1. Which season is it now?
| A．Summer. | B．Fall. | C．Winter. |
| A．The northeast coast. | B．The northwest coast. | C．The southwest coast. |
| A．Rain. | B．Snow | C．Wind. |
| A．In the west of Ireland. |
| B．In the north of Scotland. |
| C．In the south of America. |
1. What is the weather like in the Southern states?
| A．Rainy. | B．Snowy. | C．Sunny. |
| A．Florida. | B．Arizona. | C．Texas. |
| A．The weather in the USA is very pleasant now. |
| B．The weather conditions are very poor in the USA. |
| C．The weather conditions vary greatly in the USA. |
1. What was the weather like over the last weekend?
| A．Rainy. | B．Hot. | C．Windy. |
| A．In the morning. | B．Around lunch time. | C．In the late afternoon. |
| A．Early warning of fire in the city center. |
| B．Notes about traveling in the countryside. |
| C．Bad news for people living in the forest area. |
4 . California’s snowpack is more than two-and-a-half times larger than average (平均水平) right now, according to the state’s Department of Water Resources. As the weather gets warmer, it’s going to melt (融化). Scientists say there’s no question we need the snow.
“The melting of snow has always been important every single year in California,” said scientist Dr. Pat Abbott.
This comes as the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows almost two-thirds of the state is not experiencing drought (干旱), a huge improvement over the past few months. Unluckily, the snowpack can’t make certain that we’ll stay that way.
“Drought is part of California,” said Dr. Abbott. “We’ve had a temporary respite. That doesn’t mean it has gone away completely. It will be back sooner than we would like.”
The snow can be a valuable protection against wildfires, but only if it melts slowly. “Plants stay healthy. They have taken in enough water and are less likely to catch on fire for a longer time,” said Dr. Abbott. “If it becomes too hot, say in early June, and all that snow is melted and gone, the plants don’t get more water and start drying out. By the time we get to the end of the summer, it’s easier for them to catch fire. The bigger the fires are, the greater the challenge is for our firefighters.”
A quick melt can also flood places near the Sierra Nevada (a mountain range in eastern California) that got more rain than they could deal with this winter. That includes places like Tulare Lake (in the Central Valley of California), which was dry for years until this winter. Now, it’s more than 100 square miles in size and flooding communities around it.
The area is expecting even more flooding when the snowpack melts. But Dr. Abbott says floods like this are a necessary risk for water the state has needed for years. “The snow we’ve gotten this winter is highly positive,” said Dr. Abbott. “On the other side, nothing is ever 100%.” Dr. Abbott says the snow is also helping to fill Northern California’s man-made lake, which helps provide water we need.
1. What do the underlined words “temporary respite” in paragraph 4 mean?| A．Close look. | B．Short break. | C．Clear goal. | D．Long history. |
| A．The snow’s melting speed matters. |
| B．It is costly to reduce the risk of wildfires. |
| C．Some plants died because it was too dry. |
| D．Plants will be hurt if the snow melts slowly. |
| A．It calls for more attention. |
| B．It does good to California. |
| C．It may cause unnecessary worries. |
| D．It will cause danger in the long run. |
| A．California’s snowpack: a wonderful view |
| B．Snowpack in California: a record snowfall |
| C．Snowpack in California: advantages and risks |
| D．California’s snowpack: the past and the present |
1. What will the weather be like tonight?
| A．Calm. | B．Windy. | C．Cold. |
| A．Staying at home. | B．Going shopping. | C．Taking a walk. |
| A．By 5: 00 this afternoon. | B．By 10: 00 this evening. | C．By 7: 00 tomorrow morning. |
1. Where are the passengers?
| A．On a bus. | B．On a plane. | C．On a train. |
| A．5:00 am. | B．5:00 pm. | C．6:00 pm. |
| A．Throwing rubbish everywhere. |
| B．Talking loudly. |
| C．Drinking wine. |
| A．More snow. | B．Outdoor activities. | C．Holiday celebrations. |
1. What will the weather be like in the afternoon?
| A．Bright. | B．Rainy. | C．Cloudy. |
| A．The height of their nests. | B．The shape of their nests. | C．The way in which they fly. |
| A．To discuss how to take up farming. |
| B．To persuade the woman to study the weather. |
| C．To show where the farmer learned weather prediction. |
| A．Wandering around. | B．Lying down. | C．Eating grass carelessly. |
1. When will the first storm arrive?
| A．Today. | B．This weekend. | C．Next week. |
| A．New York City. | B．Saint Paul. | C．Boston. |
| A．People traveling on foot. |
| B．People driving on the road. |
| C．People celebrating by the water. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Snowy. | C．Windy. |
10 . Perhaps you know northern Americans still maintain the habit of celebrating Groundhog Day when a large groundhog (土拨鼠) checks to see its shadow on February 2 and helps to predict when winter will end. But have you ever heard about how a mountain town in North Carolina uses a caterpillar (毛毛虫) known as the Woolly Worm to make similar predictions?
According to the folklore (民间传说), the amount of black on the woolly worm in autumn predicts the severity of the upcoming winter. The longer the woolly worm’s black bands (带) are, the longer, colder, snowier, and more severe the winter will be. Similarly, a wider middle brown band is a sign of a milder upcoming winter. The position of the longest dark bands supposedly indicates which part of winter will be coldest or hardest. If the head end of the caterpillar is dark, the beginning of winter will be severe. If the tail end is dark, the end of winter will be cold. In addition, the caterpillar has 13 segments (昆虫的节/段) to its body, which traditional forecasters say correspond to the 13 weeks of winter.
Scientific studies on worm forecasting are rare. American Museum of Natural History entomologist Howard Curran conducted a small trial in 1948. Having heard about the caterpillar folklore, Curran headed to Bear Mountain State Park to collect caterpillars each fall for eight years. He found that if the worms had brown markings on more than a third of their body, winters tended to be milder.
Most scientists view the folklore of caterpillar predictions as just that, folklore. “It’s a wonderful story, but I do think it was a playful trial,” says Joe Boggs, an entomologist at Ohio State University Extension who has studied woolly worms. “Curran was a real scientist. He had tons of papers published, but he never published this one — probably because he knew it wouldn’t stand up to peer review.”
Mike Peters, an entomologist at the University of Massachusetts, doesn’t disagree, but he says there could be a link between the band of a caterpillar and the severity of winter. Peters suggests that the timing of their growth and environmental conditions, such as temperature, moisture levels, and food sources, can impact the appearance of woolly worms, including their size, coloration, and band patterns. By analyzing these characteristics, researchers can potentially infer information about the weather conditions. “The band does say something about a heavy winter,” he says. “The only thing is that it’s telling you about the previous year.”
1. How do people predict the weather through caterpillars?| A．By analyzing their living habits. |
| B．By measuring the change of their size. |
| C．By calculating the number of their segments. |
| D．By studying color bands on their bodies. |
| A．His personal observations. |
| B．An investigation on the locals. |
| C．Studies by previous scientists. |
| D．Statistics collected by the museum. |
| A．Positive. | B．Indifferent. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．The caterpillar forecasting needs long-term data to support it. |
| B．The color band of caterpillars can be a mirror of past weather. |
| C．The cold environment has a great impact on caterpillars’ growth. |
| D．The caterpillar can help predict the severity of winter accurately. |
