1 . Biologists are becoming more and more concerned that global climate change will probably reduce biodiversity. Some biologists estimate that 35% of animals and plants could become extinct in the wild by 2050 due to global climate change. Before the industrial revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rarely climbed above 280 ppm; But during the 2014 calendar year, carbon dioxide levels ascended to 402 ppm.
In the fall of 2014, the National Audubon Society released a report entitled Birds and Climate Change. It is a comprehensive, first-of-its kind study that predicts how climate change could affect the ranges of 588 North American birds. Of the 588 North American bird species, more than half are likely to be in trouble. The National Audubon Society’s models indicate that 314 species will lose more than 50 percent of their current climatic range by 2080. Of the 314 species at risk from global warming, 126 of them are classified as climate endangered. These birds are projected to lose more than 50 percent of their current range by 2050. The other 188 species are classified as climate threatened and expected to lose more than 50 percent of their current range by 2080 if global warming continues at its current pace.
In January 2020, two widely reported studies were carried out to show the dramatic impact of climate disruption on our wildlife and fisheries along the California coast. The first study showed that from 2014 to 2016, over a million common murres from Alaska through California died as a result of a marine heat wave. The second study shows that acid rainfall caused by carbon emissions is harming shell-building animals in the ocean. The study found that larval Dungeness crabs’ shells suffer damage in west coast seawater, putting at risk the most profitable fishery in California and a beloved local seafood.
These newly documented impacts provide more evidence that we are running out of time to take action by drastically reducing our use of fossil fuels in order to slow the rate of climate disruption and to give birds and other animals more time to adapt.
Visit our How You Can Help Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions page to learn what you can do to help protect these species at risk from climate disruption.
1. What does “ascended” underlined in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Reduced. | B．Rose. |
| C．Fell. | D．Appeared. |
| A．The report on the human society. |
| B．The reason of global warming. |
| C．The disappearance of the birds. |
| D．The influence of climate change. |
| A．They both had a big effect on humans. |
| B．Many murres were killed by heat wave. |
| C．Crabs’ shells are local people’s favorite. |
| D．Acid rain caused most carbon emission. |
| A．A science website. | B．An art magazine. |
| C．A history book. | D．A diet newspaper. |
1. What are the speakers talking about?
| A．Sea power. | B．Wind power. | C．Solar power. |
| A．Summer. | B．Autumn. | C．Winter. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Puzzled. | C．Doubtful. |
3 . Burning coal for energy adds planet-warning carbon dioxide (CO2) to Earth’s atmosphere. As the planet heats up, experts warn that simply cutting greenhouse gas emissions (排放) will not be enough to avoid global warming. CO2 must also be removed from the atmosphere.
Existing experimental machines that pull CO2 directly from the air are too expensive to be widely used. But a new effective technology to remove CO2 already exists. It is not expensive and easy. It is forests. Planting trees and watching forests are effective ways to clean the air.
Forests used to cover large areas of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. In the state of West Virginia, coal mining let the land there bare, without trees. Over the years, coal mining and cutting forests took over 90 percent of the red spruce (云杉) forests.
Chris Barton works for the University of Kentucky. He started a group called Green Forests Work, aiming to put trees back on the roughly 400,000 hectares of land.
However, Barton explains the land has problems. “If you planted trees on these places, they just didn’t grow. The ground was too hard. Water didn’t infiltrate (渗透). The trees can’t root. Oxygen can’t circulate in those environments.” Using heavy equipment, workers tear the ground. In this way, the trees put down roots.
Barton says not everyone believes the solution is a good idea. “We’ve had a lot of doubtful look at us twice from people. But after we do it, there’s no question that it was the right thing to do.” And it has worked. Forests are coming back to the grounds.
Scientists say that, in West Virginia alone, restoring red spruce forests to the area could send what is equal to 56 million barrels (桶) of oil into the ground. But it will take time — a long time. Around the world, experts say, nature offers powerful tools to fight climate change. But patience is needed. Nature works, but slowly, in its own time.
1. What is the economical and effective way to remove CO2 from the air?| A．Inventing new and powerful machines. |
| B．Cutting greenhouse gas emissions. |
| C．Making use of natural gases instead of coal |
| D．Planting trees and protecting forests. |
| A．Destroy. | B．Repair. | C．Cry. | D．Cover. |
| A．Oxygen is not enough for trees to grow there. |
| B．Too many rocks had made it hard to plant trees. |
| C．Coal mining has spoiled the land through years. |
| D．There is no water for trees to grow there. |
| A．a painful process | B．a slow process |
| C．a creative process | D．a learning process |
4 . About 97% of the world’s water is salty and is found in our oceans and seas. But, as we can’t drink sea water, how can it be important?
Every part of our seas and oceans contains an amazing number of animals and fish that live at different ocean depths. Most of the different species of animals and fish depend on simple plants for their food. These simple plants called algae (海藻) drift near the surface of the ocean and use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen. In fact, algae produce over half of the oxygen people breathe. How important sea water is!
Each plant or animal in our seas and oceans is an important link in a food chain. The algae are eaten in large amounts by microscopic animals, which are in tur consumed by larger animals. These food chains are delicately (微妙地) balanced.
The bad news about the food chains in the oceans is that they are under threat because of man. People once thought that the oceans were so big that it didn’t matter if we dumped rubbish into them or caught huge quantities of fish and whales for food. But we now know this is not true and fish stocks in the oceans have started to drop.
Thankfully, the world is taking steps to protect the future of our oceans by introducing international agreements to protect marine habitats. Most counties have introduced fishing restrictions (限制) to protect fish stocks in the oceans and new techniques are being pioneered to cope with pollution. Finally, the importance of protecting oceans is being made known to more people. This is just the beginning of a long process to protect the oceans for our future. We depend on the oceans for fish which are an important part of the human diet. How important sea water is!
1. From the passage, we learn that _________.| A．most fish and sea animals live at the surface of the seas |
| B．it is very difficult to break the balance of a food chain |
| C．over-fishing has caused the decrease in fish stock |
| D．it won’t be long before the problems concerning oceans will be solved |
| A．处理 | B．保护 | C．增加 | D．检验 |
| A．The use of international agreements. |
| B．Forbidding fishing to protect fish socks. |
| C．The use of new techniques. |
| D．Raising people’s awareness of the need to protect oceans. |
| A．The Importance of Sea Water |
| B．Life in the Oceans |
| C．How to Protect Food Chains |
| D．How to Deal with Seawater Pollution |
5 . Even as we humans keep polluting the world. Nature somehow keeps finding a way to help correct our mistakes. First, there is a molecule(分子)that helps reduce global warming. Now, a team of Yale students may have discovered something equally amazing — plastic eating fungi(真菌).
Pestalotiopsis microspora(微孢子)is the only known fungus to be able to survive only on plastic. The plastic is so hard that it takes thousands of years to break down on its own.
The best part is that these fungi can do the job even in an oxygenless environment, which means that it could work perfectly even at the bottom of a landfill.
The discovery was the result of an effort between three Yale students who were part of the Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory Program, allowing a selected group of students to visit Ecuador’s rainforest and seek out fungi and bacteria that live inside plants without harming them, which could hold medical or scientific promise. The samples are then brought back to the University’s lab where they do wide testing to see if they are of any practical or scientific use.
In 2008, a student named Pria Anand gathered specimens for one purpose — to find a microbe that could eat plastic. That’s when she came across the Pestalotiopsis microspora. Though she did show the unbelievable characteristics of the fungi, she was unable to get the desired results by the time she graduated, in 2010.
Luckily for her Jonathan Russell, a 2011 graduating student, picked up right where she had left off. By combining her work with research performed by another of Pria’s classmates, Jeffery Huang, he was able to separate the enzyme(酶)in the fungus that is the most effective in breaking down plastic.
Hopefully, experts will take it up from here and make the project a reality and help reduce plastic!
1. What is the main character of Pestaltiopsis microspora?| A．It helps reduce global warming. |
| B．It needs less oxygen to produce. |
| C．It can break down plastic. |
| D．It can be buried in a landfill. |
| A．Jonathan continued to study what Pria failed |
| B．Jonathan drove to pick up Pria when she got off |
| C．Jonathan came across Pria at an unexpected place |
| D．Jonathan invited Pria to go on with her research |
| A．There are some kind of fungi that can eat plastic. |
| B．These fungi can only work in an oxygen environment. |
| C．The discovery was made by chance. |
| D．A group of students made the discovery that fungi can break down plastic. |
| A．Fungi Love Plastic |
| B．Plastic Is Eaten by Fungi |
| C．Fungi Are Eaten by Plastic |
| D．Fungi Are Hidden in Plastic |
