阅读技能：文章逻辑与主旨（七选五和非谓语）--学生版

Passage One: Can we take the heat?

Headline 1:___________________________________________

In the last few decades, scientists have reached consensus and reported that human beings are causing changes in the Earth’s climate – something previously seen as beyond our control. They claim that in the last 50 years, gases _____________ (pump) into the Earth’s atmosphere by the factories and vehicles have been speeding up the process of global warming and affecting our climate. _____________ (look) ahead, scientists believe that global warming could be one of the biggest environmental problems _____________ (face) the 21st century. But what exactly is global warming, why is it seen as a danger, and how is it relevant to our lives?

Headline 2:___________________________________________

Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth’s temperature that, in turn, leads to climate change. Scientists found that the temperature of the Earth is controlled by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide which _____________ (trap) heat from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. Without these naturally _____________ (occur) gases, the sun’s rays would bounce back into space _____________ (leave) the Earth cold and impossible to live on. When the presence of these gases in the atmosphere increases, however, more heat is trapped and the Earth’s temperature rises.

Headline 3:___________________________________________

Over the last 100 years, the global average temperature has increased by 1°F and many experts insist that the blame for this global warming can mostly be pinned on human activities. As a result of increased industry, agriculture, the cutting down of forests, the increase in transport and the _____________ (burn) of fuels, nearly 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere every year for every one of the Earth’s 6 billion people. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by more than 30% in the last 250 years with half of this increase _____________ (occur) since 1960. _____________ (give) this data, it seems that the link between human activities and _____________ (rise) global temperatures is not merely a coincidence.

Headline 4:___________________________________________

A temperature increase of 1°F may not sound like a lot, but if we continue _____________ (produce) carbon dioxide and other gases in such huge quantities, we are condemning life on Earth and should expect severe consequences. Recent reports warned that global warming will cause terrible climate changes _____________ (include) more frequent flooding, heat waves and droughts. Serious diseases will spread and industries that rely on nature such as fishing will be badly affected. Increased temperatures will also cause the polar ice to melt, _____________ (raise) sea levels and _____________ (flood) many islands and cities. How can we stop these disasters from happening?

Headline 5:___________________________________________

Governments all over the world have a responsibility _____________ (reduce) the amount of carbon dioxide which their countries are producing. If less carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere, global warming will slow down. This is no easy task, however, and some governments, for example, the USA’s federal government, express reservations about whether global warming is really caused by human activities. Many people believe that they are simply not prepared to sacrifice the amount of money they make from industry to save the Earth. But why wait around for governments _____________ (take) action? Experts advocate that each person play their part. They suggest _____________ (make) small changes like taking public transport, _____________ (recycle), using low-flow shower heads, and buying light bulbs that use less energy. Even simple things like using _____________ (recycle) paper or switching off the lights when you leave a room can help. If we add up all these small changes made by everyone worldwide, they won’t be such small changes. They could be the changes that save our future. After all, there’s no substitute for our Earth. It’s all we’ve got to live on.

Question: What is the maid idea of the article?

Passage Two: Nature is turning on us

The last few years have seen environmental disasters on a grand scale, and experts are predicting far worse to come. Jin Li reports on our Earth’s changeable weather patterns.

In the last decade, thunderstorms, floods, earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and forest fires have become increasingly common. There has been terrible flooding in Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. (1) __________ Storms have been getting worse everywhere too, with a growing number of hurricanes hitting the US, and Central America. Reduced rainfall has affected large areas of Africa for years leaving irrigation canals dry and many other zones are becoming drier. (2) __________ A number of nations have already been in armed conflict over water, and reduced rainfall in the west of the US has resulted in huge forest fires.

Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have always been a threat in certain parts of the world. A volcanic eruption nearly wiped out the small island of Montserrat in 1997, and there have been serious earthquakes in many parts of Asia, Europe and South America. In the last three years, Indonesia has had a rough time, suffering several killer quakes and it is still recovering from the Asian tsunami caused by an offshore earthquake on December 26th, 2004.The tsunami killed 132,000 Indonesians and another 100,000 people of other nationalities. This catastrophe is still very fresh in the minds of people worldwide who have not yet got over their separation from loved ones lost in the tsunami.

So why is nature beginning to turn on us? (3) __________ The population of the world is growing at the disturbing rate of 10,000 people an hour, nearly 90 million a year, with most of the growth in the developing world. People in agricultural areas, without any means to earn their living, move to the cities, and then construct shabby homes from whatever materials they can find on poor clay soil. These homes, seldom made of bricks, can easily fall down in earthquakes or slip and slide downhill in landslides, especially in mountainous areas. (4) __________ This has mainly been caused by the huge amounts of carbon dioxide produced by factories and vehicles, and the destruction of the world’s forests. As a result, a hotter ocean causes more powerful winds. Atlantic hurricanes – their howling winds with speeds of over 300 kilometres an hour – are 40% stronger now than they were 30 years ago.

Volcanoes and earthquakes are even more dangerous than in the past as around half the world’s population now lives in cities. There are more than 300 active volcanoes, about fifty of which erupt each year, and more than 500 million people now live within the range of a volcanic eruption. Because these natural disasters occur at random times, it is difficult to warn people in advance. In May 2006, thousands of Indonesians living near Mt Merapi (which means mountain of fire) had to flee as they thought it was about to erupt. An even greater number of people live at risk, to some degree, from earthquakes which have claimed more than 1.6 million lives in the last hundred years.

Most disaster experts believe there is the potential that things could get a lot worse. Professor Hou Ming, of Beijing University studies volcanoes and he warns that the world has not seen the worst nature can do. The worst eruption in human history was probably Mt Tambora in 1815, in Indonesia. Dust from the volcano rolled across the Earth’s skies and pretty much cancelled the following summer in Europe and America. (5) __________ “It reduced temperatures by maybe 6°C in some places and the whole planet was sent into winter for years. And there are about two of these events every 100,000 years ...”

A) But evidence shows that 73,000 thousand years ago there was a much greater eruption. B) Even Europe has suffered and large areas have been underwater. C) That is probably not the most important factor either.

D) Third, the other bits of land you might have been able to farm are now useless. E) On top of that adds global warming.

F) For example, the Yellow River, once famous for flooding, failed to reach to the sea at all for 226 days in 1997. G) One answer is overpopulation.

Question: What is the attitude of the journalist towards the future?