题目内容
Crop failures in desert areas have been a ________ of life for thousands of years.
- A.part
- B.matter
- C.real
- D.fact
Health and climate scientists have mapped how climate change affects different parts of the world in different ways. The scientists point to the fact that changes in the past thirty years may, have been affecting human health. Possible effects include more deaths from extreme(极度的) heat or cold, more storms and more crop failures in dry periods.
The health and climate scientists recently estimated(估计) that climate changes caused by human activity lead to more than one hundred and fifty thousand deaths each year. Cases of sickness are estimated at five million. And the W.H.O. says the numbers could rise quickly by the year of 2003.
Jonathan Patz of an environmental institute led the study. Professor Patz points out that climate scientists connected global warming with the heat that killed thousands in Europe in August, 2003. But he says poor countries least responsible(对……负责) for the warming are most in danger from the health effects of higher temperatures.
Professor Patz says areas in greatest danger include southern and eastern Africa and coastlines along the Pacific and Indian oceans. Also, large cities experience what scientists call a "heat island"effect that can make conditions worse.
Representatives(代表) from about two hundred countries hold a meeting in Canada, to discuss climate change. The ten-day meeting ends on December 9th. It is the first such United Nations meeting since the Kyoto Protocol(京都议定书) took effect earlier this year. The agreement aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide(二氧化碳) and other heat-trapping(吸热的) gases sent off into the air.
1.Who is Jonathan Patz?
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A．A scientist responsible for the climate change. |
|
B．A scientist in charge of the study of the climate change. |
|
C．A professor interested in the climate change. |
|
D．A professor who is a representative from an African country. |
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
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A．Climate changes affect different parts of the world in the same way. |
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B．The ten-day meeting is the first United Nations meeting on climate change. |
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C．The Kyoto Protocol aims to make smaller the amount of heat-trapping gases into the air. |
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D．Poor countries are responsible for the global warming. |
3.Possible effects from the climate changes include the following EXCEPT ______.
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A．crop failures |
B．storms |
C．more deaths from overheat |
D．air pollution |
4.According to the health and climate scientists, climate changes have been caused by ______.
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A．dry weather |
B．cold weather |
C．human activities |
D．storms |
5.We can infer from the passage that ______.
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A．climate changes are having a bad effect on human’s health |
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B．Professor Patz leads the study of climate changes |
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C．a "heat island"effect large cities experience makes the matter worse |
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D．rich countries are most responsible for climate changes |
World Food Prize goes to Ethiopian Scientist
Sorghum is an important grain for Africa. Millions of Africans have more to eat because of Gebisa Ejeta. The Ethiopian scientist developed sorghum seeds that can resist long dry periods. The seeds can also resist the Striga weed, a big cause of crop failures in Arica.
Now his work has earned him this year’s World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation. He received 250,000 dollars for the award. He is only the second African to win the prize since it was set up in 1986. monty Jones, a rice specialist from Sierra Leone, was the winner in 2004.
Gebisa Ejeta is a professor at Purdue University in Indiana. Over the years, he was worked with farmers and seed companies and developed more than eighty seed types for Africa.
In the early 1980s, Professor Ejeta developed the first sorghum hybrid seeds. These resisted drought and led to a major increase in production.
Drought is not the only enemy. Striga is a parasitic weed that Africans commonly call witch weed. The plant attacks sorghum and other crops and steals water and nutrients from the roots.
In the 1990s, Gebisa Ejeta and another researcher, Larry Butler, identified the complex relationships between Striga and sorghum plants. That finding led to the development of seeds which can resist both Striga and drought.
Gebisa Ejeta was brought up in a one-room hut in a rural village in west-central Ethiopia. His mother wanted him to get and education. He walked twenty kilometers to school in a neighboring town. He left home on Sunday nights and returned on Friday. Professor Ejeta has never forgotten his African roots. Today he encourages other scientists to turn to Africa’s needs.
Ethiopian scientist 71 World Food Prize
| Theme | Gebisa Ejeta, a scientist from Ethiopia, won World Food Prize in 2009. |
| World Food Prize | World Food Prize was 72 in 1986. The winner receivers 250,000 dollars for the award, Gebisa Ejeta, was the second African winner after Monty Jones, a rice 73 from Sierra Leone , who was the winner in 2004. |
| Growth& early 74 | Gebisa Ejeta was 75 in a rural village in west-central Ethiopia and had to walk 20 kms to 76 school in a neighboring town. |
| 77 | In the early 1980s, Professor Ejeta developed the first sorghum hybrid seeds, which resisted drought and 78 in a major increase in production. In the 1990s, Gebisa Ejeta, cooperating with Larry Butler, developed seeds 79 to both Striga and drought. Gebisa Ejeta has worked with farmers and seed companies and developed more than eighty seed types for Africa, which makes millions of Africans avoid 80 from hunger. |