Plants are flowering faster than scientists predict in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.
“Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns.” scientists say.
Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.
“Predicting species’ reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researchers of several U.S. Universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.
The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.
“Across all species, the experiments underestimated the speed of the advance—for both leafing and flowering—that results from temperature increases,” the study said.
“The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change,” it said.
Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis (光合作用) to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.
Scientists believe the world’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8 ℃ since 1900, and nearly 0.2 ℃ every ten years since 1979.
So far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2 ℃ this century—a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.
1.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?
A. The increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists’ expectation.
B. Climate change leads to the change of food production patterns.
C. Plants’ reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystem.
D. Food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather.
2.We can learn from the study published on the Nature website that _____.
A. scientists should improve the design of the experiments
B. plants’ flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing
C. there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents
D. the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change
3.Scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because _____.
A. they can prove the climate change clearly
B. they are very important in the food chains
C. they play a leading role in reducing global warming
D. they are growing and flowering much faster than before
4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the world’s temperature?
A. It has risen nearly 0.2 ℃ since 1979.
B. It is 0.8 ℃ higher in 1979 than that of 1990.
C. It needs to be controlled within 2 ℃ in this century.
D. Its change will lead to weather extremes.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Plants are flowering faster than scientists predict in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.
“Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns.” scientists say.
Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.
“Predicting species’ reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researchers of several U.S. Universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.
The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.
“Across all species, the experiments underestimated the speed of the advance—for both leafing and flowering—that results from temperature increases,” the study said.
“The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change,” it said.
Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis (光合作用) to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.
Scientists believe the world’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8 ℃ since 1900, and nearly 0.2 ℃ every ten years since 1979.
So far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2 ℃ this century—a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.
1.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?
A. The increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists’ expectation.
B. Climate change leads to the change of food production patterns.
C. Plants’ reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystem.
D. Food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather.
2.We can learn from the study published on the Nature website that _____.
A. scientists should improve the design of the experiments
B. plants’ flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing
C. there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents
D. the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change
3.Scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because _____.
A. they can prove the climate change clearly
B. they are very important in the food chains
C. they play a leading role in reducing global warming
D. they are growing and flowering much faster than before
4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the world’s temperature?
A. It has risen nearly 0.2 ℃ since 1979.
B. It is 0.8 ℃ higher in 1979 than that of 1990.
C. It needs to be controlled within 2 ℃ in this century.
D. Its change will lead to weather extremes.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In recent years, temperatures in the polar areas are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth. As a result, the ice and the snow are melting at record-setting rates. One result is that sea levels are rising around the world, putting animals and people at risk.
A sheet of ice acts like a huge mirror, reflecting the sun’s energy. But ocean water, which is darker than ice, absorbs a lot of it. This causes the ocean to warm, which in turn speeds up ice melting and which leads to even more open waters. The cycle continues until all the ice is gone.
“As the ice melts, water flows into the oceans, making them less salty. That, along with warmer water temperatures, can harm the creatures that live in, under, and near the ice,” says zoologist Michael Stoddard. “Cold-adapted animals — including polar bears, foxes, hares, and seals — also need ice for travel and survival.”
“Most species of fish, sea spiders, and many other animals and plants that live in the waters of Antarctica don’t live anywhere else,” Stoddard says. “Many of them have special proteins in their bodies keeping them from freezing to death and have other adaptation to the cold that has yet to be explored.”
Therefore, experts are urging us to reconsider the way we live. The fuels that we burn in cars, power stations, and factories are largely to blame for the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are trapping overmuch heat in our atmosphere. If we can produce fewer of these gases, we can help save the polar ice. “Even small things would make a difference, if everyone did them.” Michael Stoddard says, “That’s what we have to figure out in the near future to help save the polar ice and thus protect the oceans and us.”
1.The passage is mainly written to _____.
A. introduce the present situation of the polar areas
B. warn people against extreme weather
C. call on people to protect the oceans and humans
D. advertise for volunteers to protect the environment
2.Paragraph 2 mainly tells us about _______.
A. the ice’s functions
B. ocean’s quick growing
C. the cause of sea level rising
D. the ways of more waters
3. From the passage, we can know that _______.
A. most polar animals prefer to live in less salty water
B. some of the cold-adapted animals mainly feed on ice
C. many polar creatures have special proteins to keep alive
D. scientists still don’t know how polar creatures have adapted to the cold
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Polar bears are expanding at a high speed.
B. Experts advise people not to use fuels at all.
C. Wildlife worldwide is in the process of dying out.
D. Global warm is putting animals and humans at risk.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
More than 11,000 scientists are warning that the Earth, in their words, "clearly and unequivocally (明确地)faces a climate emergency.” The scientists represent several fields of study and come from 150 countries around the world. They approved a report that appeared in the publication Bioscience earlier this month. It warns that the world would face "untold human suffering" if it does not make deep and lasting shifts in human activities that influence climate change. Three leaders of the study are from the United States. They worked on the study with scientists from universities in South Africa and Australia. This is the first time a large group of scientists have jointly (共同地)used the word "emergency" when talking about climate change.
"Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations ...we have generally conducted business as usual and have largely failed to address this worrying situation,” the study said. “Climate change has arrived and is accelerating faster than many scientists expected."
The report identified five areas that the world needs to deal with immediately. The scientists appealed to nations to use energy more efficiently and cut their use of fossil fuels. They suggested that lawmakers approve taxes on the burning of carbon-based fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. The report urges people to move toward more of a plant-based diet. Other areas of concern include preventing the destruction of forests and permanent loss of some plant and animal species. The report noted that it will most likely take strong actions by the public to move politicians to approve lasting policy changes.
The scientists added, "We believe that the prospects (前景)will be greatest if decision-makers and all of humanity quickly respond to this warning and declaration of a climate emergency, and act to support life on planet Earth, our only home.”
1.What will happen to people if they don't stop the activities that influence the climate change?
A.They will have no places to live in.
B.They will be fined and lose their jobs.
C.They will become bored with their life.
D.They will go through a lot of sufferings.
2.What have people done when facing the climate change in the past 40 years?
A.They have ignored the scientists’ warning,
B.They have solved the problem successfully.
C.They have talked too much but done too little.
D.They have realized the problem isn’t that serious.
3.In which paragraph can we find the advice from the scientists about ways to control the climate change ?
A.Paragraph 1. B.Paragraph 2.
C.Paragraph 3. D.Paragraph 4.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Scientists' Hard Work of Saving the Earth
B.l he Important Reasons of Climate Change
C.The Impact of Human Activities on Climate
D.Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A British scientist has predicted that parents who lose children in accidents may be able to clone “copies” to________ them within 50 years.
A.take place B.take place of
C.take the place of D.in place of
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Scientists are working to develop crop plants that can reduce the amount of water used for agriculture. Almost sixty percent of the world’s freshwater withdrawals from rivers, lakes and other water resources go toward irrigating fields.
Scientists are using biotechnology as well as traditional breeding methods to develop water-saving crops to feed a growing world.
Thomas “Tommy” Carter is a plant scientist in North Carolina. He works for the Agricultural Research Service in the United States Department of Agriculture. He leads Team Drought, a group of researchers at five universities. They have been using conventional breeding methods to develop and test soybeans that can grow well under dry conditions.
Tommy Carter started working on drought-resistant soybeans in 1981. His research has taken him as far as China, where soybeans have been grown for thousands of years.
Farmers in the United States, however, have grown soybeans for only about a century. Tommy Carter says the soybeans they grow are for the most part genetically similar. More differences could better protect crops against climate changes that can reduce production. Those changes include water shortages which could increase from global warming.
The Agriculture Department has a soybean germplasm(胚质) collection, a collection of genetic material passed from one generation to the next. Members of Team Drought studied more than 2,500 examples from the collection.
They looked at ones from the home of soybeans, Asia. They searched for germplasms that could keep plants from weakening and wilting (凋谢)during hot, dry summers in the United States.
Tommy Carter says they found only five. But these slow-wilting lines, he says, produce four to eight bushels(英斗)more than normal soybeans under drought conditions. The yield depends on location and environment.
Scientists are also working on other plants that either use less water or use it better, or both. For example, companies like Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta have been developing corn with reduced water needs. Monsanto expects to be ready in a few years to market its first corn seeds genetically engineered to resist drought.
1.According to the passage, scientists try to find out how to _______.
A. grow crops with less water
B. increase crop production
C. feed a growing world
D. save the world’s water resource
2.Why did Tommy Carter come to China?
A. He likes traveling.
B. China has a long history.
C. He’s doing research into soybeans.
D. He works for the Agricultural Research Service.
3.What’s inferred from the passage?
A. Climate changes lead to global warming.
B. Water shortages contribute to global warming.
C. Genetically different soybeans need much water to grow.
D. Genetically different soybeans help to fight against damaging climate changes.
4.What do we know about slow-wilting plants talked about in the passage?
A. They yield big profits.
B. They can grow in almost any climate.
C. They seem to be drought-resistant.
D. They need much water for their growth.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The scientists predict that if present trends______, women in 400 years will be 2cm shorter
and have healthier hearts.
A.will continue B.continue
C.are continued D.will be continued
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
The scientists predict that if present trends____, women in 400 years will be 2cm shorter and have healthier hearts.
A.will continue B.continue C.are continued D.will be continued
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Darwin counted 225 flowering plants, ________ he collected and brought home 193.
A. that B. in that C. of which D. all of which
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Darwin counted 225 flowering plants,________he collected and brought home 193.
A.that B.in that
C.of which D.all of which
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
In the botanic garden we can find a(n)______of plants that range from tall trees to small flowers.
A.species | B.group | C.amount | D.variety |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析