Scientists studying the impact of climate change on the Arctic need to consider ways to reduce their own carbon footprints(碳排放量), says Ryan Brook, a researcher who regularly flies north to study the health of caribous(驯鹿).He calls on scientists to show leadership by examining and sharing ways to reduce the impact of working in polar regions.

“The importance of the research is not at question here. It is important to our understanding of and adapting to climate change. But we need to think about better approaches,” says Brook.

“This is an issue for all scientists, though polar researchers often travel particularly long distances using commercial air travel. We also rely extensively on small aircraft, icebreakers, and snowmobiles, all of which produce large amounts of carbon.”

Brook studies the health of caribou herds in Nunavut and Northwest Territories. He works with northern wildlife managers. This work typically takes him north five or six times per year and when he calculated his own carbon footprint, he was not happy with the result.

“My research footprints are about the same as the annual footprints of an average Toronto resident. Basically, I have two footprints — my own personal life, which is moderate, and my research footprint.”

Climate scientists can rightly argue that Arctic research is a specialized field and the community of scientists who travel north is relatively small. Even if all scientists working in the north reduced their carbon emissions, it would not make a big impact on the global scale. For Brook, it’s the option that matters.

There are ways researchers can reduce the amount of carbon they use. Some helicopters use less fuel than others. Solar and wind power are alternatives to gas-fired generators. And while carbon offsets(抵消) don’t reduce the amount of carbon emitted, they are an easy first step.

“There aren’t necessarily any easy answers, but we need to start talking about it,” says Brook. “This is particularly important for the next generation of scientists being trained and I hope to see them become leaders in this issue.”

1.What did Brook find when he calculated his own carbon footprints?

2. Brook’s opinion is challenged by the statement that       .

3.We can infer from the last paragraph that         .

4.What’s the main idea of the text?

What is most likely to affect your success at school or at a job? The ability to read. And that goes for your kids too. The declining literacy(读写能力的下降) of our society has been a main concern of educators for a while now, and yet things are not getting better.
In most cases, how well we learn to read will depend largely on our exposure（接触） to language as children. If we hear people around us talking about all kinds of subjects as children, we naturally pick up the words and phrases they use. If we pick up a lot of words, we will learn to read better.
Much of the traditional advice to struggling readers, theses days, seems to include developing “cognitive strategies”（认知策略）. In this way, readers are asked to centre more, to think, to be interested and ask questions, to analyze, to predict, to reason, and to check their understanding, or worse still to answer questions of what they have read. In other words they are asked to become self-conscious（有自我意识的） readers. I do not agree with this approach.
Here are my several strategies for reading improvement.
Read about things that interest you. If you are interested in what you are reading about, the words will come alive, and you will understand better. The more you read, the better you will become at reading. Just get started and it will become a habit, as long as you are interested in what you are reading.
Read material that is at your level or just a little difficult for you. Read material that you find easy to read, or just a little challenging. Looking up many unknown words in a dictionary is dull, and the results of the dictionary search are quickly forgotten.
_____ If you can hear the new words and phrases that you are reading, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering them. Hearing the rhythm of someone reading a text will help your own reading.
Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Most of your reading should be for pleasure. You can still enjoy reading without understanding all of what you read. You may even understand some things in your own personal way.
Unfortunately not all reading is just for pleasure. When you are reading a textbook or report or other material for school, you may need to underline, take notes and read some parts over again. However, if you have developed the habit of reading for pleasure, you will find that the skills you need will come naturally, and that you will understand a lot better than before.
【小题1】In Paragraph 2, the author tells us the importance of _____.

American middle school students don’t seem to care that they’re worse at maths than their counterparts (同龄人) in China’s Hong Kong and Finland. “I don’t need it,” my student says, “I’m going to be a basketball star.” Or a car mechanic, or a singer.
Middle school students’ maths skills were tested by the International Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States ranked 28th out of 41 countries tested. After all, when was the last time you used algebra (代数)？
But maths isn’t just about training Americans to become scientists. It has its own value. It helps you see patterns and develops your logic skills, and it teaches you to concentrate and to separate truth from falsehood. Maths helps you make wise financial decisions, so you can avoid false claims from advertisers, politicians and others. It helps you determine risk. For example, after an airplane crash, studies show that people are more likely to drive than to take a plane in spite of the fact that they are much more likely to be killed or injured while driving. Planes are not like criminals who repeat the same crime over and over. One plane is not more likely to crash just because another plane recently did. In fact, the most dangerous time to drive is probably right after a plane crash because so many people are on the road.
It is not possible to really understand science and the scientific method without understanding maths. A rainbow is even more beautiful and amazing when we understand it.
The precision (精确性) of maths helps us think in a very special way. How do we bring the learning of maths back to life? I don’t have the big answer. I try my best to help pupils find answers to some maths problems. When I can get one to say, “Wow, that’s great,” I feel the joy of a small victory.
【小题1】Some American students don’t care about their poor maths results because __________.

American middle school students don't seem to care that they're worse at maths than their counterparts(同龄人) in China's Hong Kong and Finland. "I don't need it," my student says. "I'm going to be a basketball star. Or a car mechanic, or a singer."

Middle school students' maths skills were tested by the International Organization for Economic Co--operation and Development. The United States ranked 28th out of 41 countries tested. After all, when was the last time you used algebra(代数)?

But maths isn't just about training Americans to become scientists. It has its own value. It helps you see patterns and develops your logic skills, and it teaches you to concentrate and to separate truth from falsehood. Maths helps you make wise financial decisions, so you can avoid false claims from advertisers, politicians and others. It helps you determine risk. For example, after an airplane crash, studies show that people are more likely to drive than to take a plane in spite of the fact that they are much more likely to be killed or injured while driving. Planes are not like criminals who repeat the same crime over and over. One plane is not more likely to crash just because another plane recently did. In fact, the most dangerous time to drive is probably right after a plane crash because so many people are on the road.

It is not possible to really understand science and the scientific method without understanding maths. A rainbow is even more beautiful and amazing when we understand it.

The precision of maths helps us think in a very special way. How do we bring the learning of maths back to life? I don't have the big answer. I try my best to help pupils find answers to some maths problems.  When I can get one to say, "wow, that's great," I feel the joy of a small victory.

1．Some American students don't care about their poor maths results because    .

A．maths is useless to most people

B．they have no interest in maths

C．they think maths has nothing to do with their future

D．they don't do well in maths

2．The example in Paragraph 3 is used to show        .

A．every coin has its two sides     

B．we should not be cheated by fault facts

C．maths is close to our daily life    

D．a simple fact shows complicated rules

3．The writer would agree that        .

A．it's normal that American kids are weak in maths

B．without maths we'11 miss much in our life

C．maths is the most important subject at school

D．American kids don't work hard at school

4．This text is most probably written by        .

A．a student career guide                   B．a researcher on students’ problems

   C．a specialist in students’ studies             D．a maths teacher