From the loss of wildlife to rising sea level...

From the loss of wildlife to rising sea levels, we’re all well aware of the problems that climate change could cause.

But while it may seem like such issues won’t affect most of us directly, it looks like future generations could grow up without something that many of us now take for granted: chocolate.

According to an essay published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, changes to the climate in the regions that produce cacao – the plant from which chocolate is produced – may mean that it will soon become extinct.

Most of the world’s cacao grows in countries close to the equator(赤道), with over half of it growing in the African nations of Ghana and Ivory Coast.

It’s predicted that by 2050, climate change will have accelerated the rate at which temperatures in these countries rise, making it extremely difficult for cacao to grow there.

The problem doesn’t lie in increased heat, however, but in lower humidity (湿度), as it’s believed that rainfall will stay at the same level if the temperature rises.

“In other words, as higher temperatures squeeze more water out of soil and plants, it’s unlikely that rainfall will increase enough to offset the moisture(水分) loss,” Michon Scott, the essay’s author, wrote.

To help fight this problem, researchers from Berkeley University in the US are working on changing the DNA of cacao plants to allow them to survive in dryer conditions by using geneediting technology, according to US News.

In the meantime, US company Mars, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of chocolate products, announced in January that it would spend $1 billion (6.33 billion yuan) to help reduce the effects of climate change.

“This is a world issue, and it requires everyone to work together,” Mars spokesperson Barry Parkin told Business Insider.

The message here is that if we all do our part, we may be able to prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change. Or if we’re unlucky, chocolate will become a thing of the past.

1.What could make it hard for cacao to grow around the equator in the future?

A.the higher temperatures there

B.the higher humidity there

C.the increase in rainfall there

D.the moisture loss in the soil there

2.What did Barry Parkin suggest?

A.No man is an island.

B.Every little bit counts.

C.United we stand; divided we fall.

D.Wish for the best; prepare for the worst.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A.UC Berkeley is trying to find a substitute for cacao.

B.Cacao can only be found in most African countries.

C.Climate changes can be controlled if we are lucky.

D.Mars will financially support the fight against climate changes.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A.The origin of chocolate.

B.The future of chocolate.

C.The history of chocolate.

D.The ingredients of chocolate.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

From the loss of wildlife to rising sea levels, we’re all well aware of the problems that climate change could cause.

But while it may seem like such issues won’t affect most of us directly, it looks like future generations could grow up without something that many of us now take for granted: chocolate.

According to an essay published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, changes to the climate in the regions that produce cacao - the plant from which chocolate is produced - may mean that it will soon become extinct.

Most of the world’s cacao grows in countries close to the equator, with over half of it growing in the African nations of Ghana and Ivory Coast.

It’s predicted that by 2050, climate change will have accelerated the rate at which temperatures in these countries rise, making it extremely difficult for cacao to grow there.

The problem doesn’t lie in increased heat, however, but in lower humidity (湿度), as it’s believed that rainfall will stay at the same level if the temperature rises.

“In other words, as higher temperatures squeeze more water out of soil and plants, it’s unlikely that rainfall will increase enough to offset the moisture (含水量) loss,” Michon Scott, the essay’s author, wrote.

To help fight this problem, researchers from Berkeley University in the US are working on changing the DNA of cacao plants to allow them to survive in dryer conditions by using gene editing technology, according to US News.

In the meantime, US company Mars, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of chocolate products, announced in January that it would spend $1 billion to help reduce the effects of climate change.

“This is a world issue, and it requires everyone to work together,” Mars spokesperson Barry Parkin told Business Insider.

The message here is that if we all do our part, we may be able to prevent some of the worst impacts of climate change. Or if we’re unlucky, chocolate will become a thing of the past.

1.What could make it hard for cacao to survive around the equator in the future?

A. The increased heat there.　　 B. The higher humidity there.

C. The decrease in rainfall there.　　 D. The moisture loss in the soil there.

2.What does the underlined word “offset” in the seventh paragraph mean?

A. hold back　　 B. make up for

C. protect　　 D. accept

3.What will US company Mars do to help cacao survive?

A. It will work hard to plant cacao in greenhouses.

B. It will apply gene editing technology in planting cacao.

C. It will give financial support to help fight climate change.

D. It will develop cacao that can survive in dryer conditions.

4.What may be the best title of this text?

A. Chocolate could become history

B. Work together to fight climate change

C. How do we grow cacao in the future?

D. How do cacao plants affect climate change?

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The Maldives faces the threat of extinction from rising sea levels, but the government said on Thursday it was looking to the future with plans to build homes and a golf course that float.

An increase in sea levels of just 18 to 59 centimeters would make the Maldives -- a nation of tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean -- virtually uninhabitable by 2100, the UN’s climate change panel has warned.

President Mohamed Nasheed has vowed a fight for survival, and last month he signed a deal with a Dutch company to study proposals for a floating structure that could support a convention centre, homes and an 18-hole golf course. “It is still early stages and we are awaiting a report on the possibility,” a government official said.

The company, Dutch Docklands, is currently building floating developments in the Netherlands and Dubai. There was no immediate comment from the firm but its website said it undertook projects that make “land from water by providing large-scale floating constructions to create similar conditions as on land”.

The Maldives began work on an artificial island known as the Hulhumale near the crowded capital island of Male in 1997 and more than 30,000 people have been settled there to ease congestion. The city, which has a population of 100,000, is already protected from rising sea levels by a 30-million-dollar sea wall, and the government is considering increasingly imaginative ways to combat climate change.

Nasheed, who staged the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in October to highlight his people’s dilemma , has even spoken of buying land elsewhere in the world to enable Maldivians to relocate if their homes are flooded. He has also pledged the Hulhumale to turn his nation into a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020. His plan involves ending fossil fuel use and powering all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources.

1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. The Maldives plans to build floating homes for the rising sea level.

B. The Maldives’s president signed a deal with a Dutch company.

C. The Maldives staged the first underwater cabinet meeting.

D. The Maldives is considering ways to fight against the global warming.

2. Which statement is true about the Hulhumale?

A. The Hulhumale is a natural island near the capital of Male.

B. The Hulhumale is an artificial island to be built near the capital.

C. The Hulhumale was built in 1997 and has settled over 30,000 people.

D. The Hulhumale is protected by a 30-million-dollar sea wall.

3. According to the passage, the underlined word congestion means _______.

A. being endangered                     B. being crowded

C. being flooded                        D. being disappearing

4. Which of the following is NOT Nasheed’s idea?_______

A. To purchase land elsewhere in the world to help Maldivians to relocate if their homes are flooded.

B. To make his nation a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020

C. To stop using fossil fuel and power all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources.

D. To build more artificial islands for people to settle there.

5. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. By 2100, all the the Maldives will live on artificial islands.

B. The plans to build homes and a golf course that float have been carried out

C. Maldive has been greatly affected by the global warming.

D. . Dutch Docklands is the president of Maldive.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

Most of Bangladesh is at or below sea level. Rising seawaters linked to climate change has severely affected the country. High water from storms in coastal areas also adds salt to soil. The land is becoming salty. Crops are less productive and many areas of cropland in the country are becoming unfit for farming. These are big problems for the small country. More than 155 million people live in Bangladesh. Growing crops is the most common way Bangladeshis support themselves.

To find a way out, farmers in the country are learning to grow vegetables in so-called “vertical gardens”. The soil in these gardens is better because heavy rains have removed much of the salt.

A vertical garden is easy to make. Villagers fill containers with good soil and natural fertilizers. They put the containers on bricks so they are off the ground. They add pieces of the bricks to the soil to help water flow and drain(排水).

The farmers cut small holes into the sides of the containers. This permits vegetables with short roots a place to grow. Vegetables with long roots grow on top of the container. One bag of soil can produce up to eight kilograms of vegetables in one season.

The farmers also grow vegetables in containers made from large, thin pieces of plastic supported by bamboo. This “vertical tower” measures more than a meter wide. Each of these towers can produce more than 100 kilograms of vegetables. It costs about $12-S13 to build.

1.What is mentioned as a big problem for Bangladesh?

A. Severe climate conditions.

B. Too many people to support.

C. Lack of enough fresh water.

D. Reduced crop productivity.

2.Which mainly makes vegetable growing in vertical gardens successful?

A. Places in the soil for roots.

B. Heavy rains kept in the soil.

C. The good soil with little salt.

D. Brick pieces added to the soil.

3.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Bricks.　　 B. Fertilizers.　　 C. Villagers.　　 D. Containers.

4.What can we infer about the vertical tower?

A. It is off the ground.

B. It drains very improperly.

C. It uses bamboo for containers.

D. It is unfit for growing vegetables.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

---- Housing prices are likely to stop rising because the governments at all levels ______a combination blow(组合拳) to the real-hot property markets.

---- Really good news!

A. gave                                 B. gives                       C. have been giving                    D. are giving

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。

1.What is the woman’s speech mainly about?

A.Storms. B.Rising sea levels. C.Dying ocean plants.

2.Which part of the speech is the woman worried about?

A.The introduction.

B.The general speech.

C.The question and answer period.

3.What advice does the man give the woman?

A.To research her topic.

B.To give the speech to others.

C.To look for speech tips on the Internet.

高三英语长对话中等难度题查看答案及解析

No one can deny that buttons are an important clothing device. But, can they rise to the level of art? Organizers of an exhibit in New York think so.

Peter Souleo Wright organized “The Button Show” at Rush Arts Gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Eleven artists used the small, ordinary objects to create sculptures, portraits and wearable art. Some of the works are political, some are personal and others are just fun.

Wright said each artist reimagines and repurposes the buttons to make art. “What I tried to do with this show,” he said , “was to look at artists who were promoting that level of craft.”

He said he wanted the button art to be comparable to a painting “because of the amount of detail and precision in the work”.

Artist Beau McCall produced “A Harlem Hangover”. It looks like a wine bottle that fell over on a table. A stream of connected red buttons hang over the side, like wine flowing down. Similar red buttons form a small pool on the floor.

McCall layers buttons of different shapes and sizes to create the bottle. The stitching that holds them together is also part of the artistic design.

For San Francisco-based artist Lisa Kokin, buttons are highly personal. After her father died in 2001, she created a portrait of him using only buttons. That memorial to her father led to other button portraits, including those of activists Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez.

Others use buttons for details. Artist Amalia Amaki of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, placed them on and around old photographs. Los Angeles artist Camilla Taylor attached buttons to three large sculptures that look like headless animals with long , narrow legs.

“The Button Show” ends at March 12. The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation paid for the exhibition. The foundation was created in 1995 by the Simmons brothers: artist Danny, hip-hop producer Russell and rapper Rev. Run. The foundation seeks to bring the artists to urban youth and to provide support for new artists.

1.Why did Wright organize “The Button Show”?

A. To show the importance of buttons.

B. To support the new artists.

C. To raise the button show to the level of art.

D. To create sculptures and portraits.

2.Whose works are personal?

A. Peter Souleo Wright.            B. Beau McCall.

C. Lisa Kokin.                    D. Amalia Amaki.

3.If you want to see “The Button Show”, you should ________.

A. buy tickets before March 12

B. phone Peter Souleo Wright before March 12

C. go to Rush Arts Gallery

D. go to the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundationn

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

The temperature is rising again in the Arctic. The sea ice area has dropped to one of the lowest levels on record， climate scientists reported last week.

“The new Arctic Report Card tells a story of widespread and continued effects of a warming Arctic，” said Jackie Richter-Menge of the US’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.

“This isn’t just a climatological (气候学的) effect. It impacts the people that live there，” she added.

Scientists concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first， and that has been the case in recent years.

There was a slowdown in Arctic warming in 2009， but in the first half of 2010 warming was near a record pace. The monthly readings were over 4 degrees Celsius above normal in northern Canada， according to the report card. The report card was prepared by 69 researchers in eight countries.

Researchers said last winter’s big snow storms that struck some Northern countries were tied to higher Arctic temperatures.

“Normally the cold air is bottled up in the Arctic，” said Jim Overland of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “But last December and February， winds that normally blow west to east across the Arctic were instead bringing the colder air south，” he said.

“As we lose more sea ice... warming in the atmosphere can create more of these winter storms，” Overland said.

There is a powerful connection between ice cover and air temperatures， Richter-Menge explained. When temperatures warm， ice melts. When ice melts it shows darker surfaces underneath ， which absorb  more heat. “That， in turn， causes more melting and on the cycle goes，” she said.

In September the Arctic sea ice extent was the third smallest in the last 30 years， added Don Perovich of the US Army Laboratory. He said the three smallest ice covers have occurred in the last four years.

1.Scientists care so much about the warming in the Arctic region because 　　　.

A .the climate in the Arctic doesn’t change much

B. global warming effects are most serious in the Arctic region

C .there has been a major decrease of Arctic warming in recent years

D. by studying the region they can make predictions about the future impact of global warming

2.. Which of the following shows that the Arctic is getting warmer？

A. The surface of the sea ice in Arctic is getting darker and darker.

B. The Arctic sea ice extent has disappeared over the last 30 years.

C. The sea ice extent has increased to one of the highest levels on record.

3. What does the underlined word “cycle” refer to？

A .Ice giving off heat when it melts.

B. Higher temperatures bringing more storms.

C .The cause and the result of the melting.

D. The life of the people living in the Arctic getting worse.

4. According to researchers what led to big snow storms attacking some Northern countries last winter？

A. Higher Arctic temperatures.

B. The melting ice.

C. The cold wind blowing west to east.

D. Cold air bottled up in the Arctic.

5. What is the main point of the article？

A. Last winter’s big snow-storms.

B. Winds in the Arctic region.

C. Arctic warming and its possible effects.

D. Changes to the life of people living in the Arctic.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

We all have to make decisions all the time, and we have an abundance of choices, ranging from tiny issues to vital ones. Unfortunately, people often find it hard to make decisions. 1.　　 If you would like to improve your skill of decision making, here are four suggestions for you.

Don’t expect to have it all.

2. You can’t order every delicious dish on the menu. And there will be paths not taken, careers not chosen, to name a few. You can imagine some “what if” situations if you must, but do not let them take up too much space in your brain.

3.

It’s often good to think through your decisions. But don’t overdo it. Research can reach a point where returns begin to reduce, which makes it confusing more than clarifying. Many good decisions can be made based as much on intuition (直觉) as on careful assessment of endless data.

Don’t delay making decisions.

Yes, there is a time to put off making a decision. Perhaps you need more information. 4.

Or it’s likely that you wait for a less stressful time. Just don’t wait so long that the decision is made by your own indecisiveness.

Don’t be hard on yourself.

You decide to go on a voyage. You choose an expensive liner. Everything should work out just right. Only you didn’t expect a bug that ran around on the ship, making you and your family sick for five days. 5. But please remember it is unavoidable sometimes.

A. Don’t spend too much time thinking.

B. It is an important source of information.

C. You may regret making such a stupid decision.

D. Don’t count on emotion to make decisions.

E. Maybe you wish to consult with your advisor.

F. Decisions force us to close the door on other possibilities.

G. That means the skill of good decision-making counts a lot.

高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析

We all have to make decisions all the time, and we have an abundance of choices, ranging from tiny issues to vital ones. Unfortunately, people often find it hard to make decisions. 1. If you would like to improve your skill of decision making, here are four suggestions for you.

Don’t expect to have it all.

2. You can’t order every delicious dish on the menu. And there will be paths not taken, careers not chosen, to name a few. You can imagine some “what if” situations if you must, but do not let them take up too much space in your brain.

3.

It’s often good to think through your decisions. But don’t overdo it. Research can reach a point where returns begin to reduce, which makes it confusing more than clarifying. Many good decisions can be made based as much on intuition (直觉) as on careful assessment of endless data.

Don’t delay making decisions.

Yes, there is a time to put off making a decision. Perhaps you need more information.4. Or it's likely that you wait for a less stressful time. Just don’t wait so long that the decision is made by your own indecisiveness.

Don’t be hard on yourself.

You decide to go on a voyage. You choose an expensive liner. Everything should work out just right. Only you didn’t expect a bug that ran around on the ship, making you and your family sick for five days.5. But please remember it is unavoidable sometimes.

A. Don’t spend too much time thinking.

B. It is an important source of information.

C. Don’t count on emotion to make decisions.

D. Maybe you wish to consult with your advisor.

E. You may regret making such a stupid decision.

F. That means the skill of good decision-making counts a lot.

G. Decisions force us to close the door on other possibilities.

高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析