Plants are flowering faster than scientists predict in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.

“Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns.” scientists say.

Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.

“Predicting species’ reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researchers of several U.S. Universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.

The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.

“Across all species, the experiments underestimated the speed of the advance—for both leafing and flowering—that results from temperature increases,” the study said.

“The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change,” it said.

Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis (光合作用) to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.

Scientists believe the world’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8 ℃ since 1900, and nearly 0.2 ℃ every ten years since 1979.

So far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2 ℃ this century—a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.

1.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?

A. The increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists’ expectation.

B. Climate change leads to the change of food production patterns.

C. Plants’ reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystem.   

D. Food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather.

2.We can learn from the study published on the Nature website that _____.    

A. scientists should improve the design of the experiments

B. plants’ flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing

C. there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents

D. the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change

3.Scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because _____.     

A. they can prove the climate change clearly

B. they are very important in the food chains

C. they play a leading role in reducing global warming

D. they are growing and flowering much faster than before

4.What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the world’s temperature?    

A. It has risen nearly 0.2 ℃ since 1979.

B. It is 0.8 ℃ higher in 1979 than that of 1990. 

C. It needs to be controlled within 2 ℃ in this century.

D. Its change will lead to weather extremes.

注意：请在答题卡上作答。

My hometown is a pretty city，so people there are                           1.______

kind and polite. With coming of spring，grass and 　　　                    2.______

trees turn green，and flowers grew in many colors.　                        3.______

In summer, the sea under the blue skies is even more　                  4.______

beautiful. After autumn arrives，the city looks as an 　                    5.______

old man with leaves fallen from the trees. In winter，　　　　　　          6.______

a lot of white birds come to my city for food. I can　　　　　              7.______

wait more patiently above the sea for quite a long　　　　　　              8.______

time. While they find fish come to the surface, they　　　　　　            9.______

fly down immediate and catch them without delay.                        10.______

That is my city, and I love it so much.　　　

New York City consists of five parts: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The population is about 7.5 million and there are 1.5 million in Manhattan alone.
Manhattan, the center of the city, is on the island between the Hudson River and the East River. Most of the famous buildings such as the Empire State and the United Nations and other skyscrapers are in Manhattan. Some of its districts are: Broadway, which has many theatres and cinemas, Fifth Avenue, with stores and apartments, Greenwich Village, where many artists and writers have lived, and Central Park, with a skating rink (溜冰场). From Manhattan you have to cross to the other parts of New York City through a tunnel or over a bridge. The bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island is the longest in the world.
New York is the second biggest port in the world and it has two airports. The people who live there come from all over the world and speak many different languages. There are 324,000 Germans and 390,000 Poles as well as people from Greece, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and Romania. People call one district "Little Italy" and another "China town".
【小题1】The most important part of New York is _______.

Until the 1980s, the American homeless population is mainly made up of older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(变化无常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems — both legal and educational — for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.
Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis. But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.
One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not treated as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.
Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions（规定） of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.
1.It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.

A．the writer himself is homeless, even in his eighties

B．many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 cities

C．there is a serious shortage of academic facilities

D．homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education

2.The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.

A．350,000? B．1,500,000? C．440,000? D．110,000

3.One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.

A．the homeless children are too young to be treated as children

B．the homeless population is growing rapidly

C．the homeless children usually stay outside school

D．some homeless children are deserted by their families

4.The McKinney Act is mentioned in this passage in order to show that ___.

A．the educational problems of homeless children are being recognized

B．the estimates on homeless children are hard to determine

C．the address of grade-school children should be located

D．all homeless people should have free education

Until the 1980s, the American homeless population comprised mainly older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(变化无常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems — both legal and educational — for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.
Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis, But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.　　　　
One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not counted as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.
Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.
60. It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.
A) the writer himself is homeless, even in his eighties
B) many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 cities
C) there is a serious shortage of academic facilities
D) homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education
61. The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.
A) 350,000
B) 1,500,000
C) 440,000
D) 110,000
62. One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.
A) the homeless children are too young to be counted as children
B) the homeless population is growing rapidly
C) the homeless children usually stay outside school
D) some homeless children are deserted by their families
63. The passage mainly deals with ____.
A) the legal problems of the homeless children
B) the educational problems of homeless children
C) the social status of older males
D) estimates on the homeless population