主题语境8：天气与自然灾害

本刊试题研究中心

Ⅰ. 阅读理解

The populations of common animals are just as likely to rise or fall in number in a time of accelerating global warming as those of rare species, a study suggests.

Until recently, scientists were still accumulating data on how animal populations were shifting over time globally across the different regions of the planet.

Making use of the newly available data, a team of University of Edinburgh researchers studied nearly 10,000 animal populations recorded in the Living Planet Database between 1970 and 2014 to provide a new perspective on animal population change. These include records of mammals, reptiles, sharks, fish, birds and amphibians.

The team found that 15 percent of all populations declined during the period, while 18 percent increased and 67 percent showed no significant change. Amphibians were the only group in which population sizes declined, while birds, mammals and reptiles experienced increases. “The overall decline in amphibians makes them a priority in conservation efforts,”researchers say, “as their loss could have knockon effects in food chains and wider ecosystems.”

Gergana Daskalova, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, who led the study, said, “We often assume that declines in animal numbers are prevalent everywhere. But we found that there are also many species which have increased over the last half of a century,such as those which do well in humantransformed landscapes or those which are the focus of conservation actions.”

Dr Isla Myers-Smith, also of the School of GeoSciences, who co-authored the study, said,“Only as we bring together data from around the world, can we begin to really understand how global change is influencing the biodiversity of our planet.”

1. With the global temperature rising, what happens to the animals?

A. Rare animal species tend to decline.

B. Common animal species tend to increase.

C. Global warming is accelerating with the loss of animal species.

D. The populations of common animals change just like rare ones.

2. How did the researchers carry out the study?

A. By analyzing existing information.

B. By studying animals' behavior.

C. By comparing different studies.

D. By recording the data of animals.

3. What does the underlined word “prevalent”in paragraph 5 mean?

A. Sharp. B. Common.C. Steady. D. Relative.

4. What is Dr Isla Myers-Smith's attitude toward the study?

A. Objective. B. Optimistic.

C. Subjective. D. Pessimistic.

Ⅱ. 补全信息

Last year in a cross-country race in Sanqing Mountain, Gentian left everybody far behind, but unexpectedly he felt a sharp pain and saw that there were teeth marks and blood on his calf (小腿肚). __1__But he didn't know that it was a poisonous snake called “five-step snake” in Chinese that bit him.

Deep in the mountain, with no phone, Gentian kept running with the injury on his leg for 15 minutes and finally met a local farmer.__2___He happened to know about herbs and medicine. Immediately, he used some herbal medicine to deal with it. Later, the organizing committee's ambulance rushed him to the local hospital.

What should you do if you encounter a snake while you are outside? Remember: first of all, do not excite it. Data show that people who excite snakes are easily bitten. __3__Second,avoid the places where snakes like to stay.Snakes like to sunbathe during the day, and usually stay on gravel and cliff edges. Third, if you happen to see a snake crossing through the road, you must stop and wait for it to pass.

___4__First, sit down and try to avoid the acceleration (加速) of blood circulation. Then tie the limb 10-30 cm above the wound with a strong rope, and make a cut about 1 cm above the wound. The cut should be 1-2 cm wide, and then you squeeze blood from top to bottom.Generally, snake bites occur at the ankle.__5___Furthermore, be sure to call the ambulance as soon as possible.

A. He sensed that his situation was not good.

B. Then what to do if you're bitten by a snake?

C. So staying still can prevent you from meeting a snake.

D. He thought his high-end shoes could protect against the snake.

E. However, those who run immediately are less likely to be bitten.

F. In this case bending the knee to reduce the flow of blood can be helpful.

G. Despite the language barrier, he understood what had happened.

Ⅲ. 语法填空

The world's oceans reached their hottest level in recorded history last year, supercharging(加剧) extreme weather events, scientists have reported. They found that the five hottest recorded years 1.______

__(occur) since 2015,and that the rate of heating since 1986 was eight times higher than 2.________from 1960-1985.Oceans cover 71% of the planet and water can absorb thousands of times more heat than air,3.______

__is why 93% of global heating is taken up by seas.

Hotter oceans destroy rainfall patterns,which 4.______

__(lead) to floods, droughts and wildfires. Heat also causes seawater 5.________(expand) and drives up sea levels. Scientists expect about 1 metre of sea level rise by the end of the century, 6._______

_(threaten) 150 million people. Higher temperatures in the seas are also harming marine (海洋的) life, with 7.______

__number of ocean heatwaves increasing 8.________(sharp).

The study also finds that the sinking of surface waters and upwelling of deeper water is reducing as the seas heat up. This means the surface layers heat up even further and fewer nutrients for marine life are brought up from the 9.________(deep).

“The oceans reached another new record level of warmth in 2020, 10.________a record drop in global carbon emissions (排放). The planet will continue to warm up as long as we emit carbon into the atmosphere,” said Prof.Michael Mann of Penn State University.

Ⅳ. 读后续写

阅读下面材料, 根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段, 使之构成一篇完整的短文。 续写短文的词数应为150左右。

On March 3, Eric Johnson was asleep when the family's six-year-old Australian Shepherd,Bella, woke him up. Bella was acting unpredictably, giving Johnson the sense that “something just didn't feel right”. Bella sensed danger,and alerted the family to the tornado that soon destroyed their home.

When Johnson woke up, he turned on the TV and found out that a tornado was heading toward their town of Cookeville, Tennessee. He quickly grabbed his wife and their three children and put them in the bathtub. Nearly 45 minutes later, around 2：00 am, the tornado hit and destroyed the house. Johnson was thrown into the backyard.

Johnson said, “Bella was hiding under our bed when the tornado hit our house. She was thrown into our yard and was missing after that.It was hard for us to know whether she had survived. She was the piece of our family that was missing.” The furious 175 mph twister destroyed everything in its path. The Johnsons would not have survived if not for Bella.

Johnson suffered a head injury and his wife had broken ribs, but they soon set about searching for their beloved heroic dog. They left pieces of clothing around the destroyed neighborhood,hoping that Bella would recognize the scent and find her way back home. Church friend and dog tracker Sarah Romeyn also joined in.

She borrowed cameras from a local animal rescue group and set them up in areas where people reported seeing her. She also worked with other dog trackers and even sought tips from residents with the help of the Putnam County Police Department.

When leads dried up, the Johnsons and Romeyn pressed on. “I was still finding time searching in parking lots, but it was tough. Because nobody had found a body, in rescue you can't give up until you know you don't have a positive outcome. And I hadn't given up,”Romeyn said.

Paragraph 1:

In time, they found a glimmer of hope when Romeyn got a call from her friend Karen Ritacco,who said that Bella was behind her shop.______

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Paragraph 2:

Romeyn was happy to play a part in the rescue, and credited the community for their help.____________________________________

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