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Recently, we have already shown that climate change has led to a dramatic increase in storm surge risk in New York City, making devastating events like Hurricane Sandy more likely.
What can we say about the role of climate change in the unprecedented disaster that is unfolding in Houston with Hurricane Harvey? There are certain climate change-related factors that we can, with great confidence, say worsened the flooding.
Sea Level rise attributable to climate change-some of which is due to coastal subsidence(下沉) caused by human disturbance such as oil drilling-is more than half a foot(15cm) over the past few decades. That means the storm surge was half a foot higher than it would have been just decades ago, meaning far more flooding and destruction.
In addition to that, sea surface temperatures in the region have risen about 0.5℃(close to 1F) over the past few decades from roughly 30℃(86F) to 30.5℃(87F), which contributed to the very warm sea surface temperatures(30.5-31℃, or 87-88F). There is a simple thermodynamic(热力学的) relationship known as the Clausius-Clapeyron equation that tells us there is a roughly 3% increase in average atmospheric moisture content for each 0.5℃ of warming. Sea surface temperatures in the area where Harvey intensified were 0.5-1℃ warmer than current-day average temperatures, which translates to 1-1.5℃ warmer than “average” temperatures a few decades ago. That means 3-5% more moisture(水分) in the atmosphere. That large amount of moisture creates the potential for much greater rainfalls and greater flooding. The combination of coastal flooding and heavy rainfall is responsible for the devastating flooding that Houston is experiencing.
Not only are the surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico unusually warm right now, but there is a deep layer of warm water that Harvey was able to feed upon when it intensified at near record pace as it neared the coast. Human-caused warming is penetrating down into the ocean. It’s creating deeper layers of warm water in the Gulf and elsewhere. Harvey was almost certainly more intense than it would have been in the absence of human-caused warming, which means stronger winds, more wind damage and a larger storm surge.
Finally, the more tenuous but potentially relevant climate factors: part of what has made Harvey such a devastating(毁灭性的) storm is the way it has stalled near the coast. It continues to strike Houston and surrounding regions with a seemingly endless flood, which will likely top out at nearly 4ft(1.22m) of rainfall over a days-long period before it is done. The stalling is due to very weak prevailing winds, which are failing to steer the storm off to sea, allowing it to spin around and wobble back and forth. This pattern, in turn, is associated with a greatly expanded subtropical high pressure system over much of the US at the moment, with the jet stream pushed well to the north. This pattern of subtropical expansion is predicted in model simulations of human-caused climate change. More tenuous(微弱的), but possibly relevant still, is the fact that very persistent, nearly “stationary” summer weather patterns of this sort, where weather anomalies(both high-pressure dry hot regions and low-pressure stormy/rainy regions) stay locked in place for many days at a time, appears to be favoured by human-caused climate change.
In conclusion, while we cannot say climate change “caused” Hurricane Harvey, what we can say is that it exacerbated several characteristics of the storm in a way that greatly increased the risk of damage and loss of life. Climate change worsened the impact of Hurricane Harvey.
1.What’s the main purpose of writing the passage?
A. To offer tips on climate change.
B. To advocate paying more attention to current climate change urgently.
C. To share experiences on avoiding climate change.
D. To criticize human-caused climate change.
2.The underlined word “intensified” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.
A. worsened B. caused
C. favoured D. increased
3.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Climate change made Hurricane Harvey more deadly
B. Sea level rise sea and surface temperatures changed Hurricane Harvey
C. Hurricane Harvey and its characteristics
D. The climate change-related factors and human-caused warming
4.Which of the following shows the development of ideas in this passage?
I: Introduction CP: Central point P: Point Sp: Sub-point(次要点) C: Conclusion
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
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Recently,people in US education have gotten extremely worried because a new report has shown that American students have a math problem.
The 2015 Program for International Student Assessment（评估）(PISA) shows math scores in the US getting lower and no improvement in science or reading.PISA tests 15-year-olds from different countries and regions in their math,science and reading skills.About 540,000 students from 72 countries and regions took part in the assessment in 2015.
US scores in reading and science were about the same as three years ago,leaving Americans near the middle of the bigger group.But the situation in math is much more worrying.The US average score was 470,be;ow the OECD（经合组织）test average of 490,meaning the US was No.40 among the 72 countries and areas.It was 12 points lower than in 2012 and 18 points lower than in 2009.So,what is going on with American students' math skills?
One reason may be that the US does not teach math in enough depth."Students are often good at answering the first part of a problem in the United States,"said Andreas Schleicher,director of education and skills at OECD."But as soon as students have to go deeper and answer the more complicated part of a problem,they have difficulties."In comparison,many high-performing countries and regions in math teach a lot less but focus in much greater depth, especially when you look at East Asia,Japan and Singapore,according to Schleicher.
Another reason may be the fact that many people in the US are unwilling to travel to foreign countries to learn better teaching practices."One of our biggest challenges in the US is that the teachers are not going out and seeing what high-performing countries do differently,"said Wendy Kopp,who started Teach for America,in a news program.
1.When it comes to the 2015 PISA results,people in US education are more concerned about .
A. the US average score
B. the differences from the previous PISA
C. American students' performance in math
D. American students' situation in science and reading skills
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A. American students are not interested in simple math problems.
B. American students are unwilling to go abroad for further study.
C. American math teachers envy high-performing countries better teaching skills.
D. American math teachers seldom teach students how to solve complicated problems.
3.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To inform people of American students' 2015 PISA results.
B. To analyze the causes of American students' problems with math.
C. To stress the importance of learning math well to America students.
D. To give American math teachers some advice on how to teach math.
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单词填空
1.The Internet has already changed our lives so p _____ that we can’t live a day without going online.
2.The vast forests of West Africa _____（缩小）all these years due to the deforestation of local people. Thus the government must come up with an idea to stop it.
3.The map shows the _____（分布）of this species across the world.
4.Are you upset about how to remove the most s _____ spots? Try our washing powder!
5.He often talks in circles, frequently _____（矛盾）himself, which often ends up losing others’ trust.
6.A nearby volcano erupted v _____, sending out a hail of rocks and boiling mud.
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We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago, my wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is bending up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don't keep reducing emissions(排放) of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere.
We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO2. We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household(家庭) produces about 150 pounds of CO2 a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That's more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?
For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What it Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting(融化) of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. "To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent," he said.
Good advice, I thought. I'd opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We'd gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I'd almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It's time for us to change our habits if necessary.
1.Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?
A. To take special kinds of food.
B. To respond to climate change.
C. To lose weight.
D. To improve their health.
2.The underlined words "tipping points" most probably refer to ________.
A. freezing points B. burning points
C. melting points D. boiling points
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. it is necessary to keep the air-conditioning on all the time
B. it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO2
C. the average US household produces about 3,000 pounds of CO2 a month
D. the average European household produces about 1,000 pounds of CO2 a month
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We have every reason to believe that our business has shown a(n) ____ to improve.
A．direction B．tendency
C．aspect D．effect
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We have every reason to believe that our business has shown a(n) ____ to improve.
A．direction B．tendency C．aspect D．effect
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Recently a new US study has shown that couples who expect their children to help care for them in old age should hope they have daughters because they are likely to be twice as attentive overall.
The research by Angelina Grigoryeva, a sociologist at Princeton University, found that, while women provide as much care for their elderly parents as they can manage, men do as little as they can get away with and often leave it to female family members.
Using data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a study which has been tracking a cross-section of over-50s for the last decade, she calculated that women provide an average of 12.3 hours a month of care for elderly parents while men offer only 5.6 hours.
“Whereas the amount of elderly parent care daughters provide is associated with limitations they face, such as employment or childcare, sons’ caregiving is connected only with the presence or absence of other helpers, such as sisters or a parent's spouse （配偶）,” she explained.
“Sons reduce their relative caregiving efforts when they have a sister, while daughters increase theirs when they have a brother.”
“This suggests that sons pass on parent caregiving responsibilities to their sisters.”
In the UK, the 2011 census （人口普查）showed that there are now around 6.5 million people with caring responsibilities — a figure which has risen by a tenth in a decade.
But many are doing so at the risk of their own health. The census showed that those who provide 50 hours or more of care a week while trying to hold down a full-time job are three times more likely to be struggling with ill health than their working counterparts （相对应的人）who are not careers.
1.What does the underlined phrase “is associated with” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.is faced with B.is related to
C.is filled with D.is fond of
2.According to the study we know that .
A.American couples are preferring daughters to sons a lot
B.sons are twice likely as daughters to care for parents in old age
C.having a brother makes women do their share less
D.men tend to take less care of their parents than women
3.Which of the following statements is true?
A.The number of people providing care has increased by 6.5 million.
B.More people have left behind their work to look after the elderly.
C.Many people who both work and care others can be threatened by health problems.
D.People shouldn't take much responsibility to care for the old.
4.What's the attitude of the author in the article?
A.Positive. B.Subjective.
C.Objective. D.Negative.
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There is no doubt _________ the world climate has been changing in recent years.
A. that B. what C. if D. whether
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There is no doubt _________ the world climate has been changing in recent years.
| A．that | B．what | C．if | D．whether |
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This time, it is to be worn on wrists. Having already changed the way we communicate with its smartphones, Apple Inc released its next big thing on March 9 in San Francisco, US.
The Apple Watch, according to CNN, is “a simple rectangular (矩形的) shape with a range of stylish and useful wristbands.” “The style is classic... in those respects (方面) it’s up there with the top quality Swiss watches,” commented the news outlet.
The watch will be available in nine places, including the US, the UK and China, from April 24. The starting price is $349 (2,186 yuan).
With six different designs and 30 or so wristbands, the gadget “sets the standard for smartwatches, in style,” agreed The Brisbane Times,“but more importantly, in functionality (功能性).” “With the built-in speaker and microphone, you can receive calls on your watch. I have been wanting to do this since I was 5 years old,” said Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook.
In fact, anything you can do on the iPhone is there on the watch – e-mails, text messages, airline boarding services, and directions from Apple Maps. Using a home security app, you can keep an eye on your home from afar, or even open a locked door.
There are some features that have made Cook sure the watch is “our most personal device yet; a new chapter in the way we relate to technology”. According to NPR, the watch taps you on the wrist to draw your attention to a message or a calendar reminder, and it can send a tap on the wrist to another Apple Watch wearer.
However, the watch can also do things that are just plain fun. You can send a real-time display of your heartbeat to another Apple Watch to “let someone know you are thinking about them.”
Patrick Moorhead, a leading technology analyst in the US, described the tech company as “a master in the art of persuasion”. “The secret weapon is the ability to message each other by tapping on the watch,” he told The Associated Press. “I think people, particularly kids, are going to go nuts (疯狂) over that.”
So far, though, the most impressive part of this new device is “the monitoring of the wearer’s health and fitness,” said AFP. It will even tap you on the wrist if you have been sitting down for longer than is good for your health.
1.Which of the following features of the Apple Watch are mentioned in the article?
a. its price
b. its functions
c. its shortcomings
d. its shape and weight
e. when and where people can buy it
A. abd
B. abe
C. bce
D. bde
2.Which of the following words best describes Tim Cook’s attitude toward the Apple Watch?
A. Proud.
B. Modest.
C. Serious.
D. Cautious.
3.How does the Apple Watch let wearers know there is a new message?
A. The watch beeps.
B. The watch sends out music.
C. The watch changes its screen color.
D. The watch taps the wearer on the wrist.
4.With an Apple Watch, you can ______.
A. monitor your health and diagnose yourself
B. send a real-time display of your heartbeat to an iPhone
C. be reminded to move around if you’ve been sitting down for too long
D. receive emails, text messages and calls, and open a locked door for your neighbor