An important scientific report announced “irrefutable（不能反驳的） proof” that climate change is happening and it’s all our fault. How long has it been before people are against the global warming idea? But here’s a funny thing. Last year there was a very bad hurricane season in the Caribbean when, among other disasters, New Orleans was all but wiped off the map. We were wisely informed by the experts at the time that this was owing to global warming.

I remember watching a BBC science programme and hearing a learned professor with a beard tell us, “The increased frequency and strength of hurricanes is what we shall have to learn to expect given global warming.”

This year there have been far fewer hurricanes and those there have been were relatively mild. Why？Global warming again of course. Professor Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, writes, “In the constant media reports of possible greenhouse related disasters, almost any event is now linked to climate change.” He adds, “We should not spend vast amounts of money to cut a tiny slice of the global temperature increase when this leads to a poor use of resources and when we could probably use these funds far more effectively in the developing world.” For saying this, Lomborg has had death threats.

Other scientists who do not toe the global warming-is-happening-and-it’s-all-our-fault line have received the same. There are plenty of people who count against global warming. A world of senior climatologists and meteorologists wrote to the Times last year to complain that they couldn’t get their research findings published — because they disagreed to it. We have had a warm autumn. The experts,  fanatics（狂热者） all of them, put it down to global warming. If we have an extra cold winter, they will tell us it’s a result of global warming. If my big toe feels cold or hurts badly, it will be owing to global warming.

52. The purpose of this passage may be to ____.

A. support the idea of global warming  

B. organize a debate about global warming

C. speak out against the global warming idea

D. encourage people to use money effectively

53. What happened to New Orleans last year?

A. It was badly destroyed.                          B. It disappeared in the world.

C. It witnessed global warming.               D. It experienced several disasters.

54. From the passage, we can infer that ____.

A. people are taking too many efforts to stop global warming

B. people have realized the side effect of development

C. a different idea sometimes may cost one his life

D. the majority usually stand for the correct opinion

55. The main idea of the last paragraph may be ____.

A. global warming may lead to toe’s catching cold in a sense

B. the Times refuses to publish articles on global warming

C. a warming autumn is not related to global warming at all

D. it is certainly incorrect to owe everything to global warming

How long do you suppose ______ we applied for the job ________ we had been trained .

—How long _         like this?
— Three weeks! It's normal that it rains without stopping these days of the year．

For those who are conditioned to think that learning only happens in a classroom, the world of self-learning can be a little daunting. How do we best take   1   of these new opportunities?

Your interest in the subject is the essential driver of success. You can’t learn what you do not want to learn. Emotion is an important part of the learning   2   . If you are even moderately interested in a subject, give yourself  a chance. The key is to get started. If you can create some pleasurable   3  , you may find that the subject grows on you.

Don’t expect to understand things, much less remember them, the first time you study them. Trust that things will get clearer   4   your brain comes to grips with new information. It is like a cross-word puzzle. As you start to put the pieces together, or string the words together, the full picture becomes clearer. The brain learns all the time, but    5    its own schedule. Learning does not take place according to a schedule laid down by a curriculum or teacher. Some things are easier to learn than others. Some things just take    6   to click in. Keep at it, and you will gradually find that things that seem difficult at first , will become easy with time.

Your brain is struggling to form patterns to    7    new input from your learning activities. Sometimes, no matter how long you focus on one subject, your brain is not going to pick it up. If you are stuck, move   8   . Then cover the same general information from a different source, a different book, or a podcast, or an online lecture or a video. Try to become a  grazing learner, roaming the countryside,     9   a feedlot learner, just standing there in one spot. The broader your base, the easier it is to learn. Just as the “rich get richer”, the more you know,     10   you can learn.

Take full advantage of the Internet, iTunes, and     11   mobile devices, not to mention good old-fashioned books and magazines. Learn during “dead time”. Listen in your car, on the train, or   12   jogging. Have your learning with you while waiting in the doctor’s office, or listen while checking out at the supermarket. Anytime is     13  time. Remember, you are learning through exposure, not by nailing things down. It is more like moisture accumulation in a    14   , rather than building a brick wall.

The more varied your learning content, and the more varied the ways in which you learn, the       15 the puzzle will become. Different learning activities suit different people, at different times of the day. Vary your activities in order to keep your interest level   16    . Even if listening and reading work best for you, treat yourself to the odd video lecture, or get-together with other learners. This will renew your batteries.

The “loneliness of the distance learner” is a thing of the   17  . Join a learning community on the web, where members share their knowledge and experience. Search for the communities that suit your interests and learning style. You will find encouragement, advice and stimulus from fellow learners,        18    from tutors, teachers and coaches. In these communities, you can measure your progress against your own goals, or compare your experience     19    that of other learners. You can even teach and help others, which is a great way to learn.

Never has it been easier nor more exciting to be a learner. Let constant learning be a major part of your life-style. The   20        will be constant, personally, socially, and professionally.

(   ) 1. A. advantage    B. place               C. possession        D. example

(   ) 2. A. progress      B. process             C. pressure            D. proposal

(   ) 3. A. roads          B. streets              C. routines            D. building

(   ) 4. A. with           B. if                     C. unless               D. as

(   ) 5. A. on                  B. to                    C. with                 D. for

(   ) 6. A. shorter               B. sooner              C. longer              D. lower

(   ) 7. A. take with     B. com with          C. go with            D. cope with

(   ) 8. A. down          B. on                    C. away               D. off

(   ) 9. A. more than   B. less than           C. rather than               D. other than

(   ) 10. A. less           B. quicker             C. lower                      D. more

(   ) 11. A. same        B. similar             C. familiar            D. various

(   ) 12. A. while               B. before              C. after                 D. if

(   ) 13. A. playing     B. learning            C. talking             D. speaking

(   ) 14. A. cloud               B. sky                  C. earth               D. sea

(   ) 15. A. cleaner      B. clearer              C. harder              D. lower

(   ) 16. A. down               B. up                    C. in                    D. out

(   ) 17. A. present      B. day                  C. past                  D. night

(   ) 18. A. as long as B. as far as            C. as well as          D. as soon as

(   ) 19. A. without     B. with                 C. to                    D. beyond

(   ) 20. A. awards      B. words               C. remarks            D. rewards

— Look! How long ________ like this?

   —Three weeks! It’s usual here that rain _______ without stopping these days of the year.

A. has it rained; pours        B. has it been raining; pours

C. is it raining; is pouring   D. does it rain; pours