Damage to Ozone Layer Gets Worse

    In the middle of winter, when snow is falling in many parts of the United States, scientists have sounded a warning to people who plan to spend many hours in the sun this summer.The warning: The sun's summertime rays are more dangerous than once thought.

    A team of scientists from 80 nations recently reported to the United Nations that a layer of ozone(臭氧层)in the atmosphere, which protects humans from harmful levels of ultraviolet(紫外线)radiation, will be thinner over the United States this summer.The thinner layer allows more ultraviolet rays from the sun to reach Earth.The extra amount of ultraviolet radiation could cause an increase in the number of cases of skin cancer.

    Scientists first became concerned about the layer in the mid-1980s when a hole was discovered in the layer above Antarctica during the winter.The hole was caused in chemicals used in refrigerators and air conditioners.When these chemicals are sent out into the atmosphere, they produce gases that destroy the ozone.

    Concern about the protective ozone layer rose more recently when data from satellites and ground stations showed that ozone levels were dropping over areas other than Antarctica.Low ozone levels were recorded in the spring and summer over the United States and over other populated areas in the world.

    Although many countries have already begun stopping the use of ozone-destroying chemicals, the new findings are expected to advance the timetable for a total ban of the chemicals.

The scientists have observed the ozone layer ______.

    A.since 1980                     B.since last winter

    C.for more than 20 years            D.for about one year

The ozone layer in the atmosphere can ______.

    A.do a lot of good to human beings in many ways

    B.protect humans from diseases caused by bad weather

    C.do a lot of harm to human beings in the summer-time

    D.protect humans from harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation

Scientists first found that there was a hole in the ozone layer ______.

    A.above Arctic during the winter in the mid-1980s

    B.above Antarctica during the winter in the mid-1980s

    C.over somewhere in the north of the equator in 1980

    D.over the USA in the summertime in the mid-1980s

The damage to the ozone layer was caused by ______.

    A.the changeable weather          B.ozone-destroying chemicals

C.chemicals from refrigerators      D.chemicals from air conditioners

The temperature is rising again in the Arctic. The sea ice area has dropped to one of the lowest levels on record, climate scientists reported last week.

“The new Arctic Report Card tells a story of widespread and continued effects of a warming Arctic,” said Jackie Richter-Menge of the US’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.

“This isn’t just a climatological (气候学的) effect. It impacts the people that live there,” she added.

Scientists concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first, and that has been the case in recent years.

There was a slowdown in Arctic warming in 2009, but in the first half of 2010 warming was near a record pace. The monthly readings were over 4 degrees Celsius above normal in northern Canada, according to the report card. The report card was prepared by 69 researchers in eight countries.

Researchers said last winter’s big snow storms that struck some Northern countries were tied to higher Arctic temperatures.

“Normally the cold air is bottled up in the Arctic,” said Jim Overland of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “But last December and February, winds that normally blow west to east across the Arctic were instead bringing the colder air south,” he said.

“As we lose more sea ice... warming in the atmosphere can create more of these winter storms,” Overland said.

There is a powerful connection between ice cover and air temperatures, Richter-Menge explained. When temperatures warm, ice melts. When ice melts it shows darker surfaces underneath , which absorb  more heat. “That, in turn, causes more melting and on the cycle goes,” she said.

In September the Arctic sea ice extent was the third smallest in the last 30 years, added Don Perovich of the US Army Laboratory. He said the three smallest ice covers have occurred in the last four years.

Scientists care so much about the warming in the Arctic region because     .

A .the climate in the Arctic doesn’t change much

B. global warming effects are most serious in the Arctic region

C .there has been a major decrease of Arctic warming in recent years

D. by studying the region they can make predictions about the future impact of global warming

. Which of the following shows that the Arctic is getting warmer? 

A. The surface of the sea ice in Arctic is getting darker and darker.

B. The Arctic sea ice extent has disappeared over the last 30 years.

C. The sea ice extent has increased to one of the highest levels on record.

What does the underlined word “cycle” refer to?  

A .Ice giving off heat when it melts.

B. Higher temperatures bringing more storms.

C .The cause and the result of the melting.

D. The life of the people living in the Arctic getting worse.

According to researchers what led to big snow storms attacking some Northern countries last winter?                 

A. Higher Arctic temperatures.

B. The melting ice.

C. The cold wind blowing west to east.

D. Cold air bottled up in the Arctic.

What is the main point of the article?         

A. Last winter’s big snow-storms.

B. Winds in the Arctic region.

C. Arctic warming and its possible effects.

D. Changes to the life of people living in the Arctic.

 

第二节 完形填空(共20小题;每小题1分,满分20分)

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,从每题所给的(A、B、C和D)四个选项中选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

The relationship between a son and his father changes over time. it may   36   and flourish(繁茂) in mutual maturity. It may fail in disliked dependence or independence.

The first   37   I have of him--of anything, really--is his strength. To a little boy right after World War II , a father seemed a god with strange strengths and powers   38   him to do and know any things in the world, such as putting a bicycle chain back on, building a hamster cage or guiding a jigsaw(拼板玩具) so it   39   the letter F. In fact, I learned the alphabet that way in those pre-television days.

There were, of course, rules to learn. First came the handshake.    40   of those fishy (冷冰冰的) little finger grips, but a good firm squeeze   41   by an equally strong gaze into the other’s eyes.

As time passed, there were other rules to learn. “Always do your best.” “Do it now.” “Never lie!” And most   42  , “You can do whatever you have to do.”

By my teens, he wasn’t telling me   43   to do anymore, which was scary and exciting at the same time. He   44   perspective (视角), not telling me what was around the great corner of life but letting me know there was a lot   45   just today and the next, which I hadn’t thought of.

With father, I   46   became a grown up.

But one day, I realize now, there was a(n)   47  .

A School fact   48   something he said. Impossible that he could be wrong, but there it was in the book. I began to see, too, his   49   spots, his prejudices and his weaknesses. I never threw these up at him. He hadn’t to me. I   50   asking his advice.

There seemed to be a   51   between us, which I found   52   to fill in.

After much thought and practice (“You can do whatever you have to do.”), one night last winter, I sat down by his bed. I told my father how much I   53   him and talked of some of my advice on him.

He said he knew how hard my   54   had been to say and how proud he was of me.

“I had the best teacher,” I said. “You can do whatever you have to do.” He smiled a little. And we shook hands once again,   55     .

36. A. raise             B. grow                C. worsen              D. exist

37. A. lesson            B. idea                C. memory               D. touch

38. A. making             B. encouraging          C. getting             D. enabling

39. A. writes            B. forms                C. appears             D. comes

40. A. Nothing            B. All                  C. None                 D. Some

41. A. approved          B. accompanied          C. astonished            D. appointed

42. A. strictly              B. importantly          C. urgently              D. surprisingly

43. A. how                B. when                   C. what                 D. why

44. A. provided         B. gained                C. lost                 D. kept

45. A. earlier than     B. more than           C. shorter than          D. less than

46. A. luckily             B. gradually            C. surprisingly           D. regularly

47. A. choice            B. chance               C. change               D. check

48. A. confirmed         B. confused             C. contradicted           D. connected

49. A. strong            B. blind                 C. poor                 D. dark

50. A. began            B. continued            C. stopped             D. missed

51. A. gap              B. failure               C. crash               D. loss

52. A. impossible        B. easy                C. necessary            D. strange

53. A. disappointed      B. misunderstood        C. loved                 D. supported

54. A. life              B. years                 C. speech              D. words

55. A. hardly            B. firmly               C. warmly              D. friendly

 

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