1. What is the weather probably like now?
| A．Rainy. | B．Cloudy. | C．Sunny. |
| A．No one wanted to play any games. |
| B．People ran out of food and drinks. |
| C．People just wanted to stay warm. |
2 . While the idea of warmer and shorter winters might sound appealing to farmers eager to see longer growing seasons, those engaged in Georgia’s huge peach industry are finding the trend alarming.
Since 1960, the average winter temperature in Georgia has risen by 5°F and is predicted to climb even higher by mid-century. For farmers who depend on cold weather to help crops like peaches grow, the state’s diminishing winters are a warning to adapt or else.
One of the keys to growing the perfect Georgia peach is something called “chill (寒冷) hours”. Nut and fruit trees require a certain number of chill hours below 45°F to regulate their growth. Without the demanded amount, flowering may be delayed in spring and fruit set and fruit quality will be poor. In Georgia, home to nearly 12,000 acres of peach orchards, an average peach tree requires anywhere from 650 to 850 chill hours each season.
The impact from a loss of chill hours was felt most recently in 2017, when the chill period of the farms across the state averaged less than 400 hours and 85% of the peach crop was lost. “It was so bad that we thought they were not going to bloom (开花),” said Dario Chavez, an associate professor at the University of Georgia. “Farmers even didn’t care about the blooms anymore; they wondered if the plants would survive.”
While planting new varieties of peaches that require fewer chill hours is part of the solution, it’s not the only characteristic that’s necessary. Despite warmer and shorter winters, Georgia still experiences a consistent frost in early March. Peach varieties requiring fewer chill hours often bloom earlier, making them particularly affected by the freezing spring temperatures.
In response to the situation, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is experimenting with hybrid (杂交的) varieties that achieve the delicate balance of low chill and normal bloom. The hope is that continued research into global warming-tolerant varieties may keep the state’s official fruit firmly in the sweet spot of American produce.
1. What does the word “diminishing” underlined in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Freezing. | B．Decreasing. | C．Appealing. | D．Booming. |
| A．The necessity of lengthening growing seasons. |
| B．The destructive impact from a loss of chill hours. |
| C．The reason for Georgia’s promising peach industry. |
| D．The importance of chill hours for peaches’ growth. |
| A．Trying to develop special peach varieties. |
| B．Delaying peaches’ blooming time artificially. |
| C．Replacing the peaches with sweeter produce. |
| D．Urging farmers to plant new kinds of peaches. |
| A．A travel website. | B．An agriculture magazine. |
| C．A daily report on politics. | D．An environmental guidebook. |
1. What does the woman want to do?
| A．Travel along the Silk Road. |
| B．Organize trips along the Silk Road. |
| C．Read more books about the Silk Road. |
| A．It’s dry. | B．It’s hot. | C．It’s wet. |
| A．Its history. | B．Its climate. | C．Its art. |
4 . Residents (居民) of South Asia already regularly experience heat waves at the current level of warming. But a new study in Geophysical Research Letters projecting the amount of heat stress residents of the region (地区) will experience in the future finds with 2℃ of warming, the population’s exposure to heat stress will increase by two times.
“The future looks bad for South Asia, but the worst can be avoided by containing warming to as low as possible,” said Moetasim Ashfaq, the corresponding author of the new study. “The need for adaptation over South Asia is today, not in the future. It’s not a choice anymore.”
Earth has warmed by 1℃ since the start of the Industrial Revolution, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It may reach 1.5℃ of warming in 2040. This deadline leaves little time for South Asian countries to adapt. “Only half a degree increase from today is going to cause a widespread increase in heat events,” Ashfaq said.
People living in South Asia are especially affected by deadly heat waves because the area already experiences particularly hot summers. Almost one quarter of the world’s population lives in South Asia. Much of the population live in populated cities without regular access to air conditioning, and about 60% perform agricultural work and can’t escape the heat by staying indoors.
Controlling warming to 1.5℃ will likely cut that exposure in half, but large numbers of people across South Asia will still experience extreme temperatures. An increase in heat events that create unsafe labor conditions is likely to occur in major crop producing regions in India, such as West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Coastal regions and urban centers such as Karachi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Peshawar are also likely to be heavily affected, according to the study.
“Even at 1.5℃, South Asia will have serious consequences in terms of heat stress,” Ashfaq said. “That’s why there is a need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (排放).”
1. What does Moetasim Ashfaq stress in paragraph 2?| A．The difficulty of controlling warming. |
| B．The way to cut exposure to heat stress. |
| C．The urgency of handling climate change. |
| D．The bright future for South Asian countries. |
| A．They’ve been suffering a lot from heat. | B．They’re actually poor at growing crops. |
| C．They generally live far from each other. | D．They have easy access to air conditioning. |
| A．It will harm crop production. | B．It will cut down labor demand. |
| C．It will cause more air pollution. | D．It will lead to crowding in cities. |
| A．It is not possible at all. | B．It is still far from enough. |
| C．It frees people from heat stress. | D．It helps to improve population. |
| A．Summer. | B．Autumn. | C．Winter. |
1. What is the woman worried about?
| A．Being late for the flight. | B．Missing the meeting. | C．Losing her bag. |
| A．Pick up the clients. | B．Change flights. | C．Wait for a phone call. |
1.季节的名称；
2.喜欢此季节的原因。
注意：1.写作词数应为80左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My Favorite Season
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. What does the woman complain about?
| A．Boring travel plans. | B．Hot weather. | C．Short summer holidays. |
| A．It will cool down over the weekend. |
| B．The weather forecast is not accurate. |
| C．Going to the pool is a good idea. |
9 . Most people can't wait for spring to arrive. It means flowers and warmer weather, all welcome changes from the dark winter days. Now we know that spring is arriving sooner in the Northern Hemisphere (北半球）than it was in the past, thanks to a study published in Scientific Reports.
For example, Los Angeles may experience spring only a day earlier than it did 10 years ago, but further north, in Seattle or Chicago, spring will arrive four days earlier. If you lived in the Arctic, spring could arrive 16 days earlier than it used to.
To determine how springtime is starting earlier, researchers looked at temperature records and 743 earlier studies over 86 years. These studies were about various biological indicators of spring, including birds migrating, plants flowering and amphibians（两栖动物）sounding their mating calls. Researchers then studied these data to see if they were occurring earlier. The result showed that not only is spring making itself known sooner but it's warmer, too.
Before you go out in a happy springtime hike, spring arriving sooner isn't so good. The livelihood of migratory birds, for instance, may be concerned.
“The food that birds rely on when they move to the north might not be reliable if the beginning of spring at these higher latitudes（维度）is expanded by future warming." said Eric Post. He is a fellow of the John Muir Institute and a polar ecologist.
Animals relying on Arctic sea ice, like polar bears, probably aren't crazy about things warming up sooner, either, because it impacts on their ability to hunt. Spring's early arrival could cause disorder in the delicate balance of various ecosystems~~not to mention how soon you'll need to buy allergy medicine.
1. We learn from the study published in Scientific Reports that.| A．spring comes earliest in Los Angeles |
| B．Los Angeles is further north than Seattle |
| C．spring comes 12 days earlier in Arctic than in Chicago |
| D．the further north a place lies, the sooner spring comes than before |
| A．comparing related data available |
| B．conducting research and test |
| C．calculating the exact length of each spring |
| D．observing animal's behavior all year round |
| A．Concerns over spring's early arrival. |
| B．Springtime emergence of creatures. |
| C．Early springtime's impacts on humans. |
| D．Disorder in the balance of ecosystems. |
| A．Medical Report. | B．Survival Stories. |
| C．Scientific Discoveries. | D．Natural environment |
10 . In England, people often talk about the weather because they can experience (经历) four seasons in one day. In the morning the weather is warm just like in spring. An hour later black clouds come and then it rains hard. The weather gets a little cold. In the late afternoon the sky will be sunny, the sun will begin to shine, and it will be summer at this time of a day.
In England, people can also have summer in winter, or have winter in summer. So in winter they can swim sometimes, and in summer sometimes they should take warm clothes.
When you go to England, you will see that some English people usually take an umbrella (伞)or a raincoat with them in the sunny morning, but you should not laugh at them.
If you don't take an umbrella or a raincoat, you will regret (后悔) later in the day.
1. Why do people in England often talk about the weather?| A．Because they may have four seasons in one day |
| B．Because they often have very good weather |
| C．Because the weather is warm just like in spring |
| D．Because the sky is sunny all day |
| A．sunshine and snow | B．black clouds |
| C．summer and winter | D．spring and autumn |
| A．warm | B．cool |
| C．cold | D．rainy |
| A．their friends ask them to do so | B．it often rains in England |
| C．they are going to sell them | D．they are their favourite things |
| A．Bad Seasons | B．Summer or Winter |
| C．The Weather in England | D．Strange English People |
