Question

【题目】Half of the world’s population lives in areas affected by Asian monsoons（季风）, but monsoons are difficult to predict. American researchers have put together a 700-year record of the rainy seasons, which is expected to provide guidance for experts making weather predictions.

Every summer, moist（潮湿的）air masses, known as monsoon, produce large quantities of rainfall in India, East Asia, Indonesia, Northern Australia and East Africa, which are pulled in by a high pressure area over the Indian Ocean and a low pressure area to the south.

According to Edward Cook, a weather expert at Columbia University in New York, the complex nature of the climate systems across Asia makes monsoons hard to predict. In addition, climate records for the area date to 1950, too recent and not detailed enough to be of much use. Therefore, he and a team of researchers spent more than fifteen years travelling across Asia locating trees old enough to provide long-term records. They measured the rings（年轮）or circles, inside the trunks of thousands of ancient trees at more than 300 sites.

Rainfall has a direct link to the growth and width of rings on some kinds of trees. The researchers developed a document—a Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas（地图集）. It shows the effect of monsoons over seven centuries, beginning in the 1300s.

Professor Cook says the tree-ring records show periods of wet and dry conditions. “If the monsoon basically fails or is very weak one year, the trees affected by the monsoon at that location might put on a very narrow ring. But if the monsoon is very strong, the trees affected by that monsoon might put on a wide ring for that year. So, the wide and narrow ring widths of the tree chronology（年表）that we developed in Asia provide us with a measure of monsoon variability. ” Armed with such a sweeping set of data, researchers say they now can begin to refine climate computer models for predicting the behavior of monsoons.

“There has been widespread famine and starvation and human dying in the past in large droughts. And on the other hand, if the monsoon is particularly heavy, it can cause extensive flooding,” said Eugene Wahl, a scientist who is with America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s paleoclimate（古气侯）branch studying weather patterns over the history of the Earth. “So, to get a knowledge of what the regional moisture patterns have been, dryness and wetness over such a long period of time in great detail, I would call it a kind of victory for climate science.”

【1】What’s the passage mainly about?

A．A breakthrough in monsoon prediction.

B．The necessity of weather forecast.

C．The achievements of Edward Cook.

D．The effects of Asian monsoons.

【2】It is difficult for experts to predict Asian monsoons because______.

A．it is hard to keep long-term climate records

B．they are formed under complex climate systems

C．they influence many nations

D．there is heavy rainfall in Asia

【3】What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The trees affected by monsoon grow fast if the monsoon is weak.

B．The Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas has a monsoon record for about 1,300 years.

C．Long and detailed climate records can offer useful information for monsoon research.

D．The rainfall might be low although the monsoon is strong in monsoon-

affected areas.

【4】According to Professor Cook, the rings of the trees_________.

A．determine the regional climate

B．have a great influence on the regional climate

C．offer people information about the regional climate

D．reflect all kinds of regional climate information

【5】What do we know about the research according to Eugene Wahl?

A．It will help people prevent droughts and floods.

B．It should include information about human life in the past.

C．It has analysed moisture models worldwide.

D．It is a great achievement in climate science.

【6】Which of the following best describes the tone of this passage?

A．Friendly. B．Pessimistic.

C．Humorous. D．Matter-of-fact.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】B

【3】C

【4】C

【5】D

【6】D

【解析】

试题分析：试题分析：本文主要讲述了一半的世界人口都在被亚洲季风所影响，而季风也是难以预测的。美国研究员收集700年的美国雨季纪录信息，为气象专家进行天气预测提供指导。而美国的气象专家Edward Cook认为，复杂的亚洲气象系统使得季风难以预测，而且自1950年的气象纪录不足以充分利用。所以，他和一对研究员用了十五年的时间穿过亚洲定位树龄老的树提供长期的纪录。研究表明季风弱的地方，树龄比较窄，如果台风比较强，树龄比较宽。

【1】主旨推断题。根据最后一自然段最后一句话So, to get a knowledge of what the regional moisture patterns have been, dryness and wetness over such a long period of time in great detail, I would call it a kind of victory for climate science.”可知：本文主要讲述了科学研究在季风预测方面的突破。故选A。

【2】细节题。根据第三自然段the complex nature of the climate systems across Asia makes monsoons hard to predict. 意思是：亚洲复杂的自然天气系统使得季风很难预测。故选B。

【3】推断题。根据第三自然段第二句In addition, climate records for the area date to 1950, too recent and not detailed enough to be of much use.意思是：另外，自1950年开始在该地区的天气纪录，由于时间在近期和不够详细，使得纪录不足以使用。可知长期和详细的天气纪录能够为季风研究提供有用的信息。故选C。

【4】细节题。由第五自然段Professor Cook says the tree-ring records show periods of wet and dry conditions 意思是：Cook 教授，认为树龄纪录显示了潮湿和干燥的情况。可知树龄对地区天气状况提供信息。故选C。

【5】推断题。由最后一自然段So, to get a knowledge of what the regional moisture patterns have been, dryness and wetness over such a long period of time in great detail, I would call it a kind of victory for climate science.”意思是：学习和了解地区的潮湿状况的干燥和湿润，在一个长时间的阶段和以很详细的状况，我把它认为是气象科学的一种成功。可知在气象科学方面是一个很大的成就。故选D。

【6】推断题。全文主要讲述了亚洲季风的预测情况，预测本可以根据700多年的雨季纪录情况，但是由于自然天气系统的复杂，仅凭短期和不够详细的天气纪录情况，是不够充分的。后在气象专家Edward Cook和他的研究团队的研究之下，研究人员根据纪录下的树龄情况，逐步分析和预测天气情况。所以整篇文章是以事实为基调的。故选D。