(安徽省马鞍山二中2009届高三第四次模拟考试C篇)

Scientists say California's special landscapes are changing gradually as the world gets warmer. Now, with a new generation of computer models, they're trying to make clear what those changes will be: Less snow?  More wildfires?  Fewer animals?

The new computer models allow scientists to divide the state into much smaller regions than ever before------just thirty-six square miles. These regional models give scientists a way of draping climate over California's complex landscape.     

Scientists want to understand how warming will affect the state's people, its economy, and the thousands of species that only live in California. The State's Climate Action Team has organized a meeting last month in Los Angeles on the economic effects of these targets.

California started the only state-run climate research program three years ago and is spending about$5 million a year on it. The goal of the research is to limit the impact of such changes.                                                                                                                             

California is part of an internationally recognized "hot spot" of biodiversity that extends north across the Oregon border and south into Baja California. It's home to 4,426 species of plants, nearly half of which are found nowhere else.

What happens in California could have broad influence. If California were a nation, it would be the fifth-biggest economy in the world and the 12th-biggest generator of greenhouse gases.     

Scientists are also looking beyond the greenhouse effect. For instance, urban development warms climate; cities give off more heat than natural areas. Cities also absorb more heat from the sun. This phenomenon is known as the "urban heat island effect". 

65. The writer intends to tell readers        .

A. studies on the future wildlife in California by computer

      B. predicting the future economy of California caused by getting warmer

      C. a programme to study the future of California carried by the California government

      D. research on the future effect on California caused by getting warmer by high technology

66. The underlined word “generator” in the 6th paragraph probably has the same meaning as   .

A. producer                  B. destroyer                 C. sufferer               D.supporter

67. Which of the following statements about “urban heat island effect” phenomena is wrong? .

A. cities absorb more heat from the sun

B. cities give off more heat than natural areas

C. warming affects plants and animals

D. urban development warms climate

68. There are more than two thousand species of plants      .

A. that exist only in this area                 B. that will be harmed by the changing weather

C. that will survive in this area            D. that will die out in future