Last month, the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, held an underwater meeting. The purpose of the ocean floor conference is to highlight the effects of global warming on his island nation.
The Maldives, located in the Indian Ocean, is the lowest-lying country on Earth. Melting glaciers and polar ice are causing sea levels to rise, putting the Maldives and other low-lying areas at risk of being swallowed by the sea within the next 100 years.
What can be done? Scientists and leaders from 190 nations will try to figure that out at the United Nations climate change conference next month. The main goal of the meeting is to come up with a new climate agreement for 2012 and beyond. That is when the existing plan, the Kyoto Protocol will expire. The agreement was created in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Since then, it has been ratified(正式批准) by 190 nations. The countries promised to limit the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, which they produced each year.
The debate over who should cut greenhouse emissions has been going on for years. The US has been hesitant to reduce emissions unless fast-growing nations such as China and India also reduce their use of fossil fuels. In recent months, China has taken steps to be greener. But India has been unwilling to change. It argues that it is unfair for rich nations to ask poorer countries to cut down on emissions.
While world leaders work on a plan in Copenhagen, there are many things you can do to help the planet. You can save fuel by walking or biking instead of riding in a car. You can start a recycling program in your community. You can plant trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen.
1. The underlined word “expire” in Paragraph 3 probably means_____________.| A．cause trouble | B．come to an end |
| C．go into effect | D．gain support |
| A．will make poor countries poorer. |
| B．is well performed in the Maldives. |
| C．has been a controversial question. |
| D．means banning carbon dioxide emissions. |
| A．Like the Maldives, other island countries should take action. |
| B．Both the US and India should cut greenhouse emissions. |
| C．Everyone should get involved in cutting greenhouse emissions. |
| D．World leaders should focus more on climate change. |
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【推荐1】JP Morgan Chase, the world’s biggest fossil fuel funder, has noted in an internal report leaked to Extinction Rebellion that the company “cannot rule out catastrophic outcomes where human life as we know it is threatened.”
Most of the science inside the report is not shocking to the casual reader, but the analysis is most concerned about climate change caused by fossil fuel. These include possibilities like the sudden collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet, which would send sea levels more than 10 feet higher than current levels and displace millions of humans. Another terrible case is that the melting permafrost sends more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing more warming, and in turn more the melting of ice sheets, and carbon emissions. Of course, these are already happening. The real danger behind the motivation for this internal report lies in the possibility that the Earth’s climate could reach a tipping point.
Many believe the emergence of the internal report should serve as proof convincing enough for world leaders to take collective and decisive action. However, the attitude of many world governments towards the development of fossil fuel can surely make the global situation even worse for future generations now.
However, the report doesn’t mention other banks, or even JP Morgan itself, even though these institutions are often the ones blamed in enabling this crisis, according to a Gizmodo report. “Changes are occurring at the micro level, involving shifts in behavior by individuals, companies and investors,” says the Extinction Rebellion report. It goes on to suggest that these micro-level changes “will push emissions in the right direction,” but says nothing about government oversight, or actions that many believe is necessary to reverse the current course of the climate crisis.
It’s still half way even though one has made 90 miles out of a 100-mile journey. Humans may still fail the journey if they doesn’t persist to the last. Therefore, something will have to change at some point if the human race is going to survive.
1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly tell us about fossil fuel?| A．It may cause catastrophic outcomes. |
| B．It has nothing to do with climate changes. |
| C．It kills millions of humans every year. |
| D．It has sent sea levels 10 feet higher. |
| A．Ambitious. | B．Approving. | C．Constructive. | D．Opposed. |
| A．It’s never too late to act actively. |
| B．Many hands make light work. |
| C．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
| D．A job half-done is still a job left unfinished. |
| A．A government report. | B．A science fiction. |
| C．A news report. | D．A health magazine. |
【推荐2】A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can damage human brain function in only a matter of hours.
“For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten. “This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition.”
For the study, the researchers briefly exposed 25 healthy adults to diesel exhaust (柴油废气) and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. Brain activity was measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The researchers analyzed changes in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a set of inter-connected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. The fMRI revealed that participants had decreased functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel exhaust, compared to filtered air.
“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks,” said Dr. Jodie Gawryluk, a psychology professor at the University of Victoria and the study’s first author. “While more research is needed to fully understand the functional impacts of these changes, it’s possible that they may impair (损害) people’s thinking or ability to work.”
Notably, the changes in the brain were temporary and participants’ connectivity returned to normal after the exposure. Dr. Carlsten assumed that the effects could be long lasting where exposure is continuous. He said that people should be mindful of the air they’re breathing and take appropriate steps to minimize their exposure to potentially harmful air pollutants like car exhaust.
1. How does traffic pollution affect people according to the study?| A．Exhausting their body. | B．Decreasing their income. |
| C．Endangering their safety. | D．Harming their brain function. |
| A．Growth. | B．Sport. | C．Memory. | D．Behaviour. |
| A．Avoid being exposed to the polluted air constantly. |
| B．Be mindful of the air quality in a new city. |
| C．Measure the brain activity in laboratories. |
| D．Stay inside a house as often as possible. |
| A．A Role Of Brain Will Be Ruined |
| B．Traffic Pollution May Impair Brain Function |
| C．A Famous UK University Did A Vital Study |
| D．A Source Of Pollution Has Drawn People’s Attention |
【推荐3】Levi Draheim, 11 years old, and 20 other young people have accused(控告)the us encouraging the climate change. For more than a century, human activities have been increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That has caused a host of effects globally, from changes in weather to ice melting at the poles.
Levi lives in Satellite Beach,Fla. He once had to leave his home because of strong storms. He rains flooded the town’s streets. And he had trouble breathing during red tides, which can develop wt harmful ocean algae(海藻)grow out of control.
Climate change is making these events more frequent. Levi and his family also have another climate-change-related problem. Sea level is rising. “If climate change worsens, the island that I live or will be gone,” he explained.
The young people say the US government allowed the use of fossil fuels(矿物燃料). Burning those fuels gives off greenhouse gases, driving climate change. The youths want the government to solve the problem of pollution. So they took the government to court in 2015.
The case has had several hold-ups. In the beginning, the government asked the trial court(初审法庭) to refuse to accept the case. The court didn’t do that. Then they turned to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That court said the case could go ahead, and the Supreme Court agreed. Both sides did work to get ready for trial. But the government again tried to get the case thrown out without a trial.
Finally, trial was set to start on October 29, 2018. But on October 19; the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts told the trial court to hold up. The youths’ lawyers objected. On November 2, the Supreme Court finally agreed that the trial could go forward. Right now, it is hard to say when that what happen.
1. What does the underlined word “That” in Paragraph 1 refers to?| A．The increasing amount of greenhouse gases. |
| B．The time of human activities. |
| C．Harmful ocean algae. |
| D．Climate change. |
| A．makes his family poorer |
| B．is less valued by common people. |
| C．will force his family to move again |
| D．is the direct cause of his sufferings in life. |
| A．should provide people with places to live during storms. |
| B．encourages human activities driving climate change. |
| C．should stop the growth of the harmful ocean algae. |
| D．fails to improve people’s living conditions. |
