2 . El Nino, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nino sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.

The weather effects both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nino, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nino in 1997 helped American’s economy grow by 15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvest, farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural in rich countries in growth than the fall in poor ones.

But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱）in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.

The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.

Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施）can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道）make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.

1. What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?

A．It is named after a South American fisherman.

B．It takes place almost every year all over the world.

C．It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.

D．It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.

2. What may El Nino bring about to the countries affected?

A．Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.

B．Droughts become more harmful than floods.

C．Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.

D．Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.

3. The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that_________.

A．more investment should go to risk reduction

B．governments of poor countries need more aid

C．victims of El Nino deserve more compensation

D．recovery and reconstruction should come first

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To introduce El Nino and its origin.

B．To explain the consequences of El Nino.

C．To show ways of fighting against El Nino.

D．To urge people to prepare for El Nino.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

Home to the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang rivers, the Sanjiangyuan area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (青藏高原)     1    (know)as “China’s water tower.” It is    2    unique plateau wetland ecosystem and serves as an important ecological defense for the country.

Decades ago, serious     3     (environment) degradation (恶化) in Sanjiangyuan,     4    was caused by climate change and human activities, resulted in a large number of lakes drying out and wildlife numbers falling     5     (sharp). Great efforts have been made to turn the park     6    a symbol of the progress of China’s ecological civilization.Over the past years, the environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau     7     (experience) great changes. Water conservation in the area has risen by 11 percent this year,     8     (compare) with 10 years ago. Local people enjoy the gifts given by nature, and the establishment of the national park has enabled them to become its protectors and benefit from it. Some work as tour guides, assisting     9     (visitor) from home and abroad.

Today, as people walk on the vast land of Sanjiangyuan,     10     (look) at the mountains, glaciers, and lakes, and catching sight of wild animals and birds, they cannot help but be impressed by the vastness and beauty of nature.

6 . 阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Jingdezhen porcelain(瓷器)is Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in southern China. Jingdezhen has produced porcelain     1     (century)ago. And the town     2    was named Jingdezhen by Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty became a major kiln(窑)site around 1004.During the period, the     3    (produce)of porcelain in this area first became     4    (know).By the 14th century it had become the largest centre of producing Chinese porcelain, which remained in the following times. In the Ming Dynasty, official kilns in Jingdezhen     5    (control)by the emperor, making quality porcelain in large quantities for the emperor to give abroad as gifts. As a result, the town was     6    (close)linked to the world.

Although being a remote town in a hilly area, Jingdezhen is near the quality porcelain stone and forests which can provide plenty of wood for the kilns. It also has     7    river flowing from north to south,     8    (benefit)the transport of the fragile objects.

Jingdezhen has produced a great variety of     9     (value) porcelain. As a result, the town is famous     10     the “Porcelain Capital”. One type of its well-known high quality porcelain object is the blue and white porcelain from the 1330s.

8 . Some of the world’s best Coffea arabica is grown on Mount Kenya. This variety of the plant produces beans that are tastier than those from its poor cousin, Coffea canephora (known as robusta), which often ends up in instant coffee (速溶咖啡). However, global warming may reduce the total area that is most suited to growing arabica beans by about half by 2050.

Some farmers are trying to adapt to warming by moving uphill. Yet this pushes them into areas long used for growing tea. Not only is there less space higher up; the move stresses how warming also threatens to harm the tea crop, which supports about 10% of Kenya’s population. Warmer weather will push tea itself higher up area.

Kenya’s government-funded Coffee Research Institute is trying to find other ways of helping farmers adapt, such as encouraging them to plant trees to shade their coffee bushes, or to grow hardier (适应性更强) robusta plants. It is also trying to plant a hybrid, Arabusta, which would combine the hardiness of robusta with the flavour of arabica. Coffee snobs may turn up their noses at it, but they may have no other choices.

However, such adaptations may bring social costs. Many smallholder farmers are at risk of being pushed out of the industry altogether because they cannot afford the money needed to protect their crops.

Another option may be entirely new varieties. Researchers in London are studying a wild type of coffee, Coffea stenophylla. It is delicious and can also take the heat. But it produces lower harvest than existing varieties and it may be years before it is widely grown. Without a breakthrough of some sort, caffeine addicts may face a future too unpleasant to imagine. “If we don’t have the innovation (创新) to respond to climate challenges,” Vern Long of World Coffee Research says, “we’re just going to be drinking man-made coffee.”

1. In what way is Coffea arabica better than Coffea robusta?

A．Flavor.

B．Harvest.

C．Hardiness.

D．Sales.

2. What does the underlined “it” refer to in Paragraph 3?

A．Robusta.

B．Arabica.

C．Arabusta.

D．Stenophylla.

3. What might be the impact of the government’s policy?

A．Good money will be brought in.

B．The areas of tea crop will be reduced.

C．The cost of coffee-planting may drop.

D．Smallholder coffee farmers may disappear.

4. What’s the purpose of this text?

A．To give suggestions to coffee farmers.

B．To recommend new varieties of coffee.

C．To introduce coffee industry under threat.

D．To list possible solutions to climate changes.

9 . Two high school students have identified four new planets in distant space about 200-light-years from Earth, making them “the youngest astronomers” to make such a discovery.

Kartik Pingle, 16, and Jasmine Wright. 18, who both attend schools in Massachusetts, participated in the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP). With the help of Tansu Daylan, an MIT doctor for Astrophysics and Space Research, the students studied and analyzed data from the Transiting Exoplanct Survey Satellite (TESS). Together they focused on Tess Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a nearby, bright sun-like star and here they found four planets rotating（旋转）around the star. “We were looking to see changes in light over time,” Pingle explained, “the idea is that if the planet transits the star, or passes in front of it, it would periodically cover up the star and decrease its brightness.”

While studying 1233, Pingle and Wright had at least hoped to find one planet but were overwhelmed with joy when a total of four were spotted. “I was very excited and very shocked.” Wright said. “We knew this was the goal of Daylan’s research, but to actually find a multi-planetary system, and be part of the discovering team, was really cool.” Three of the newly discovered planets are considered as “sub-Neptunes”, which are gaseous, but smaller than the Neptune that lives in our solar system. While observing the planets, the team determined each one completes their orbit around 1233 every six to 19.5 days. However, the fourth planet is called a “super-Earth” for its large size and rockiness this one orbits around the star in just under four days.

“We have long been studying planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems, the two young students are kind of hitting the jackpot. They are really blessed.” Daylan said. “The planets originated from the same disk of matter around the same star, but they ended up being different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits. So, we would like to understand the basic processes of planet formation and evolution using this planetary system.”

Daylan added that it was a “win-win” to work with Pingle and Wright on the study. “As a researcher, I really enjoy interacting with young brains that are open to experimentation and learning and have slightest bias（偏见）.”he said, “I also think it is very beneficial to high school students, since they get exposure to cutting-edge research, and this prepares them quickly for a research career.”

1. How did the two students identify the four planets？

A．By helping professor Tansu Daylan with the data.

B．By analyzing the change of brightness of star 1233.

C．By studying Neptune that lives in our solar system.

D．By interacting with other young talented brains.

2. What is special about the discovery？

A．It was made by two high school students.

B．It was made with an innovative approach.

C．It was meant to be made by Tansu Daylan.

D．It found the largest number of planets at a time.

3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to “hitting the jackpot” in paragraph 5？

A．Making a discovery difficultly.	B．Achieving the goal easily.
C．Succeeding in something luckily.	D．Performing a task carefully.

4. According to the article, what benefits does the study bring？

A．It allows the scientists to work with young people without prejudice.

B．It equips future astronomers with better researching abilities.

C．It provides more perspectives and thus boosts more discoveries.

D．It arouses students’ interest in exploring the unknown universe.

10 . What is the woman writing about in her report?

A．A forest fire.

B．A terrible rainstorm.

C．Some lovely pet animals.