| A．It’s very warm. | B．It’s super cold. | C．It’s rather hot. |
1. How was the weather early in the morning?
| A．Sunny. | B．Cloudy. | C．Rainy. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Ambiguous. | C．Understanding. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Rainy. | C．Snowy. |
1. How long will the woman stay in Ireland?
| A．For two weeks. | B．For a month. | C．Half a year. |
| A．Rainy. | B．Hot. | C．Cold. |
| A．The weather. | B．The scenery. | C．The traffic. |
6 . Grasses and short trees are growing and expanding around Mount Qomolangma and across the Hi ma lay an region as the area continued to experience the consequences of global warming, researchers have found. Using satellite data from 1993 to 2018, scientists measured “small but significant” increased between 4,150 and 6,000 meters above sea level. “There are now more areas that are covered in plants than there were in 1993,” said Anderson, a scientist who led the research.
While it is still too early to tell what impact this new growth could have on the region, “urgent research” on the potential effects is needed. “We don't know what the impact is — it might be the plants that cause the snow to melt more quickly,” Anderson added.
1.4 billion people depend on water collected in the region. Changes to water supplies could have great impacts on communities in different countries. “We know that plants and the water cycle are coupled,” Anderson explained. “Wherever you have plants growing, it changes the way the water cycle behaved in those areas. This is particularly important in the Himalayas because glaciers are reducing. We know from lots of scientific research that this is already having an impact on water supplies in this region and it will continue to do so as li-mate change continued.”
Climate change is already having an impact on Himalayan communities, A 2019 study found that Hi ma lay an glaciers have been losing almost half a meter of ice each year since the start of this century. This has already resulted in local communities being flooded — and could ultimately result in drought. Last year, a researcher from the International Centre found that at least a third of the ice in the region, which is home to Mount Qomolangma, could melt by the end of the century.
1. What changes happened to Mount Qomolangma from 1993 to 2018?| A．Sea levels rose quickly. | B．More plants grew there. |
| C．Grasses died out there. | D．Temperatures declined. |
| A．To explain the causes of climate change. | B．To prove the effects of glaciers melting. |
| C．To present the reasons for plants growing. | D．To show the necessity of the urgent research. |
| A．The way of the water cycle. | B．The varieties of plants. |
| C．The large population. | D．The increasing glaciers. |
| A．It seldom snows there. | B．They have great floods these years. |
| C．The glaciers would disappear. | D．More plants will grow there. |
7 . California has lost half its big trees since the 1930s, according to a study to be published Tuesday and climate change seems to be a major factor（因素）.
The number of trees larger than two feet across has declined by 50 percent on more than 46, 000 square miles of California forests, the new study finds. No area was spared or unaffected, from the foggy northern coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the San Gabriels above Los Angeles. In the Sierra high country, the number of big trees has fallen by more than 55 percent; in parts of southern California the decline was nearly 75 percent.
Many factors contributed to the decline, said Patrick Mclntyre, an ecologist who was the lead author of the study. Woodcutters targeted big trees. Housing development pushed into the woods. Aggressive wildfire control has left California forests crowded with small trees that compete with big trees for resources（资源）.
But in comparing a study of California forests done in the 1920s and 1930s with another one between 2001 and 2010, Mclntyre and his colleagues documented a widespread death of big trees that was evident even in wildlands protected from woodcutting or development.
The loss of big trees was greatest in areas where trees had suffered the greatest water shortage. The researchers figured out water stress with a computer model that calculated how much water trees were getting in comparison with how much they needed, taking into account such things as rainfall, air temperature, dampness of soil, and the timing of snowmelt（融雪）.
Since the 1930s, Mclntyre said, the biggest factors driving up water stress in the state have been rising temperatures, which cause trees to lose more water to the air, and earlier snowmelt, which reduces the water supply available to trees during the dry season.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The seriousness of big-tree loss in California. |
| B．The increasing variety of California big trees. |
| C．The distribution of big trees in California forests. |
| D．The influence of farming on big trees in California. |
| A．Ecological studies of forests. | B．Banning woodcutting. |
| C．Limiting housing development. | D．Fire control measures. |
| A．Not enough snowmelt. | B．A longer dry season. |
| C．A warmer climate. | D．Dampness of the air. |
8 . Just a year ago, the colors were bright under the waves. Now it’s gray — the Maldivian reef is dead. The coral is killed by the pressure of rising temperatures.
Coral reefs are areas underwater where small creatures live. The coral is hard material formed on the bottom of the sea by the skeletons of those creatures. But the world has lost about half its coral reefs in the last 30 years. Scientists are working to prevent their destruction. Due to global warming, over 90 percent of corals are expected to die by 2050. “To lose coral reefs is to fundamentally undermine the health of a very large proportion of the human race,” said Ruth Gates, director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.
Why are coral reefs important? Coral reefs support a fourth of all marine species, as well as half a billion people worldwide. They serve as barriers to protect coastlines from the storms. They provide billions of dollars from tourism, fishing and other trade. They are also used in medical research for cures for diseases. “Everyone should be concerned,” said biologist Ove Guldberg at Australia’s University of Queensland. “This is not just some distant dive destination. This is the basic structure of the ecosystem we depend on.”
The ocean is getting warmer. A rising temperature of just one to two degree Celsius can force coral to expel the algae (驱逐海藻) that live there. This leaves their white skeletons uncovered. It is a process called “bleaching”. Sixteen percent of the world’s corals died of bleaching in 1998. The problem has become much worse in recent years.
“We’ve lost 50 percent of the reefs, but that means we still have 50 percent left,” said Ruth Gates, who is working in Hawaii to breed corals that can better withstand increasing temperatures. She is also trying to “train” corals to survive rising temperatures. Gates says it is time to start “thinking outside the box”— find creative ways to help them.
1. The underlined word “undermine” in paragraph 2 means ___________.| A．weaken | B．regain | C．promote | D．overlook |
| A．People won’t find a dive destination in the future. |
| B．The effort to save corals will turn out to be fruitless. |
| C．The destruction of coral reefs will affect the earth ecosystem. |
| D．The bright sea has lost its charm because of those dead corals. |
| A．the harm of algae | B．the process of “bleaching” |
| C．the importance of coral reefs | D．the change of ocean temperature |
| A．proud | B．cautious | C．optimistic | D．casual |
9 . One of the questions surrounding climate change is how it might affect the food supply for a growing global population. A new study suggests that researchers have been overlooking how two key human responses to climate—how much land people choose to farm, and the number of crops they plant—will affect food production in the future. The new study focused on the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, an emerging（新兴的）global breadbasket（产粮地区）that as of 2013 supplied 10 percent of the world’s soybeans. The researchers used variations in temperature and precipitation（降水）across the state over an eight-year period to estimate the sensitivity of the region’s agricultural production to climate change. Those historical comparisons can help in making predictions about the sensitivity of agriculture to future climate change.
The study found that, if the patterns from 2002 to 2008 hold in the future, an increase in average temperature in Mato Grosso of just 1 degree will lead to a 9 to 13 percent reduction in overall production of soy and corn. “This is worrisome given that the temperature in the study region is predicted to rise by 2 degrees by 2050,” said Avery Cohn, who led the study.
Most studies of this kind look only at the extent to which climate shocks affect crop output. But researchers can miss critical dynamics（动力）that can affect overall output, says Leah VanWey, one of the study’s senior authors. “If you look at output alone, you’re not looking at all of the information because there are economic and social changes going on as well,” said VanWey.
If output decreases, farmers may put less land area into production because it’s not profitable. Farmers may also vary the number of crops they plant in a growing season. Double cropping is common in Mato Grosso. But if the weather is bad, farmers may change their decision to plant a second crop.
1. The value of the new study lies in _________.| A．increasing the number of crops people plant |
| B．focusing on an emerging global breadbasket |
| C．making predictions about human responses to climate change |
| D．controlling people’s choice of their farming area and crop numbers |
| A．remain almost unchanged | B．decrease by more than 9% |
| C．increase by from 9% to 13% | D．decrease by more than 18% |
| A．They can’t provide exact information to farmers. |
| B．They don’t take into consideration some key factors. |
| C．Their discouraging results largely affect overall crop output. |
| D．They pay too much attention to economic and social changes. |
| A．Farmers’ possible reactions to climate shocks. |
| B．Possible climate change in Mato Grosso. |
| C．The benefits of double cropping in Mato Grosso. |
| D．Farmers’ decision on planting crops in the future. |
