1 . As our Earth’s temperature warms up because of climate change, it is having unexpected effects on our world’s forests. When temperatures rise, trees close their skins to
Climate change also increases the
As these forests disappear, species that once called them “home” are forced to change,
| A．protect | B．prevent | C．save | D．free |
| A．movement | B．situation | C．process | D．operation |
| A．higher | B．firmer | C．lighter | D．smaller |
| A．choice | B．measure | C．qualification | D．chance |
| A．grow | B．rescue | C．recover | D．decline |
| A．ignored | B．lost | C．hurt | D．left |
| A．accessible | B．enjoyable | C．acceptable | D．favorable |
| A．attention | B．command | C．trust | D．support |
| A．frightened | B．paid | C．ruined | D．wasted |
| A．common | B．original | C．distant | D．strong |
| A．affecting | B．improving | C．forgetting | D．reflecting |
| A．Besides | B．Surprisingly | C．Otherwise | D．Unfortunately |
| A．devote | B．keep | C．adapt | D．lead |
| A．due to | B．in addition to | C．instead of | D．in spite of |
| A．pass | B．miss | C．break | D．bring |
2 . The Amazon rainforest is as undisturbed a place as most people can imagine, but even there, the effects of a changing climate are playing out. Now, research suggests that many of the region’s most sensitive bird species are starting to evolve in response to warming.
Birds are often considered sentinel (哨兵) species — meaning that they indicate the overall health of an ecosystem — so scientists are particularly interested in how they’re responding to climate change. In general, the news has not been good. For instance, a 2019 report by the National Audubon Society found that more than two-thirds of North America’s bird species will be in danger of extinction by 2100 if warming trends continue on their current course.
For the new study, researchers collected the biggest database so far on the Amazon’s resident birds, representing 77 non-migratory species and lasting the 40 years from 1979 to 2019. During the study period, the average temperature in the region rose, while the amount of rainfall declined, making for a hotter, dryer climate overall. According to the report on November 12 in the journal Science Advances, 36 species have lost substantial weight, as much as 2 percent of their body weight per decade since 1980. Meanwhile, all the species showed some decrease in average body mass, while a third grew longer wings.
Because of the study’s long time series and large sample sizes, the authors were able to show the morphological (形态学的) effects of climate change on resident birds. However, the researchers themselves are unsure and wonder what advantage the wing length changes give the birds, but suppose smaller birds may have an easier time keeping cool. In general, smaller animals have a larger rate of surface area to body size, so they dissipate more heat faster than a bigger animal. Less available food, such as fruit or insects, in dryer weather might lead to smaller body size.
1. Why are scientists fond of doing research on birds?| A．They have small body sizes. | B．They are sensitive to hot weather. |
| C．They are ecological balance indicators. | D．They live in an undisturbed rainforest. |
| A．Two-thirds of species showed a considerable decrease in weight. |
| B．About 26 species responded to climate change with longer wings. |
| C．36 species lost 2% of their body weight every year from 1979 to 2019. |
| D．A third of species have been extinct for a decade due to the hotter climate. |
| A．Put off. | B．Give off. | C．Put away. | D．Give away. |
| A．Why it is easier for smaller animals to keep cool. |
| B．Why the Amazonian birds have lost substantial weight. |
| C．Whether bird species in Amazon will be extinct in 2100. |
| D．What effects the wing length changes have on birds. |
3 . One of the ocean’s noisiest creatures is smaller than you’d expect — snapping shrimp (鼓虾). They create a widespread background noise in the underwater environment, which helps them communicate, protect their homes and hunt for food. When enough shrimp snap (发出噼啪声) at once, the noise can be deafening.
Aran Mooney, a biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, suggested that with increased ocean temperatures, snapping shrimp will snap more often and louder than before. This could raise the background noise of the global ocean. “They make a sound by closing a claw so fast. This makes a bubble (泡泡) and when that bubble bursts, it makes that snapping sound,” said Mooney.
Mooney discovered a strong relationship between warmer waters and more frequent snapping shrimp sounds after experimenting with the shrimp in tanks in the lab and by listening to the shrimp in the ocean at various water temperatures. “As the temperature rises, the snap rate increases,” he said. This makes sense because shrimp are essentially cold-blooded animals, meaning their body temperature and activity levels are largely controlled by their living environment. “We can actually show in the field that not only do snap rates increase, but the sound levels increase as well.”
How the louder snapping shrimp would affect or benefit the surroundings remained to be seen. “We know that fish use sound to communicate,” Mooney said. “If the environment gets noisy, it has the possibility to influence that communication. That’s something we have to follow up on.” There is also the possibility that the change of snapping shrimp affects machines humans use to discover mines, which could lead to unpleasant results.
1. What can we know about the snapping shrimp’s sound?| A．It aims to protect the shrimp. | B．It is important to the ecosystem. |
| C．It has different uses for the shrimp. | D．It is hard to be discovered by other creatures. |
| A．By observing snapping shrimp in the field. | B．By recording the snap rates in the lab. |
| C．By analyzing the way shrimp make noise. | D．By comparing shrimp’s sound in different places. |
| A．Other uses of shrimp’s sound. | B．Influences of the noise on other creatures. |
| C．Means of communication among fish. | D．Methods of stopping shrimp’s snapping. |
| A．Underwater World Is No Longer Quiet | B．Small Animals Make a Big Difference |
| C．Warming Oceans Are Getting Louder | D．Snapping Shrimp’s Noise Speaks Much |
| A．Sunny. | B．Snowy. | C．Rainy. |
5 . Ice-coated vines (葡萄藤) stretched across hillsides around Chablis, France, as the region had a temperature of -5°C on Monday. Fruit growers are worried that the frost will kill off large numbers of early buds (花蕾) and disturb the whole growing season.
The frost is particularly disturbing after a similar phenomenon hit French vineyards last year, leading to some 2 billion euros in losses. Scientists later found that the damaging 2021 frost was more likely made by climate change.
Some growers tried to warm the vines with electrical lines, or set up special watering systems, or spray (喷洒) the buds with water to protect them from frost. The water creates a thin layer of ice that ensures the buds’ temperature remains around freezing point but does not drop much lower.
Daniel-Etienne Defaix, whose vineyard has been producing wine for 400 years and lived through many climate disasters, calls what’s happening now “a very, very serious frost”. He placed candles on the soil to protect about five hectares (亩) of his most valuable grapes, but had to leave the remaining 25 hectares to face the force of nature. At a cost of 10 euros per candle, and 600 candles per hectare, it was too costly to save the rest of the grapes.
The 2021 April frost led to what French government officials described as “probably the greatest agricultural disaster of the beginning of the 21st century”. The pattern was similar: an intense April 6-8 frost after a lengthy warm period in March.
The researchers concluded that the warming caused by humans had coaxed the plants so that they exposed their young leaves earlier than usual, before a burst of Arctic cold reached Europe in April.
1. What did Daniel-Etienne Defaix do to protect his vines?| A．Heat the vines with electrical lines. |
| B．Spray the buds with water. |
| C．Set up special watering systems. |
| D．Warm the vines with candles. |
| A．Growers can save most of their crops. |
| B．The 2022 frost is the worst in history. |
| C．Humans are to blame for the damage. |
| D．The weather was normal last March. |
| A．Protected. | B．Dried. | C．Tricked. | D．Delayed. |
| A．Causes for Early Budding |
| B．Late Frost Threatens Vine Crops |
| C．Creative Ways to Save Vines |
| D．Global Warming Brings Extreme Weather |
6 . For generations, Nafisa Bayniyazova and her family have made a living growing melons, pumpkins and tomatoes on farms around the Aral Sea. Bayniyazova, 50, has spent most of her life near Muynak, in northwestern Uzbekistan, tending the land. Farm life was sometimes difficult but generally reliable and productive.
Now, Bayniyazova and other residents say they’re facing a disaster they can’t beat: climate change, which is speeding up the decades-long disappearance of the Aral, once the lifeblood for the thousands living around it.
Decades ago, deep blue and filled with fish, the Aral was one of the world’s largest inland bodies of water. Thousands of migrants from across Asia and Europe moved to the Aral’s shores for jobs popping up everywhere from canning factories to luxury vacation resorts. Today, the few remaining towns sit quiet along the former seabed of the Aral—technically classified as a lake, due to its lack of a direct outlet to the ocean, though residents and officials call it a sea.
Much of its early disappearance is due to human engineering and agricultural projects gone wrong, now paired with climate change. Summers are hotter and longer; winters, shorter and bitterly cold.
Without the moderating influence of a large body of water to regulate the climate, dust storms began to blow through towns. Strong winds caused dunes (沙丘) to swallow entire towns, and abandoned buildings were filled with sand. A dozen fish species went extinct, and businesses closed down. “The fish factories closed, the ships were stuck in the harbor, and the workers all left,” said Madi Zhasekenov, former director of the Aral Sea Fisherman Museum in Aralsk, Kazakhstan. “It became only us locals.”
On her Uzbekistan farm, Bayniyazova’s family has dug an earthen well, hoping to hold on to the precious little water that’s left. “If there is no water, it will be very difficult for people to live,” Bayniyazova said. “Now people are barely surviving.” She doesn’t plan to leave her farm but yet knows more hardships are likely ahead.
1. How is paragraph 3 developed?| A．By reasoning. | B．By making comparison. |
| C．By experimenting. | D．By analyzing data. |
| A．The number of fish in the Aral Sea is increasing. |
| B．Madi Zhasekenov feels hopeful about his future. |
| C．Local people around the Aral have lost their livelihoods. |
| D．Madi Zhasekenov has adapted to the changing climate. |
| A．Ashamed. | B．Worried. | C．Relieved. | D．Embarrassed. |
| A．The Importance of the Aral Sea |
| B．How to Deal With the Aral Sea Disaster |
| C．We Will Face the Challenge of Adapting to Climate Change |
| D．Climate Change Is Quickening the Disappearance of the Aral Sea |
| A．Sunny. | B．Cloudy. | C．Rainy. |
8 . Dressed in a kachhad, a traditional Nepalese clothes, Umesh Balal walked into his meetings at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on climate change in Dubai with a sense of determination.
Balal, who has physical disability, was there to publicly
As a student, Balal was
The more Balan
And it is even harder for people with
In an interview, Balan said, “
| A．control | B．achieve | C．support | D．measure |
| A．ignored | B．studied | C．respected | D．issued |
| A．anxious | B．particular | C．worried | D．curious |
| A．sold | B．lent | C．introduced | D．awarded |
| A．brought | B．knew | C．complained | D．quarreled |
| A．affected | B．prepared | C．organized | D．admitted |
| A．devoted | B．changed | C．limited | D．helped |
| A．comparing with | B．coping with | C．differing from | D．resulting from |
| A．warmer | B．cleaner | C．poorer | D．quieter |
| A．confidence | B．calmness | C．honesty | D．crisis |
| A．rights | B．disabilities | C．degrees | D．advertisements |
| A．objection | B．attention | C．access | D．gratitude |
| A．Fortunately | B．Secretly | C．Similarly | D．Naturally |
| A．forced | B．ordered | C．warned | D．allowed |
| A．occupy | B．want | C．cheer | D．blame |
1. What was the temperature by mid-afternoon in southeast England?
| A．26℃. | B．23℃. | C．17℃. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Rainy. | C．Cloudy. |
| A．Doing a survey. | B．Giving a speech. | C．Hosting a program. |
10 . The earth is warming. The past years are the warmest on record. Greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for 1.1°C of average warming in the 20th century. What we’re experiencing is different from the global average. We experience extreme weather — serious heatwaves, violent storms and historic floods.
We won’t feel the impact of our efforts for decades. But we must know our future today so we can act now. To develop the best strategies for adaptation, we need climate models to predict the climate in different areas over decades. Unlike predicting the weather, climate models are difficult modeling the physics, chemistry and biology of the atmosphere, waters, ice, land and human activities.
Greater resolution (分辨率) is needed to model changes in the global climate. Scientists estimate that it will demand billions of times more computing power than what’s available. It will take decades to achieve that through the ordinary course of computing advances.
For the first time, we have the technology to do that. We can achieve million-x speedups by combining three technologies: GPU-accelerated computing; breakthroughs in physics-informed neural (神经的) networks and AI supercomputers, along with vast quantities of data to learn from. With these techniques, we may have within our grasp the billion-x leap needed to do the climate modeling. And with more accurate predictions, people and nations will act correctly.
This week, plans to build the world’s most powerful AI supercomputer used to predict climate change are announced. Named Earth-2, the system will create a digital twin of the Earth. The system would be the climate change to Cambridge-l, the world’s most powerful AI supercomputer for healthcare research.
1. What caused 1.1°C of average warming in the 20thcentury?| A．Violent storms. | B．Human activities. |
| C．Historic floods. | D．Serious heatwaves. |
| A．It will cost billions of money. |
| B．The climate changes frequently. |
| C．Technology now can’t meet the needs. |
| D．The model of the earth is too difficult to build. |
| A．By using many computers together. | B．By raising billions of money. |
| C．By combining three technologies. | D．By studying a large amount of data. |
| A．A notebook. | B．A diary. | C．A travel guide. | D．A newspaper. |
