1 . Against the assumption that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.
This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.
This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.
Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧）levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.
“We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.
1. According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may _______.| A．result in a warming climate |
| B．cause the forest fires to occur more frequently |
| C．lead to a longer fire season |
| D．protect the forests and the environment there |
| A．analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate |
| B．indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere |
| C．suggest that people should take measures to protect environment |
| D．suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming |
| A．released | B．absorbed |
| C．created | D．disturbed |
| A．warm the climate as the assumption goes |
| B．allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate |
| C．destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice |
| D．help to gain more energy rather than release more energy |
2 . Weather Report
(8:00 a. m. December 17-8:00 a. m. December 18)
Influenced by a cold front, northern Xinjiang, the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(高原)and the northern and eastern parts of Heilongjiang are expected to experience light snow today. Drizzle(小雨) is forecast for most areas of Sichuan and western coastal areas of South China. Northerly winds of force 4-6 are expected to affect western and southwestern Inner Mongolia, and most parts of Northeast China, while northerly winds of force 5-7 will sweep across the Bohai Sea, the northern parts of the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Straits, and the central and northern parts of the South China Sea.
Weather forecast for major Chinese cities
| City | Max ℃ | Min ℃ | Weather |
| Beijing | 10 | -2 | clear |
| Changchun | 0 | -6 | clear |
| Changsha | 19 | 5 | clear |
| Chengdu | 9 | 4 | drizzle |
| Chongqing | 10 | 5 | overcast |
| Dalian | 12 | 3 | clear |
| Fuzhou | 18 | 12 | cloudy |
| Guangzhou | 23 | 15 | cloudy |
| Guilin | 19 | 4 | clear |
| Haikou | 19 | 14 | overcast |
| Hangzhou | 18 | 5 | clear |
| Harbin | -3 | -8 | clear |
| Hong Kong | 21 | 16 | cloudy |
| Jinan | 14 | 3 | clear |
1. From December 17 to December 18, if you go to ____ , you may be caught in the snow.
| A．Northern Xinjiang and Qinghai | B．Sichuan and South China |
| C．Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang | D．Qinghai and Sichuan |
| A．a cold front | B．light snow |
| C．northerly winds of force 4-6 | D．northerly winds of force 5-7 |
| A．23 | B．31 | C．26 | D．7 |
3 . Tayka Hotel De Sal
Where: Tahua, Bolivia
How much: About $95 a night
Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt - including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses and blankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where: Vythiri, India
How much: About $240 a night
Why it’s cool: Riding a pulley (滑轮) -operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window - there is no glass! -you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast - the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where: Cottonwood, Idaho
How much: $92 a night
Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps to the loft in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where: Ayvali, Turkey
How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.
Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was1 like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65 ℉ in summer. (Don’t worry - there is heat in winter.)
1. Which of the following about Tayka Hotel de Sal is true?| A．The hotel is the cheapest among the four mentioned. | B．Everything in the hotel is made of salt. |
| C．The glue can prevent the rain from dissolving the hotel. | D．It is located on a prehistoric dried-up lake. |
| A．The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B& | B．B. The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner. |
| C．The name of the hotel. | D．The name of the hotel owner. |
| A．Tayka Hotel De Sal | B．Green Magic Nature Resort |
| C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B | D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel |
