第二篇
Florida Hit by Cold Air Mass
In January, 2003, the eastern two-thirds of the United States was at the mercy of a bitterly cold air mass that has endangered Florida’s citrus trees, choked northern harbors with ice and left bewildered residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks digging out of up to a foot of snow.
The ice chill deepened as temperatures fell to the single digits in most of the South, with an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark as far south as parts of interior South Florida. Temperatures in Florida plunged, with West Palm Beach dropping to a record low of 2 degrees.
“We couldn’t believe how cold it was,” said Martin King, who arrived this week in Orlando from England. “We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another cont.”
The temperature plunge posed a threat to Florida’s US $9.1 billion-a-year citrus crop, more of which is still on the trees. Growers were hurrying to harvest as much of the fruit as possible before it was damaged by cold.
“Time is of the essence in getting fruit to the plant,” said Tom Rogers, a citrus grower who expected to see damage to oranges and grapefruit at that time.
In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush signed an emergency order to eliminate the weight limit on trucks so citrus growers could get as much fruit to market as possible.
Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, said growers had sprayed trees with sprinklers, which created a layer of ice and helped maintain a temperature near freezing. Citrus trees are considered in danger of damage if the temperature drops below minus 2 degrees Celsius for four hours or more. Snow ranging from a dusting to up to 30 contimeters blanketed the Carolinas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia.
36. Which of the following statements is not meant in the first two paragraphs?
A. The cold air mass was a threat to Florida’s citrus crop.
B. The temperature in the United States except the South dropped below the freezing mark.
C. The northern harbors were blocked with ice.
D. The eastern two thirds of the United States was hit by cold air mass.
37. According to the second paragraph, in which area(s) did the temperature fall below zero?
A. Most of the South.
B. Parts of interior South Florida.
C. West Palm Beach.
D. All of the above.
38. King’s statement that “We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat.” shows that_____
A. he was caught by the sudden cold.
B. he needed formal clothes.
C. fashion in Florida is tempting.
D. Florida is hot compared with England.
39. Governor Jeb issue the emergency order because he_____
A. thought speed limit for trucks was unreasonable.
B. tried to improve the traffic condition of the express ways.
C. wanted to encourage trucks to transport as much fruit to market as possible.
D. wanted to stop trucks from carrying too much fruit to market.
40. Which statement is NOT true according to the last paragraph?
A. Sprinklers were used to protect citrus trees from heing damaged.
B. Citrus trees would be damaged if the temperature drops below minus 2℃ for four hours.
C. The Carolinas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia were covered with snow.
D. Florida Citrus Mutual sprayed trees with sprinklers for citrus growers.
第三篇
Egypt Felled by Famine
Even ancient Egypts mighty pyramid builders were powerless in the face of the famine that helped bring down their civilian around 2180BC. Now evidence gleaned (收集) from mud deposited (沉淀) by the River Nile suggests that a shift in climate thousands of kilometers to the south was ultimately to blew -- and the same or worse could happen today.
The ancient Egyptians depended on the Niles annual floods to irrigate their crops. But any change in climate that pushed the African monsoons southwards out of Ethiopia would have diminished (使减少) these floods.
Dwindling rains in the Ethiopian highlands would have meant fewer plants to establish the soil. When rain did fall it would have washed large amounts of soil into the Blue Nile and into Egypt, along with sediment (沉淀物) from the White Nile.
The Blue Nile mud has a different isotope signature from that of the White Nile. So by analyzing isotope differences in mud deposited in the Nile Delta, Michael Krom of Leeds University worked out what proportion of sediment came from each branch of the river.
Krom reasons that during periods of drought, the amount of the Blue Nile mud in the river would be relatively high. He found that one of these periods, from 4,500 to 4,200 years ago, immediately predates the fall of the Egypt’s Old Kingdom.
The weakened waters would have been catastrophic for the Egyptians. Changes that affect food supply don’t have to be very large to have a ripple effect (连锁反应) in societies, says Bill Ryan of the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in New York.
Similar events today could be even more devastating, says team member Daniel Stanley, a geoarchaeologist from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.. Anything humans do to shift the climate belts would have an even worse effect along the Nile system because the populations have increased dramatically.
41. Why does the author mention pyramid builders?
A. Because they once worked miracles.
B. Because they were well-built.
C. Because they were actually very weak.
D. Because even they were unable to rescue their civilization.
42. Which of the following factors was ultimately responsible for the fall of the civilization of ancient Egypt?
A. Change of climate.
B. Famine.
C. Food
D. Population growth.
43. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The White Nile is the trunk of the River Nile.
B. The White Nile is the trunk of the Blue Bile.
C. The White Nile a branch of the Blue Nile.
D. The White Nile and the Blue Nile are branches of the River Nile.
44. According to Krom, Egypts Old Kingdom fell
A. immediately after a period of drought.
B. immediately after a period of flood.
C. just before a drought struck.
D. just before a flood struck.
45. The word “devastating” in the last paragraph could be best replaced by_____
A. “frustrating”.
B. “damaging”.
C. “defeating”.
D. “worrying”.
