“Plants were expected to get larger with increased carbon dioxide in atmosphere, but changes in temperature, humidity(湿度) and nutrient availability（养分有效性） seem to trumped the benefits of increased carbon dioxide，” said researchers from the National University of Singapore.
45 percent of the species studied now reach smaller adult sizes than they did in the past. The researchers pointed out that warmer temperatures and changing habitats, caused by climate change, are possible reasons for shrinking(缩小的) creatures.
“We do not yet know the mechanisms（原理） involved, or why some organism are getting smaller while others are unaffected，” the researchers said. “Until we understand more, we could be risking negative consequences that we can't yet quantify.”
The change was big in coldblooded animals. Only two decades of warmer temperatures were enough to make reptiles（爬行动物） smaller. An increase of 1 degree centigrade caused nearly a 10 percent increase in metabolism (新陈代谢). Greater use of energy resulted in tiny tortoises and little lizards. Fish are smaller now too. Though overfishing has played a part in reducing numbers, experiments show that warmer temperatures also stop fish growth. There is a recent report on warmer temperatures' negative effects on plankton（浮游生物）, the base of the marine（海洋的） ecosystem.
Warmblooded animals weren't immune（免于） from the size change caused by climate change. Many birds are now smaller. Mammals have been miniaturized too. Soay sheep are thinner. Red deer are weaker. And polar bears are smaller, compared with historical records.
This is not the first time this has happened in Earth's history. 55 million years ago, a warming event similar to the current climate change caused bees, spiders and ants to shrink by 50 to 75 percent over several thousand years. That event happened over a long time than the current climate change.
The speed of modern climate change could mean organisms may not respond or adapt quickly enough, especially those with long generation times. So, it is likely that more negative influences of climate change will be shown in future.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? ________
| A．Why do some species become smaller? |
| B．Species become smaller as climate warms |
| C．Climate change has many negative effects |
| D．How does temperature change in Earth's history? |
The underlined word “trumped” in the first paragraph can be replaced by ________.
| A．been neglected by | B．been less than |
| C．been weakened by | D．had strong influences than |
Researchers from the National University of Singapore believe that ________.
| A．too many studies on animals' size have been done |
| B．all the animals on the earth have become smaller |
| C．how climate change effects animals' size has not been found clearly |
| D．people can avoid the negative effects of climate change |
What can we learn from the passage? ________
| A．Ants, bees and spiders have been shrinking by 50% to 70% in the past decade. |
| B．Birds have suffered more from climate change than fish. |
| C．Climate change has even affected plankton negatively. |
| D．A warming event causing species to become smaller has never happened before. |
With fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of big industrial plants for the recycling of waste. The word rubbish could lose its meaning because everything which goes into the dustbin would be made into something useful. Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy of nothing else.
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million citizens and discover exactly what raw (未经加工的) materials go into it and what go out. The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city. This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber as well.
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish. When this project is complete, the rubbish will be treated like this: First, it will pass through sharp metal
bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements (元素) from the heavy solids; after that rollers will break up everything that can be broken. Finally, the rubbish will pass under magnets (磁铁), which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final step.
The first full-scale (全方位的) big recycling plants are perhaps fifteen years away. Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dustbins, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long.The underlined phrase “be well on with…” most probably means __ .
| A．have completed what was started | B．get ready to start |
| C．have achieved a great deal in | D．put an end to |
What is NOT mentioned as a part of the recycling process (过程) described in
Paragraph 3?
| A．Breaking up whatever is breakable. |
| B．Sharpening metal bars. |
| C．Separating light elements from the heavy ones. |
| D．Sorting out small pieces of metal. |
What’s the main reason for big cities to build their own recycling plants?
| A．To deal with wastes more economically. |
| B．To protect the environment from pollution. |
| C．To get raw materials locally. |
| D．To get advantage from those plants. |
The passage is mainly about .
| A．a cheap way to get energy | B．the position of recycling plants |
| C．new ways of recycling wastes | D．the probability of city environment |
Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm. How surprised he must have been!
What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm.
When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land. The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners (吸尘器), collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish. Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before vacuum dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people.
Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur frequently in Australia. When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked, “They look like millions of dead birds falling down.” His statement is not surprising. The wonders of the natural world are as commo
n as rain. Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky. What is this passage about?
| A．A sad story. | B．Australia’s northern part. |
C．A rain of fish. |
D．The damage done by floods. |
Fish-falls occur in Australia __________.
| A．quite often | B．on large farms |
| C．only in winter | D．when the air is calm |
The underlined word “infinite” is closest in meaning to “__________”.
| A．easy | B．difficult | C．countless | D．dangerous |
A sign can be found in the front yard of a house in the US. The people living here want to let their dog play outside and ensure it won’t run into the street. So, they hire a company to set up an “invisible fence”, an electric wire buried in the ground around the yard. The dog wears a special collar and when it walks near to the “fence”, the wire will send out a small shock. The dog quickly learns to stay away from the edge of the yard. As it says at the bottom of the sign, the fence will keep your dog “safe” (away from the street) and “at home” (contained inside the yard).
The small word “BRAND” printed in blue means that “Invisible Fence” is registered as the company’s brand name. Similarly, the “TM” printed after “your dog safe at home” stands for “trade mark”, a slogan registered specifically to one company. The people set up an “invisible fence” _________.
| A．to let their dog play outside their house |
| B．to keep their dog away from the edge of the yard |
| C．to keep their dog inside their yard |
| D．to warn others not to enter their house |
Which is NOT true about the “invisible fence”?
| A．The fence does not exist at all. |
| B．The “Invisible Fence” is the name of a company. |
| C．Without the special collar, the fence won’t work on the dog. |
| D．Science and technology play an important part in it. |
Imagine living locked inside a closet.You can’t choose when and what to eat or how you will spend your time.You can’t even decide when the lights go on and off. Think about spending your whole life like this.
This is the life of lab animals.
Now consider the needs of these animals.Chimpanzees(黑猩猩),in their natural homes,are never separated from their families.They spend hours together every day.But in a lab,chimpanzees are put in cages alone.There are no families,only cold,hard cages,and loneliness that goes on for so many years that most of them lose their minds at last.
Worse yet are the experiments.Animals are given diseases they would never normally get.Experimenters force-feed(给……强行喂食) chemicals to them,conduct repeated surgeries(手术),and much more,Think of what it would be like to put up with these and then be thrown back into a cage,usually without any painkillers.Often animals see other animals being killed right in front of them.
Hundreds of thousands of animals are poisoned,blinded,and killed every year in product tests for shampoos,skin creams and new cancer drugs.Although more than 500 companies have stopped testing on animals,some of them still force chemicals into monkeys’ stomachs and rabbits’ eyes.
Although some facilities are better than others at caring for animals—not every lab worker kills a mouse by cutting off its head with scissors—there are no happy animals inside laboratories.Will the lab life end? When will it end?The passage mainly tells us about .
| A．animals’ lives in laboratories | B．cruel experiments on animals |
| C．the needs of animals in labs | D．facilities used to care for animals |
Animals in a lab .
①are very cold,and in separate cages
②feel lonely locked inside a cage
③aren’t fed anything but chemicals
④are forced to undergo cruel tests
⑤are forced to eat chemicals
| A．①③④ | B．②③⑤ | C．②④⑤ | D．①④⑤ |
We can infer from the passage that _________.
| A．some companies have found ways to replace animal tests |
| B．animals normally get no strange diseases |
| C．animals are happy in labs with better facilities |
| D．painkillers can change the results of experiments |
The author’s attitude towards the future of animals for experiment can be described as _______.
| A．positive | B．worried | C．satisfied | D．disappointed |
In the last few years the Internet has become a widespread phenomenon(现象) around the world.People have started to use the computers just like they used to watch TV. Whenever we get hungry,we simply order a pizza through the Internet and while we are waiting for the food,we can send an important business e-mail concerning some sales for tomorrow.It is,in fact,very comfortable to just simply sit down and have a chat with somebody from South Africa about fishing and get some important advice.Sometimes when you are sad and are feeling lonely,if you go o
n the Internet,you can find good entertainment that will keep you busy.
To make a long story short,we just don’t have the time to communicate with people in person anymore.Besides,there is so much information easy to get on the Internet that when we start surfing,we find it hard for us to get away from the computer.There are a lot of people who are addicted(沉溺于) to TV and watch it 5 to 7 hours a day,while recently addiction to the Internet has become a very serious problem.You might think that these kinds of things could never happen to you,but it is not really true.To prevent yourself from getting addicted,the most important thing is to make sure that you are not spending too much time in front of the screen.Although it might seem to be easy to pull yourself away from the Web,it is simply not the case.You might have to make an effort to place some limits(限制) on yourself.The first paragraph of the text mainly tells us that .
| A．it is nice to have a Net friend from South Africa |
| B．the Internet can help us to do business |
| C．some people prefer surfing the Internet to watching TV |
| D．the Internet can make our life more convenient |
To avoid getting addicted to the Internet,we should .
| A．watch TV more hours a day instead |
| B．limit our time in front of the screen |
| C．communicate with people face to face |
| D．entertain ourselves in other ways |
From the passage,we can infer that the writer .
| A．has once been addicted to the Net |
| B．is completely against surfing the Net |
| C．knows how to surf the Net efficiently |
| D．thinks the Net brings bads and goods |
The text is most probably taken from .
| A．a health book | B．a geography magazine |
| C．a life magazine | D．a computer technology book |
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