56. Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not ______.

　 A. agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions　 B. sign an agreement with Tuvalu

　 C. allow Tuvaluan to move to the US　　 　　　　

D. believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real

55. According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is ______.

　 A. greenhouse gas emission in industrialized nations

　 B. higher surface water temperature of the sea

　 C. continuous global warming　 　　　　　　D. rising sea levels

54. The text is mainly about ______.

　 A. rapid changes in earth’s temperature　 B. bad effects of global warming

　 C. moving of a country to a new place　　 D. reasons for lowland flooding

53. We may infer from the text that the criminal knows how to reach the car owners because ______.

　 A. he reads the ads in the newspaper　 B. he lives in the same neighbourhood

　 C. he has seen the car owners in the park　　 D. he has trained the pigeons to follow them

D

You might think that "global warming" means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature. But, rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation(撤离) of an island nation – the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.

During the 20^th century, sea level rose 8-12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which has polluted the country’s drinking water.

Paani Laupepa, a Tuvalu government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperature resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.

Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions(导致温室效应的气体排放), which are a main cause of global warming. “By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years,” Laupepa told the BBC.

Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.

Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable(易受影响的) to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.

52. The underlined word “they” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

　 A. criminals　 B. pigeons　 C. the stolen cars　 D. demands for money

51. The writer mentions the fact that “none of the stolen cars have been returned” to show ______.

　 A. how easily people get fooled by enemies　 B. what Chen thinks might be correct

　 C. the thief is extremely clever　 　　　　　D. the money paid is too little

50. The “lazier and more inventive” criminal refers to ______.

　 A. the car thief who stays at home　 　B. one of those who put the ads in the paper

　 C. one of the policemen in Changwa　 D. the owner of the pigeons

49. After the car owner received a phone call, he ______.

　 A. went to a certain pigeon and put some money in the bag it carried

　 B. gave the money to the thief and had his car back in a park

　 C. sent some money to the thief by mail　　　　 　D. told the press about it

48. Women join the Red Hat Society because ______.

A. they want to stay young　 　　　　　　B. they would like to appear more attractive

C. they would like to have fun and live for themselves　

D. they want to be more like their parents

C

　　 Taiwan police can not decide whether to treat it as an extremely clever act of stealing or an even cleverer cheat(诈骗). Either way, it could be the perfect crime(犯罪) , because the criminals are birds – homing pigeons!

　　 The crime begins with a telephone message to the owner of a stolen car: if you wan the car back, pay up. Then, the car owner is directed to a park, told where to find a bird cage and how to attach money to the neck of the pigeon inside. Carrying the money in a tiny bag, they pigeon flies off.

　　 There have been at least four pigeon pick-ups in Changwa. What at first seemed like the work of a clever stay-at-home car thief, however, may in fact be the work of an even lazier and more inventive criminal mind -- one that avoids(避免) not only collecting money but going out to steal the car in the first place. Police officer Chen says that the criminal probably has pulled a double trick: he gets money for things he can not possibly return. Instead of stealing cars, he lets someone else do it and then waits for the car owner to place an ad(启事) in the newspaper asking for help. 　　

The theory is supported by the fact that, so far, none of the stolen cars have been returned. Also, the amount of money demanded -- under 3,000 Taiwanese dollars -- seems too little for a car worth many times more.

Demands for pigeon-delivered money stopped as soon as the pres reported the story. And even if they start again, Chen holds little hope catching the criminal. “We have more important things to do,” he said.

47. Who set up the Red Hat Society?

A. Emily Cornette.　 B. Ellen Cooper.　 C. Jenny Joseph.　 D. Joe Heywood.