1 . Verkhoyansk, a town in northeastern Siberia, about 6 miles within the Arctic Circle, recorded a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) on June 20. 2020, likely setting a new record for the hottest temperature recorded that far north.

The new record comes as Siberia—and the Asian continent as a whole—have experienced unusually warm conditions since the start of this year. The whole region has been off-the-charts warm lately. And while it’s difficult to know the impact of climate change on individual records or temperatures in any given season, experts say the developments are part of a broader warming trend that has been documented across the globe.

The sudden movement of heat is being caused by high-pressure ridge (脊)of air—sometimes called “heat dome (穹)” that is blanketing the area. When this happens, air gets squeezed into one location and sinks, pushing warm temperatures down to the surface.

The high-pressure ridge also prevents clouds from forming, so sunshine comes through without being weakened by clouds. North of the Arctic Circle when that temperature was observed, they had 24 hours of daylight, so they were receiving solar energy for those entire 24 hours.

The town of Verkhoyansk is known for having the biggest extremes between winter and summer than any other city in the world, with their average high temperature minus 47 degrees Fahrenheit in winter In June and July, their average temperature is close to 70 degrees. In their climate history, they’ve been above 90 degrees over 150 times, and above 95 degrees at least dozen times.

“Since the start of the year, we’ve been noticing that Asia— particularly northern Asia, like Russia—has been extremely warm,” —said Ahira Sanchez-Lugo, a climatologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Forecasts suggest that this part of Siberia could see at least another week of above-average temperatures before things stabilize. But conditions in Asia have been warmer than usual for most of 2020.

1. What does the underlined part “off-the-charts” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Entirely.

B．Seriously.

C．Extremely.

D．Slightly.

2. What do we know about heat dome?

A．It is a blanket covering a town.

B．It prevents the sun from heating the surface.

C．It moves fast and carries heat away.

D．It presses heat down and keeps solar energy down on the earth.

3. What can we learn from the text?

A．Verkhoyansk is the hottest town in the world.

B．The largest extremes in Verkhoyansk are more than 95 degrees.

C．Northern Asia takes the lead in global warming.

D．The average high temperature in Verkhoyansk is minus 47 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Verkhoyansk is a special town in Russia.

B．Verkhoyansk hit its highest temperature in history.

C．Verkhoyansk experienced the worst weather conditions.

D．Verkhoyansk witnessed the highest temperature in the world.

2 . 阅读下面材料，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。

Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins—     1     average bird stands some 45 inches tall. 'These flightless animals live on the Antarctic ice and in the frigid surrounding water.

    2     (employ) physiological adaptations and cooperative behaviors, emperor penguins can deal with the incredibly difficult environment in Antarctic,    3     wind chills (寒冷) can reach -76°F. They escape wind and save     4     (warm) by gathering together. Once one penguin has warmed a bit it will move to tie perimeter (边缘) of the group so that others can enjoy protection     5     the icy environment.

Emperor penguins spend the long winter on the open ice — and even breed during this freezing season. In mid-May, females lay a single egg and then soon leave     6     behind. Throughout the winter, males keep the eggs warm while females make long journey to the open ocean     7     (feed) itself during the most unforgiving weather on the earth. When female penguins return to the breeding site with a belly full of food, with which they will feed the     8     (new) hatched chicks, the males     9    (suffer)bunger for four months and lost almost half their weight. Meanwhile, their duty done, male emperors make their way to the sea in search of food for themselves. In December, Antarctic summer, the pack ice begins to break up and open water     10     (appear) near the breeding site, just as young emperor penguins are ready to swim and fish on their own.