Different areas have experienced different effects of the climate change.
A. Y
B. N
C. NG
听力原文:M: Hello.
W: Hello, Roger? This is Ann.
M: Oh hi, Ann. How have you been? And how's your new apartment working out?
W: Well, that's what I'm calling about. You see, I've decided to look for a new place.
M: Oh, what's the problem with your place now? I thought you liked the apartment.
W: Oh, I do. It's pretty cozy, the surroundings are perfect and a lot of entertainments are available here. But it's simply a little far from campus, and the commute is just killing me. Do you think you could help? 1 thought you might know more about the housing situation near the university.
M: Alright. So, what kind of place are you looking for?
W: Well, I'd like to share an apartment with one or two roommates within walking distance to school.
M: Okay, what's your budget like? I mean how much do you want to spend on rent?
W: Uh, somewhere under $ 200 a month, including utilities, if I could. Oh, and I'd prefer to rent a furnished apartment.
M: Hmm. And anything else?
W: Yeah, I need a parking space.
M: Well, I know there's an apartment complex around the comer that seems to have a few vacancies. I'll drop by there on my way to class today.
W: Hey, thanks a lot.
M: No problem.
(23)
A. Problems with living in an apartment.
B. A search for a new apartment.
C. The cost of rent near universities.
D. Furnishing an apartment.
听力原文:W: Guess what! I saw the rock singer in a downtown shopping center today.
M: You thought it was him, but he is supposed to be in Washington for his concert tour.
Q: What does the man imply?
(15)
A. The woman might have made a mistake.
B. The woman should go to Washington to listen to the singer.
C. He thinks the singer is visiting the downtown area.
D. He shares the woman's idea.
Climate Change
Climate change is with us. A decade ago, it was conjecture. Now the future is unfolding before our eyes. Canada's Inuit see it in disappearing Arctic ice and permafrost(永久冻结带). The shanty town dwellers of Latin America and Southern Asia see it in lethal storms and floods. Europeans see it in disappearing glaciers, forest fires and fatal heat waves.
Scientists see it in tree rings, ancient coral and bubbles trapped in ice cores. These reveal that the world has not been as warm as it is now for a millennium or more. The three warmest years on re cord have 'all occurred since 1998; 19 of the warmest 20 since 1980. And Earth has probably never warmed as fast as in the past 30 years -- a period when natural influences on global temperatures, such as solar cycles and volcanoes should have cooled us down.
Climatologists reporting for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say we are seeing global warming caused by human activities. The felling down of trees that largely decrease the photosynthesis(光合作用) to absorb CO2 and the burning of coal, oil and natural gas that gives out great amount of CO2in the air all result in the increasing of temperatures.
Global Greenhouse
People arc causing the change by burning nature's vast stores of coal, oil and natural gas. This releases billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) every year, although the changes may actually have started with the dawn of agriculture, say some scientists.
The physics of the "greenhouse effect" has been a matter of scientific fact for a century. CO2is a greenhouse gas that traps the Sun's radiation within the troposphere (对流层), the lower atmosphere. It has accumulated along with other man-made greenhouse gases, such as methane (沼气) and chlorofiuorocarbons (CFCs)(碳氟化合物). Some studies suggest that cosmic rays may also be involved in warming.
If current trends continue& we will raise atmospheric CO2concentrations to double pre-industrial levels during this century. That will probably be enough to raise global temperatures by around 2°C to 5°C. And the trend is still going on. Some warming is certain, but the degree will be determined by cycles involving melting ice, the oceans, water vapour, clouds and changes to vegetation and plants.
Warming is bringing other unpredictable changes. Melting glaciers and precipitation are causing some rivers to overflow, while evaporation is emptying others. Diseases are spreading, especially in tropical areas. Some crops grow faster than before while others see yields slashed greatly by disease and drought. Clashes over dwindling water resources may cause conflicts in many regions.
As natural ecosystems -- such as coral reefs -- are disrupted, biodiversity is reduced. Most species cannot migrate fast enough to keep up, though others are already evolving in responses to warming. This has resulted to the extinction (or close extinction) of some species and put a lot of species in danger. In addition, for those who have adapted to the new environment, the amount of the species is increasing in great deal.
Thermal expansion of the oceans, combined with melting ice on land, is also raising sea levels. In this century, human activity could trigger an irreversible melting of the Greenland ice sheet. This would condemn the world to a rise in sea level of six metres -- enough to flood land occupied by billions of people. And this is one fear that almost all scientists hold in heart.
The global warming would be more pronounced if it were not for sulphur particles and other pollutants that shade us, and because forests and oceans absorb around half of the CO2we produce. But the accumulation rate of atmospheric CO2has doubled since 2001, suggesting that nature's ability to absorb the gas could now be stretched to the limit. Recent research suggests tha
A. Y
B. N
C. NG