1. Where is the typhoon expected to come from?
| A．The western Pacific. | B．The mainland. | C．The man’s city. |
| A．Tomorrow morning. | B．Today. | C．Tomorrow evening. |
2 . Antarctica (南极洲) is a great, icy land, surrounded by the huge Southern Ocean. The ice in Antarctica doesn’t just cover the land. There’s also a large area of sea ice, which floats (漂浮) on the ocean’s surface.
Scientists have been measuring the area of the sea ice in Antarctica since 1979. For most of this time, Antarctica has seemed to be almost not influenced by the changing weather conditions experienced in other parts of the planet. In fact, until recent years, Antartica’s sea ice area mainly set records for growing.
That began to change around 2016. Now, for several years, the area of Antartica’s sea ice has been getting smaller. This year, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) reported that Antartica’s sea ice reached its maximum on September 10 — almost two weeks earlier than normal. And the sea ice was at a new record low — not just by a little bit, but by a lot.
The last time Antartica’s low sea ice set a record at the end of winter was in 1986. And this year, there’s about 1.03 million square kilometers less sea ice than in 1986. It’s hard to picture such a large area, but it’s around 1.6 times the size of France.
Scientists are still trying to understand what is driving the change in Antarctica. Ted Scambos, a research scientist at the University of Colorado, says, “Antarctica’s ice levels have always changed some, but the situation this year is pointing towards warmer ocean conditions around the area.”
The new low record has scientists worried. The sea ice is important, because it helps cool the planet. When it’s frozen, sea ice reflects sunlight back out into space. But when the sea ice melts (融化), the water left behind is darker, and takes in and keeps more heat.
1. What did NSIDC find about the sea ice in Antarctica this year?| A．It protected the wildlife in the ocean. | B．It grew and covered a wider area. |
| C．It turned out to be difficult to observe. | D．It reached a new record low level. |
| A．To present the total area of the country. |
| B．To introduce a new topic for discussion. |
| C．To show the sharp loss of Antarctica’s sea ice. |
| D．To explain the position of the wonderful land. |
| A．Low rainfall. | B．Rising temperatures. |
| C．Cold weather. | D．Short summer months. |
| A．It’s key to the earth’s cooling system. | B．It’s just a short-term problem. |
| C．It reminds us to find water resources. | D．It offers humans a bright future. |
3 . As vulnerable (易受伤害的) states suffer, US is blamed for not donating its required money for the Green Climate Fund, or GCF.
In Kenya’s countryside, people are facing one of the most serious droughts in memory. Some regions have been without rain for two years, and more than half the crops and most of the farm animals have died. Up to 4 million people may require food aid in the coming months.
Kenya isn’t the only country to suffer the fallout from climate change in recent years. Countries least responsible for the climate crisis are most vulnerable to its effects. In South Asia, Bangladesh already spends $2 billion each year on climate-related damage, according to a report from the International Institute for Environment and Development. A dozen island nations are at risk of disappearing entirely.
The international community has realized the urgency. In 2010, the United Nations created an institution, the Green Climate Fund, or GCF, to support developing countries that aren’t historically responsible for causing the climate crisis to cut their emissions (排放物) and deal with climate impacts.
However, the UN climate fund now has warned that carbon-cutting projects in developing countries would have to be cut without more money coming in.
Campaigners have blamed the United States—one of the GCF’s founders—for the potential cuts. “If the GCF needs to limit its operations in the near future due to lack of funding, it’s hard to find any single country more at fault than the US,” Action Aid’s policy director Brandon Wu told Climate Home News.
In 2014, then-US president Barack Obama promised the GCF $3 billion but gave only $1 billion before the end of his term. His successor, Donald Trump, didn’t give any money to the fund and, so far, neither has President Joe Biden. The US owe s the fund $ 2 billion.
Last year, 46 climate and green groups signed a letter that urged the White House to give the $2 billion to the GCF. The climate and green groups also asked the administration to commit an additional $6 billion to bring the US in step with other donor countries.
In 2019,1 3 countries—mostly in Europe but including South Korea and New Zealand—announced a doubling or more of their contributions to the GCF to help fun d green projects for 2020-23.
1. Why is the situation in Kenya mentioned in the second paragraph?| A．To tell us the impact of climate change. |
| B．To tell us the living conditions in Kenya, |
| C．To tell us how Kenya deals with climate change. |
| D．To tell us how the crops and the farm animals have died. |
| A．Disease. | B．Poverty. | C．Mistake. | D．Consequence. |
| A．$3 billion. | B．$ 6 billion. | C．$8 billion. | D．$9 billion. |
| A．UN creates Green Climate Fund | B．GCF needs to limit its operations |
| C．GCF to help fund green projects | D．UN climate fund starved of cash |
1. What page is Lily reading now?
| A．The sports page. | B．The business page. | C．The entertainment page. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Cloudy. | C．Rainy. |
| A．Dry. | B．Cool. | C．Rainy. |
6 . The major drivers of climate change are collective enterprises such as power grids (电力公司), industry, large-scale agriculture and transportation systems. About half of all greenhouse gas emissions comes from electricity generation and industrial fossil-fuel use. Substantial (大量的) emissions reductions in these settings most likely will not come from personal actions; they will come from laws and policies such as carbon-pricing systems, revised building codes and supports for green investment. But one effective act is to consume less meat.
Cutting meat consumption is a powerful and personal thing most Americans can do to tackle (解决)the climate crisis, and they can do it immediately. About 40 percent of greenhouse gases come from agriculture, deforestation and other land-use changes. Meat-particularly beef-drives climate change in two ways: first, through cows’ emission of methane(甲烷), a strong greenhouse gas, and second, by destroying forests as they are changed into grass land.Despite the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (流行病), atmospheric greenhouse gas levels continued to rise in 2020, in large part because of an emissions increase in the Amazon as rain forests were changed into land for cattle to satisfy the global demand for beef. By eating less beef, we can start to decrease that demand.
You do not have to become a vegan (素食主义者) to do this. According to one recent study, if every person in the U.S. cut their meat consumption by 25 percent, it would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1 percent. That might not sound like a lot, but it would help protect the rain forest, so the positive effects-including reduced water and fertilizer use, improved biodiversity and safeguarded rights of local peoples-would be amplified (放大).
Perhaps, social action is kind of infectious (有感染力的) in a good way. If lots of us begin to eat less meat and if we talk about it constructively, we will likely influence others. Pretty soon the 1 percent reduction becomes 2 percent or more. Reduced demand for meat could motivate my local supermarket to carry better produce, making it easier for me and my neighbours to prepare a few more satisfying meat-free meals. Ultimately changes in demand will influence industry. Forty years ago few mainstream supermarkets carried organic (有机的) products; now nearly all do. Consumer demand did that.
Above all, cutting back on red meat also has the added benefit of being good for your health.
1. What may substantially reduce greenhouse gas emission?| A．Encouraging personal efforts. |
| B．Making favourable laws and policies. |
| C．Reducing various power plants. |
| D．Investing large transportation systems. |
| A．The effects of COVID-19 pandemic. |
| B．The slow pace of economy. |
| C．The destruction of forests for cattle. |
| D．The quick development of agriculture. |
| A．remind people to buy organic food |
| B．prove one’s action can influence others |
| C．call on supermarkets to sell organic products |
| D．show demand has impact on production |
| A．Less Beef, Much Healthier |
| B．To Eat Less Meat for Climate |
| C．Small Personal Actions Have a Big Impact |
| D．Cattle Are Partly Responsible for Climate Crisis |
7 . Technology is likely to play a big part in reaching its climate goals in the future.
Fusion is the process that fires the sun. But some experts say it could someday power our homes. Fusion happens when the nuclei (核) of two atoms are subjected to extreme heat. This leads to the formation of a new larger atom and large amounts of energy. One problem is the process itself requires a large amount of energy. Developers of the technology haven’t yet performed a fusion reaction that releases more energy than it requires. In addition, running an electric power plant of fusion would require the resulting heat to be contained in an economical way.
Advanced nuclear plants would be smaller than today’s massive nuclear reactors. Experts say they could be used in rural areas and could take over for wind and solar power when the sun goes down or the wind dies. But advanced nuclear reactors are difficult and costly to build. Critics say they would also create more waste. And they would run on uranium (铀), which could make some advanced reactors more appealing to militants (激进分子) seeking materials to make weapons.
Currently, there are 15 direct air capture plants operating worldwide, getting CO directly from the air and puts the gas underground. The costs are currently high. But supporters say those costs will fall as the technology improves. They also say tax breaks for businesses could help the technology. But critics say offering large credits could actually lead to more plants continuing to burn fossil fuels.
Hydrogen (氢) can be mixed with natural gas to make a cleaner-burning fuel. This could power a fuel cell vehicle. Such a vehicle would release environmentally friendly water vapors.
So-called clean hydrogen can be produced using energy methods such as wind and solar. But those methods are more costly than “grey hydrogen”, which is made with fossil fuels. Geothermal power plants capture heat up to 370 degrees Celsius far below the earth’s surface. The heat creates steam that can turn turbines (涡轮机) to produce electricity. But the technology would need to greatly expand to become a major alternative to fossil fuels.
1. How does the author develop the passage？| A．By analyzing the cost. |
| B．By introducing the values. |
| C．By weighing the positive and negative. |
| D．By following the order of great importance. |
| A．Carbon Capture is in the theoretical stage. |
| B．Nuclear fusion has been widely used in families. |
| C．Grey hydrogen belongs to environmental protection energy |
| D．The advanced nuclear plants have hidden dangers of making weapons. |
| A．Geothermal power. | B．Carbon Capture. |
| C．Advanced Nuclear. | D．Fusion and Hydrogen. |
| A．New Issues Facing Climate Goals |
| B．Develop New Energy According to Local Conditions |
| C．What Are the Future Development Goals of Clean Energy？ |
| D．Which Technologies Could Help the World Reach Its Climate Goals？ |
| A．The hot weather. | B．Long working hours. | C．The fan in the room. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Rainy. | C．Cloudy. |
| A．The clothes. | B．The visit. | C．The weather. |
