Plants are flowering faster than scientists predict in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.
“Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns.” scientists say.
Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.
“Predicting species’ reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researchers of several U.S. Universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.
The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.
“Across all species, the experiments underestimated the speed of the advance—for both leafing and flowering—that results from temperature increases,” the study said.
“The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change,” it said.
Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis (光合作用) to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.
Scientists believe the world’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8 ℃ since 1900, and nearly 0.2 ℃ every ten years since 1979.
So far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2 ℃ this century—a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.
小題1:What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?
A．The increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists’ expectation.
B．Climate change leads to the change of food production patterns.
C．Plants’ reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystem.
D．Food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather.
小題2:We can learn from the study published on the Nature website that _____.    
A．scientists should improve the design of the experiments
B．plants’ flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing
C．there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents
D．the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change
小題3:Scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because _____.     
A．they can prove the climate change clearly
B．they are very important in the food chains
C．they play a leading role in reducing global warming
D．they are growing and flowering much faster than before
小題4:What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the world’s temperature?    
A．It has risen nearly 0.2 ℃ since 1979.
B．It is 0.8 ℃ higher in 1979 than that of 1990.
C．It needs to be controlled within 2 ℃ in this century.
D．Its change will lead to weather extremes.

小題1:C
小題2:A
小題3:B
小題4:D

試題分析：本文主要講述了植物對(duì)于氣候變化所作出的反應(yīng)會(huì)影響人類的食物鏈并影響整個(gè)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。并介紹了與之有關(guān)的一些研究的情況。
小題1:C 段落大意題。根據(jù)文章第一段第2句which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.可知本段講述的是植物對(duì)于氣候變化的反應(yīng)能夠?qū)κ澄镦溡约吧鷳B(tài)系統(tǒng)有很大的影響。故C正確。
小題2:A 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第三段“The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change,” it said.可知在未來(lái)實(shí)驗(yàn)的設(shè)計(jì)應(yīng)該被進(jìn)一步地完善，現(xiàn)在的設(shè)計(jì)還有很大的缺陷。故A正確。
小題3:B 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第四段2,3行They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.植物是這個(gè)研究中的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵的研究對(duì)象。因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)谑澄镦溨杏泻艽蟮淖饔�。故B正確。
小題4:D 推理題。根據(jù)文章最后一段So far, efforts to cut emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2 ℃ this century—a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.可知地球氣溫的變化會(huì)帶來(lái)極端的氣候變化，導(dǎo)致很多的災(zāi)難如干旱，作物絕收以及海平面上升等等。故D正確。
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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“This is one of the strangest fish that I’ve seen in my whole career,” Dr Britz said. “It’s tiny, and it lives in acid. I hope that we’ll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely.”
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The peat swamps were damaged by forest fires in 1997, and are also threatened by agriculture. The scientists behind the discovery said that several populations of Paedocypris had already been lost.
“Many of the peat swamps we surveyed（調(diào)查）throughout South-East Asia no longer exist,” Dr Britz said. “Populations of all the miniature（微型的）fish of peat swamps have decreased or disappeared.”
Details of the discovery are published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B.
小題1:64.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
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B．Acidic Peat Swamps
C．Strange Species
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B．The species lives in the acidic waters of dark tea-coloured swamps.
C．It was put in the Natural History Museum in London.
D．Its habitat disappears completely.
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A．many places where these animals lived have been damaged
B．the population of the specieshas increased
C．there are many animals in the acidic peat swamps today
D．a(chǎn)griculture doesn’t affect the living space of these animals
小題4:67.Dr Britz’s words imply______.
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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The World Tourism Organization claims that the industry looked after 592 million travelers last year who spent $423 billion, and of all the types of tourism, ecotourism seems to be the fastest growing. By the broadest measure -- a trip with some sort of nature or wilderness element -- ecotourism already accounts for perhaps a third of these travelers. On a stricter definition favored by the Ecotourism Society, it is “responsible travel that preserves natural environments and keeps up the well-being of local people,” which accounts for no more than 5% of tourism.
Ideally, ecotourism helps both people and nature. Before the disastrous civil war, Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project was one such model. Visits to the gorillas were limited, local guides ensured good behavior or on the part of the humans, and the high admission charge - $170 a day -- paid for salaries and presentation of the gorillas’ living areas. As this made the gorillas worth more alive than dead, poaching (偷獵) decreased. As another example, preservation Cooperation, Africa’s largest ecotour operator, uses only local labor, buys products 5om local farmers, and supports building projects: such as clinics and schools. This contribution to social advance is also good business sense. Projects from which local people benefit directly are less likely to be affected by poaching and theft.
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Keeping prices high is one way to limit enthusiasm. But measuring the effect of ecotourism on human environments is trickier. It is common, for villagers to see ecotourism as a source of new income. Hence, the very tourists who venture in search of traditional cultures end up breaking them up. As ecotourism becomes more popular, it will finally threaten the very things that are good for business.
小題1:According to the passage, ecotourism may _________.
A．harm its own purpose by becoming too popular
B．save the environment by becoming more popular
C．harm its own purpose by becoming less popular
D．save the environment by becoming less popular
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A．has no single, clear definition that would satisfy everybody
B．has expanded less rapidly than other types of tourism
C．claims that no comfortable hotels should be used by tourists
D．most often has a negative effect on local culture
小題3:Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project is a good example because ___________.
A．tourists were free to visit the gorillas whenever they wanted to
B．local people’s attitudes toward animals were not affected
C．the gorillas were protected from both tourists and local people
D．the gorillas’ living area was modernized because of the high admission
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A．Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla ProjectB．Preservation Corporation
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