Question

You thought the Dark Ages are well behind us? Think again. As we speak, the world is getting darker. Without sunlight, oxygen (氧气) levels will drop, and there won’t be enough food. In the end, we’ll die a horrible death. Probably, we will have forgotten what kind of a sunny planet Earth once was.

It is the thick clouds that are causing all the trouble. They bounce back (弹回) the sunlight into space, preventing it from reaching the Earth’s surface and its people. The result: darkness, and cold. So, who put those clouds up there in the first place? Well, blame (归咎于) yourself: you did. You guessed it: it’s those humans and their pollution again.

Already, the Earth is a bit darker than it should have been. An agricultural biologist (农业生物学家), Gerald Stanhill, first discovered Global (全球的) Dimming in Israel in the 1980s. The sun shines about 22 percent less in Israel than it did in the 1950s. It is as if someone is slowly turning off the lights! In fact, global dimming may have made its first victims (受害者) already. In the 1980s, about a million Africans in the Sahel died during a massive drought (大面积干旱). It was global dimming’s doing: the sun simply didn’t shine hard enough to ‘power up’ the system that should have given the Sahel its rainy season.

But isn’t the world getting warmer, instead of colder? How about global warming? Many facts show that the world is indeed getting warmer. But it’s also getting darker. In fact, many scientists believe that global dimming puts the brakes on the warming of our planet. Without global dimming, global warming would be much, much worse! And there’s no telling which will win in the end, heat or cold.

So, what do you prefer? Would you like to get roasted, or would you rather die in the dark? Hmm...Perhaps it’s a better idea to cut down a little on both pollution and greenhouse gases, after all.　

54. Why is the world getting darker?

A. Because oxygen levels on the earth are dropping quickly.

B. Because the thick clouds stop the sunlight reaching the earth.

C. Because the thick clouds are covering a large area of the earth.

D. Because the earth is becoming colder and colder.

55. What does the phrase “puts the brakes on” in Para. 4 probably mean?

A. puts out　　　 　　　　　　 B. breaks down　　 C. slows down　　 D. catches up with　　

56. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A. The earth used to be sunnier and warmer.

B. We are responsible for global dimming.

C. Africa suffers most from global dimming.

D. Global warming is better than global dimming.

Answer 1

BCB