The Earth is already 1.1 degrees Celsius hotter than it was 150 years ago. Though a half-degree Celsius difference in temperature increase might seem unimportant, the difference for life on Earth could be huge.
Off the coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is known for being large enough to be seen from space. It’s the size of Germany—a biodiversity hot spot that was once thought to be too big to fail. But over the last few decades, marine（海洋的）biologists like Hoegh-Guldberg have watched its rapid decline.
Oceans are warming along with the atmosphere, since they absorb much of the excess heat from climate change. Repeated marine heat waves over the last five years have turned much of the Great Barrier Reef a terribly white color. When temperatures rise, corals（珊瑚）remove the microscopic algae（海藻）inside them, losing their food source in the process. Sometimes the corals can recover, but increasingly, they’re dying off.
“Something around 50% of the shallow water corals were killed literally over a couple of months, in some cases over a couple of weeks,” Hoegh-Guldberg says. “If you extend that out into the future, we’ll get to a point where the damage overwhelms the ability of corals to bounce back. ”
Marine heat waves have already doubled in number since 1980 and are expected to become more intense as temperatures rise. At 1.5 degrees Celsius, it’s likely that 70% to 90% of coral reefs will die off worldwide. At 2 degrees Celsius of warming, 99% are lost. “If we delay even a year or two more, we really are going down a pathway where there will be no return. We need to act and we need to act decisively, without question and solve this problem. ” Hoegh-Guldberg adds.
1. What do we know about the Great Barrier Reef?| A．It is supposed to never disappear. |
| B．It used to be indescribably massive. |
| C．It is too large to be seen from space. |
| D．It is growing over the last few decades. |
| A．Changes in the shape of coral. |
| B．Increasing risk of coral death. |
| C．Growing coral recovery capacity. |
| D．Abundant food sources of corals. |
| A．Decidedly. | B．Gradually. |
| C．Constantly. | D．Regularly. |
| A．The temperature affects the life. |
| B．Climate change causes warming oceans. |
| C．Coral reefs face almost complete die-off. |
| D．Extreme heat waves double greatly in number. |
相似题推荐
| Animal training refers to teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli (刺激). Training may be for the purpose of companionship, detection, protection, entertainment or all of the above. | |
| An animal trainer may use various forms of reinforcement (强化) or punishment to condition an animal’s responses. There are many ways to train animals and as a general rule no legal requirements or certifications (证书) are required. | |
 | Chickens Training chickens has become a way for trainers of other animals (primarily dogs) to perfect their training technique. Bob Bailey, former director of Animal Behavior Enterprises and the IQ Zoo, teaches in chicken training courses where trainers teach chickens to tell different shapes, to navigate an obstacle course and to chain behaviors together. |
 | Fish Fish can also be trained. For example, a goldfish may swim toward its owner and follow him as he walks through the room, but will not follow anyone else. The fish may swim up and down, signaling the owner to turn on its aquarium (鱼缸) light when it is off, and it will skim the surface until its owner feeds it. Pet goldfish have also been taught to perform more complicated tasks, such as doing the limbo (a kind of dance) and pushing a miniature soccer ball into a net. |
 | PigS Among all animals, they are the third cleverest — monkeys, dolphins and pigs. Scientists think the training of pigs is easier than the training of dogs and cats. Pigs have a very good sense of smell. They can find things nearby or faraway. They can also help the police to find out drugs at an airport or at a train station. |
1. Which is true according to the passage?
| A．Most people train animals because they need friends. |
| B．Training animals requires some certifications. |
| C．Training chickens is a way to improve the trainers’ skills. |
| D．Bob Bailey is a professional animal trainer. |
| A．be trained to follow anyone |
| B．turn on its aquarium light when it is off |
| C．signal its owner to get fed |
| D．take part in a football game in the field |
| A．pigs do not bite like dogs |
| B．the pigs are smart animals |
| C．pigs have a good sense of hearing |
| D．pigs can help find out 4rugs at an airport |
| A．smaller | B．more colorful |
| C．more attractive | D．cheaper |
However, planting the sunflower seeds is a skilled job. Plant seeds no deeper than the full length of itself. Smaller sized sunflowers can be spaced a foot apart. Larger varieties will need to be spaced as far apart as three feet. This allows ripe plants enough space for the seed heads to ripen without knocking the ripe seeds off before gardeners have a chance to harvest them.
Most sunflower seeds, especially those with eatable seeds, are large enough to handle without the need for seed sorters. This is why sunflowers make an excellent choice for a children's garden as well. Gardeners will want to mix plenty of soil fertilizers into the ground as sunflowers tend to be heavy feeders.
Sunflowers can be slow starters and the tiny new plants don't seem to grow very rapidly. Gardeners should protect the new plants as they begin to grow. Once they get going, sunflowers are able to out-grow many weeds, making them easier to grow in the home vegetable garden than many other plants.
Most pests and diseases are not a bother to the sunflower, however, more than one gardener has said that their lovely looking plants were ravaged overnight by hungry squirrels, mice or birds. To preserve their harvest, gardeners can cover the ripening seed head with stockings or net cloth to help keep the destroyers off the seeds.
Planting sunflower seeds is easy and can help even the smallest gardener feel successful in their gardening attempts.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．How to plant sunflowers. | B．Different kinds of sunflowers. |
| C．Ways to preserve sunflowers. | D．Tips on making your garden bright. |
| A．To prevent birds from eating sunflower seeds. |
| B．To offer the sunflowers enough sunlight. |
| C．To protect the ripe seed heads before harvest. |
| D．To help the sunflowers grow stronger. |
| A．They want to decorate their garden with sunflowers. |
| B．The seeds are easy to plant and unnecessary to sort. |
| C．Sunflowers don’t need too much soil fertilizer. |
| D．Tiny new sunflowers can grow very fast |
| A．Destroyed. | B．Covered. |
| C．Surrounded. | D．Removed. |
【推荐3】In some parts of the world, COVID-19 is not the only plague that 2020 has brought. In parts of Asia and east Africa, swarms (成群) of locusts have ruined fields. The UN figures the swarms in India and Pakistan are the largest for a quarter of a century, and that the numbers in Kenya are the highest for 70 years. One swarm in northern Kenya was estimated to be 25 miles long and 37 miles wide.
Locusts are usually inoffensive, solitary creatures that live alone and do not stay far from the place that they were born. But under the right circumstances—namely heavy rain, and plant harvests—they can become “gregarious”. When that happens, the insects gather in hungry swarms which can fly more than 100km in a day.
In a paper published in Nature, Xiaojiao Guo, of the Institute of Zoology in Beijing, and a group of other researchers, shed light on the factor that drives that transformation. They think they have identified the specific pheromone (信息素) that attracts the insects to each other, and thus causes them to swarm.
Dr Guo and her colleagues collected35 chemicals collected from the bodies and faeces (排泄物) of the most widespread locust. When tested, gregarious locusts were strongly attracted to just one, a chemical called 4-vinylanisole (4VA). That attraction was strong for immature and mature locusts alike, and for both males and females.
Dr Guo’s results could be of more than academic interest. Humans have tried everything from insecticides to flame-throwers to deal with locust swarms. If a chemical could be developed that blocks the receptor (接收器), the insects might be made deaf to its call. If 4VA turns out to be a language that all locusts understand, then it may help humans persuade them to abandon their gregarious ways, and return to a solitary life.
1. What does the underlined word “gregarious” in the second paragraph mean?| A．separate | B．hungry | C．in danger | D．in groups |
| A．To make a comparison with COVID-19 |
| B．To offer a new perspective to block the locusts |
| C．To show how serious the locusts plague is |
| D．To calculate the damages Asian countries have suffered |
| A．Doubtful | B．Positive | C．Respectful | D．Cautious |
| A．Why locusts swarm? | B．Locust plague in India and Africa |
| C．A great scientist in Biochemistry | D．How to deal with locusts swarms |
【推荐1】Several companies have begun creating paper bottles to replace glass and plastic ones. Paper bottles are easy to recycle, and also weigh less than glass or plastic, meaning they'll require less energy to produce and move around.
A company called Paboco has been working with other companies to develop paper bottles. The companies are creating their own bottle designs, but they're sharing what they learn to promote the development of paper bottle technology
One of the biggest challenges is preventing a paper bottle leaking（泄漏）. The inside of the bottle needs a special coating to make sure the liquid doesn't leak through. Many companies are lining（做衬垫）their bottles with a thin sheet of plastic. Though bottle makers may say this liner can be recycled, many recycling programs don't have the right machines to handle these liners.
A Danish beer company called Carlsberg is working with Paboco on a paper bottle called the "Green Fiber Bottle". Currently the bottle uses a plastic liner. In the future the company hopes to use a "bio-plastic" that will break down naturally over time, And a company named Diageo just announced the first paper bottle whose inside uses a non-plastic coating.
But even without the plastic, paper bottles aren't perfect. Most paper bottles use wood pulp（纸浆）, meaning trees need to be cut down. To solve this problem, Frugalpac, a company from the United Kingdom, has created wine bottles made of recycled paper. Frugalpac still uses a plastic liner, though.
Companies will need to see how long liquids can be stored in the paper bottles and make sure the bottles don't affect the taste. But with so many companies working toward the same goal, it's likely that we can expect to see paper bottles on store shelves in the near future.
1. What is the advantage of paper bottles over other ones?| A．They cost less. | B．They are more appealing. |
| C．They are easier to produce. | D．They are more eco-friendly. |
| A．Finding recycling liners. |
| B．Getting the right machine. |
| C．Preventing the liquid escape. |
| D．Making sure of the storage time. |
| A．Cutting down fewer trees. | B．Using recycled paper. |
| C．Producing "bio-plastic" liners. | D．Still using plastic liners. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Worried. |
In Italy, kids are encouraged to be part of every social occasion that revolves around food — it’s not about dividing the children from the adults, giving them separate meals or putting them to bed early. In Britain, by contrast, my sister and I often see children eating separate meals from their parents.
Letting children experience food like an Italian will develop not just their palate(味觉) but also their social skills, manners, teaching them new and mature ways to interact. Here are some food customs that are part of every Italian child’s upbringing.
One of the most celebrated Italian food customs is the morning coffee. Coffee shops and bars have customers streaming in and out of them each morning as the Italians get their daily dose–and this habit is just as much about the social setting as it is about the coffee.
While the morning is all about coffee, pre-lunch or dinner, it’s all about the local snacks. Most often, Italian city centres and squares are jam packed with locals who come out with their kids to enjoy this pre-dinner treat, and children are encouraged to enjoy snacks available. This is a brilliant way to get kids to try new tastes without the pressures of meal times. It’s important to note that “kids’ menus” do not exist in Italian restaurants—children are treated like adults and are offered plates from the main menu — in smaller amounts, if they’re young.
Post-lunch, most cities can seem quite deserted. But by 4 p.m. onwards, the crowds start to re-emerge. One by one, families spill out and the streets liven up. Everyone begins their afternoon stroll, enjoying the afternoon snacks, like ice-cream, which turns over a huge trade in Italy.
1. What will parents do at meal times in Italy?
| A．Let children have their meals separately. |
| B．Offer children plates from kids’ menu. |
| C．Order some food for children but in small amounts. |
| D．Encourage children to eat with them. |
| A．Cooking ways. | B．Sense of taste. |
| C．Social skills. | D．Interacting manners. |
| A．It is most often about coffee. |
| B．It can get children to experience new foods with ease. |
| C．It is unavailable in city centres and squares. |
| D．It can reduce the pressure of meal times. |
| A．To introduce different Italian local foods. |
| B．To stress the importance of food for Italians. |
| C．To show Italians’ children education. |
| D．To advertise Italian food trends. |
【推荐3】Norway is no stranger to ice and snow. Because of the country's many mountains and its position in the far north of Europe, much of the land is covered with ice. But as a result of climate change, many of Norway's icy areas have been melting(融化). Some have shown interesting surprises.
The first discovery that the Lendbreen ice patch(流冰区)on Lomseggen Ridge might hold secrets came in 2011. The melting ice showed a tunic—a piece of clothing similar to a coat. The tunic was made of wool and turned out to be around 1,700 years old. The tunic was found in an area that once was a special path through the mountains, called a "pass". Because the pass was used by many people trying to cross the mountain, scientists have discovered many signs of the people who came through.
From 2011 to 2015, researchers studied the site carefully. They found around sixty objects in the melting ice. Since then, the ice has proceeded to melt, and the scientists have found nearly 1,000 objects. Some, like the tunic, were left there nearly 1,700 years ago. But most of the items are from around 1,000 years ago.
Normally, items made of wool, wood, leather, or feathers would break down over the years. But the scientists found an amazing collection of different items in excellent shape. The ice was perfect for keeping the items in good shape for hundreds of years. The scientists aren't just excited about the items they've found. They're pleased that the items help tell a story about how and why people moved about in the past. By comparing the ages of the items they've found, the scientists can tell a lot about how people used the pass in different ways at different times.
1. What do we know about the tunic found in the Lendbreen ice patch?| A．It was made around the 17th century. |
| B．It was found in a busy mountain pass. |
| C．It was oldest wool product ever found. |
| D．It was a kind of coat for climbing mountains. |
| A．seemed | B．begun |
| C．happened | D．continued. |
| A．They lead to the discovery of a pass. |
| B．They show the influence of climate change. |
| C．They will add valuable collections to museums. |
| D．They help us better understand the history related to the pass. |
