Scientists in the United States say plant life has increased on Earth in

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Scientists in the United States say plant life has increased on Earth in the past twenty years and that in every area of plant growth the increase is the result of weather conditions.
Eight scientists from across the Uni

ted States did the study. The space agency NASA and the Department of Energy paid for it. The findings were published in the magazine Science.
The researchers spent one and a half years examining weather satellite information. The information was recorded from 1982 to 1999. That period was one of the warmest on record. Researchers found that rainfall generally increased during that time.
The satellites measured the number of leaves on plants and the amount of sunlight taken in. The scientists used that information to estimate what is called net primary production. This is total amount of carbon stored in land plants.
The scientists report a 6% increase in stored carbon since 1982. They say gains were high in equatorial areas, especially around the Amazon River in South America. The area alone had a 1% increase in the net primary production.
Ramakrishna Nemani of the University of Montana in Missoula headed the study. He says reduced cloud cover led to growth in Amazon area. He also says the lack of clouds allowed more sunlight to get through. More sunlight meant increases in photosynthesis(光合作用). That is the process by which plants use energy from sunlight to produce the chemicals they need to grow.
Northern Canada, the north-central United States and northern Europe were second in increased plant growth. Ramakrishna Nemani says a rise in temperature helped plants there.
All together, the report says 25% of areas of plant life on Earth experienced increases. But the scientists also note increase in the number of people on Earth and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Ranga Myneni of Boston University in Massachusetts, another study scientist says humans use about half the net primary production on Earth. And he notes that the world population grew by 36% during the period of time studied.
小题1:Which of the following is in charge of the study?

A．The spa

ce agency NASA of the US.

B．The Department of Energy of the US.

C．Ramakrishna Nemani in Missoula.

D．Ranga Myneni in Massachusetts.

小题2:What’s the main cause of the plant growth put forward by the study?

A．Growth in population.

B．Regional features.

C．Seasonal variation.

D．Weather conditions

小题3: Why do scientists believe that reduced cloud cover has led to the plant growth in the Amazon area?

A．Because plants could take in more sunlight.

B．Because plants could get more rainfall.

C．Because plants could enjoy cooler air.

D．Because plants suffer less from natural disasters.

小题4: Which of the following descriptions about the years from 1982 to 1999 is TRUE?

A．It was the warmest on record.

B．Rainfall decreased little by little.

C．World population grew by 25%.

D．Stored carbon increased by 6%.

答案

小题1:C
小题2:C
小题3:A
小题4:D

解析

略

举一反三

Looking back on my childhood, I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were all brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon left their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.
Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim(模糊的) memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a clear memory of the dogs, the farm animals, the local birds, and above all, the insects.
I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world and my enthusiasm had led me into varied investigations（调查研究）. I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people’s observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious（清醒的） mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle, because it all seems to fit together. This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books, which some might honor with the title of scientific research.
But curiosity, keen（敏锐的） eyes, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist: one of the excellent and essential qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack. A scientist, up to a certain point, can be made. A naturalist is born. If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds.
小题1:The first paragraph tells us the author ______.

A．was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood

B．lost his hearing when he was a child

C．didn’t like his brothers and sisters

D．was born into a naturalist’s family

小题2:The author can’t remember his relatives clearly because _______.

A．he didn’t live very long with them

B．the family was extremely large

C．he was too young when he lived with them

D．he was fully occupied with observing nature

小题3:It can be inferred from the passage that the author was _______.

A．a scientist as well as a naturalist	B．a naturalist but not a scientist
C．no more than a born naturalist	D．first of all a scientist

小题4: The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he _______.

A．has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic

B．lacks some of the qualities required of a scientist

C．just reads about other people’s observations and discoveries

D．comes up with solutions in a most natural way

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When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings.
Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is

the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
小题1:Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend	B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had
C．My Father	D．My Childhood

小题2: What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

B．She had made a

list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

小题3:Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

小题4:What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her“enemy” had said.

B．He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C．He told her to write down all that her“enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D．He refused to take the list and have a look at it.

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Michael was a farmer in Texas．His parents moved to the USA from Ireland in the 1940’s， and they became very rich．Michael decided to go back to Ireland to meet his old grandfather， who was still living on the same farm．
Michael booked his ticket，flew to Shannon airport，hired a car and drove to the small village where his parents had been born．He asked for directions to the Ohagan farm，and in the end he drove up a bumpy path．He was shocked by what he saw：a small field，and in the middle of it was an old house，which looked as if it was falling down．Animals were wandering in and out of the front door，and on the porch an old man was smoking a pipe.
“Are you Mr. Ohagan?”asked Michael。
“Yes，”replied the old mall．
“I"m your grandson，Michael，”said Michael．
“A--ha，”replied the old man．
“Is this your farm?”asked Michael．
“Yes，all the way to the wall over there，”said the old man．
Michael was astonished．“Grandfather,”he said，“I have a farm in Texas．I can get into my car and drive all day and I still haven’t reached the end of the farm．”
“Yes，”said his grandfather．“I used to have a car like that．”
小题1:Michael’s parents _______．

A．still lived in Ireland alone	B．owned a small farm in Texas
C．returned to their birthplace	D．were Irish immigrants（移民）in America

小题2:Which of the following shocked Michael?

A．The farm was small	B．The old house looked like his own．
C．Living conditions were poor in the fields．	D．Animals were free in the fields．

小题3:The old man _______．

A．owned a small farm, which extended only to the wall not far away

B．had so large a farm that he couldn’t cover it in a day

C．hadn’t his modern car any longer

D．used to have as good a car as his grandson’s

小题4:Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Michael owned a large farm in Ireland.

B．Michael’s car was in such poor condition that it couldn’t reach the end of the farm within a day．

C．Michael’s farm was too large for a car to reach its end in a day．

D．Michael didn’t know what to say to his grandfather

小题5:From“I used to have a car like that”，we can see that________．

A．the old man really had a car like that

B．the old man knew his son’s farm in the US was quite large

C．the old man misunderstood what Michael said

D．the old man wanted to buy a car like that

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Diego Maradona acknowledged(承认) that he struck the ball with his hand in the famous “Hand of God “ goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals.
Maradona appeared to hit the ball with his hand into the net, and officials allowed the goal to stand despite protests by the English team. Argentina went on to win the 1986 quarterfinal match 2-1 and then win the World Cup.
In his most detailed comments yet, Maradona said he was unable to reach the ball for a header(头球) when he went up against the taller English goalkeeper, Peter Shilton.
After the score, Maradona said he quickly realized the line referee(裁判) had allowed the goal but none of themselves were figuring the goal would be effective.
“I was waiting for my teammates to hug me and no one came,” said Maradona, who was the team captain. “I told them, ‘Come and hug me or the referee isn’t going to allow it.’”
In his 20-year career before retiring in 1997, Maradona starred at Argentinas Juniors and Boca Juniors and in Europe. He also led Argentina league titles(冠军).
In 1991, Maradona failed a drug test and was banned for 15 months. Nine years later, FiFA chose him and Pele as the best players in soccer history.
Recently, he was appointed vice president of Boca Juniors. And with his new TV show, Maradona, 45, has returned to public eyes after years of dealing with drug and health problems.
小题1:This passage comes from ________.
A a report of some newspaper.              B Maradona’s autobiography
C statement of an official                  D an interview with Maradona’s teammates
小题2:Maradona was chosen as one of the best players in soccer history in ____.
A 1986          B 1997         C 2000         D 2001
小题3:The underlined word “figuring” is closest in meaning to ____.
A pretending    B thinking      C hoping       D celebrating
小题4:Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A Striking the ball with one’s hand into the net is effective.
B Maradona didn’t pass a drug test.
C Maradona won the 1986 World Cup.
D Maradona retired in 1997.
小题5:We can learn the following from the passage EXCEPT THAT ___.
A Maradona was once a drug taker.
B Maradona had planned to head the ball but failed.
C his teammates rushed to congratulate him after Maradona had shot the goal.
D Maradona once had some health problems.

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I was walking along the deserted main street of a small seaside town in the north of England looking somewhere to make a phone call. My car had broken down outside the town and I wanted to get in touch with the Automobile Association .Low gray clouds were drifting across the sky and there was a cold damp wind blowing off the sea. It had rained in the night and water was dripping from the bare trees that lined the street. I was glad that I was wearing a thick coat.
There was no sign of a call box, nor was there anyone at that early hour I could ask. I had thought I might find a shop selling the Sunday papers or a milkman doing his job, but the town was completely dead.
Then suddenly I found what I was looking for. There was a small post office, and almost hidden from sight in a dark narrow street next to it was the town’s only public call box, which badly needed a coat of paint, I hurried forward but stopped in astonishment when I saw through the dirty glass that there was a man inside. He was very fat, and was wearing a cheap blue plastic raincoat and rubber boots. I could not see his face - he was bending forward over the phone with his back pressed against the glass and didn’t even raise his head at the sound of my coming nearer and nearer. Carefully and surprisedly, I remained standing a few feet away and lit a cigarette to wait my turn. It was when I threw the dead match on the ground that I noticed something bright red trickling from under the call box door.
小题1:The author was walking through the small seaside town__________.

A．late morning	B．early morning
C．before midnight	D．late evening

小题2:The weather of the day was ____, when the story happened.

A．windy, cold and cloudy	B．stormy, damp and clear
C．rainy, cold and clear	D．rainy, windy and cold

小题3: Why was the author astonished when he saw that there was a man in the call box? Because____.

A．the man inside was still wearing a raincoat

B．he didn’t expect it to be taken up

C．the man had his back with him

D．the man did not seem to be moving

小题4:The author waited, standing a few feet away from the box because____.

A．it was not safe to be close to the box

B．the man didn’t notice his coming

C．he wanted to have a cigarette to calm himself down

D．it was bad manners to overhear other’s phone calls

小题5: What do you suppose happened to the man in the call box?

A．He slept.

B．He had most probably been killed.

C．He was lost in his important phone call.

D．He was too fat to move around.

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