Monitoring global warming usually requires a Ph. D. and enough maths to glaze your eyes. But that Francisco Lopez and Ruby Nostrant track（记录）what climate change is doing to five different plants in Tucson, Arizona and they are only in the second grade.

    “We are collecting data because the weather is changing and the plants are blooming,” Ruby explained.

    Scores of other students at Borton Primary Magnet School and Sunnyside High School in Tucson are heading outdoors to be part of a new scientific push to figure out how the biological timing of the earth is changing. It’s a research project that the average person, even a kindergartner, can join in.

    The National Phenology（生物气候学）Network is calling on volunteers to help track early spring blooms and eventually changes in animals caused by global warming. It’s called Project Budburst. When it was first open to the public last year, thousands of people participated in 26 states.

    “All people can contribute to it by tracking the timing of flowering events or leaf-out events for plants and animals in their backyard,” said Phenology Network director Jake Weltzin. He calls the volunteers “citizen-scientists.”

    The idea is that tracking flowers blooming—especially lilacs（丁香）; which everyday people have helped track for decades—is fairly simple. The Website http://www.Windows.ucar.edu/ citizen_science/budburst/index.html gives directions on what to look for in different parts of the country.

    University of Maryland professor David Inouye said it’s so easy to figure out what’s blooming that a lack of special knowledge isn’t a problem.

    University of Arizona ecology graduate student Lisa Benton coordinated（协调）the Tucson high school students as they looked at plants five minutes from their high school. Each student has specific guidelines and she’s been happy so far with the data she is getting. For his part, second-grader Francisco said he had fun helping out.

    “I like going out in the desert,” he said. “I want to be an Einstein.”

1.Francisco Lopez and Ruby Nostrant are monitoring global warming by __________.

A. watching early spring blooms and changes in animals

B. studying the biological timing of earth

C. collecting data of the local weather

D. tracking the early spring blooms of some local plants

2.Those who participate in Project Budburst are mostly ___________.

A. ecology college graduates              B. high school students

C. common people                         D. experts

3.What David Inouye says suggests that ____________.

A. the study carried out by students is convincing

B. the students still need special training to study climate change

C. it is difficult to study climate change

D. to figure out what’s blooming needs special knowledge

4.Who is primary school student joining in the Project Budburst?

A. Lisa Benton.      B. David Inouye

C. Francisco Lopez.    D. Jake Weltzin.

5.We can conclude from the passage that _______.

A. changes in animals caused by global warming happen earlier than those in plants

B. the biological timing of earth is changing because of climate change

C. the effect of climate change in Tucson, Arizona can be hardly noticed

D. all the plants in Tucson, Arizona are blooming earlier because of climate change

 

 People should be warned against using mobile phones outdoors in stormy weather because they may “be struck by lightning”, according to doctors.

 

 

 

 

 

Three experts have described how a teenage girl was struck by lightning while using her phone in a large London park. The girl, aged 15, recovered, but a year later, was still wheelchair-bound and found to be suffering complex physical and emotional problems.

The girl also had a perforate eardrum（打孔耳膜）on the side where she had been holding the mobile phone. She was having general recovery in Northwick Park Hospital, Middlesex.Swinda Esprit, a senior house offi­cer, said that while the brain and muscle damage was similar to that of many lightning victims—who can experience heart attacks on being struck— the ear problems were not.

She said that the damages were particularly relevant for people who might be involved in less seri­ous lightning incidents, who might other­wise recover, but would never get their full hearing back if struck while on the phone.

“We were shocked by the damage, which is why we wanted to draw attention to it,” Dr Esprit said. “A year on and she still was suffering these difficult hearing.”

They added that three other cases had been reported in newspapers in China, South Korea, and Malaysia. In the Malaysian case, a sales executive was killed by lightning while talking on his phone during a thun­derstorm near Kuala Lumpur

 “All these events resulted in death,” the doctors wrote. “This rare phe­nomenon is a public health issue, and edu­cation is necessary to stress the risk.”

The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not be carried out­doors during thunderstorms. However, “the United States National Weather Service says on its website that both are safe to use “because there is no direct path between you and the lightening”.

 Paul Taylor, of “the Met Office”, said the ear injuries were a consequence of mobile phones being metal, and not related to radio waves.

Mr. Taylor said that mobile phones should be treated as another piece of metal, similar to carrying coins or wearing rings, and people need to be warned against the possi­ble danger.

1.What do we know about the teenage girl?

 A. She was struck by lightning at school. 

B. She completely recovered from being struck.

 C. She still suffered from mental problems. 

 D. She had to press her ear all day

2.It can be inferred that damage done by lightening while using mobile phones ______.

A. is mainly in the brain and muscle of the victims                  

B. can be healed quickly except for heart attacks

C. is less serious because the victims can usually recover                       

D. is more serious than that when one is not using a mobile phone  

3. Why did doctors stress the risk about using phones outside in lightening?

A. Because more people are faced with it.  

B. Because some deaths have been caused.

C. Because lightning is harmful for the brain.  

 D. Because a teenage girl got killed.

4.We can infer from the last three paragraphs that ______.

A. both cordless and mobile phones are safe to use outside in lightning

B. there is no direct connection between lightning and ear injuries at all

C. opinions differ as to whether it is safe to use mobiles phones in lightning

D. ear injuries are the result of carrying coins or wearing rings in lightning

5. The purpose in writing this passage is ______.

A. to draw attention to the risk of using mobile phones in lightening

B. to focus on various damages done to lightning victims

C. to tell us the news that a teenage girl was struck by lightning

D. to stress the danger of making phone calls in lightning

 

Name: Julia Rosetti

Email: n1950215@droid.fit.qut.edu.au

Location: Brisbane, Australia

Age: 18

Sex: Female

Drugs: No

Alcohol: No

Sports/ Activities: I used to do a lot of ballet and stage work, my ambition was to be a professional dancer before I got sick. Nowadays I love to read, and other stuff like that, as well as spending a lot of time with my family and friends.

Grades: I finished high school last year, and I haven’t started college because I’ve been sick. But I got subject prizes in three subjects and high as in the rest.

Favorite Subject: I loved Music, English, History and Biology. Hard to pick a favorite – they’re all so different.

Volunteer Work: It all depends on what you call “volunteer”. Nothing really official, but I spend a lot of my time working and playing with really sick kids, and they come to me for advice a lot.

What My Future Goals Are: I’d either like to go on to do stage work, or work with kids with serious illnesses. I haven’t decided which, yet.

What I do in My Spare Time: Talk to my friends and my family. Hang around with my hospital friends. Watch TV. Go to the movies when I can. I love going on picnics and other outdoorsy stuff.

How I’d Change the World: No question. Cure cancer. Eradicate it forever.

Largest Problem: Sometimes, I think it’s having too many choices, and having too many expectations and others having too many expectations of you. And all the implications (牵连) of this.

Why Would I Make a Good Counselor (顾问): I really want to help other people. I’ve made that my life’s ambition, to help as many people as I can.

Qualifications: I spend a lot of time doing this sort of stuff “unofficially” – I am the Discussion Manager on a discussion list for seriously ill young people. People also write to me because of my homepage, often wanting advice, which I try to give them.

1.What can we infer about Julia Rosetti?

    A. She is ill now with a cancer.       

B. She has had an operation.

    C. She is curing people of cancer.     

D. She is working in a hospital.

2.The underlined word “eradicate” most probably means _____.

    A. get out of       B. put an end of        C. break up     D. set aside

3.The underlined word “you” stands for _____.

    A. Julia Rosetti herself               

B. all her friends in her life

    C. the person she refers to            

D. everyone including herself

4.Which of the following statements is true about Julia Rosetti?

    A. She had wanted to become a doctor.  

B. She had done very well at college.

    C. She often visits hospitals in her spare time.

    D. She has her own homepage on the Internet.

 

People should be warned against using mobile phones outdoors in stormy weather because they may “be struck by lightning”, according to doctors.

Three experts have described how a teenage girl was struck by lightning while using her phone in a large London park. The girl, aged 15, recovered, but a year later, was still wheelchair-bound and found to be suffering complex physical and emotional problems.
The girl also had a perforate eardrum（打孔耳膜）on the side where she had been holding the mobile phone. She was having general recovery in Northwick Park Hospital, Middlesex.Swinda Esprit, a senior house offi­cer, said that while the brain and muscle damage was similar to that of many lightning victims—who can experience heart attacks on being struck— the ear problems were not.
She said that the damages were particularly relevant for people who might be involved in less seri­ous lightning incidents, who might other­wise recover, but would never get their full hearing back if struck while on the phone.
“We were shocked by the damage, which is why we wanted to draw attention to it,” Dr Esprit said. “A year on and she still was suffering these difficult hearing.”
They added that three other cases had been reported in newspapers in China, South Korea, and Malaysia. In the Malaysian case, a sales executive was killed by lightning while talking on his phone during a thun­derstorm near Kuala Lumpur
“All these events resulted in death,” the doctors wrote. “This rare phe­nomenon is a public health issue, and edu­cation is necessary to stress the risk.”
The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not be carried out­doors during thunderstorms. However, “the United States National Weather Service says on its website that both are safe to use “because there is no direct path between you and the lightening”.
Paul Taylor, of “the Met Office”, said the ear injuries were a consequence of mobile phones being metal, and not related to radio waves.
Mr. Taylor said that mobile phones should be treated as another piece of metal, similar to carrying coins or wearing rings, and people need to be warned against the possi­ble danger.
【小题1】What do we know about the teenage girl?

A．She was struck by lightning at school.

B．She completely recovered from being struck.

C．She still suffered from mental problems.

D．She had to press her ear all day

【小题2】It can be inferred that damage done by lightening while using mobile phones ______.

A．is mainly in the brain and muscle of the victims

B．can be healed quickly except for heart attacks

C．is less serious because the victims can usually recover

D．is more serious than that when one is not using a mobile phone

【小题3】 Why did doctors stress the risk about using phones outside in lightening?

A．Because more people are faced with it.

B．Because some deaths have been caused.

C．Because lightning is harmful for the brain.

D．Because a teenage girl got killed.

【小题4】We can infer from the last three paragraphs that ______.

A．both cordless and mobile phones are safe to use outside in lightning

B．there is no direct connection between lightning and ear injuries at all

C．opinions differ as to whether it is safe to use mobiles phones in lightning

D．ear injuries are the result of carrying coins or wearing rings in lightning

【小题5】 The purpose in writing this passage is ______.

A．to draw attention to the risk of using mobile phones in lightening

B．to focus on various damages done to lightning victims

C．to tell us the news that a teenage girl was struck by lightning

D．to stress the danger of making phone calls in lightning