2 . Scientists in Antarctica have recorded,for the first time,unusually warm water beneath a glacier (冰川)the size of Florida that is already melting and contributing to a rise in sea levels.

The researchers,working on the Thwaites Glacier,recorded water temperatures at the base of the ice of more than 2℃,above the normal freezing point.Critically,the measurements were taken at the glacier's grounding line,the area where it transforms from resting wholly on bedrock to spreading out on the sea as ice shelves.It is unclear how fast the glacier is getting worse:Studies have forecast its total collapse in a century or in a few decades.The presence of warm water in the grounding line may support estimates at the faster range.

That is worthy of attention because the Thwaites,along with the Pine Island Glacier and several smaller glaciers, acts as a brake on part of the much larger West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which , if melted, would raise the world's oceans by more than a meter over centuries,an amount that would put many coastal cities underwater.

“Warm waters in this part of the world,as remote as they may seem,should serve as a warning to all of us about the potential terrible changes to the planet brought about by climate change,” said David Holland, director of New York University's Environmental Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.

Glaciologists have previously raised alarm over the presence of warm water melting the Thwaites from below.This is the first time,though,that warm waters have been measured at the glacier's grounding line.

To observe activity beneath the glacier,Dr.Holland's team drilled a hole -about 30 centimeters wide and 600 meters deep-from the surface to the bottom and then placed equipment that measures water temperature and ocean turbulence,or the mixing of freshwater from the glacier and salty ocean water.Collecting the data took about 96 hours in subzero weather.Warm waters beneath the Thwaites are actively melting it, the team found.

While scientists may not yet be able to definitively predict how soon glaciers like the Thwaites will melt, human-caused climate change is a key factor.The biggest predictor of “how much ice we will lose and how quickly we will lose it,”Dr.Holland said,”is human action.”

1. What does warm water found in the glacier's grounding line indicate?

A．Sea levels should be remeasured.

B．It may take a century for the glacier to melt.

C．The grounding line is getting shorter.

D．The glacier might disappear sooner

2. The Thwaites and other glaciers are important because ______.

A．they hold back ice

B．they are extremely large

C．they are located at bedrocks

D．they are collapsing

3. What can be inferred from the passage about the researchers’ viewpoints?

A．We can predict how much ice can be kept.

B．Human beings are to blame for the loss of ice.

C．Glaciers serve a more important purpose than expected.

D．More data needs to be collected to support the estimates.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The efforts made to avoid the presence of warm water.

B．The alarm voiced on the worsening situation of glaciers.

C．The tools employed to measure the temperature of Antarctica.

D．The prediction based on a scientific study of the grounding line.

3 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

A professor of public health at UCLA says that pet ownership might provide a new form of health care. As far back as the 1790s, the elderly at a senior citizens’ home in England     1    (encourage) to spend time with farm animals. This helped patients’ mental state more than the cruel therapies     2     (use) on the mentally ill at the time. In recent years, scientist have finally begun to find proof     3     contact with animals can increase a sick person’s chance of survival and has been shown     4     (lower) heart rate, calm upset children, and get people to start a conversation.

Scientists think that animal companionship is beneficial     5     animals are accepting and attentive, and they don’t criticize or give orders. Animals have the unique ability to be more social. For example, visitors to nursing homes get more social responses from patients when they come with animal companions.

Not only do people seem     6    (anxious) when animals are nearby, but they may also live longer. Studies show that a year after heart surgery, survival rates for heart patients were higher for those with pets in their homes than those without pets. Elderly people with pets make fewer trips     7     doctors than those without animal companions, possibly because animals relieve loneliness. Staying with animals is believed to create a peaceful state of mind,     8    (result) in a favourable environment for everyone.

Research confirms that the findings concerning senior citizens can be applied to restless children. They are more easy-going when there are animals around with, with     9     company they tend to calm down more easily. They involve     10     in playing with animals and the presence of animals comforts them greatly.

5 . Directions: Read the following passage, Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Venice Carnival

The annual Venice Carnival is in full swing, with thousands of revelers (狂欢者) gathering the city’s canals and squares in elaborate costumes and extraordinary masks       1    .

The Carnevale di Venezia is thought to date back to the 11th century, making it one of the world’s oldest. Carnivals are held in many Catholic countries: such as Spain and Brazil, where they serve as a last chance to cat, drink end be merry before the deprivations or Lent, the 40 days of fasting (斋戒) that precede Easter.

It is thought that the masks allowed Venetians to hide their identities, allowing the poor to mix with the wealthy, breaking strict social order, even if only for a brief and controlled period.

    2     The theme of Carnival 2019 is “Tutta cope della Luna,” or “Blame the moon”, marking a half-century since man first walked on the satellite

To prevent overcrowding, authorities have installed turnstiles at the entrances to the historic St. Marks’Square, closing it off to new visitors once 23,000 revelers have entered. Costumed revelers are also searched as they enter the square.

Venice is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islands are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers       3     The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Although most visitors stick to the traditional Carnival costumes of baroque gowns and be jeweled masks for women and black capes and threatening masks for men, more and more people are opting for their own unique interpretations.

Some visitors use Carnival as an opportunity to show off a fantastic creation they’ve always reamed of wearing. It doesn’t have to be Venetian       4     At Carnival, everybody is free to who-or what-they want to be. Perhaps a different gender-or even species. That’s the joy of the mask-nobody knows who or what the person wearing it was before Carnival.

A．This year’s Carnival festivities kicked off on February 16 and go on until March 5.

B．During the 18 days of Carnival, the city fills with thousands of tourists from across Italy and around the world.

C．Parts of Venice are well known for the beauty of their settings, their architectureand artwork.

D．The Italian government decided to bring back the history and culture of Venice by seeking to use the traditional Carnival.

E．It doesn’t have to be traditional.

F．Carnival virtually disappeared when Napoleon’s troops brought an end to the Venetian Republic in 1797.

6 .

A．They are not used to living in hot places.

B．They will get away from the hot days.

C．They will not be back until it gets cold.

D．They are reluctant to go on holiday.

7 . One spring day. once the flowers have begun to open, a bee will hover (盘旋)and zip through your yard and dive-bomb your picnic table. While you're thinking about avoiding an attack, that bee is focused on something else entirely: me.

A honeybee has about six weeks to live. Today, like most days, her task is to fly as many as three miles from home, stick her long, straw-like tongue into a hundred or so flowers. When the bee has had her fill, she'll fly home. There the bee will deposit what she has got into the mouth of one of her co-workers, who will relay it to another, and so on for about 20 minutes, until the mixture is ready to be placed into the comb. Then she and her 50.000 or so mates will hover in the dark all night every night, flapping their wings to create hot, breezy conditions to remove the water from the mixture. Several sunrises later, they will seal me off in a golden cell of beeswax. In her lifetime, our bee may visit 4.000 flowers, and yet will produce only one-twelfth of a tea spoon of me.

The average American consumes nearly a pound and a half of me every year, in tea, on toast, and beyond. If I do say so myself, I am a timeless treasure. Literally—I never go bad.

Unfortunately, my good health is not guaranteed. The problem lies in the growth of industrial agriculture and the use of pest control chemicals, as well as changes in weather patterns, all of which reduce the number of flowers bees have to visit. I'd appreciate your letting your own garden grow just a little wild. My future depends on all of us fostering spring and summers wild flowers, thus helping the bees, who give so much—to you, to me—without ever asking for anything in return.

1. What does "me" refer to in the passage?

A．The flower.	B．The bee.
C．Water.	D．Honey.

2. What is the 2nd paragraph mainly about?

A．Bees' special talent.	B．Bees’ hard work.
C．Bees' living environment.	D．Bees' social behavior.

3. Which one of the following is true according to the passage?

A．A bee will always prioritize attacking picnic lovers.

B．Before "me" is sealed off in beeswax, the drying process can take a few nights.

C．The lifework of a bee satisfies the average demand of an American consumer annually.

D．Bees are more likely to visit those deliberately pest-controlled gardens.

4. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To appeal for help for honeybees.

B．To talk about the history of a treasure.

C．To put forward techniques for gardeners.

D．To argue against the control of chemicals.

8 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.

A．Because they have true blue eyes.

B．Because they look true blue underwater.

C．Because they have true blue underbellies.

D．Because they look true blue on the surface.

2.

A．By giving out yellowish light.

B．By changing the color of their backs.

C．By emitting a series of pulses and sounds.

D．By traveling through the ocean at 20 miles an hour.

3.

A．When they are angry, they let out the loudest noise.

B．They are highly intelligent animals without social life.

C．An ordinary-sized whale weighs as much as an elephant.

D．They rely on excellent hearing to communicate and navigate.

9 . Directions:Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A drop in the sun’s radiation can cause cold winters in parts of North America and Europe, scientists say, a finding that could improve long-range forecasts and help countries     1     for storms.

Scientists have known for a long time that the sun has an 11-year cycle during which radiation from the sun reaches a(n)     2     then falls. But detecting a clear link of the cycle to the weather has proved much     3    .

“Our research notices a link between solar activities and regional winter climate,” lead author Sarah Ineson of the UK Met Office told the reporters in an email.

Her team focused on the data from the recent minimum solar radiation period during 2008-10, which was a(n)     4     calm period for the sun but at the same time,     5     winters in the U.S and Europe were recorded which brought troubles to many businesses and made people’s lives difficult.

The researchers found that a reduction in radiation from the sun can affect wind patterns,     6     cold winters.

“While radiation levels won’t tell us what the day-to-day weather will be, they provide the exciting     7     of improved prediction for winter conditions for months and even years ahead. These predictions play an important role in long-term weather planning,” Ineson said.

Ineson’s team used the data in a complex computer to     8     long-term weather patterns. It successfully reproduced what scientists had observed happening in the upper atmosphere during changes in solar radiation. More study was needed, though. The key     9     in the experiment lay in the satellite data used, because it spans (跨度) only a few years.” So there are still questions concerning whether the current research results are accurate and whether they can be     10     to other solar cycles,” she said.

10 .

A．Suitable fertilizers.	B．Adequate water.
C．Rich soil.	D．Proper temperature.