The Great Barrier Reef has seen its third mass bleaching (大规模白化) event in five years. For the first time, all three sections of the Australian reef have been badly affected. The damage happened in February when the area was exposed to the hottest month of water temperatures on record.
Surveys conducted by Terry Hughes at James Cook University in Australia and his team during March made it known that 25 percent of the reef had been badly bleached and 35 percent bleached to some degree. The northern, central and southern sections of the reef were all hit.
Terrible bleaching also struck in 1998, 2002, 2016 and 2017, but was limited to one or two sections. This is the first time that all three sections have experienced terrible bleaching at exactly the same time, says Hughes. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Some of the damaged corals（珊瑚）will survive, including more heat-resistant（耐热的） species. But many others were probably “literally cooked” at the peak of the heatwave in early 2020, says Hughes. Others will die more slowly from stress over the next few months, he adds. Hughes has serious concern about the southern reef, which was mostly unaffected in former bleaching events and hasn’t developed the same heat resistance as other parts.
The 2016 and 2017 events killed about half the coral on the reef. It usually takes a decade for even fast-growing corals to recover, meaning the latest damage will seriously weaken the reef’s ability to recover, says Hughes. The high frequency of mass bleaching in recent years has been driven by climate change, which results from human activity and is steadily raising ocean temperatures. The only way to deal with the problem is to immediately reduce the release of greenhouse gases, says Hughes.
1.What can we learn from the surveys by Hughes and his team?
A.The entire reef has experienced bleaching.
B.The surveys about the reef are done once a year.
C.The hottest month of water temperatures is February.
D.60 percent of the reef suffered from serious bleaching.
2.Why is Hughes worried about the southern reef most?
A.Many corals will die slowly from stress.
B.It has been badly bleached for several years.
C.It hasn’t formed the ability to fight against the heat.
D.The government hasn’t shown any concern about it.
3.What is this text mainly about?
A.Surveys on reef bleaching.
B.A report on climate change.
C.An investigation into global warming.
D.Warning messages on human activities.
高一英语阅读选择中等难度题
The Great Barrier Reef has seen its third mass bleaching (大规模白化) event in five years. For the first time, all three sections of the Australian reef have been badly affected. The damage happened in February when the area was exposed to the hottest month of water temperatures on record.
Surveys conducted by Terry Hughes at James Cook University in Australia and his team during March made it known that 25 percent of the reef had been badly bleached and 35 percent bleached to some degree. The northern, central and southern sections of the reef were all hit.
Terrible bleaching also struck in 1998, 2002, 2016 and 2017, but was limited to one or two sections. This is the first time that all three sections have experienced terrible bleaching at exactly the same time, says Hughes. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Some of the damaged corals（珊瑚）will survive, including more heat-resistant（耐热的） species. But many others were probably “literally cooked” at the peak of the heatwave in early 2020, says Hughes. Others will die more slowly from stress over the next few months, he adds. Hughes has serious concern about the southern reef, which was mostly unaffected in former bleaching events and hasn’t developed the same heat resistance as other parts.
The 2016 and 2017 events killed about half the coral on the reef. It usually takes a decade for even fast-growing corals to recover, meaning the latest damage will seriously weaken the reef’s ability to recover, says Hughes. The high frequency of mass bleaching in recent years has been driven by climate change, which results from human activity and is steadily raising ocean temperatures. The only way to deal with the problem is to immediately reduce the release of greenhouse gases, says Hughes.
1.What can we learn from the surveys by Hughes and his team?
A.The entire reef has experienced bleaching.
B.The surveys about the reef are done once a year.
C.The hottest month of water temperatures is February.
D.60 percent of the reef suffered from serious bleaching.
2.Why is Hughes worried about the southern reef most?
A.Many corals will die slowly from stress.
B.It has been badly bleached for several years.
C.It hasn’t formed the ability to fight against the heat.
D.The government hasn’t shown any concern about it.
3.What is this text mainly about?
A.Surveys on reef bleaching.
B.A report on climate change.
C.An investigation into global warming.
D.Warning messages on human activities.
高一英语阅读选择中等难度题查看答案及解析
The government's top Great Barrier Reef scientist says a third mass coral bleaching (珊瑚白化) event in five years is a clear signal that the marine wonder is “calling for urgent help on climate change. Corals can recover from mild bleaching, but severe bleaching can kill corals.
Prof Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, surveyed 1,036 reefs from a plane over nine days in late March.
The marine park authority also had an observer on the flights. The survey has released maps showing that serious levels of bleaching occurred in 2020 in all three sections of the reef northern, central and southern. Some 25% of the reefs were seriously bleached-meaning that more than 60% of the corals on each reef had bleached.
The Great Barrier Reel has experienced five mass bleaching events-1998. 2002,2016, 2017 and 2020 -all caused by rising ocean temperatures driven by global heating. Hughes said there probably would not be the same level of coral death in the north and central regions in 2020 as in previous years, but this was partly because previous bleaching outbreaks had kill off the less heat -tolerant species The 2020 bleaching was second only to 2016 for severity(严重性), Hughes said.
Dr. David Wachenfeld，chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, told Guardian Australia "My greatest fear is that people will lose hope for the reef. Without hope there's no action. People need to see these bleaching events, They are clear signals that the Great Barrier Reef is alling for urgent help and for us to do everything we can”.
Measures to improve the ability of recovery of the reef include improving water quality, controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish, and research and development to improve the heat tolerance of corals. " However, climate change brings a new scale of impact unlike anything we have seen before. Thus, dealing with the climate problem is the basis for everything else to work, ” Wachenfeld said.
1.What does the underlined word “mild” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A.Serious
B.Strong.
C.Steady.
D.Slight.
2.What can we learn from Paragraphs2 & 3?
A.The majority of the corals on each reef were bleached.
B.The survey was carried out on a plane by Hughes alone.
C.The 2020 bleaching killed off the less heat tolerant species.
D.The 2020 bleaching was worse than those of all the previous years.
3.We can infer from Wachenfeld’s words that people seeing the bleaching events .
A.have done everything they can for the reef
B.are sure to lose hope for the reef
C.will care more about the reef
D.will have no action at all
4.Which is the essential measure to improve the ability of recovery of the reef?
A.Improving water quality.
B.Making efforts to prevent global warming.
C.controlling outbreaks of coral-eating starfish.,
D.Doing research on the heat tolerance of corals.
高一英语阅读选择简单题查看答案及解析
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will lose most of its coral cover by 2050 and, at worst, the world’s largest coral system could collapse by 2100 because of global warming, a study recently said.
The study by Queensland University’s Center for Marine Studies, commissioned (委托) by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, said that the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef was unavoidable due to global warming, regardless of what actions were taken now. “Under the worst-case scenario, coral populations will collapse by 2100 and the reestablishment of coral reefs will be highly unlikely over the following 200-500 years,” said the report entitled “Implications (可能的影响) of Climate Change for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.”
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living reef formation stretching 2,000 km north to south along Australia’s northeast coast. “Only if global average temperature change is kept to below two degrees Celsius can the Reef have any change of recovering from the predicted damage,” the report said. Coral has a narrow comfort zone and is highly stressed by a temperature rise of less than one degree Celsius. Water temperature rises of less than one degree coincided (同时发生) with the world’s worst recorded coral bleaching (颜色变淡) period in 1988. The warmer water forces out the algae (海藻) that give coral its color and, if all are lost, the coral dies and the reef will die out. In 1988, 16 percent of the world’s coral died, with 46 percent of the Indian Ocean coral destroyed.
Scientists express water temperatures to rise this century by between two and six degrees Celsius. “There is little to no evidence that corals can adapt fast enough to match even the lower temperature rise,” said the report. Over-fishing and pollution from coastal farms were also contributing to the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef supports huge fishing and tourism industries. Even under favorable conditions tourists would only be able to experience real corals in reef “theme parks”.
1.The underlined word “scenario” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.
A. imagination B. intention C. expectation D. prediction
2.From the passage, we can infer that ________.
A. corals have no difficulty in adapting the temperature change
B. if we take quick actions we can avoid the destruction of corals
C. we can find corals in many areas of the seas or oceans
D. the algae help corals to live
3.Which of the following is NOT the cause of the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef?
A. Direct sunshine. B. Over-fishing.
C. Global warming. D. Pollution.
4.By saying “Coral has a narrow comfort zone” (Para. 3), the author means ________.
A. coral can only live in a small area
B. coral prefers a crowded place
C. coral can hardly adapt to the temperature change
D. coral grows best in a small area
高一英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析
One of Australia’s most famous natural gifts, the Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world’s largest coral reef. The reef contains a large variety of life and over 3000 reef systems and hundreds of islands with some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Because of its natural beauty, the Great Barrier Reef has become one of the world’s most sought after tourist attractions.
However, for the past few years, the news about corals has been discouraging. Currently, the reef is threatened by climate change, tourism, water pollution, and overfishing. Agricultural fertilizer(肥料) runoff from Australian farms also has caused the widespread growth of sea-plants, which absorb most of the nutrients(养分) and leave little remaining for the living coral reef and the animals that live in it. “What has changed is the increasing importance of climate change as a greater threat than the others,” says David Wachenfeld, a scientist of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Coral reefs are extremely sensitive(敏感的) to warming ocean temperatures.
In a report on April 28, the Australian government said it set aside $500 million to help protect corals. The money will be spent on reducing water pollution from agriculture, fighting coral-killing starfish, reef monitoring, and research on climate influence.
Though the Australian investment is welcome, it will at best only delay coral deaths. It’s too little, too late, as a leading coral-scientist Terry Hughes of James Cook University put it. The only way to save corals over the long term is to slow down climate change. That process will require all countries to work together to find the most effective way of cutting emissions (排放) of greenhouse gases.
The most recent emissions figures, however, show that the world is failing at that task. The year 2018 has seen an increase in global emissions. This week in Bonn, Germany, countries are meeting to discuss how to keep their word in the Paris climate agreement. Let’s hope they hear about the silent death of the world’s corals.
1.Why does the author write the text?
A.To introduce the Great Barrier Reef.
B.To show the result of climate change.
C.To offer ways of protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
D.To tell us the serious situation of the Great Barrier Reef.
2.What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?
A.Sea-plants help to protect the coral reefs.
B.Water temperature has little to do with the coral reefs.
C.Climate change is the main reason for coral reefs’ death.
D.Agricultural fertilizer provides nutrients for coral reefs.
3.According to Terry Hughes, the Australian investment in protecting the coral reefs was _______.
A.timely B.unsatisfying
C.effective D.useless
4.How can we protect the Great Barrier Reef effectively in the long run?
A.By reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases.
B.By cutting down the number of tourists.
C.By setting more strict rules on overfishing.
D.By investing more in climate research.
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Hi Danny,
Greetings from the Great Barrier Reef! I’m riding on a sailing boat with some relatives as I write this. We’re diving here all next week. The reef is located in the Coral Sea that is off the northeast coast of Australia.
The reef is made up of many corals. Corals are very hard and made of many tiny animals called “polyps” that look like underwater flowers. The corals need help to eat. They have a special relationship with other small animals, “algae” (藻类), that take in sunlight and make energy for the coral. It’s the algae that give color to the corals. Because algae need sunlight, the corals are very close to the surface of the water.
Together, the many corals create a magical environment. They make a home for the animals that live in the sea. When I went diving the other day, I saw all types of different animals-dolphins, turtles (海龟) and sea snakes. I was surprised at being able to see some fish I see only in movies, like clown fish (小丑鱼). As I am diving, I can feel the spirit of this magical place. It seems that these animals aren’t surprised to see me. Maybe they think I’m another fish!
Sadly, according to scientists, the Great Barrier Reef is dying because the water is getting warmer due to global warming. As the ocean gets warmer, the algae that live in the corals are cut off from the food they need for making energy. As a result, they leave the corals, and the corals die and lose their color. We see many dead white corals when we dive. We need to stop global warming and keep the water from getting hotter!
See you soon,
Gloria
1.Where is Gloria writing from?
A.A sailing boat. B.Great Barrier Reef.
C.A hotel room. D.A relative’s house.
2.What do algae do for corals?
A.They give sunlight to the corals.
B.They make energy for the corals to grow.
C.They capture fish for the corals to eat.
D.They allow the corals to move around.
3.Why is the coral reef described as “magical”?
A.The author had never been there before.
B.The area can allow the animals to do magical things.
C.It’s another world with many animals and colors.
D.Corals grow only at the Great Barrier Reef.
4.Why is the writer sad about the future of the corals?
A.She fears they will eventually die from global warming.
B.When corals die, they lose their color and turn to a boring white.
C.Not enough people will have a chance to see this magical place.
D.She’s sad that the corals and algae will break their relationship.
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
At no time in history has there been such a mass(大规模的) movement of people from the countryside to the city as is happening now. By the year 2030, it’s estimated（估计） that more than two thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities, twice as many as today. This means that the problems faced by cities today—overcrowding, poor housing, unemployment, poverty(贫穷) and lack of food and water—will be twice as bad, unless we find solutions soon.
Another serious issue is how to provide good transportation for their citizens. Many of the world’s major cities are already struggling with out-of-date transport infrastructures(基本设施). How can they deal with the additional demands?
London is a good example. Its enlargement was made possible by the invention of the steam engine, which powered the world’s first underground railway. But its transport system are now hopelessly out-of-date and need urgent modernization. London’s future success depends very much on developing better public transport.
Over a million people travel into central London every day from outside the city. They, together with the people who live in London, want a public transport system that is efficient, safe and environmentally friendly. What they often get, however, falls far short of that ideal. Passengers complain about cost and pollution, while businesses worry about the problems their staff have in getting to work on time. Yes, the proportion of London households that own a car grew from just over ten percent in the early 1950s to over sixty percent today.
As the city has become increasingly crowded and polluted, there has been a growing realization that action must be taken soon.
1.The passage is mainly written to tell us that ________.
A. it’s difficult to solve the problem faced by cities today
B. overpopulation causes the problems in cities like London
C. possible solutions to cities’ transport problems will be found soon
D. public transport plays an important role in developments in major cities
2.The underlined word “they” in fourth paragraph refers to _______.
A. the citizens in the city of London
B. those who come to London from other places
C. passengers who make complaints about the cost
D. businesses who are anxious about their staff getting to work late
3.From the passage we know that the mass movement to the city will cause the following problems EXCEPT_____________.
A. poverty B. unemployment
C. better environment D. poor transportation
4.The underlined words “environmentally friendly” is closest in meaning to ________.
A. pleasant and nonpolluting B. cheap and punctual
C. quick and straight D. fair and convenient
5.We can infer that in the following paragraph the writer would most probably deal with ______.
A. traffic jams in London streets
B. London’s future in train and air travel
C. possible solutions to London’s traffic problems
D. the improvement of the citizen’s living conditions
高一英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
.
The fresh water in Canada has one-third of the world’s total, much of ____ is in the Great Lakes.
| A．it | B．which | C．that | D．what |
高一英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
The sixth mass extinction (灭绝) is not a worry for the future. It’s happening now, much faster than expected before, and it’s entirely our fault, according to a study published Monday.
Humans have already wiped out hundreds of species (物种) and pushed many more to the edge (边缘) of extinction through wildlife trade, pollution and habitat loss. 1.
Gerardo Ceballos Gonzalez, a professor of ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said approximately 173 species died out between 2001 and 2014, which is 25 times more extinct species than you would expect under the normal, background, extinction speed.
2. There have been five mass extinction (大规模灭绝) events in the Earth’s history, each wiping out between 70% and 95% of the species of plants, animals and microorganisms. The most recent, 66 million years ago, saw dinosaurs disappear.
The past events were caused by terrible changes of the environment The sixth mass extinction - the one happening now - is different: it’s caused by humans.
3. But it took millions of years to restore(恢复)the number of species.
When one species in the ecosystem disappears, it destroys the entire ecosystem and pushes other species toward destruction. 4.
Hundreds of species of frogs are suffering population decrease and extinctions because of the chytrid fungus (真菌) disease, which is sometimes spread into new areas by humans. Climate change is likely making it worse.
5. The researchers also said the current COVID-19 shows how the carelessness with which people treat the natural world can backfire badly.
The researchers said this data highlights the urgency (紧急) with which the world needs to act. Later this year, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to set new global goals to fight the ongoing biodiversity (生物多样性) problem in the coming decades.
A.Mass extinctions are just as serious as their name suggests.
B.This interdependency (相互依存) of different species is bad news for humans, too.
C.But the speed at which species are dying out has quickened up in recent decades.
D.We humans are destroying the biodiversity of the world we evolved into.
E.Life on Earth has recovered after each of these events.
F.The researchers use amphibians (两栖动物) as an example of this phenomena.
G.Many species have evolved to deal with climate changes.
高一英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
The past 30 years has ______ the great changes that have taken place in China.
A．seen B．noticed C．watched D．looked
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
China, a huge dragon in the east, has seen a number of great changes President Xi came into power.
A. since B. until C. before D. after
高一英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析