63．Why does Steger NOT know what they will see during their trip?

A. Because it will be the first time for him to go that far north.

B. Because the sea ice in that region should still be frozen.

C. Because the geography there has changed due to warmer temperatures.

D. Because they will go there by boat instead of by sledge.

答案　 60.B　 61.D　 62.A　 63.C

Passage 7

(天水市一中2006级2008-2009学年第二学期第四次考试题D篇)

The North and South poles are remote and freezing places that receive lots of animal visitors but few human tourists.

But even if you never plan to visit the polar bears in the north or penguins in the south, now is a perfect time to start thinking about them. That’s because 2007 marks the beginning of the International Polar Year (IPY), a two-year-old activity of science projects that aim to show how important the poles are to the health of our planet. During the IPY, which will last until March 2009, thousands of researchers from more than 60 countries will conduct more than 200 projects and expeditions(远征) to both the top and bottom of the world.

In recent years, the polar regions have begun to change severely as a result of global warming. Temperatures there are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth. As a result, the ice and snow in these regions are melting(融化) at record-setting rates. One result is that sea levels are rising around the world, putting animals and people at risk.

Only by studying the poles, say IPY researchers, can we find ways to protect them and ourselves.

Both the Arctic and the Antarctic are cold and remote, but the two regions have important differences. For one thing, the Arctic is an ice-covered ocean surrounded by land. The Antarctic, on the other hand, is a continent of ice-covered land surrounded by water.

Most polar studies have focused on the Arctic, and that is where scientists have observed the most remarkable changes in the ice. During a typical year, Arctic ice expands(扩大) in the winter and shrinks(缩小) in the summer. But recently, the amount of ice covering the ocean has been steadily dropping in both seasons.

62．Which of the following statements about Steger’s team is TRUE?

A. Sam Branson, a member, is skilled at travelling in the Arctic.

B. Steger, the leader is a great environmental expert.

C. Ekran, a member, is the second woman to have reached the North Pole.

D. All the members are experienced Arctic explorers.

61．It can be inferred that the aim of the dogsled trip is to　　　　　　　 　　．

A. encourage young people to explore the Arctic　　　　　　

B. present the Arctic terrain to geography classes

C. study the cause of climate change in polar region

D. raise awareness of the damage that climate change is causing in polar regions

60．We can learn from Paragraph 1 that　　　　　　　　 ．

A. climate change happens only in the far north

B. the effects of climate change are obvious in the Arctic terrain

C. climate change is going to be the biggest issue facing human race

D. climate change is the result of pollution

71．We can learn from the passage that the author 　　　　　.

　　　　 A．enjoyed being alone　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．experienced a word of quietness

　　　　 C．missed his busy life in the city　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．had an unforgettable adventure

答案　 68.D　 69.A　 70.C　 71.B

Passage 6

(福建省厦门外国语学校2009届高三最后一次模拟B篇)

Do you want to see the effects of global warming? Then head north. Recent studies indicate that the North Pole could be underwater during the summer in less than 10 years, instead of coated in thick sea ice. But seeing the Arctic terrain (地带) up close isn’t easy, unless you’re handy with a dogsled. Steger is going to take all of us there．

Steger, 64, is a great polar explorer. He was the first person to make a dogsled trip to the North Pole, and is also a devoted environmentalist who was early to ring the alarm bell on global warming.

Steger is about to lead a team of six young adventurers on a 1, 400-mile, 60-day-long dogsled trip across Ellesmere Island, in the Canadian Arctic. The sea ice in that region should still be frozen. “We want to take our audience to the front lines of global warming, ” says Steger. The team will be uploading videos, stories and photos to the website as they march along, allowing armchair adventurers and kids in classrooms to follow their progress day to day.

Steger’s team will include some already-famous young explorers. Sam Branson, 22-year old, is an experienced Arctic traveler. Also on the journey will be 27-year-old Norwegian Sigrid Ekran. Last year Ekran become only the second woman in history to win Rookie (新秀) of the Year for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

What they will see may be surprising. Even Steger doesn’t know exactly what to expect. Climate change has already reshaped the geography of the Arctic. “Within a decade or less, it’s going to be impossible to reach the North Pole by dog team, without flotation (漂浮), ”says Steger.

70．It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author would probably 　　　　　.

　　　　 A．work harder than before　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．talk to the man on the horse

　　　　 C．make his way home　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．stay in the valley

69．How does the author feel about the ant?

　　　　 A．He admired its attitude toward work.

　　　　 B．He was amazed at its tireless efforts.

　　　　 C．He showed sympathy for the little ant.

　　　　 D．He was content to have it as a companion.

68．The author mentions coconuts’ falling to 　　　　　.

　　　　 A．show his loneliness　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．add beauty to the jungle

　　　　 C．express his love of nature　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．stress the absolute silence

72. Which of the following should be the best title for the passage?

A. China’s Success in Pandas Cloning. 　　　 　 　　　

B. The First Cloned Panda in the World.

C. Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas.　　　　　　　　　　

D. China -the Native Place of Pandas Forever.

答案　 69.B　 70.A　 71.D　 72.C

Passage 5

(福建省厦门双十中学09届高三热身考试D篇)

Alone in the wilderness. Nothing but jungle. A world of shadow with the rays of light falling like blonde hair from the crowns of the giant trees. Jungle in the midday sun. Everything motionless. Not a sound from sky or earth. Complete silence. Only some coconuts falling, at long intervals, very far away. The world reduced to the soft touch of cool grass along my naked back, and a sweet smell of rich soil and vegetation. Stretched out with closed eyes beside my heavy burden of fruit and firewood, I enjoyed the feeling of fresh blood streaming through every part of my body and fresh jungle air filling every corner of my lungs.

　　 Resting motionless, I could see the sun through my closed eyelids, alone in the sky, as lonely as I, and as motionless and silent as everything else. The earth had surely stopped turning and somewhere on this planet there was supposed to be roaring traffic in busy streets. What a crazy, unbelievable thought!

　　　　 Another coconut fell, to make the world come to a complete standstill. I had to roll over onto my stomach to feel that at least I could move and make noises. Then I found company. A little brown ant was struggling to find its way with a bit of dry straw through the jungle of leaves and grass below my nose. I wondered if I could give the little fellow a lift with its burden, but it showed not the slightest sign of tiredness and struggled on with all six legs, head first or head last, waving its feelers energetically as if the trip had just started. Who ever saw a tired ant? Tiredness, disagreeable tiredness, is restricted to hunted animals, slaves and modern man. It is as great an effort for an office clerk to walk five blocks with a loaded brief-case as it is for a jungle-dweller to cross a valley with a goat on his back. It is as hard to get up and climb or run when you have been seated for years as it is to get up and walk when you have been in bed for months. The body is strange. Spare it, and you get really tired for almost nothing; use it, and almost nothing makes you really tired.

　　　　 I rose to my feet. I had heard a horse neighing down in the valley. Above me, on the open highland plains, there were wild horses. But down in the valley there was never a horse unless there was a man on it. Somebody was making his way up the valley and my wife was alone.

71. From the passage we know that _______.

A. Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog

　　 　B. scientists try to implant(移植) a panda’s egg into a rabbit

　　 　C. Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches

　　 　D. about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century