The temperature is rising again in the Arctic. The sea ice area has dropped to one of the lowest levels on record， climate scientists reported last week.

“The new Arctic Report Card tells a story of widespread and continued effects of a warming Arctic，” said Jackie Richter-Menge of the US’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.

“This isn’t just a climatological (气候学的) effect. It impacts the people that live there，” she added.

Scientists concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first， and that has been the case in recent years.

There was a slowdown in Arctic warming in 2009， but in the first half of 2010 warming was near a record pace. The monthly readings were over 4 degrees Celsius above normal in northern Canada， according to the report card. The report card was prepared by 69 researchers in eight countries.

Researchers said last winter’s big snow storms that struck some Northern countries were tied to higher Arctic temperatures.

“Normally the cold air is bottled up in the Arctic，” said Jim Overland of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “But last December and February， winds that normally blow west to east across the Arctic were instead bringing the colder air south，” he said.

“As we lose more sea ice... warming in the atmosphere can create more of these winter storms，” Overland said.

There is a powerful connection between ice cover and air temperatures， Richter-Menge explained. When temperatures warm， ice melts. When ice melts it shows darker surfaces underneath ， which absorb  more heat. “That， in turn， causes more melting and on the cycle goes，” she said.

In September the Arctic sea ice extent was the third smallest in the last 30 years， added Don Perovich of the US Army Laboratory. He said the three smallest ice covers have occurred in the last four years.

Scientists care so much about the warming in the Arctic region because 　　　　.

A .the climate in the Arctic doesn’t change much

B. global warming effects are most serious in the Arctic region

C .there has been a major decrease of Arctic warming in recent years

D. by studying the region they can make predictions about the future impact of global warming

. Which of the following shows that the Arctic is getting warmer？ 

A. The surface of the sea ice in Arctic is getting darker and darker.

B. The Arctic sea ice extent has disappeared over the last 30 years.

C. The sea ice extent has increased to one of the highest levels on record.

What does the underlined word “cycle” refer to？  

A .Ice giving off heat when it melts.

B. Higher temperatures bringing more storms.

C .The cause and the result of the melting.

D. The life of the people living in the Arctic getting worse.

According to researchers what led to big snow storms attacking some Northern countries last winter？                 

A. Higher Arctic temperatures.

B. The melting ice.

C. The cold wind blowing west to east.

D. Cold air bottled up in the Arctic.

What is the main point of the article？         

A. Last winter’s big snow-storms.

B. Winds in the Arctic region.

C. Arctic warming and its possible effects.

D. Changes to the life of people living in the Arctic.

In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.

　　As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.

　　A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”

　　I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.

　　Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.

　　While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.

1.What did the author say about her own writing experience?

A. She was constantly under pressure of writing more.

B. Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers.

C. Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations.

D. She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer.

2.Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?

A. She wanted to share her stories with readers.

B. She had won a prize in the previous contest.

C. She was sure of winning with her mother’s help.

D. She believed she possessed real talent for writing.

3.The author took great pains to refine her daughter’s stories because ________.

A. she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dream of becoming a writer

B. she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance

C. she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much

D. she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing

4.What’s the author’s advice for parents?

A. Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions.

B. Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience.

C. Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in.

D. A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue.

Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?

　　 Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground,  releasing some strong smell chemicals.

　　 The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools (激流和漩涡). Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.

Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move.

     The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.

　　 Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.

1.This passage is mainly about ___________.

A. current scientific knowledge about faults

B. the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults

C. the causes of faults 　　　　　　　

D. the New Madrid fault in Missouri

2.The New Madrid fault is __________.

A. a vertical fault

B. a horizontal fault

C. a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault

D. responsible for forming the Mississippi River

3.This passage implies that _________.　　　　　　.

A. horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults

B. Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults

C. The volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still alive

D. A lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened today

D
　　In the atmosphere,carbon dioxide actd 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 excaping.
　　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 luels 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(半球),psooicbly 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 a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from on burning of fuels.
　　Satellite pictures showthat 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?
　　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(旋转),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 variable over a long term:its heat output goes up and down in cycles,the latest trend being downward.
　　Scientists are now finding mutual relations between models of solar weather interactions 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(不活动，惰性) of the earth's climate.If this is right,the warming effect of carbon dioxide might thus be serving as a useful counter balance to the sun's diminishing heat.
　　68.It can be concluded that a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would ___.
　　　A.mean a warming - up im the Arctic
　　　B.raise the temperature of the earth's surface
　　　C.prevent the sun's rays from reaching the earth's surface
　　　D.account for great changes in the climate in the northern hemiphere
　　69.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 variations in the output of solar energy
　　　C.possibly because the ice caps in the poles are melting
　　　D.exclusively due to the effect of the inertia of the earth's climate
　　70.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

Life in 2060

　　Let us suppose it is now about A.D. 2060. Let’s make believe (假装；虚构) it is about sixty years from now. Of course, things have changed and life is very different.

　　Voyages to the moon are being made every day. It is as easy to take a holiday on the moon today as it was for the people in 1960 to take a holiday in Europe. At a number of scenic spots on the moon, many hotels have been built. The hotels are air-conditioned, naturally. In order that everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery on the moon, every room has at least one picture window. Everything imaginable is provided for entertainment (娱乐) of young and old.

　　What are people eating now? People are still eating food. They haven’t yet started to take on heir (继承) supply of energy directly as electrical current or as nuclear power. They may some day. But many foods now come in pill form, and the food that goes into the pill continues to come mainly from green plants.

　　Since there are several times as many people in the world today as there were a hundred years ago, most of our planet’s surface has to be filled. The deserts are irrigated with water and crops are no longer destroyed by pests. The harvest is always good.

　　Farming, of course, is very highly developed. Very few people have to work on the farm. It is possible to run the farm by just pushing a few buttons now and then.

　　People are now largely vegetarians (素食者). You see, as the number of people increases, the number of animal decreases. Therefore, the people have to be vegetarians and we are healthier both in our bodies and in our minds, and we know the causes and cure of disease and pain, and it is possible to get rid of diseases. No one has to be ill any more.

　　Such would be our life in 2060.

1. When was the passage written?

　　A. In about A.D. 2060.

　　B. In about 1960.

　　C. In about 2000.

　　D. In about 2004.

2. According to the passage, what will be on the moon in about A.D. 2060?

　　A. Many tourists.

　　B. Many other animals.

　　C. Many plants.

　　D. A sea.

3. What will people eat then according to the passage?

　　A. Biscuits in pill form.

　　B. Foods in pill form.

　　C. Foods in water form.

　　D. Foods in gas form.

4. The passage tells us that in 2060, ____ on the earth than now.

　　A. there are fewer population

　　B. there are more pests

　　C. there is less water

　　D. the crops are getting better

5. Why are people largely vegetarians in 2060?

　　A. Because they don’t eat meat.

　　B. Because doctors advise them not to eat meat.

　　C. Because the number of animals decreases.

　　D. Because all the animals have died of diseases.