53．What does the underlined word “novice” probably mean in Paragraph 5 ?

A．Beginner．　　　 B．Specialist．　　　 C．Scientist．　　　　 D．Pupil．

52．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．You can find information of all living species online in 2017．

B．Nonscientists will be able to add their own notes to the website.

C．The kids preparing school reports can not have access to the informat’0 n’

D．You are not free to choose the amount of detailed information．

51．What is implied in the last sentence of Paragraph 1 ?

A．No one can become an expert on spiders and birds．　

B．So many spiders have crawled up your leg．

C．There are far more than 1.8 million living species．　

D．Scientists have named a lot of living species．

56．What unusual phenomenon worries the scientists?

　　　 A．In summer the ice of the Arctic loses faster.

　　　 B．The ice covering the Arctic shrinks even in winter.

　　　 C．The ice of the Arctic increases less than in the past.

D．The changes in the Arctic are more serious.

答案　 53.D　 54.A　 55.D　 56.B

Passage 8

(广东省湛师附中2009届高三最后一模C篇)

So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species (物种)，and that’s just a small part of what probably exists on Earth．With so many plants，animals，fungi，and other organisms covering the planet，it can be tough to figure out what type of spider is crawling up your leg or what kind of bird just flew by．

A soon-to-be-launched Website might help．An international team of researchers has announced the creation of a Web - based Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)．The project aims to catalogue every species on Earth in a single，easy-to-use reference guide．

To get the encyclopedia started，the creators will use information from scientific databases that already exist．And eventually，in special sections of the site，nonscientists with specialized knowledge will join．Gardeners，for example，will be able to record the dates that their flowers first bloom each year．Bird-watchers will be able to input which birds they’ve seen and where．The technology for this kind of tool has only recently become available．

As the EOL develops, you might find it useful for school projects．The site will have special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods．To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate，scientists will review much of the information added to it．People who visit the site will be able to choose to skip pages that haven’t been reviewed．

Another convenient characteristic of the EOL is that you’11 be able to pick the level of detail you see to match your interests，age，and current knowledge. If you wanted to learn about polar bears for a science class report，for example，you could use the “novice” setting to get basic information about the animals．On the “expert” setting，on the other hand．you could get much more detailed information about the history，literature，and exploration of polar bears．

It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species．The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process．

Keep an eye on www.eol.org．Pages will begin to go up sometime next year，and you might find them useful for your school reports．The EOL team might have the basics for all 1.8 million entries online as early as 2017．Someday，you might add your own notes.

55．What is the main factor that has caused the changes of the poles?

　　　 A．The increasing number of animals.　　　　 B．The development of the poles.

　　　 C．The melting of the poles.　　　　　　　　 D．The rising temperature.

54．The goal of the International Polar Year is __________.

　　　 A．to make it clear that the poles have much to do with a healthy earth

　　　 B．to provide practical theory to further develop this distant area

　　　 C．to call on as many scientists as possible to do research on the poles

　　　 D．to discover more mysteries unknown to man

53．Which of the following might be the best tile of the passage?

　　　 A．Earth’s Poles Interest Scientists　　　　　 B．The Animals of Earth’s Poles

　　　 C．Earth’s Poles in Danger　　　　　　　　 D．The Discoveries of Earth’s Poles

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