【推荐1】Venice is suffering the worst flooding the city has experienced in 50 years. The city is “on its knees” and Venetian Mayor Luigi Brugnaro tweeted as water submerged (淹没) much of the famous historical city.

While floods are a normal part of life in Venice, they have never happened with such frequency before. Experts say that climate change is likely to blame.     1     The Venetian council voted against a measure to fight climate change just a few moments before their conference hall flooded.

Flooding is just one of the many impacts from climate change that globally threatens many vulnerable (脆弱的) areas and regions. There is a threat that is not often considered.     2     Natural and man-made heritage sites throughout the world are in danger of being damaged or destroyed by climate change.

    3     Some will be hit by flooding, like Venice, others by extreme weather events or rising temperatures. For instance, George Town, the capital of the Malaysian state Penang faces rising sea levels, landslides and more severe typhoons, while Yellowstone ecosystem in the western United States faces melting snows, more frequent wildfires and a changing ecosystem.

Changes in the ocean will have a profound impact on many of these sites.    4     And rising sea levels threaten to wash away many of the world’s great archaeological sites.

Experts say that the solutions to saving these sites will be varied, but many will be very expensive.    5    

A．Different ways can be adopted to save these sites.

B．Climate change will impact these sites in different ways.

C．It is the damage from climate change to the world’s heritage.

D．How to survive in these areas has become an issue for Italians.

E．However, putting in place protective measures has proven difficult.

F．Warming water threatens to kill much of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef.

G．Therefore, they suggest that countries should work together to protect heritage sites.

【推荐1】The okapi is a mammal living above the equator in one of the most biodiverse areas in central Africa. The animal was unknown to the western world until the beginning of the 20th century, and is often described as half-zebra, half-giraffe, as if it were a mixed-breed creature from a Greek legend. Yes its image is prevalent in the Democratic Republic of Congo-the only country in the world where it is found living in the world. The okapi is to Congo what the giant panda is to China or the kangaroo to Australia.

Although the okapi has striped markings resembling those of zebras’, it is most closely related to the giraffe. It has a long neck, and large, flexible ears. The face and throat are greyish white. The coat is a chocolate to reddish brown, much in contrast with the white horizontal stripes and rings on the legs and white ankles. Overall, the okapi can be easily distinguished form its nearest relative. It is much smaller (about the size of a horse) and shares more external similarities with the deer than with the giraffe. While both sexes possess horns in the giraffe, only males bear horns in the okapi.

The West got its first whiff of the okapi in 1890 when Welsh Journalist Henry Morton Stanley had puzzled over a strange “African donkey” in his book. Other Europeans in Africa had also heard of an animal that they came to call the “African unicorn.” Explorers may have seen the fleeting view of the striped backside as the animal fled through the bushes, leading to speculation that the okapi was some sort of rainforest zebra. Some even believed that the okapi was a new species of zebra. It was only later, when okapi skeleton was analyzed, that naturalists realized they had a giraffe on their hands.

In 1987, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve was established in eastern Congo to protect this rare mammal. But decades of political turbulence has seen much of the Congo’s natural resources spin out of the government’s control, and okapi numbers have fallen by 50 percent since 1995. Today, only 10,000 remain.

1. Which of the following is a picture of an okapi?

A．	B．
C．	D．

2. Which of the following descriptions is true about the okapi?

A．It is an important symbol of Congo.

B．It has been well protected since 1987.

C．It is a mystical creature from a Greek legend

D．It is more closely related to the zebra than the giraffe.

3. What does the underlined word“whiff”most likely mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Firm belief.	B．Kind intention.
C．Strong dislike.	D．Slight trace.

4. What can be inferred about Henry Morton Stanley?

A．He was the first Europeans to analyze okapi skeleton.

B．He had found many new species of animals in Africa.

C．He did not know the“African donkey"in his book was the okapi.

D．He had seen the backside of an okapi dashing through the bushes.

【推荐2】Nothing says love like a dozen long – stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. More than a million roses will be sold during this festival for lovers, the biggest day of the year for the nation’s rose industry. It’s going to remain the most popular flower because love never goes out of style.

Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose. But selling them is no longer a beautiful experience for traditional flower shops. Supermarkets now offer convenience to the busy and discount rose shops help those hopelessly in love save money. Roses only is a good example of a discount rose retailer that was transformed from a traditional shop to answer the challenge in the 90s.

Inside this store on Sixth Avenue near 40 th Street, contemporary white furniture and wall – to – wall mirrors give it an expensive look. Customers move about freely among the counters, looking eagerly at the roses in more than 50 colors from shelf to shelf. Some customers say it’s the high quality of the roses that attracts them there. “I spent $ 20 but the flowers looked like I paid 60 or 70 dollars,” says one customer.

Studies show more people are buying roses in ones, two and threes these days. In fact, more than half of all roses are sold in bunches of fewer than a dozen. But Roses Only’s low prices encourage people to spend. Even on Valentine’s Day, when the price of a dozen roses and delivery can soar as high as $150, 12 of Roses Only's most expensive flowers sell for just $35. The company's key to success is to hold prices down by controlling every link in the rose chain. It grows its own roses in the sunshine of the Andes Mountains. In addition, the company also sells other items such as ballons and stuffed animals.

While discount rose retailers are witnessing their business bloom, U.S. rose growers aren’t able to compete with the fierce foreign competition. More than 57% of roses sold in the USA are grown in other countries. The biggest foreign producers are Colombia and Ecuador, which accounted for almost 90% of the total imported last year. The trend has hurt domestic rose growers such as Johnson Flowers of California, considered to be this country's leading producer.

Now, instead of fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. "We have a few big fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. “We may also widen our business to include the service area and be a representative for overseas flower producers.”

As a result of severe competition, those in the rose business long for the good old days, whereas ordinary people benefit from the low price.

1. What is the central theme of this text?

A．The US rose business is going from bad to worse in spite of the efforts made.

B．The rose will remain the most popular flower as love never goes out of date.

C．The rose business is trying to meet the challenges in the market to succeed.

D．The rose industry plays an important role in American economy.

2. How does Roses Only obtain success in the discount rose retailing field?

A．By setting up more chain stores across the country.

B．By selling roses in supermarkets.

C．By selling high quality roses at a low price.

D．By selling roses by the dozen.

3. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?(①to ⑦ represent paragraphs 1 to 7)

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. After reading the passage, we learn all of the following EXCEPT      .

A．Selling roses is no longer as easy for traditional flower shops as it was.

B．Almost 90% of roses sold in US are imported from Colombia and Ecuador.

C．US rose growers are faced with intense foreign competition.

D．the Johnsons are trying to co-operate with foreign competitors instead of fighting them.