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题型:阅读理解-阅读单选 难度:0.65 引用次数:189 题号:9949960

This season, the bushfires in Australia have burned more than 12.35 million acres of land. At least 25 people have been killed and 2000 homes destroyed. According to the BBC, this is the most casualties(伤亡) from wildfires in the country since 2009. The University of Sydney estimates that 480 million animals have died in South Wales alone.

Zeke Hausfather, an energy systems analyst and climate researcher at Berkeley Earth, said warmer temperatures and extreme weather have made Australia more susceptible to fires and increased the length of the fire season. “The drier conditions combined with record high temperatures in 2019 created main conditions for the disastrous fires. Australia’s fires were worsened by the combination of those two. 2019 was the perfect storm for being the warmest year on record for Australia and the driest year on record for Australia,” Hausfather added on Friday.

Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, said warmer ocean temperatures are also contributed to more variable weather around the world. Trenberth believes that global warming contributed to energy imbalances and hot spots in the oceans, which can create a wave in the atmosphere that locks weather patterns in places, causing longer rain events in Indonesia, for example, and at the same time contributing to drought in Australia. He said that once an area experiences drought conditions for two months or more, it increases the risk of fires catching and spreading. Those changing weather patterns due to global warming make drought events longer.

Climate experts stress that climate change is not the only factor in the severity of wildfires. How land is managed can also impact the amount of fuel available for fires. Practices like controlled burns and other factors can impact the risk to people and property, such as warning systems and the type of development in a given area. Changing those policies has great potential to limit future damage from wildfires along with changes to how fire management resources are dispatched(派遣).

1. What do the numbers in paragraph 1 show?
A.The causes of Australian fires.
B.The results of Australian fires.
C.The damaged areas of Australian fires.
D.The property destruction of Australian fires.
2. Which of the following best explains “more susceptible to” underlined in the second paragraph?
A.Quick to adapt to.B.Sure to cause.
C.Sensitive to.D.Easy to be protected from.
3. What can we infer from Trenberth's research?
A.Global warming is the root cause of the bushfires.
B.Longer dry weather contributes to global warming.
C.Warmer ocean temperatures promote fires spreading.
D.The imbalanced energy leads to the temperature rising.
4. What does the author intend to do in the last paragraph?
A.To stress the effects of Australia fires.
B.To show the methods for controlling burns.
C.To predict the seriousness of Australia fires.
D.To provide some advice about reducing damage.
2020·山东潍坊·一模 查看更多[4]

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【推荐1】When it rains, it pours, and when it snows, the lights turn off. Or so it goes in Texas, California. After a winter storm hit the Lone Star State with record snowfall and the lowest temperatures in more than 30 years, millions were left without electricity and heat. At the worst moment on February 16th, 4. 5m Texan households were cut off from power.

Whole skylines, including Dallas's, went dark to save power. Some Texans braved the snowy roads to check into the few hotels with remaining rooms, but the hotels' power went off as they arrived. Others put on skiwear and remained inside, hoping the lights and heat would come back on. Across the state, what were supposed to be “rolling” blackouts (断电) lasted for days. More than 20 people have died in motor accidents, from fires lit for warmth and from carbon - monoxide poisoning after using cars to get warm. The storm has also stopped deliveries of covid - 19 vaccines (疫苗) and may prevent around 1 million vaccinations from happening this week.

Other states, including Tennessee, were also covered in snow, but Texas got the lion's share and broke down completely. Texans are extremely angry that people in America's energy capital cannot count on reliable power. Everyone is asking why.

The short answer is that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid, did not properly forecast the demand for energy as a result of the storm. Some say that this was nearly impossible to predict, but there were warnings of the seriousness of the coming weather in the previous week, and ERCOT didn't make adequate preparations.

Many Republican politicians were quick to blame renewable energy sources, such as wind power, for the blackouts, but that is not fair. Some wind turbines (涡轮机) did indeed freeze. Natural gas plants broke down, as did the gas supply chain and pipelines. The cold also caused a reactor at one of the state's two nuclear plants to go offline. In short, Texas experienced a perfect storm of equipment failure.

In California, as in Texas, it would help to have additional power generation and energy storage to meet peak (峰值) demand. Weather events that once might have been dismissed as unusual are becoming more common. Without more money put in electricity grids, blackouts will be, too.

1. What happened in Texas during the winter storm?
A.People put on skiwear to save power
B.More than 20 people were frozen to death
C.Many people delayed receiving covid - 19 vaccinations
D.The whole state suffered power cuts except hotels
2. The underlined part “Texas got the lion's share” in Paragraph 3 means ________ .
A.Texas was hit hardest by the stormB.Texas was provided with generous aid
C.Texas fought against the storm bravelyD.Texas had the power to return to normal
3. Texas failed to provide reliable power because of ________ .
A.the use of renewable energy sources
B.no warnings of the seriousness of the storm
C.the breakdown of a nuclear plant
D.improper forecast and equipment failure
4. Which of the following statements will the writer probably agree with?
A.It is not worthwhile to put too much money into electricity grids
B.We should turn to renewable energy sources rather than natural gas
C.Texas should get well prepared for the highest demand for power
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【推荐2】Alaska—The American city Anchorage is recovering from a powerful earthquake Friday that damaged public buildings, homes and roads.

The 7.0 earthquake caused buildings to slake. But there have been no reports of deaths, serious injuries or damage. Officials say the quake has not affected transportation of food and her supplies. “The ships are coming in on schedule, the supply lines are at this point working well,” the government told reporters Sunday.

The Glenn Highway was probably the road hit hardest by the earthquake. It connects the state's largest city to other parts in the north. Traffic has been heavy and slow—moving since the quake. Drivers are being guided. Groups of workers are trying to rebuild areas where the quake left large holes in the road.

People who are still nervous after the major quake have been more upset by more than 1, 700 aftershocks. “Anything that moves, you feel terrified”said David, whose home suffered structural(结构)damage, including a sunken foundation(地基). Actually, Alaska came up with strict building rules after a 9. 2 earthquake in 1964. That was the second most powerful earthquake on record.

Government officials said a public health center promises that money for medical treatment will continue to come. Mental healthy service(心理健康服务)is also available for people hurt by the disaster.

Earthquake experts say there is a 4 percent chance of another 7. 0 earthquake or greater in the following week. "The chance is very small, but its not impossible, ” said the expert, Paul Caruso.

1. What was the result of the earthquake?
A.Buildings were damaged.B.Food supply was cut off.
C.Many people were killedD.The ships could not come in.
2. Why is the traffic slow on the Glenn Highway?
A.Because small quakes hit the city.B.Because falling rocks are a danger.
C.Because the highway is badly damaged.D.Because drivers are misled.
3. What can you learn from Paul Caruso?
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C.It will be safe in the 1th week after the quake.
D.There is no possibility for more quakes.
4. Where can your possibly read the passage?
A.Ina story book.B.In a travel journal.
C.In a poster.D.In a newspaper.
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【推荐3】An earthquake happens when two plates rub together. The earth plates travel in different directions and at a different speed. If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other,pressure(压力)builds up until the plates break apart. This process(过程)causes the ground to move. It is an earth-quake. In other words,earthquakes are the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by the earth’s rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth. The strain within the rocks is suddenly released(释放).

The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and when it is happening. If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property(财产). If it hits a large city,there may be many injuries and much destruction. Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now. Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage.

Actually, there are several million small earthquakes every year. Large earthquakes, such as the 1964 Alaska earthquake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, caused millions of dollars in damage. In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earthquakes around the world-including over 240,000 in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China.

A60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation that continues for years after the first tremor. In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua. Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it.

The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster. It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs. In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage. An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path.

1. Which of the following is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A.An earthquake comes from the inside of the earth.
B.The earth has great energy in storage.
C.How the earth plates move.
D.How an earthquake happens.
2. What does the underlined word “ensuing” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Causing too much heat and great damage.
B.Causing many injuries and much destruction.
C.Happening as a result of another event.
D.Happening suddenly and unexpectedly.
3. By giving the example in Paragraph 4, the author wants to show that ______.
A.an earthquake doesn’t last longB.the damage can last long
C.people in Managua suffered too muchD.Nicaragua is still a poor country
2022-09-19更新 | 103次组卷
共计 平均难度:一般