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
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
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
One way to species under' threat of extinction - whatever the cause - is to remove them to zoos and parks and breed them there.
A.betray B.resist C.preserve D.dispute
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
One way to ________ species under threat of extinction—whatever the cause—is to remove them to zoos or parks and feed them there.
A.betray B.resist C.preserve D.abandon
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
(2013·湖北武汉武昌区高三联考)One way to ________ species under threat of extinction—whatever the cause—is to remove them to zoos or parks and feed them there.
A.betray B.resist C.preserve D.abandon
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
The USA, New York—Whales and dolphins are facing increasing threats from climate change, according to a new report published by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).
The report "Whales in hot water?" draws attention to the growing impacts of climate change on whales.They range from changes in sea temperature and the freshening of the seawater because of the melting of ice and increased rainfalls, to a sea level rise, loss of icy polar habitats and the decline of krill populations in key areas.Krill, a tiny shrimp that is dependent on sea ice, is the main source of food for many of the great whales.
The speeding up of climate change adds greatly to trouble from other human activities, such as chemical and noise pollution, which kills some 1000 whales every day.
"Whales and dolphins have an ability to adapt to their changing environment," said Mark Simmonds, International Director of Science at WDCS."But the climate is now changing at such a fast pace that it is unclear to what extent whales and dolphins will be able to adjust."
Climate change impacts are currently greatest in the Arctic and the Antarctic.According to the report, cetaceans that rely on polar, icy waters for their home and food resources are likely to be greatly affected by the reduction of sea ice cover.
WDCS and WWF are urging governments to cut global production of C02 by at least 50 percent by the middle of this century.The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed it was possible to stop global warming if the world's emissions start to decline before 2015.
1.Which of the following is the most important for whales and dolphins?
A.Rainfall B.Krill C.Sea ice cover D.High sea level
2.From the passage, we can learn that whales mainly feed on _____.
A.dolphins B.krill C.sea horses D.sharks
3.The underlined word "decline" in Paragraph 2 means _____.
A.increase B.control C.protection D.fall
4.In what place is climate change greatest?
A.The Pacific Ocean B.Asia.
C.Two polar areas. D.Equator.
5.Which of the following is not right according to the passage?
A.Climate change will lead to the changes in sea temperature.
B.Climate change will result in the freshening of the sea water.
C.Climate change will have a bad effect on human activities and whales.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The USA, New York—Whales and dolphins are facing increasing threats from climate change, according to a new report published by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).
The report "Whales in hot water?" draws attention to the growing impacts of climate change on whales.They range from changes in sea temperature and the freshening of the seawater because of the melting of ice and increased rainfalls, to a sea level rise, loss of icy polar habitats and the decline of krill populations in key areas.Krill, a tiny shrimp that is dependent on sea ice, is the main source of food for many of the great whales.
The speeding up of climate change adds greatly to trouble from other human activities, such as chemical and noise pollution, which kills some 1000 whales every day.
"Whales and dolphins have an ability to adapt to their changing environment," said Mark Simmonds, International Director of Science at WDCS."But the climate is now changing at such a fast pace that it is unclear to what extent whales and dolphins will be able to adjust."
Climate change impacts are currently greatest in the Arctic and the Antarctic.According to the report, cetaceans that rely on polar, icy waters for their home and food resources are likely to be greatly affected by the reduction of sea ice cover.
WDCS and WWF are urging governments to cut global production of C02 by at least 50 percent by the middle of this century.The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed it was possible to stop global warming if the world's emissions start to decline before 2015.
1.Which of the following is the most important for whales and dolphins?
A.Rainfall | B.Krill | C.Sea ice cover | D.High sea level |
2.From the passage, we can learn that whales mainly feed on _____.
A.dolphins | B.krill | C.sea horses | D.sharks |
3.The underlined word "decline" in Paragraph 2 means _____.
A.increase | B.control | C.protection | D.fall |
4.In what place is climate change greatest?
A.The Pacific Ocean | B.Asia. |
C.Two polar areas. | D.Equator. |
5.Which of the following is not right according to the passage?
A.Climate change will lead to the changes in sea temperature. |
B.Climate change will result in the freshening of the sea water. |
C.Climate change will have a bad effect on human activities and whales. |
D.Human beings will forever have no ability to stop global warming. |
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Nowadays people are facing lots of threats(威胁)all over the world.
A serious threat to farmers in many parts of the world is erosion(侵蚀).Erosion happens if a large area of land is cleared of trees and is then badly treated by the farmers.The rain and winds may gradually wash away,or blow away much of the topsoil.When this happens,crops of wheat and corn become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well.If erosion continues,it will turn good land into a desert.
In the past,when erosion appeared,farmers sometimes moved to a new place to farm.Sometimes they could not move,but continued to try to grow food in the unhealthy soil.This caused them to sink into poverty.Soon some people realized that there was little rich,fertile soil in the world.The government began to try to stop erosion.
One of the first experiments to stop erosion began in the United States in 1933.The experiment was carried out in the area of the Tennessee River.Flood and bad farming in this area had ruined the land that had once been rich.As a result,most of the people living around the Tennessee River were very poor.
The government built big dams across the river and stored the water for use during the dry season,when there was no rain.The government workers also helped the farmers fertilize their soil and to learn new farming methods which could stop erosion.
In the beginning,the farmers were not interested.But soon,good healthy crops began to appear on the land where new methods were used.Ten years after that the crops were extremely good.The great success of this experiment led to similar projects in other parts of the world.
With the development of science and technology,people are trying to get rid of all the threats they are facing. However,it's not an easy job,because at the same time people are polluting their homeland.
1.Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Tennessee River area?
A. It was an area seriously affected by erosion.
B. It used to be a poor and infertile land.
C. It often suffered from floods.
D. It has become a model for other parts of the world to follow.
2.In the third paragraph “to sink into poverty” means_________.
A. to become very poor
B. to lose topsoil in erosion
C. to become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well
D. to return into a desert
3.The main purpose of this passage is to tell people________.
A. something can be done to prevent erosion
B. the importance of using new farming methods
C. the serious result of erosion
D. how erosion happens
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Today, several of the world's nearly 7,000 languages face a serious risk of extinction. "For example, Ainu, a language in Japan, is now seriously threatened, with only 10 native speakers left," said lead study author Tatsuya Amano at the University of Cambridge in England.
The scientists found that 25 percent of the world's languages are threatened. After identifying where the endangered languages were, they looked for any environmental and social or economic factors those languages might have in common, such as rugged terrain or rapid population growth. "We found that at the global scale, language speaker declines are strongly linked to economic growth-that is, declines are particularly occurring in economically developed regions," Amano said.
One important implication of this new study "is that languages in the tropics and Himalayan region are likely to be increasingly threatened in the near future, because these regions still have many local indigenous languages (土语) with a small number of speakers, and at the same time are experiencing rapid economic growth," Amano said.
Economic growth may endanger languages for a variety of reasons. For instance, speakers of endangered languages may view another more dominant language as offering economic opportunities, and thus forego their own languages. There are other important factors that might endanger languages, the researchers said. For instance, policies regarding how languages are used and taught in schools can be very different among countries and even within each country, and these factors may explain more detailed patterns in language endangerment.
Amano suggested it could be possible to forecast future threats to linguistic diversity. "There exists detailed information on projected future changes in the environment, economies and climates," Amano said. "Using such information, together with the findings of this study and further analysis, we would like to understand what will happen to the world's languages, where it will happen and which languages will be threatened in particular."
1.The language of Ainu is mentioned in Paragraph l in order to tell us that _______________.
A. Japanese is new seriously threatened
B. few people speak Japanese in the world
C. Japanese is made up of many languages
D. it is most likely to disappear in the future
2.What may endanger the languages most according to Amano?
A. The diversity of society.
B. The decline of the population.
C. The development of economy
D. The improvement of the environment.
3.The writer shows us the reasons that languages are endangered by ___________________.
A. offering some examples
B. performing some experiments .
C. telling some interesting stories
D. making a list of important facts .
4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______________.
A. the study is very important to languages
B. world's languages are developing rapidly
C. it is rather hard for us to protect languages
D. future threats to languages can be predicted
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析