1 . It is quite clear to me, based on my research, that tropical (热带的) insects rather than polar bears could be among the first species to become extinct as a result of global warming.

Insects in the tropics are already living at the limit of their temperature range and any further increases could quickly kill them off. This would be a major disaster for tropical habitats, which rely on insects for everything from pollination (授粉) to waste disposal (处理). We have found that a rise in average temperatures in the tropics of just 1℃ or 2℃ could be enough to bring about a significant and harmful effect on the survival of a wide variety of important insects. Fitness levels most likely decline quickly and there may not be much we can do about it.

Many tropical species can only accept a narrow range of temperatures because the climate they experience is pretty steady throughout the year. Now our study shows that they will be harmed by rising temperatures more than species in cold climates. Unfortunately, the tropics also hold the large majority of species on the planet.

We used daily and monthly global temperatures from the 50-year period between 1950 and 2000 and compared them against data showing the “fitness levels” of different species. “Fitness” was determined by indicators such as population growth rates and physical performance for different creatures.

We found that even moving into the shade did not help the insects. The direct effects of climate change on the organisms (生物体) we studied appear to depend a lot more on the organisms’ flexibility than on the amount of warming in the area where they lived.

As well as the danger for insects, the research confirms that there will be other consequences of global warming that could also have a serious impact on tropical regions, particularly on food crops. Our research focused only on the impact of changes in temperature, but warming also will change rainfall patterns. These changes could be more important for many tropical organisms, such as plants, but they are harder to predict.

1. What does the underlined word “This” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Global warming.	B．Living in the tropics.
C．Killing polar bears off.	D．Insects becoming extinct.

2. Why are tropical species more likely harmed by climate change?

A．The fitness of crops they feed on is declining.

B．They can hardly stand up to temperature changes.

C．Their living environment has been greatly damaged.

D．The amount of warming is not steady in the tropics.

3. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The significance of the research.

B．The challenge facing the researchers.

C．Predictions about the impacts of global warming.

D．Suggestions on how to preserve tropical regions.

4. What is the main purpose of this text?

A．To solve a problem.	B．To give practical advice.
C．To report a coming event.	D．To present a research result.

2 . Solutions to Climate Change

There are personal lifestyle changes that you can make and that, to some extent, can help reduce your carbon impact. Not all are right for everybody. But applying just a few of them could make a difference.

Move closer to work.

Transportation is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions.     1     One way to dramatically cut transportation fuel needs is to move closer to work, use mass transportation, or switch to walking, cycling or some other modes of transport that does not require anything other than human energy.

Consume less.

    2     Whether by quitting an automobile or employing a reusable grocery sack, cutting back on consumption results in fewer fossil fuels being burned to extract, produce and ship products around the globe.

    3    

A potentially simpler and even bigger effect can be produced by doing more with less. Citizens of many developed countries are energy-wasters, whether by speeding in a gas-wasting vehicle or leaving the lights on when not in a room. Similarly, employing more efficient refrigerators, air conditioners and other appliances can cut electricity bills.     4     You can turn the lights or your computers off when you leave the office.

Stop cutting down trees.

When purchasing wood products, such as furniture or flooring, buy used goods or, failing that, wood proved officially to have been sustainable harvested. The Amazon rainforest and other forests are more than the lung of the earth.     5    

A．Be energy efficient.

B．Use few electrical appliances.

C．But it doesn’t have to be that way.

D．Such efforts can also be usefully employed at work.

E．They may also be humans’ short-term hope for limiting climate change.

F．The easiest way to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions is simply to buy less stuff.

G．Citizens spend more money on electricity to power devices when they’re off than when they’re on.

3 . As we sip our coffee and read the daily headlines, climate changes can seem like a distant threat. But travel a few thousands miles to the source of your caffeine fix, and the threat is all too real.

The coffee farmers are now seeing violent downpours that drown their plants in Mexico, where the climate used to be stable and mild, but the temperature now see-saws between extreme cold and heat, which greatly affects their harvest. Unfortunately, farmers across South America, Asia and Africa are also watching coffee plants decrease as droughts and downpours attack their crops as a result of global warming. The consequences of all this could soon work their way through the pipeline to your local coffee shop.

The problem arises, in part, from refinement (改进) of our taste. Two main breeds of commercial coffee Arabica and Robusta gain special reputation. The former is by far the world’s favourite, accounting for about 70% of the coffee we drink. However, the Arabica plants have been bred from a very small stock taken from the mountains of Ethiopia-giving it very little genetic diversity and making it particularly difficult to adapt to climate change. Besides, the plant grows best between a very narrow range of relatively mild temperatures (18 to 22℃ ) and needs gentle, regular rainfall. The delicate Arabica plants just can’t cope with the new and unpredictable conditions that come with global warming.

All of these paint a depressing picture for the future. Researchers predict that the land suited to farming Arabica could drop by as much as 50% by 2050. Classic coffee-producing region, such as Vietnam, India and most of Central America, will be hit particularly hard. Some of the farmers feel that the subject has almost become taboo, “We talk very little about climate. We already know how it is—and that there is nothing we can do.”

1. What does the author imply at the beginning?

A．The origin of coffee is at risk.

B．Coffee consumers like reading newspaper.

C．The origin of coffee is visited by consumers.

D．Coffee consumers do care about the weather very much.

2. What do we know about coffee planters?

A．They become victims of extreme weather.

B．Those in Mexico suffer the greatest loss.

C．Some of them take measures to cut the losses.

D．They try to meet the market demand for coffee.

3. What is the disadvantage of Arabica?

A．Its market share is low.

B．It can only be planted in Etiopia.

C．It has disease-causing genes.

D．It has high demands for environment.

4. The underlined word “taboo” in the last paragraph refers to something that is ________.

A．easily understood.	B．rarely mentioned.
C．hardly avoided.	D．heatedly discussed.