Chocolate could soon be a thing of the past, after scientists warned that the cacao plant, from which chocolate is made, could be extinct within 32 years.
Over half of the world’s chocolate comes from just two countries in West Africa—Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana—where the temperature, rain, and humidity provide the perfect conditions for cacao to grow. But the threat of rising temperatures over the next three decades caused by climate change, is expected to result in a loss of water from the ground, which scientists say could upset this balance.
According to the related data, a temperature rise of just 2.1℃ could spell an end for the chocolate industry worldwide by 2050. Farmers in the region are already considering moving cacao production areas thousands of feet uphill into mountainous area—much of which is currently preserved for wildlife. But a move of this scale could destroy ecosystems that are already under threat from illegal farming and deforestation.
Part of the problem, according to Doug Hawkins, is that cacao farming methods have not changed for hundreds of years. “Unlike other tree crops that have benefited from the development of modern, high yielding strains and crop management techniques to realize their genetic potential, more than 90% of the global cocoa crop is produced by small farms with unimproved planting material,” he said. “It means that we could be facing a chocolate decrease of 100,000 tons a year in the next few years.”
Now scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have teamed up with American candy company Mars to keep chocolate on the menu. Using the controversial(有争议的) gene-editing technology known as CRISPR they are trying to develop a type of the cacao plant capable of surviving in dryer, warmer climates. If the team’s work on the cacao plant is successful, it could remove the need for farmers in West Africa to relocate to higher ground, and perhaps even allow cacao to be grown elsewhere in the world.
1. What do we know about chocolate from the text?| A．Chocolate will disappear from the menu 30 years later. |
| B．Chocolate is mainly produced by African countries. |
| C．Chocolate will not be produced by 2050 because of climate change. |
| D．A new type of chocolate will be produced with the help of CRISPR. |
| A．The damaged ecosystem. |
| B．Water shortage caused by climate change. |
| C．The threat from illegal farming. |
| D．The changeable farming method. |
| A．Objective. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Supportive. | D．Negative. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】To many people, honey bees symbolize wealth, sustainability and environmentalism. But as a honey bee researcher, I have to tell you that only the first item on that list is defensible. Although they are important for agriculture, honey bees, which are usually imported from outside the local area, also disturb natural ecosystems by competing with native bees.
For several years the media has told us that bee populations are under threat. In response to this media campaign to"save the bees", raising honey bees has become a popular hobby. But as a species, honey bees are least in need of saving. Much media attention is given to honey bees at the expense of native bees, and this has led many citizens—myself once included—to mistakenly believe they are doing a good thing for the environment by raising honey bees. Unfortunately, theyare probably doing more harm than good.
“Beekeeping is for people; it's not a conservation practice, "says Shelly Smith, an environmental science professor. People mistakenly think keeping honey bees also helps the native bees, which are at risk of extinction. That's wrong.”
Smith and her research team recently surveyed one thousand local people in Canada and found that they had a surprisingly poor understanding of bee types and their roles in promoting flower growth. Most people’s attention is on saving honey bees when, from a conservationist's point of view, native bees are the ones in more need of support.
“To make matters worse, beekeeping companies and various non-science-based projects have financially benefited from the decline of native bee populations, "Smith explains. "These companies pretend they are interested in saving bees but their actions are actually damaging the native bee populations.”
The introduction of honey bees increases competition with native bee populations for food,putting even more pressure on the wild species that are already in decline. Honey bees are extremely efficient food gatherers and take over almost all local flower resources, thus leading to damaging competition—that is, where one species uses up a resource, not leaving enough to go around.
1. Which statement does the writer argue for?| A．Honey bees endanger native bees. |
| B．Honey bees are a symbol of wealth. |
| C．Honey bees are important for agriculture. |
| D．Honey bees can defend natural ecosystems. |
| A．Beekeeping is a still-popular traditional hobby. |
| B．The media is responsible for misleading the public. |
| C．Citizens’ attempts to protect the environment are effective. |
| D．The media campaign has failed to promote honey bee businesses. |
| A．Beekeeping companies' making great profits. |
| B．The quick expansion of bee-friendly habitats. |
| C．The public's ignorance of bee varieties and roles. |
| D．Insufficient attention given to saving honey bees. |
| A．By listing examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By analyzing survey data. | D．By explaining cause and effect. |
【推荐2】Researchers have found two different species of sea snake that were previously thought to be extinct. The snake, discovered off the coast of Western Australia, had not been seen for more than 15 years.
“This discovery is really thrilling, and we get another chance to protect these two specific Western Australian sea snake species,” study lead author Blanche D’Anastasi said happily in a news release.
The two species of sea snake—short-nose and leaf-scales—have disappeared from Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, previously their only known habitat. So scientists thought the animals had gone extinct. Instead, it seems they have been driven elsewhere. The short-nose snake was spotted by a Western Australia Parks and Wildlife officer, Grant Griffin, on Ningaloo Reef.
Some leaf-scales sea snakes were found in the seagrass beds of Shark Bay, over 1,000 miles south of Ashmore Reef.
“In order to succeed in protecting them, we will need to monitor populations as well as undertake research into understanding their physiological characteristics and the threats they face,” D’Anastasi said.
Sea snakes across the board have seen a decline, especially in Ashmore Reef. That reef used to be rich in biodiversity, but only one or two in nine sea snake species that used to live there are still rich in biodiversity, according to a 2013 study.
These sea snakes aren’t the only animals to be rediscovered this year. Animals that were thought to be extinct but were found alive have been regarded as “living fossils ”.
In August a mollusc（软体动物）called the nautilus（鹦鹉螺）was seen again after about three decades, leading scientists to call for protection against illegal fishing of the animals for nautilus shells.
1. How did Blanche D’Anastasi feel about the discovery?| A．Relieved. | B．Stressed. |
| C．Astonished. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．have long noses and leaf scales |
| B．still live in Ashmore reef |
| C．have gone extinct |
| D．have moved to Ningaloo Reef |
| A．They had good nutrition. |
| B．They were fished for shells. |
| C．They were very beautiful. |
| D．They were living fossils. |
| A．The rediscovery of two species of sea snake. |
| B．The habitat and living conditions of sea snakes. |
| C．The threats that sea animals face. |
| D．The research of sea animals. |
【推荐3】Lizards that once resided in forests but now hang around urban areas of Puerto Rico have genetically morphed (变化) to survive life in the city, researchers have found.
The Puerto Rican crested anole, a brown lizard with a bright orange throat fan, has sprouted special scales (鳞片) to better cling to smooth surfaces such as walls and windows, scientists say. “We are watching evolution as it’s unfolding,” said Kristin Winchel, a biology professor. As urbanization intensifies around the world, it’s important to understand how organisms adapt and humans can design cities in ways that support all species, Winchell said.
The study analyzed 96 Anolis lizards, comparing the genetic makeup of forest-dwellers to those living in Puerto Rico’s capital. Scientists found that 33 genes within the lizard genome were repeatedly associated with urbanization.
“You can hardly get closer to a smoking gun,” said Wouter Halfwerk, an evolutionary ecologist who was not involved in the study. He said he was impressed that the scientists were able to detect such a clear genomic signature of adaptation: “The ultimate goal within the field of urban adaptive evolution is to find evidence for heritable traits and their genomic architecture.”
The changes in these lizards, whose life spans are roughly seven years, can occur quickly, within 30 to 80 generations, enabling them to escape from predators and survive in urban areas, Winchell added. The larger limbs, for example, enable them to run more quickly across a hot parking lot, and the special scales to hold onto surfaces far more smooth than trees.
The study focused on adult male lizards, so it’s unclear whether females are changing in the same way or at the same rate as males, and at which point in a lizard’s life the changes are occurring. Halfwerk, whose own research showed how one frog species changed its mating call in urban areas, said scientists should look next for possible constraints (限制) on the evolutionary response and how morphology relates to mating behavior.
1. What do researchers find about lizards in the study?| A．Lizards evolve to adapt to the human cities. |
| B．Lizards are not capable of surviving in the urban areas. |
| C．Lizards have a negative impact on smooth surfaces of modern buildings. |
| D．Lizards no longer have natural habitat in forests as a result of urbanization |
| A．By analyzing previous research data. |
| B．By comparing different lizard species. |
| C．By citing the famous scientists’ words. |
| D．By studying Anolis lizards in urban and natural areas. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Tolerant. | C．Indifferent. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．All frog species have changed its mating call in urban areas. |
| B．Only adult male lizards evolve to have larger limbs and special scales. |
| C．Halfwerk will continue to study how morphology relates to mating behavior |
| D．The future study might focus on the limitations on the evolutionary response. |
【推荐1】In April 2022, the revised law on wildlife protection has adjusted measures for the regulation of wildlife populations in detail. “Graded, categorized management of wild animals bred in captivity (人工饲养)” is what the adjusted law offers, . “Three-haves” species—species that are thought to have “special ecological, scientific, or social significance”—is a case in point.
Concerns have been raised by a few civil society organizations that this will weaken conservation efforts, promote the growth of the wildlife breeding industry, and make it easier for illegally hunted animals to be mislabeled as captive-bred. However, some scholars believe that by making conservation management more case-by-case and less universal, the adjusted law improves regulation efficiency.
The existing law on wildlife protection was created in 1988 and since then had seen three amendments and a revision. According to Yue Zhongming, a member of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, the revised law has helped step up the protection of wild animals and their habitats and strengthen the rescue and breeding of endangered wildlife. Yue added that it has also played an active role in preserving biodiversity and pushing forward with ecological conservation in China.
Ran Jingcheng, head of the wildlife and forest plant management station in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, pointed out in his article that strengthening the management of wild animals is not as simple as banning artificial (人工的) breeding. In his view, artificial breeding of wild animals has significance in the protection of endangered species and the adjustment of rural industrial structure.
It is necessary to establish the principle of combining key protection and universal protection, and to include all types of wild animals with conservation value within the scope (范围) of legal protection.
1. What can we learn about the revised law from the passage?| A．It causes divided opinions. |
| B．It proves to be highly effective. |
| C．It advocates artificial breeding. |
| D．It weakens the conservation efforts. |
| A．It strengthens the rescue of all wildlife. |
| B．It enlarges the scope of wildlife protection. |
| C．It speeds up the pace of building habitats for wildlife. |
| D．It benefits the preservation of biodiversity and ecology. |
| A．To grade and categorize wild animals. |
| B．To introduce the adjustments of the regulations. |
| C．To present different opinions on “Three-haves” species. |
| D．To highlight the significance of efficient wildlife protection. |
| A．A book review. | B．A news report. | C．An advertisement. | D．A science fiction. |
【推荐2】By the end of the century, if not sooner, the world’s oceans will be bluer and greener due to a warming climate, according to a new study.
At the heart of the phenomenon lie tiny marine microorganisms (海洋微生物) called phytoplankton, which create colourful patterns at the ocean surface. Ocean colour varies from green to blue, depending on the type and concentration of phytoplankton. Climate change will fuel the growth of phytoplankton in some areas, while reducing it in other spots, leading to changes in the ocean’s appearance.
Phytoplankton live at the ocean surface, where they pull carbon dioxide into the ocean while giving off oxygen. When these organisms die, they bury carbon in the deep ocean, an important process that helps to regulate the global climate. But phytoplankton are vulnerable to the ocean’s warming trend, which can easily affect phytoplankton growth.
Stephanie Dutkiewicz, a scientist in MIT’s Center for Global Change Science, built a climate model that projects changes to the oceans throughout the century. The model projects that currently blue areas with little phytoplankton could become even bluer. But in some waters, such as those of the Arctic, a warming will make conditions riper for phytoplankton, and these areas will turn greener.
And why does that matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the food web. If certain kinds begin to disappear from the ocean, Dutkiewicz said, “it will change the type of fish that will be able to survive.” Those kinds of changes could affect the food chain.
Whatever colour changes the ocean experiences in the coming decades will probably be too gradual and unnoticeable, but they could mean significant changes. Dutkiewicz said, “The change in the colour of the ocean will be one of the early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”
1. What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?| A．The various patterns at the ocean surface. |
| B．The cause of the changes in ocean colour. |
| C．The tiny marine organisms in the oceans. |
| D．The current condition of warming climate. |
| A．Sensitive. | B．Beneficial. | C．Significant. | D．Unnoticeable. |
| A．Phytoplankton play a declining role in the marine ecosystem. |
| B．Dutkiewicz’s model aims to project phytoplankton changes. |
| C．Phytoplankton have been used to control global climate. |
| D．Oceans with more phytoplankton may appear greener. |
| A．To assess the consequences of ocean colour changes. |
| B．To analyse the composition of the ocean food chain. |
| C．To explain the effects of climate change on oceans. |
| D．To introduce a new method to study phytoplankton. |
【推荐3】In the UK, electric and other low-emission（低排放）cars, vans, and buses could be given special green plates to encourage more people to buy such cars, and promote awareness for “clean” cars.
Strange as it may seem, there is some reason to believe that something as small as this could make a big difference. Already, similar ideas have been put into effect in Norway, Canada, Latvia, and China, and the results have been encouraging.
Elisabeth Costa, director of the Behavioural Insights Team, explains, “Simple changes based on behavioral science can have a big impact. Green plates would be more noticeable to road users, and this increased attraction can help normalise the idea of clean vehicles, highlighting（使突出）the changing social norms（规范）around vehicle ownership.”
Actually, hybrids and electric cars accounted for 5.5% of the cars sold in the UK in the first half of the year, compared to 4.2% for the same period in 2017.
However, colored plates can only go so far. At the end of the day, you need strong, concrete measures if you want to support a market like electric cars. The UK already has generous subsidies（补贴）for electric cars, but a study for the RAC Foundation found that the lack of reliable, easy-to-use charging stations is the main roadblock to people purchasing more electric cars. This was repeated by separate research from AA, the UK’s largest motorist association, which found that although 1 in 2 young drivers want electric cars, 8 out of 10 drivers feel that the lack of sufficient electrical chargers is the main reason not to buy an electric car.
Yet this all shows that more and more people are nearing a tipping point where they are willing to buy electric cars. And a small PR stunt（噱头）, the “coolness factor” of the colored plates could end up making a difference. Similarly, having red plates for the more polluting cars might also play a role.
A spokesman for the Environmental Transport Association said, “While green number plates will be positive PR for low-emission car makers and early adopters of the technology alike, to be truly effective any such measures will need to at the same time shame the drivers of the most polluting vehicles.”
1. Why does the UK give green license plates to cars?| A．To promote car sales. |
| B．To beautify the environment in the UK. |
| C．To separate “clean” cars from polluting cars. |
| D．To inspire people to buy low-emission vehicles. |
| A．The results of giving colored plates are discouraging. |
| B．The measures of giving colored plates will be at an end. |
| C．Giving colored plates has a limited impact on promoting “clean” cars. |
| D．Giving colored plates will be replaced by strong, concrete measures. |
| A．Subsidies for electric cars are not attractive. |
| B．Charging stations are not readily available. |
| C．They aren’t fond of the green color. |
| D．Electric cars are unaffordable to them. |
| A．Banning people from buying polluting cars. |
| B．Continuing the use of green number plates. |
| C．Replacing green plates with red ones. |
| D．Shaming the drivers of polluting cars into buying “clean” cars. |
Example Youth Exchanges：
Youth Exchange 1
Location：Ireland
Other nationalities：Ireland，Spain，Italy，Hungary
Theme：Focuses on the topic of community reconstruction and community activities—exploring how local issues facing our communities are connected to global issues．The group will also learn about the eco-village as an example of a community and take part in team-building activities.
Youth Exchange 2
Location：France
Other nationalities：Bulgaria，Italy，France
Theme：Organic gardening & continual living．This project will take place in a natural park，where the group will take part in gardening activities and games／workshops about continuous development．
Youth Exchange 3
Location：Macedonia
Other nationalities：Serbia，Turkey，Ireland
Theme：Foster social inclusion and motivate personal development of young people through sports and outdoor activities．Promote outdoor activities as a tool to help inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities．
Youth Exchange 4
Location：Italy
Other nationalities：Italy，Bulgaria，Greece
Theme：A sociaI-environmental project that intends to promote social inclusion and continuable development，regarded as a process of civil rights and active citizenship. Over 10 days, the group will participate in activities to raise awareness about the effect of our behavior on the environment．
1. What do you focus on when travelling in France?
| A．Gardening work. |
| B．Civil rights. |
| C．Developing social inclusion. |
| D．Rebuilding communities. |
| A．Youth Exchange 1 | B．Youth Exchange 2 |
| C．Youth Exchange 3 | D．Youth Exchange 4 |
| A．Spain． | B．Italy. | C．Ireland. | D．France. |
【推荐2】Nice Feeling is a very excellent small restaurant. It offers great Chinese food and considerate servings, like delicious crab Rangoon and shrimp toast. The triple delight and kung-pao shrimp are also luscious.
The couple who work in the kitchen speak very broken English. It's pretty difficult to let them know what I need. However, it isn't really a problem for the coming people. After all, they are so friendly to every customer and patient with any situations. They set up this restaurant three years ago and I have already been very familiar with them.
This is a takeout restaurant unless you like sitting at one of the 2 tables in the cold lobby（大厅）area in cold winter days. There is no air conditioner in the summer either. The entire kitchen area can be seen from the counter(柜台）and it looks very clean although somewhat small and narrow(狭窄的）. I've gotten takeout here at least 40 times and never had any problems with the food.
On a couple of occasions, they forgot to start my order before I got there. The man thought I was unhappy and gave me an extra appetizer (小吃）as a gift. How sweet he was! Actually, I was not angry at all. Delicious food is worth the wait!
It is a nice place to order your takeout since things there are so cheap and tasty. It is also a popular place for people to feed themselves up in the town. I suggest you call them about 15-20 minutes before you arrive in case you have to wait in that lobby for a long time.
1. What does the underlined word “luscious” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Cheap. |
| B．Rare. |
| C．Delicious. |
| D．Fresh. |
| A．be patient with any situations |
| B．teach the couple to speak English |
| C．stay in a place without an air conditioner |
| D．communicate with the couple in English |
| A．You can only order takeout in Nice Feeling. |
| B．The lobby of Nice Feeling is always crowded. |
| C．Nice Feeling stays clean and quiet all the year round. |
| D．Nice Feeling is clean in its conditions but small in size. |
| A．To show us how to talk with the couple. |
| B．To tell us his love of Nice Feeling. |
| C．To ask for advice for Nice Feeling. |
| D．To offer some tips to diners. |
【推荐3】When people pause before replying to a question, even for just a few seconds, their an-swers are supposed to be less sincere and believable than if they had replied immediately. And the longer the hesitation lasts, the less sincere the response appears.
Researchers conducted a series of experiments involving more than 7, 500 individuals. Participants either listened to an audio record, viewed a video or read an account of a person responding to a simple question. In each case, the response time varied from immediate to a 10-second delay. Participants then rated the sincerity of the response on a sliding scale. Across all 14 experiments, participants consistently rated delayed responses as less sincere re-gardless of the question.
The findings have wide connotations. Whenever people are interacting, they are judging each other's sincerity. These results can be applied to a wide range of interactions, going from workplace chats to couples and friends arguing. Further, in job interviews and in court hear-ings and trials, people are often tasked with judgments of sincerity. Here, too, response speed could play a part. In general, whenever there is a response that requires an answer, such as in a job interview, delayed responses can be thought as less sincere.
It would be unfair for the responder, such as a crime suspect, if the response delay was sorted by mistake into thought control or answer making up when it was in fact caused by a different factor, such as simply being distracted or thoughtful. The experiment also found that definitely instructing participants to ignore delayed response reduced, but did not com-pletely remove, the effect of delayed response on judgment of sincerity or guilt. Nevertheless, on the whole, a fast response seems to be regarded as more sincere, while a response that is delayed for even a couple of seconds may be considered a slow lie.
1. What does the reliability of answers lie on according to the study?| A．The response time. |
| B．The answer content. |
| C．The tone of speakers. |
| D．The difficulty of questions. |
| A．Choices. | B．Responsibilities. | C．Meanings. | D．Possibilities. |
| A．It is a test to judge honesty. |
| B．It can prevent a lot of crimes. |
| C．It improves skills in asking questions. |
| D．It promotes the harmony between people. |
| A．Delayed answers are lies. |
| B．It is unfair to require all to answer slowly. |
| C．Delayed answers can lead to misjudgment. |
| D．Delayed response should be ignored completely. |
Tu Youyou, a scientist at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, has no postgraduate degree. She has never studied or done research abroad. She is neither a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences nor the Chinese Academy of Engineering. However, the 81-year-old pharmacologist has become the first scientist on the Chinese mainland to win a Lasker Award, the medical prize of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation.
The Lasker Awards have existed since 1945. Tu was presented the 2011 Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award on September 23. She discovered a drug called artemisinin . The drug is now widely used against malaria .
Tu and her colleagues joined a government project to find a new malaria drug in the late 1960s during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). They made 380 herbal extracts from 200 potential recipes. The recipes came from traditional Chinese medical books. The team then tested them on malaria-infected mice. Finally Tu became interested in an extract of the plant qinghao, or sweet wormwood .
According to an ancient Chinese medicine book, qinghao was once used to treat malaria. However, the extract they made in the lab didn't work well. Maybe, thought Tu, the effective ingredient in qinghao was destroyed by high temperatures. Therefore, Tu tried to make the extract with an ether which has a much lower boiling point than water.
In 1971, after more than 190 failures, Tu finally got an extract that was 100 percent effective against the malaria parasites .The extract was called qinghaosu, later renamed artemisinin.
According to a statement on the Lasker Foundation website, during the past four decades, Tu's drug has saved millions of lives. It is especially important for children in the poorest and least developed parts of the world. However, not many people knew of the scientist until she won the Lasker Award this month.
Lasker Awards are known as "America's Nobels" for the reason that in the last two decades, 28 Lasker Prize winners have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize, and 80 since 1945, according to Xinhua News Agency.
" The discovery of artemisinin is a gift to mankind from traditional Chinese medicine," Tu said when she received the a-ward. "Continuous exploration and development of traditional medicine will, without doubt, bring more medicines to the world.
1. What can we infer from the second paragraph?
| A．It is unnecessary to study abroad as a scientific researcher. |
| B．Chinese medicine used not to be recognized in Western countries. |
| C．Tu achieved great things although she didn't have an impressive background. |
| D．Tu is the first female scientist to win a Lasker Award. |
| A．began with a private project |
| B．succeeded during the first experiments |
| C．faced many different opinions |
| D．made extracts in a creative way |
| A．It is a very cheap medicine and easy for them to get hold of. |
| B．They believe in the effect of Chinese medicine. |
| C．There are no other cures for malaria. |
| D．It has the fewest side effects for children. |
| A．are more influential than Nobel Prizes in the medical field |
| B．are awarded to those who have made great medical achievements |
| C．are awarded to more Americans than people from any other country |
| D．are usually awarded to scientists who are not famous in their field |
【推荐2】East Africa is experiencing the worst desert locust outbreak in decades. Climate events have accelerated breeding of the pest across the region, and with a sudden rise in the locust population expected in coming weeks, urgent actions and funds are needed to prevent a human crisis.
Twenty million people in six of the eight East African countries are most affected by an ongoing desert locust outbreak at risk of serious food insecurity. Considered among the most destructive of moving pests, an adult locust can consume 2g of plants per day, affecting crops and grasslands. A group typically holds 20 to 150 million locusts per square kilometer and can move hundreds of kilometers per day, invading areas covering millions of square kilometers. An active group, therefore, can destroy crops and grasslands within a very short period of time.
That global warming could increase the risk of desert locust crisis was proposed over ten years ago, and in February, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the current outbreak is linked to the effects of climate change: “warmer seas mean more perfect breeding ground for locusts”. The outbreak has its origins in 2018, when a series of windstorms in the Arabian Peninsula (阿拉伯半岛) enabled the warm and wet conditions the desert locust requires to breed and band undetected in remote regions. Though our focus here is migration west, dreadful outbreaks of the desert locust have been experienced to the east.
The situation is going out of control. A rescue operation and financial support admit no delay.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) can take out only US$138 million for rapid response and immediate action — controlling the spread of the desert locust and safeguarding livelihoods. They say the maths is clear: about half the funding (资助) is needed for supervision, ground and sky control, and uniting efforts; the other half is needed for livelihoods and food security of farmers. As for the huge gap, they have called on the international community to act now through funding. However, by the end of February, just US$69 million had been promised.
This most alarming crisis has developed and is worsening in East Africa. The funds needed to control the situation become very difficult to achieve and the gap is a big concern.
1. Why does the crisis happen in East Africa?| A．There is a big population there. |
| B．There are large deserts and grasslands. |
| C．Africa lies west of Arabian Peninsula. |
| D．Good climate for breeding plays a role. |
| A．To warn of the terrible damage by locusts. |
| B．To help us understand how locusts live. |
| C．To show how many locusts there are now. |
| D．To draw a picture of the present Africa. |
| A．The crisis is not noticed until recently. |
| B．More fund is needed to prevent the crisis. |
| C．The crisis has been the focus of the world. |
| D．Locusts are all from the Arabian Peninsula. |
| A．Killing locusts before too late |
| B．Global warming, a world problem |
| C．Funding Gap for Locust Crisis |
| D．Africa, a crisis-stricken place |
【推荐3】Keeping your teenager out of the social media world is impossible. Whether we like it or not, our kids are growing up in a digital era- -and although that creates major opportunities, it also comes with some pretty big risks. We saw this firsthand when we asked a group of tweens and teens to give up their phones and social media for a week; it was as though we’d asked them to part with a limb.
A recent study of more than 10 ,000 six- to twelve-grade girls carried out by a nonprofit organization Ruling Our Experiences found that high school girls spend an average of six hours a day on social media. And the effect of too much logged-on time is clear. The study found kids who spend eight hours or more on technology per day are five times more likely to be sad or depressed. Adding to the pressure is that2 out of 3 high school girls report being asked to send a revealing photo to another person, and most of them report that they do send sexual texts and photos to each other.
Another study, carried out by Common Sense Media, found that girls use social media more than boys and are also more likely to experience negative consequences. Most of the girls investigated admitted that content posted online often makes them worry about their appearance or social status, while just a quarter of the boys said the same. An earlier study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet came to a similar conclusion: A third of 12- to 13-year-old girls who used social media believed their peers were mostly unkind to each other online , while only 9 percent of the boys agreed.
Of course, these differences don' t mean we shouldn’t have concerns about boys and the impact of digital overload or online bulling. In fact, other studies have shown that boys and girls can be equally damaged by social media. The most important thing is for teens to feel safe, online and in the real world alike.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The pressure of the high school girls logging-on. |
| B．The influence of too much logged-on time on high school girls. |
| C．Too much time spent on social media for high school girls. |
| D．The increasing population of the high school girls logging-on. |
| A．Exposed. | B．Interesting. |
| C．Funny. | D．Romantic. |
| A．Because the girls' social status is low. |
| B．Because the girls are mostly unkind to each other. |
| C．Because the girls use social media more than boys. |
| D．Because the girls pay more attention to their appearance. |
| A．Parents should keep teens out of the social media. |
| B．Parents keep teens feel safe online and in the real life. |
| C．It is time to worry about your teens and social media. |
| D．Boys and girls can be equally damaged by social media. |
