Britain is set to face an increase in cold winters, with up to one-in-seven hitting the UK with longer periods of time when temperatures are below freezing, a study has suggested.The prediction was based on research that found out how low solar activity affected winter weather patterns.
However, the researchers were eager to stress that their findings did not suggest that the region was about to fall suddenly into a "little ice age".The findings appear in the journal Environmental Research Letters."We could get to the point where one-in-seven winters are very cold, as we had at the start of last winter and all through the winter before last," said co-author Mike Lockwood, professor of space environment physics at the University of Reading.
Using the Central England Temperature (CET) record, the world's longest instrumental data series that dates back to 1659, the team said that in general temperatures during recent winters had been obviously lower than the longer-term temperatures."The mean CET for December, January and February for the recent relatively cold winters of 2008 ~ 2009 and 2009~2010 were 3.50℃ and 2.53℃ respectively," they wrote."However, the mean value for the previous 20 winters had been 5.04℃.The series of lower winter temperatures in the UK during the last three years had raised questions about the probability of more similar, or even colder, winters occurring in the future."
Last year.Professor Lockwood and colleagues published a paper that found a link between fewer sunspots and atmospheric conditions that "blocked" warm westerly winds reaching Europe during winter months, opening the way for cold easterly winds from the Arctic and Russia to sweep across the region.Professor Lockwood, while acknowledging that there were a range of possible meteorological factors (气象因素) that could influence blocking events, said the latest study moved things forward by showing that there was "improvement in the predictive skill" when solar activity was taken into consideration.
【小题1】We can know from the second paragraph that _____.

A.research shows that Britain will soon fall into an ice age
B.Mike Lockwood's research focuses on space environment physics
C.it was quite cold in Britain over the entire winter last year
D.so far one-in-seven winters have been very cold in Britain
【小题2】The.underlined word "mean" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to "_____".
A.averageB.stableC.ungenerousD.changeable
【小题3】What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.It was sunspots that blocked warm westerly winds reaching Europe.
B.Meteorological factors hardly have any influence on blocking events.
C.The latest study done by Professor Lockwood was of little practical value.
D.Considering solar activity or not affects the accuracy of weather forecasting.
【小题4】What's the best title of the passage?
A.Another big danger approaching the UK
B.Research finds out solar activity is to blame for the cold
C.UK faces more cold winters due to weaker solar activity
D.Changes in weather patterns should be responsible for low solar activity

The greatest recent changes have been in the lives of women, during the twentieth century there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances (家用电器)and convenience foods.
This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards, return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each them.
【小题1】 According to the passage, around the year1990 most women married       .
A. at about twenty five       B. in their early fifties
C. as soon as possible after they were fifteen D. at any age from fifteen to forty five
【小题2】We are told that in an average family about1990        .

A.many children died before they were five
B.the youngest child would be fifteen
C.seven of eight children lived to be more than five
D.four of five children died when they were five.
【小题3】 When she was over fifty, the late 19th century mother       .
A.would expect to work until she died
B.was usually expected to take up paid employment
C.would be healthy enough to take up paid employment.
D.was unlikely to find a job.
【小题4】 Many girls, the passage says, are now likely to       .
A.marry so that they can get a job
B.Leave school as soon as they can
C.give up their jobs for good after they are married
D.continue working until they are going to have a baby
【小题5】 According to the passage, it is now quite usual for women to       .
A.stay at hone after leaving school
B.marry men younger than themselves
C.start working again later in life
D.Marry while still at school

It’s true that quite a few most respected scientific authorities have confirmed that the world is becoming hotter and hotter. There’s also strong evidence that humans are contributing to the warming. Countless recent reports have proved the same thing. For instance, a 2010 summary about the climate science by the Royal Society noted that: “The global warming over the last half-century has been caused mainly by human activity.”

You may not believe that humans could change the planet’s climate, but the basic science is well understood. Each year, billions of tons of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere because of human activity. As has been known for years, these gases hold heat that would otherwise escape to space, wrapping the planet in an invisible (看不见的) blanket.

Of course, the earth’s climate has always been changing due to “natural” factors such as volcanic eruption or changes in solar, or cycles concerning the Earth’s going around the sun. According to the scientific research, however, the warming observed by now matches the pattern of warming we would expect from a build-up of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere – not the warming we would expect from other possible causes.

Even if scientists did discover another reasonable explanation for the warming recorded so far, that would give birth to a difficult question. As Robert Henson puts it: “If some newly discovered factor is to blame for the climate change, then why aren’t carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases producing the warming that basic physics tells us they should be?”

The only way to prove with 100% certainty that humans are responsible for global warming would be to run an experiment with two identical Earths – one with human influence and one without. That obviously isn’t possible, and so most scientists are careful not to state human influence as an absolute certainty.

1.In most scientists’ opinion, the global warming is mainly caused by ________.

A.solar activity                           B.volcanic activity

C.natural factors                          D.human factors

2.The text is developed by ________.

A.giving typical examples

B.following the order of space

C.analyzing a theory and arguing it

D.comparing and finding differences

3.The underline word “identical” in the last paragraph probably means ________.

A.totally different                         B.exactly the same

C.extremely important                     D.partly independent

4.Which of the following is not the cause of climate change?

A.volcanic eruption

B.cycles concerning the Earth’s going around the sun

C.changes in solar

D.floods and droughts

5.Which of the following can be the best title?

A.Are All the Scientists Really Scientific?

B.Where Is Global Warming Leading Us to?

C.Are Humans Definitely Causing Global Warming?

D.What’s the Relation of Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases?

 

Some of the United States’ biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive schools, even as they continue to extend government-backed loans to students at eh nation’s top universities.

Citibank has been among the most active in rebuilding the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust say have not dropped whole loan plans, but are cutting colleges. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University and William Jessup University, say they have been dropped by some lenders.

The practice suggests  that if the credit crisis and poor conditions in the student loan business continue, some of the nation’s neediest students will be hurt most. The difficulty of borrowing money may keep them from attending school or force them to take a semester(学期) off.  For those who have got student loans, they will end up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of dropping out if they have to change lenders in the middle of their college year.

Tuition and loan amounts can be quite small at community colleges. But these institutions, which are a stepping stone to other educational programs or to better jobs, often draw students from the lower ranks of the economic classes. According to the most recent data, about a third of US graduates took out loans, a majority of them guaranteed by the government.

“If put too many obstacles in their way to get a loan, they ’ll take a third job or use a credit card,” said Jacqueline K. Bradley, assistant director for financial aid at Mendocino College. “That almost guarantees that they won’t be as successful in their college career.”

Some loan companies have stopped the students loan business entirely, viewing it as unprofitable in the current environment. Students attending first-class, expensive, public and private four-year universities can expect to remain plentiful. The banks generally say these loans are bigger, more profitable, and less risky, perhaps in part because the banks expect graduates from these universities to earn more.

So far, financial aid administrators say they have been able to find some lenders that students can switch to, but this is costly to students--- in money and time.

59. Who will be the most upset at the news?

A. A poor students at a top university.          B. A poor students at a community university.

C. A bank clerk dealing with student loan business.

D. A teacher from a for-profitable university.

60. With too many obstacles in their way to get a loan, students will probably __________.

A. switch to top universities                       B. cancel their credit cards

C. fail in their exams                                 D. win a scholarship

61. When they say something is “government-backed”, you mean it is ___________.

A. guaranteed by the government                B. dropped by the government

C. against government                               D. for government

62. What is the best title for the passage?

A. The students loan business in America.    B. Banks and universities in America.

C. Student loans start to drop colleges.        D. Credit crisis starts to affect loans.

      

 

        第二节 信息匹配(共5小题;每小题2分,满分10分)

请阅读下列应用文和相关信息,并按照要求匹配信息.请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑.

下面是对几部电影的介绍:

A. Black Snake Moan

     Rae has been left for dead on the roadside when Lazavas discovers her. The

God-fearing, middle-aged black man quickly learns that the young white woman

whom he's nursing back to health is none other than the town tramp from the small

Tennessee town where they live. Worse, she has an anxiety disorder.

     B. Blades of Glory

     When two figure skaters Chazz and Jimmy brawl (打架)  for the gold medal at

the World Championships, they are stripped (剥夺) of their gold medals and banned

from the sport for life.

      C. Mr. Brooks

Consider Mr. Brooks, a successful businessman, a generous philanthropist (慈善家), a loving father and devoted husband. Seemingly, he's perfect. But Mr. Brooks has a secret -- he is a cruel serial killer and no one knows it -- until now.

D. Evening

The film explores the romantic past and emotional present of Ann Grant and her daughters. As Ann lays dying, she reflects on the time in her youth when she met the love of her life, a man she has never forgotten. Her daughters learn that decisions made on impulse can affect a lifetime,and how important it is to know

true love when it finds you.

     E.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

     Harry Potter retums for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that

much of the wizard community has been denied the truth about the teenager's recent

encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned.

     F. The Invisible

     Nick is a high school senior with a bright future until, in a tragic case of

mistaken identity, he is wildly attacked by a troubled girl Annie, and his body is left for dead.

    请阅读下列的电影补充介绍,然后匹配电影补充介绍与它们所对应的电影名称。   

    56. Deeply moving  and extremely romantic, it is a film about the moments in life that define us, and the timeless love that binds mothers and daughters, sisters and friends.

    57. He decides to cure her both in body and in spirit. He uses unusual ways --

tying her to the radiator (电暖炉) . And by saving her,,the man might just save

himself.

    58. Now in limbo (中间过渡状态), he is not quite dead but invisible to the living,

and his spirit can only watch as his mother and the Police search for him, not knowing that he is only hours away from death.

    59. Fearing that Hogwarts' venerable (值得尊敬的)  headmaster, Albus

Dumbledore is lying about Voldemort's return in order to weaken his power and take

his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new teacher to keep

watch over Hogwarts' students.

    60. Now, three-and-a-half years on, they've found there will be some hope that

they will be allowed to compete again: if they can put aside their differences, they can skate together in pairs figure skating.

 

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