Against the assumption that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.

         This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.

         This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.

         Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone(臭氧)levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.

         “We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.

1. According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may _______.

   A. result in a warming climate                   B. cause the forest fires to occur more frequently

   C. lead to a longer fire season                     D. protect the forests and the environment there

2. Earlier studies about northern forest fires ________.

   A. analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate

   B. indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere

   C. suggest that people should take measures to protect environment

   D. suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming

3. The underlined phrase “soaked up” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.

         A. released          B. absorbed            C. created               D. disturbed

4. From the text we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may ______.

         A. warm the climate as the assumption goes

         B. allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate

         C. destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice

         D. help to gain more energy rather than release more energy

 

Let’s do some sleep math.You lost two hours of sleep every night last week because of a big project due on Friday.On Saturday and Sunday,you slept in,getting four extra hours.On Monday morningi, you were feeling so bright-eyed that you only had one cup of coffee,instead of your usual two.But don’t be cheated by your energy.You’re still carrying around a heavy load of sleepiness, or what experts call“sleep debt”——in this case something like six hours,almost a full nights’ sleep.

Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you actually get.It’s a deficit(缺乏)that grows every time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly sleep.“People accumulate sleep debt gradually without being noticed,”says William C.Dement,founder of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic.Studies show that such short—term sleep deprivation leads to a foggy brain,worsened vision,and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity,insulin(胰岛素)resistance, and heart disease.A survey by the National Sleep Foundation reports that we’re losing one hour of sleep each night一一more than two full weeks of sleep every year.

The good news is that,like all debt, with some work,sleep debt can be repaid. Adding an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up.For the long—term lack of sleep,take it easy for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern.

Go to bed when you are tired,and allow your body to wake you in the morning(no alarm clock allowed).You may find yourself catatonic(有紧张症的)in the beginning of the recovery cycle:expect to have ten hours shut-eye per night. As the days pass, however,the amount of sleeping time will gradually decrease.

So earn back that lost sleep——and follow the dictates of your innate(固有的)sleep needs. You’ll feel better.“When you put away sleep debt,you become a superman,”says Stanford’s Dement,talking about the improved mental and physical capabilities that come with being well rested.

51.If you have short—term sleep deprivation, ____________.

A.you can think and remember things clearly

B.you can still see everything very clearly

C.you can drive your car easily

D.you may have a poor sight

52.The example of sleep math is used to show____________

A.in what case you build up a sleep debt

B.why you need six hours’ sleep every night

C.why you are full of energy even when you don’t haye enoug sleep

D.you should drink coffee to keep energetic when you don’t have enough sleep

53.The author begins Paragraph 3 with ____________.

A.an order          B.a story             C.a definition            D.an example

54.By saying the undedined sentence in the last paragraph,Dement means ____________

A.a superman always needs a lot of sleep

B.you will be in a good state with enough sleep

C.you can become superman after you repay your debt

D.You will become superman if you don’t make up for sleep debt

55.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A.Can you catch up on lost sleep?             B.How can you keep energetic?

C.Can you have a good sleep?                  D.What is sleep debt?

 

The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a potential hunger crisis in poor countries and an energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices have more than doubled in the past two years. And oil prices have increased more than three times since the start of 2004. These food-price increases, combined with increasing energy costs, will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even affect political stability. Practical solutions to these problems do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.

Here are three steps to ease the current food crisis and avoid the potential for a global crisis. The first is to promote the dramatic success of Malawi, a country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and seeds with high productivity. Malawi’s harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion altogether.

Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of paying partly for the change of food into biofuels (生物燃料). The U.S. government gives farmers a taxpayer-financed payment of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol (乙醇) changed from corn. There may be a case for biofuels produced on lands that do not produce foods — tree crops, grasses and wood products — but there’s no case for the government to pay to put the world’s dinner into the gas tank.

Third, we urgently need to weather-proof the world’s crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond — which collects rainwater to be used in dry weather — can make the difference between a good harvest and a bad one. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.

1. An international fund based on the Malawi model would______.

A. cost each of the developed countries $10 billion per year

B. give poor farmers access to fertilizer and highly productive seeds

C. decrease the food prices as well as the energy prices

D. aim to double the harvest in southern African countries in a year

2.With the second step, the author expresses the idea that ______.

A. we should get alternative forms of fuel in any way

B. it is misleading to put tree crops into the gas tank

C. it is not wise to change food crops into gas

D. biofuels should be developed on a large scale

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The world has made a serious promise to build farm ponds.

B. A Climate Adaptation Fund has been established to help poor.

C. A rain-collecting pond is a simple safeguard against dry weather.

D. It makes a great difference whether we develop wood products or not.

4.In the passage, the author calls on us to______.

A. slow down but not to stop economy

B. act now so as to relieve the global food shortage

C. achieve economic growth and political stability

D. develop tree crops, grasses and wood products

 

BUKHANNON, West Virginia—Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.

Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates(最新报道)on the rescuers’ progress.

The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren’t informed of the accident until about 10 a.m-more than three hours after it happened.“It’s very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess,” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.

The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine’s entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group.

At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m.Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.

He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years.The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each.The company has not released the names of the miners.

The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect (remove) the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that.“ We don’t want to be energizing anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.High levels of carbon monoxide were discovered shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided(减退), authorities said.

1.According to the passage, we can infer that ________.

         A.all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive

         B.communication with the trapped miners was cut off

         C.the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time

    D.the rescue started as soon as the accident happened

2.If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about _______ per hour.

 A.1,000 feet     B.2,400 feet           C.1,200feet         D.4,800feet

3.Where can the passage be seen?

         A.In a magazine.              B.In a newspaper.          

         C.In a science book..        D.On an advertisement.

4.Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?

 

 

 

Soaring divorce rates around the globe are taking a toll on the environment, American researchers suggested in a study released on a Monday.

Michigan State University researcher Jianguo “Jack” Liu and his assistant Eunice Yu said the increasing number of divorces leads to more households with fewer people and greater consumption of water and energy. They said housing units require space, construction materials and fuel to heat and cool, regardless of the number of inhabitants.

For example, in the United States in 2005, divorced households consumed an extra 73 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water. An additional 38 million extra rooms required heating and lighting that same year due to divorced households.

That costs $6.9 billion in extra utility costs per year, Liu said, plus an added $ 3.6 billion for water, in addition to other costs such as land use.

“A married household actually uses resources more efficiently than a divorced household,” Liu said. He said that in cohabitating(同居) household, people will watch the same television, share the air conditioning and heat and use the same refrigerator. All things use energy at a regularly stable rate, regardless of the number of users.

 Liu said he was not condemning divorce, “Some people really need to get divorced.” He said cohabitation—whether by a family or friends—was simply a more environmentally friendly option. Additonally, the researchers noted that trends other than divorce are also changing family living structures, such as the end of multiple generations of a family sharing a home and people remaining single longer.

“People’s first reaction to this research is surprise, and then it seems simple.” Liu said in a press release. “But a lot of things become simple after research is done. Our challenges were to connect the dots and quantify(量化) their relationships. People have been talking about how to protect the environment and fight against climate change, but divorce is a factor that people don’t notice and it needs to be considered”.

He said the increasing energy demands caused by divorce should be considered by governments when they are creating environmental policies.

The research was published in this week’s online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

1.This passage is mainly meant to _______ .

  A. inform the readers of the increasing rates of divorce in America

  B. emphasize the importance of protecting the environment

  C. appeal to married people to maintain their marriage longer

  D. tell people the impact divorce has on the environment

2. According to the passage, what’s the attitude of Mr. Liu towards divorce?

  A. Critical   .             B. Indifferent.               C. Objective.                D. Negative.

3.We are told that ______ .

  A. divorced households will use fewer resources than married households

  B. married households are more willing to protect the environment

  C. divorced households contribute more to rapid economic development

  D. divorce is rarely considered when people think about protecting the environment.

4.The underlined phrase “taking a toll on” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____ .

  A. taking efforts to improve                         B. having a bad effect on 

  C. preventing the pollution of                        D. benefiting from

5. How is the passage organized?

  A. Main idea →Comparison → Supporting details

  B. Comparison→Argument→Explanation

  C. Main idea→Supporting details→Conclusion

  D. Example → Explanation → Conclusion

 

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