A California family drives a car that could help protect the environment. When Jon and Sandy go to the store or to their daughters’ soccer games, they drive in high-tech style. They drive a $1 million, fuel-cell-powered car. It may be the world’s most expensive car and one of the most environmentally friendly cars. The FCX is the first fuel-cell-powered car to be used by a family anywhere in the world. The FCX uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Car makers have been working to develop vehicles that are better for the environment. They are developing cars that use fuel other than gasoline. And then what is fuel cell technology? Fuel cell technology works by changing the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water. This process produces electricity, and water vapor which comes out of the exhaust pipe. Most cars release dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Many scientists say these gases are major contributors to global warming. “The FCX is driven just like any other vehicle on the road, but without the gases which pollute the environment,” scientists say. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 1800s, but scientists have yet been to perfect it. They say it may take years before the technology is ready for widespread use. Another earth-friendly car is already on the market. Hybrid cars use both gasoline and an electric motor. They are becoming more popular with customers because they cut pollution and improve fuel efficiency.
46. Which of the following about the FCX is not true?
A. It may be the most expensive car in the world.
B. It is one of the most environmentally friendly cars.
C. It releases dangerous gases to pollute the air.
D. It uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel other than gasoline.
47. According to the passage, what is the major cause for global warming?
A. Gases from FCX.                           B. Water vapor from cars.
C. Hydrogen and oxygen.            D. Gases from cars.
48. From the passage, we know that fuel cell technology ______.
A. works by water                       B. has a history for over two hundred years
C. works by electricity                 D. has been widely used since the 1800s
49. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. future cars will be environmentally friendly
B. there will be no gasoline for cars
C. people can’t afford to buy cars in the future
D. global warming has been stopped
50. Hybrid cars are popular because ______.
A. they are the fuel-cell-powered cars
B. they are energy-saving and cut pollution
C. they are perfect cars in the world
D. they produce no gases to pollute the environment

读写任务(共1小题；满分25分)

阅读下面的短文，然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。

In the atmosphere, carbon dioxide acts rather like a one-way mirror —— the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun’s rays to enter but prevents the heat from escaping.

According to a weather expert’s prediction, the atmosphere will be 3℃ warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt, thus raising sea level several metres and severely flooding coastal cities. Also, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly resulting in an alteration of earth's chief food-growing zones.

In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming, in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.

Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.

However, most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. Scientists conclude, therefore, that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by man. The question is: Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?

【写作内容】

1.以约30个词概括短文的要点；

2. 然后以约120个词就“Solutions of slowing climate change”为主题写一篇短文，包括如下要点：

你认为地球会不会持续变暖；

其原因是什么以及人类在其中的作用；

谈谈你的建议。

【写作要求】

你可以使用实例或者其他论述方法支持你的观点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不得直接引用阅读材料中的句子。

字迹清楚，书写工整。

【评分标准】  概括准确，语言规范，内容合适，篇章连贯。

E
In the atmosphere．carbon dioxide．acts rather like a one-way mirror or the glass in the roof of a greenhouse which allows the sun’s rays to enter but prevents the heat from escaping．
According to a weather expert’s prediction，the atmosphere will be 3°C warmer in the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate．If this warming up took place，the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt, thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities．
Also，the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere，possibly resulting in an alteration of the earth’s chief food growing zones．
In the past，concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet．But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic，which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming，in other words，by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty  years from the burning of fuels．
Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing．The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place．This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth．
However, most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere，where temperatures seem to be falling．Scientists conclude，therefore，that up to now natural influences on the weather have gone beyond those caused by man．The question is：Which natural cause has most effect on the weather?  
One possibility is the variable behavior of the sun．Astronomers at one research station have studied the hot spots and ‘cold’ spots (that is，the relatively less hot spots)on the sun．As the sun rotates，every 27．5 days，it presents hotter or colder faces to the earth，and different aspects to different parts of the earth．This seems to have a considerable effect on the distribution of the earth’s atmospheric pressure，and consequently on wind circulation．The sun is also changeable over a long term：its heat output goes up and down in cycles，the latest trend being downward．
Scientists are now finding shared relation between models of solar weather interaction and the actual climate over many thousands of years，including the last Ice Age．The problem is that
the models are predicting that the world should be entering a new Ice Age and it is not．One way of solving this theoretical difficulty is to assume a delay of thousands of years while the solar effects overcome the inertia(惰性)of the earth’s climate．If this is right，the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful opposed balance to the sun’s fading heat．
72．It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would ______．
A．mean a warming-up in the Arctic
B．raise the temperature of the earth’s surface
C．prevent the sun’s rays from reaching the earth’s surface
D．explain the cause of great changes in the climate in the northern hemisphere
73．Although the fuel consumption is greater in the northern hemisphere, temperatures there
seem to be falling．This is _______．
A．mainly because the levels of carbon dioxide are rising
B．partly due to changes in the output of solar energy
C．possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting  
D．only due to the effect of the inertia of the earth’s climate
74．On the basis of their models , scientists are of the opinion that  ________
A．the climate of the world should be becoming cooler
B．the new Ice Age will be delayed by the greenhouse effect
C．the man．made warming effect helps to increase the solar effects  
D．it will take thousands of years for the inertia of the earth’s climate to take effect
75．If the assumption about the delay of a new Ice Age is correct ,  _________     
A．ice would soon cover the northern hemisphere
B．the greenhouse effect could work in favor of the earth
C．the best way to overcome the cooling effect would be to bum more fuels
D．the increased levels of carbon dioxide could warm up the earth even more quickly

“People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help deal with climate change,” the world’s leading authority on global warming has told The Observer.

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.

Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel’s chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions (排放) and other environmental problems associated with raising cattle and other animals. “It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport,” he said.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are produced during the production. For example, ruminants (反刍动物), particularly cows, give off a gas called methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than CO₂.

Pachauri can expect some opposite responses from the food industry to his advice, though last night he was given unexpected support by Masterchef presenter and restaurateur John Torode. “I have a little bit and enjoy it,” said Torode. “Too much for any person is bad. But there’s a bigger issue here: where the meat comes from. If we all bought British and stopped buying imported food, we’d save a huge amount of carbon emissions.”

Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said government could help educate people about the benefits of eating less meat, but it should not regulate. “Eating less meat would help, there’s no question about that,” Watson said.

However, Chris Lamb, head of marketing for pig industry group BPEX, said the meat industry had been unfairly targeted and was working hard to find out which activities had the biggest environmental impact and reduce them. “Some ideas were contradictory,” he said. “For example, one solution to emissions from cattle and other animals was to keep them indoors, but this would damage animal welfare. Climate change is a very young science and our view is there are a lot of simple solutions being proposed.”

1.What is directly related to global warming?

2.Who holds a view opposite to the others’ in the passage?

3.It is implied in the passage that _____.

4. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A California family drives a car that could help protect the environment. When Jon and Sandy go to the store or to their daughters’ soccer games, they drive in high-tech style. They drive a $1 million, fuel-cell-powered car. It may be the world’s most expensive car and one of the most environmentally friendly cars. The FCX is the first fuel-cell-powered car to be used by a family anywhere in the world. The FCX uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Car makers have been working to develop vehicles that are better for the environment. They are developing cars that use fuel other than gasoline. And then what is fuel cell technology? Fuel cell technology works by changing the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water. This process produces electricity, and water vapor which comes out of the exhaust pipe. Most cars release dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Many scientists say these gases are major contributors to global warming. “The FCX is driven just like any other vehicle on the road, but without the gases which pollute the environment,” scientists say. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 1800s, but scientists have yet been to perfect it. They say it may take years before the technology is ready for widespread use. Another earth-friendly car is already on the market. Hybrid cars use both gasoline and an electric motor. They are becoming more popular with customers because they cut pollution and improve fuel efficiency.
【小题1】Which of the following about the FCX is not true?