1 . According to reports, three-quarters of all crops around the world depend on pollinating (授粉的) insects like bees and butterflies. By pollinating, pollinators enable the production of seeds. Without them, crop farming can become extremely difficult or costly threatening food supplies and prices globally.

Research has shown a rapid and consistent decline in pollinator populations. Average butterfly populations have almost halved since 1991 and bee populations in particular face a sharp decline. Given the world’s growing dependence on these insects, we can only expect the problem to worsen if no action is taken.

Much has been written about how intensive farming practices the use of chemical pesticides (杀虫剂), and pollution are threatening the survival of these helpful insects. To add to the already critical situation, global warming is contributing significantly to the rapid disappearance of pollinators.

Climate change is a major threat to pollinators, with rising temperatures and increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events affecting the food sources and habitats, on which pollinators depend for their survival.

Climate change also changes the timing and availability of lowering plants, leading to mismatches between pollinators and their food sources. A study has found that climate change has shifted plants’ blooming to earlier times and caused certain plants to move to higher areas, resulting in a decline in pollination.

Another study has found that climate change could lead to a decline in the quality of nectar, which is the main food source for many pollinators. As temperatures rise, the sugar content of nectar decreases, making it less nutritious for pollinators. This leads to a decline in the health and reproductive success of pollinators, as well as a decline in the pollination of plants.

Needless to say, cutting global emissions (排放量) is key. It’s essential that we continue to advocate for emission reductions. From country-level to individual businesses, more concrete roadmaps to net zero are a must.

We must at least minimize, if not prevent, the usage of pesticides, since these chemicals are harmful to pollinators and can have a far-reaching effect on pollination as a whole.

1. What does paragraph 1 try to show?

A．The influence of crop crises.	B．The importance of pollinators.
C．The serious challenges faced by humans.	D．The increasing difficulty of crop production.

2. How does the author sound in paragraph 2?

A．Curious.

B．Suspicious.

C．Humorous.

D．Anxious.

3. What do paragraphs 3 — 4 mainly talk about?

A．Why chemical pesticides are harmful to pollinators.	B．Causes of the decline in pollinator populations.
C．The importance of pollinators to the ecosystem.	D．How climate change has affected pollinators.

4. What have the two studies found?

A．Climate change greatly affects pollination.

B．Pollution seriously threatens pollinators survival.

C．Global warming contributes to the loss of pollinators’ habitats.

D．Improper farming practices cause some pollinators to disappear.

5. What is a suggestion for helping pollinators?

A．Starting keeping bees.	B．Reducing pesticide use.
C．Increasing the amount of nectar.	D．Building more habitats for pollinators.

2 . Every spring, in regions at high altitudes around the world, one of Earth’s tiniest migrations takes place. The migrants are single-celled green algae (海藻); they are relatives to plants growing in the sea, but instead of living in the sea they live in snow. They spend the winter deep in the snow. In the spring, they wake and swim up through flowing streams of melted snow to the surface, dividing and photosynthesizing (进行光合作用) as they go. Then, at the top, they turn red. This creates what scientists call pink snow.

The color comes from astaxanthin (虾青素), a substance that gives some living things their reddish color. The algae produce astaxanthin as a form of sun protection; it absorbs UV light, thereby warming the organisms and thus melting the surrounding snow. “The melting helps them a lot,” said Roman Dial, a biologist at Alaska Pacific University. “The moment there is liquid water on the snow, the algae start growing.”

Pink snow is a perfectly natural phenomenon, but in an age of disappearing glaciers (冰川), it is also problematic. Last year, scientists discovered that the algae turned the snow surface dark, reducing the amount of sunlight reflected by some glaciers in Scandinavia—and increasing the amount of sunlight absorbed—by 30%. The result, as Dial and his colleagues demonstrated in this month’s issue of Nature Geoscience, is faster melting. As in other parts of the warming planet—particularly the Arctic, where scientists fear that melting permafrost (永冻土层) may lead to further climatic changes. Ice sheets are already being darkened by dust and ash, which makes the process of melting faster and provides nutrients for algae growth. As the organisms multiply, they melt even more snow, which allows them to increase in their population again. “It spreads more rapidly than people realize, once it gets established,” Dial said.

Snow algae need snow; when that’s gone, which seems to be the direction of things, the snow algae will go, too. Before the snow algae disappear, though, and while there’s still some glacier left, it’s entirely possible that the last snow we’ll see on Earth will be pink or even red, a wound on Earth.

1. What causes the color of pink snow?

A．The migration that involves the algae and other plants.

B．The flowing streams that the algae travel through.

C．The algae that turn red at the snow’s surface.

D．The sunlight that directly reflects on the algae.

2. How does astaxanthin benefit the algae according to Paragraph 2?

A．It absorbs UV light to cool down the algae.	B．It prevents the algae from photosynthesizing.
C．It colors the algae for the purpose of decoration.	D．It helps protect the algae from the sun.

3. What is the problem associated with pink snow mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．It increases the reflection of sunlight.	B．It speeds up the melting of glaciers.
C．It leads to a decrease in algae populations.	D．It reduces the amount of liquid water available.

4. According to the passage, what concern do scientists have regarding the Arctic region?

A．The rapid melting of glaciers may lead to an increase in permafrost.

B．The darkening of ice sheets may slow down the process of melting.

C．The warming climate may result in the extinction of algae in the region.

D．Darkening ice sheets and multiplied algae may worsen climate change.

5. What is the author’s attitude towards pink snow in the passage?

A．Concerned.

B．Indifferent.

C．Neutral.

D．Optimistic.

3 . The effects of “weird weather” were already being felt in the 1960s, but scientists linking fossil fuels with climate change were dismissed as prophets of doom (末日预言家).

In August 1974, the ClA produced a study on “climatological research as it is related to intelligence (情报) problems”. The diagnosis was dramatic. It warned of the emergence of a new era of weird weather, leading to political unrest and mass migration (which, in turn, would cause more unrest).

The new era the agency imagined wasn’t necessarily one of hotter temperatures; the CIA had heard from scientists warning of global cooling as well as warming. But the direction in which the temperature was changing wasn’t their immediate concern; it was the political impact. They knew that the so-called “little ice age”, a series of cold snaps between, roughly, 1350 and 1850, had brought not only drought and famine, but also war.

“The climate change began in 1960,” the report’s first page informs us, “but no one, including the climatologists, recognised it.” Crop failures in the Soviet Union and India in the early 1960s had been attributed to standard unlucky weather. The US shipped grain to India and the Soviets killed off livestock to eat . But, the report argued, the world ignored this warning, as the global population continued to grow and states made massive investments in energy, technology and medicine.

Meanwhile, the weird weather rolled on, shifting to a collection of west African countries just below the Sahara. People in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad “became the first victims of the climate change”, the report argued, but their suffering was masked by other struggles or the richer parts of the world simply weren’t paying attention.

As the effects of climate change started to spread to other parts of the world, the early 1970s saw report s of droughts, crop failures and floods from Myanmar, Pakistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Costa Rica, Honduras, Japan, Manila, Ecuador, USSR, China, India and the US.

1. The climatological research by CIA showed that ______.

A．global cooling had more evidence than warming

B．political impact was more unpredictable than climate

C．climate change could cause conflicts between countries

D．historical ice age had an impact on future weather

2. Why did the world ignore climate change warnings in the 1960s?

A．Because climatologists lacked equipment for observation.

B．Because crop failures attracted the world’s attention.

C．Because climate change was a national secret e of Soviet Union.

D．Because the world was busy developing economy and technology.

3. How did the world respond to the suffering of the first victims of climate change?

A．The US provided them with grain to reduce hunger.

B．The rich countries failed to notice their struggle.

C．The world praised their courage in the face of weird weather.

D．The African people migrated to the area near Sahara.

4. Throughout 1960s and the 1970s, climate warnings were ______.

A．unclear and confusing	B．widespread and neglected
C．rare and disastrous	D．frequent and insignificant

5. What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To inform people of the ignored signs of climate changes.

B．To call on people to protect the environment.

C．To explain why climate changes have effects on politics.

D．To tell people how to prevent weird weather.

10 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. How much snowfall is expected over the weekend altogether?

A．20 inches.

B．12 inches.

C．8 inches.

2. What advice have the police issued?

A．To run hot water regularly.

B．To travel only if it is essential.

C．To prepare enough supplies for a week.

3. What day of the week will have the lowest temperature?

A．Sunday.

B．Saturday.

C．Friday.

4. How can people get more information about the snowstorm?

A．By going online.

B．By calling the police.

C．By contacting the speaker.