Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are a major cause of climate change, and now a new study has confirmed that atmospheric CO₂ is also affecting the ocean chemistry and potentially harming sea life.
Montana State University scientist Robert Dore has been researching the water in the Pacific Ocean for almost two decades. We've been going to the same spot in the Pacific Ocean, and we try and characterize long-term change in the open ocean environment. And one of the key things that we measure is CO₂ levels. And we've been able to record this increasing quantity of atmospheric CO₂ into the ocean.
Scientists expected that as atmospheric CO₂ increased, more and more of the carbon dioxide would be absorbed into the ocean, affecting the chemical balance of the sea water, with a potentially harmful impact on shellfish and coral in particular.
"As carbon dioxide dissolves（溶解） in the water, or seawater in this case, it forms a weak acid, carbonic acid," Dore explains. "And therefore, as the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere goes up and that exchanges with the surface seawater, it drives the PH down, and makes it more acidic."
The seawater Dore and his colleagues have analyzed confirms what the theory predicts.
The effect was particular striking at about 250 meters down, and again at 500 meters. Dore and his colleagues came up with two possible explanations. It could be that surface water picked up CO₂ and then moved to those depths. Or there could be a biological explanation.
"It's important to realize that the oceans are really becoming acidic. And it can have negative（消极的） impacts on a whole variety of sea life from fish to coral. It's potentially catastrophic."
【小题1】What can be the best title of the passage?

Animals are more like us than we ever imagined．They feel pain, they experience stress, they show affection, excitement and love．All these findings have been made by scientists in recent years---and such results are beginning to change how we view animals.

Strangely enough, some of this research was sponsored by fast food companies like McDonald’s and KFC．Pressured by animal rights groups , these companies felt they had to fund scientists researching the emotional and mental states of animals.

McDonald’s, for instance, funded studies on pig behavior at Purdue University, Indiana．This research found that pigs seek affection and easily become depressed if left alone or prevented from playing with each other．If they become depressed, they soon become physically ill．Because of this, and other similar studies, the European Union has banned the use of isolating pig stalls from 2010．In Germany, the government is encouraging pig farmers to give each pig 20 seconds of human contact a day, and to provide them with toys to prevent them from fighting

Other scientists have shown that animals think and behave like humans．Koko, the 300-pound gorilla at the Gorilla Foundation in Northern California, for instance, has been taught sign language．Koko can now understand several thousand English words, more than many humans who speak English as a second language．On human IQ tests, she scores between 70 and 95.

Before such experiments, humans thought language skills were absent from the animal kingdom．Other myths are also being overturned, like the belief that animals lack self-awareness．Studies have also shown that animals mourn their dead, and that they play for pleasure.

These striking similarities between animal and human behavior have led some to ask a question: “If you believe in evolution, how can’t you believe that animals have feelings that human  beings have?”

Until recently, scientists believed that animals behaved by instinct and that what appeared to be learned behavior was merely genetically-programmed activity．But as Koko the Gorilla shows, this is not the case．In fact, learning is passed from parent to offspring far more often than not in the animal kingdom.

So what implications does this knowledge have for humans? Because of this, should we ban hunting and animal testing? Should we close zoos? Such questions are being raised by many academics and politicians．Harvard and 25 other American law schools have introduced courses on animal rights．Germany meanwhile, recently guaranteed animal rights in its constitution---the first country to do so.

McDonald’s and KFC give money to support scientist to do research on animals, because_____

       A．they are international big companies.

       B．they love animals.

       C．they are pressured by animal right groups.

       D．they earn a large amount of money and want to do some good deeds.

The research on pigs at Purdue University shows that______

       A．pigs love being alone.

       B．pigs easily become physically ill.

       C．pigs need affection.

       D．pigs don’t like to play with each other.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

       A．Animals behave by instinct.

       B．Animals have self-awareness.

       C．Animals have feelings and love.

       D．Animals do not have language skills.

Should we ban hunting and animal testing?

       A．Yes.

       B．No

       C．Not certain

       D．Not mentioned

The food on the moon has come a long way from the freeze – dried bread to half – dried food. They have changed a lot in the past few years. And now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini – greenhouses on the moon.
Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when people on the moon or even Mars will be able to eat green and fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has shown people what it called the first step toward growing flowers – and finally food – on the moon.
Paragon, which is a partner of NASA in experiments at the International Space Station, calls it a “Lunar Oasis (绿洲)”
This is a closed greenhouse placed in a metal box. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the moon surface, and protect it while it grows.
The small greenhouse is to be sent up into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, which takes part in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $ 20 million to any company which can send up, land and operate a lunar rover (月面车) on the moon surface.
Leaders of Paragon say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.
When it is sent up, the greenhouse will have the seeds (种子) of cabbage inside it. Because they go from seed to flower in just 14 days, they can complete their life cycle in a lunar night.
“Growing plants on the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now,” Paragon president Jane Poynter said. “It takes a long time to do a lot of research.”
【小题1】What do we know about “Lunar Oasis” from the passage?

A．It is possible.	B．It can be realized easily
C．It is impossible.	D．It will come true very soon.

Have you heard of snake robots? Scientists and doctors are already using tiny snakes that coil through the human body armed with sharp surgical tools to perform operations on hearts, prostate cancer, and other diseased organs. The snake robots that carry tiny cameras, scissors and forceps, and even more advanced sensors are being developed.
The next generation of the robots will be wireless, and will explore inside your body on their own--- not attached to any cables. For now, they are powered by cables that humans control. Experts say the day is coming when some robots will roam around the body on their own. But the experts in robotics say the new creations work best when they are designed for very specific tasks.
Howie Choset has been researching and building robots, particularly snake robots. He believes that his snake robot and others like it can help reduce medical costs by making complex surgery faster and easier. Choset says his new design is smaller and more flexible than earlier models.
The size of surgical robots allows surgeons to operate with far less damage to the body, helping the patient heal faster. Choset has also built larger snake robots designed for search and rescue, or just exploration. They can climb poles and trees and then look around through a camera in the head and slither through places that humans cannot reach.
“ We sent our snake robots into these caves in the Red Sea to look for evidence of ancient Egyptian ships,” he said. “ To me, archeology is like search and rescue, but everyone has been dead for 5,000 years.”
The doctors are very excited about the potential for surgical robots to do things that humans can’t do. The variety of sensors available for surgical robots keeps expanding. As they get smaller, maybe one day they will be able to test chemicals or blood in the body, or even the electrical connections in nerves.
【小题1】What can we learn from the first paragraph?

阅读理解

　　Old Americans are separating into two classes. Retirement can be either heaven or hell. “I do believe on the whole the retirees(退休者)of tomorrow will be wealthier and healthier than the same group of 30 years of age.” says Robert Friedland, director of the National Academy on Ageing, “But that's only part of the picture. There's also a large group whose household income(收入)hasn't been growing very much. For them the future is unhappy. ”

　　“Nature is not always kind. ”says Dr. Robert Butler, an expert in medical care of old people, who was a founding director of the National Institute on Ageing. “The relationship between socio-economic position and life expectancy(估计寿命)has been known for a long time. Race (种族)is also connected. And education is powerful, too in lengthening life.”

　　“The reality is that poor people get sick easily as they age because they live in duty neighborhoods and have dirty jobs, they are left unprotected(保护)from environmental pollution(环境污染), and the pressure of being poor wears down people's health.” according to Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, which studies health problems .

　　“Cigarette smoking has a great effect because it is more common in lower socio-economic groups. ” says Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, “If you live in a state of hopelessness and helplessness and don't think about the future, you are more likely to take up life-threatening habits.”

　　“Race and income have large effects on death. ” a team of researchers reported in the New English Journal of Medicine in 1996, after researching on 24 million whites and 2.1 million blacks.

　　With the exception of black women, the highest income group had the lowest death rates and the lowest income group had the highest death rates regardless of race . For black women there was no consistent pattern across income group.

1．The sentence “ Retirement can be either heaven or hell . ” means ________.

[　　]

A．If a man is out of work, he or she will feel unhappy.

B．If an American retires from his job ( post), he or she will lead a miserable life.

C．Old people in America have to choose a life style.

D．Some old people in America lead a hard life, or others may lead a happy life.

2．According to Dr. Robert Butler's opinion, ________ plays the most important role in people's life expectancy.

[　　]

3．The reason why poor people are more likely to get ill as they grow old is that ________.

[　　]

A．they live in the countryside

B．they work with their hands

C．their families are too large

D．they suffer a lot from being poor

4．What Elizabeth Whelan says means that ________.

[　　]

A．smoking makes people poor and hopeless

B．smoking is popular among poor people

C．poor people should give up smoking

D．rich people in America never smoke

5．Which is the best title for the story?

[　　]

A．Terrible life leads to short expectancy .

B．Income differences produce life expectancy .

C．The life expectancy can be decided by race.

D．Americans don't like to retire .