicious cycle. The more the Earth warms, the more people need them. But the more there are, the warmer the world will be.

Cutting the impact of cooling requires three things. First, air-conditioners must become much more efficient. The most energy-efficient models on the market today consume only about one-third as much electricity as average ones, Minimum energy-performance standards need to be raised raised, orintroduced in countries that lack them altogether, to push the average unit's performance closer to the standard of the best.

Next, manufacturers should stop using damaging refrigerants. One type called hydrofluoro-carbons, is over 1,000 times worse than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere. An international agreement to knock out these pollutants will come into force in 2019.

Last, more could. be done to design offices, malls and even cities so they do not need as many air-conditioners in the first place. More buildings should be built with overhanging roofs orbalconies for shade, or with natural ventilation (自然通风).Simply painting roofs white can help keep temperatures down. Providing indoor air-conditioned comfort need not come at the expense of an overheating world.

1.What’s the most effective way to reduce carbon gases?

A. Planting more trees.　　 B. Leading green lifestyles.

C. Improving cooling systems.　　 D. Buying new air-conditioners.

2.What can we learn from Paragraphs 2 and 3?

A. Air-conditioning enables factories to produce more in hot areas.

B. The heat-related deaths have dropped by 10% since 2003 in Europe.

C. There are many factories producing air-conditioners in southern China.

D. Air-conditioners have received little criticism for they have no negative impact.

3.Why do environmentalists call air-conditioning “a luxury we cannot afford” in Paragraph 4?

A. Because the price of air-conditioning is too high.

B. Because you can’t afford the time for installation.

C. Because the cost of energy consumption is too high.

D. Because the earth will suffer from its carbon emissions.

4.Which of the following measures can reduce the impact of cooling?

a.design natural cooling buildings

b.raise standards for energy-performance

c.make laws for international cooperation

d.stop applying harmful refrigerants to production

A. abc　　 B. abd　　 C. acd　　 D. bed

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Agriculture _____ about 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and transporting the food around adds to the environmental cost.

A. cares for      B. applies for

C. accounts for      D. answers for

高二英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Industrial emissions (排放) of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming greenhouse gases have raised the global average temperature by about 0.8°C since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. But studies have disagreed about what impact the rise is having on the world’s species, says Mark Urban, an ecologist at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Some have estimated that as many as 54% of species could eventually become extinct as a result of the climate change, but others have suggested no significant impact.①

Such disparate result might originate from the limited nature of some individual studies, possibly because they focused only on a few species or a relatively small geographical region, says Urban.② To address these limits, Urban used statistical methods to help blend the results of previous studies into an apples-to-apples comparison that estimates the risk of extinction of species worldwide.

③He chose to analyze only the results of studies that had assessed extinction risks of more than one species. Then he researched into the details, such as the regions in which species considered, whether those species were limited to one small region or were widely spread, and whether the species were free to move as climate changed or were blocked by barriers such as mountain ranges or urban development.④

Effects of climate change aren’t always immediate, Urban says, and the risks of extinction he’s estimated are the long-term results of species not being able to find a suitable habitat. Maybe the habitat will merely shrink to a size that can’t support the species, or maybe it will disappear entirely. In some cases, he notes, a species might not be able to outpace the shift in its range, dying out before it can reach a new homeland. For over the generations that rapid warming might kill them off before they can spread to a suitable new habitat.

1.What is the passage aimed to tell us?

A. It is the Industrial Revolution that raised the global average temperature.

B. Mark Urban is an ecologist at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

C. The climate change contributes to almost all the species dying out.

D. Global warming is not a main factor accounting for species extinction.

2.The sentence “And different teams have often used different methods to come up with their predictions.” can be placed in ________.

A. ①　　 B. ②　　 C. ③　　 D. ④

3.According to Mark Urban in Paragraph 4, some species died out mainly because of ________.

A. the rising temperatures　　 B. human activities

C. their low birth rates　　 D. the loss of their habitats

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

_________ many countries in Latin America have been trying to reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality to grow.

A．While            B．Since             C．If                D．Where

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

International experts meeting in Australia say global carbon emissions (排放) can be reduced by more than 50 percent through simple energy saving measures. People at a conference in Australia, which increasingly relies on coal for power, say that reducing power consumption is an affordable way to both cut energy costs and reduce pollution.

While many nations turn to cheap and dirty energy sources, such as coal, to meet their increasing energy needs, analysts in Australia say the best way to meet those needs is to improve energy efficiency.

A range of simple solutions include using energy-efficient homes, household appliances and lighting, and driving electric cars. Encouraging homeowners and office workers to switch off their televisions and computers at the end of the day is also seen as an effective way to save electricity.

Grayson Heffner, from the Paris-based International Energy Agency, says reducing consumption could greatly cut global carbon emissions. He calls efficiency strategies (策略) the “soft giant” of clean energy.

“We forecast that energy efficiency will deliver something like three-quarters of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions over the next 20 years. So in the short term energy efficiency is the main way that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions but oftentimes it is not so importantly stressed in the discussions,” said Heffner.

Energy experts working in China say the government is making significant cuts in power usage.

Wan Xingwang, a Beijing-based representative of the Energy Foundation, a U.S. non-government organization, says the results have been impressive.

“In the past five years China achieved about 19.1 percent of energy reduction of its GDP. That translates to something like more than 600 million tons of coal savings,” said Wan Xingwang.

While most nations have some sort of government-sponsored energy efficiency programs, energy analysts say initiatives (主动性) by individuals and companies can also help cut demand.

Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, a non-profit group based in Washington, says other developing nations are recognizing the benefits of cutting power consumption and taking action.

1.To increase their energy supplies, many nations _____________________.

A．turn to new energy                      B．turn to cheap energy

C．develop solar energy                    D．introduce clean energy

2.Which of the following cannot help to reduce energy consumption effectively?

A．Using electronic products in small size.

B．Using more electric cars.

C．Turning off computers after work.

D．Building energy-efficient houses.

3.What can we learn from what Grayson Heffner said?

A．75% of the greenhouse gas emissions can easily be cut in the next 20 years.

B．Ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should be discussed.

C．Using clean energy is the strategy to cut global carbon emissions.

D．The key to reducing greenhouse gases in the short term is to improve energy efficiency.

4.According to the last two paragraphs, which of the following statements is true?

A．The programs reducing energy consumption shouldn’t be sponsored by individuals and companies.

B．All nations have government-sponsored energy efficiency programs.

C．It is time that all nations should combine their efforts to save energy.

D．Some developing nations are taking action to cut power consumption.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The United Nations Environment Program is calling for urgent action to reduce growing risks from chemicals. Better management of chemicals could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. As estimated, 143,000 chemicals are now produced. Yet the report says only a small number of these chemicals have been studied for their effects on human health and the environment. It says death and disability rates are high from the unsafe use of chemical products.

Sylvie Lemmet, director of the UNEP, says poor management of chemicals has a high economic cost. For example, she says the cost is higher than the amount of overseas development aid, or ODA, for health care in sub-Saharan Africa.

She says, “If you look at the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide (杀虫剂) in sub-Saharan Africa, only the injury and the loss of working time is estimated to be 6.3 billion US dollars in 2009. This is higher than the total ODA that is going to the health part in the same area.”

The UNEP estimates that chemical sales worldwide will increase by around three percent a year until 2050. Chemical production is moving quickly from developed to developing countries. By 2020, chemical production is expected to increase by 40 percent in Africa and the Middle East and 33 percent in Latin America. One of its biggest concerns is pollution of rivers and lakes by pesticide and fertilizer. Other major concerns are heavy metal pollution from the production of cement (水泥) and textiles (纺织品), and dioxin pollution from mining.

The UN report urges the chemical industry and governments to work together to develop safety policies. It says preventing harm costs less than fixing it.

1.The purpose of Paragraph 3 is mainly to indicate that ______.

A.chemicals have a high production cost

B.Africa needs more development aid

C.the use of pesticide causes a great loss

D.the estimated cost of poisoning from pesticide is incorrect

2.Which of the following is NOT a source of danger according to the text?

A.Pesticide. B.Fertilizer.

C.Heavy metals. D.Minerals.

3.According to the text, what is the main reason for the risks from chemicals?

A.The mass production of cement and textiles.

B.Lack of research funds on chemicals.

C.Poor management of chemicals.

D.Contradictions between chemical producers and governments.

4.What would be the best title for the text?

A.The truth in Sylvie Lemmet’s comments

B.A UN warning about chemical dangers

C.The unpredictable future of chemical industry

D.Preventing is much better than fixing

高二英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

If we want ______much cleaner world, we should reduce _______ emission of carbon dioxide.

A. a; a             B. a; /             C. a; the      D. the; /

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

________ is no doubt that using energy efficiently reduces the release of greenhouse gases.

A It        B This       C That     D There

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Scientists have suggested a solution to cutting down greenhouse effect: planting an area ________ the US with trees, which, when mature, would consume as much carbon dioxide as is being released.

A.of the size of B.the size of C.as the same size as D.the same size of

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析