2023年浙江广播电视大学7月期末考试.doc

卷号：8331/6247 B卷
浙江广播电视大学2023年7月期末考试
英语阅读（4）

Passage 1
Read passage 1 carefully and complete items 1-5 as required (15 points, 3 points)
Global Warming May Not End up Being Warm at All

Most scientists are now certain that global warming is taking place. Gases such as carbon dioxide produced by burning of coal, oil, wood, together with industrial pollution, are creating a warm blanket around the earth. This blanket is trapping heat in the atmosphere (the process known as “the greenhouse effect”), and so raising the temperature of the earth (global warming).
The evidence for global warming can now be seen in the world’s changing climate statistics. In Europe, eight of the last ten years have seen record high temperatures. For northern Europe, this has generally been a change for the better. Gardeners can now even grow some tropical plants in England, though London may never see a “White Christmas” again. On the other hand, the countries around the Mediterranean sea, and those south of the Sahara desert are receiving even less rain than before. In sub-Saharan Africa the crops are drying out in the fields and people are dying of starvation. In the Americas, the climate is becoming more extreme-the summers are getting hotter and the storms are becoming more violent. In 1999 the southern United States was struck by a series of destructive hurricanes, while the end of 1999 saw the worst floods ever in Venezuela. Meteorologists expect such trends to continue, and indeed to worsen, if global warming cannot be halted.
In addition to worrying about rising global temperatures and more extreme weather conditions, scientists are closely are closely monitoring sea levels around the world. These are slowly rising, as the northern and southern polar ice caps start to melt. This will have serious consequences for low-lying countries near the sea, such as the coral islands in the Pacific, and Bangladesh where the River Ganges already floods the delta every year. Already parts of these places are disappearing under the rising tides.
According to new research, one contradictory feature of global warming is that it will probably lead in the end to a period of much colder weather, at least in Europe. Scientists base their theory on what happened the last time the world warmed up, 8, 300 years ago. They have discovered that when the ice melted from the northern polar ice cap it became trapped in an enormous lake in northern Canada. As more ice melted this lake suddenly burst open, releasing millions of tons of freezing fresh water into the North Atlantic. This flood of water was so large that it prevented the normal flow of water in the Atlantic, which takes warm water from the tropics north to Europe. When this flow of warm water was cut off, temperatures in Europe dropped by between three and eight degrees Celsius over the next two hundred years. Scientists believe that a similar process could occur in the next century if the Greenland Ice Sheet starts to melt. “Ultimately, that’s the interest here,” says Richard Alley, an American climate expert. “The climate hasn’t varied much in 8,000 years. But the big changes could come back!”

Select the appropriate answer for each of the following questions.

1. According to Paragraph 1, what is the relation between global warming and the greenhouse effect?
A) Global warming causes the greenhouse effect.
B) The greenhouse effect causes global warming.
C) Global warming and the greenhouse effect are both types of industrial pollution.
D) Global warming and the greenhouse effect are not connected in any way.
2. According to Paragraph 2, the overall effect of global warming on Europe’s climate is _____________.
A) a decline in rainfall
B) a more tropical climate
C) a general improvement in the weather
D) better for some countries and worse for others
3. Bangladesh is mentioned in Paragraph 3 because it is _________________.
A) a country made up of coral islands
B) a country with good sea defences
C) a country threatened by rising sea levels
D) a developing country
4. According to Paragraph 4, the climate in Europe became colder 8,300 years ago because __________.
A) global warming reversed, and so temperatures started to drop around the world
B) ice moved south to cover Europe and the North Atlantic
C) enormous lakes of freezing water covered Canada and Europe
D) melted ice in the North Atlantic stopped warm water from reaching Europe
5. According to the passage, scientists believe that global warming_____________________.
A) will definitely produce a colder Europe within 200 years
B) will probably produce a colder Europe in 8,000 years
C) will definitely not produce a colder Europe
D) will probably produce a colder Europe eventually

Passage 2
Read passage 2 carefully and complete items 6-10 as required (15 points, 3 points)
Acid Rain

When fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, and fuel oils are burned, they emit oxides of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen into the air. These oxides combine with moisture in the air to form sulfuric acid, carbonic acid, and nitric acid. When it rains or snows, these acids fall on the earth in what is called acid rain.
During the 20th century, the acidity of the air and acid rain have come to be recognized as leading threats to the stability and quality of Earth’s environment. Most of this acidity is produced in the industrialized nations of the Northern Hemisphere-the United States, Canada, Japan, and many countries of Europe.
The effects of acid rain can be very destructive to many forms of life, including human life. Its effects can be most vividly seen, however, in lakes, rivers, and streams. Acidity in water kills virtually all life forms. By the early 1990s, tens of thousands of lakes had been destroyed by acid rain. The problem has been most severe in Norway, Sweden, and Canada.
Scientists use what is called the PH factor to measure the acidity or alkalinity of liquid solutions. On a scale from 0 to 14, the number 0 represents the highest level of acid. 14 represents the most basic or alkaline. Rainfalls in the eastern United States and in Western Europe often have a PH factor ranging from 4.5 to 4.0.
The threat posed by acid rain is not limited by geographic boundaries. Winds carry the pollutants around the globe. For example, much research supports the conclusion that pollution from coal-powered electric generating stations in the midwestern United States is the ultimate cause of the severe acid-rain problem in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Nor are the destructive effects of acid rain limited to the natural environment. Structures made of stone, metal, and cement have also been damaged or destroyed. Some of the world’s great monuments have shown signs of damage. This damage is probably caused by acid rain.
The cost of antipollution equipment such as burners, filters, and chemical and washing devices is great. However, the cost in damage to the environment and human life is estimated to be much greater because the damage caused by acid rain may be irreversible. Although preventive measures are being taken, up to 5000,000 lakes in North America may be destroyed before the 20th century.

Select the appropriate answer for each of the following questions.

6.It can be concluded from the article that acid rain_______________.
A) is a problem that cannot be solved by one country alone
B) is a threat that cannot be eliminated
C) is the most important problem facing the world
D) is causing severe problems in Africa
7.The article tells us that the destruction of lakes by acid rain has been most severe where _______________.
A) there is the most industry
B) the acid level of the rainfall
C) wind is the strongest
D) rainfalls ate frequent
8 We learn from the article that lakes are destroyed by acid rain because_________________.
A) lakes cannot exist without life forms in water
B) acidity kills all forms of life whether on land or in the water
C) the surrounding vegetation is killed
D) there is no oxygen in the water
9 The only way to reverse the effects of acid rain is through_________________.
A) education
B) antipollution equipment
C) measuring water acidity
D) barring the use of fossil fuels
10 The most damaging effects of acid rain may eventually be ________________.
A) loss of all rivers, lakes, and streams
B) complete destruction of historical monuments
C) some loss of human life
D) the eventual destruction of civilization

Passage 3
Read passage 3 carefully and complete items 11-15 as required (15 points, 3 points)
Conversational Ball Games

After I was married and had lived in Japan for a while, my Japanese gradually improved and I could take part in simple conversations with my husband and his friends and family. I began to notice that often, when I joined in, the others would look surprised, and the conversational topic would come to a halt. After this happened several times, it became clear to me that I was doing something wrong. But for a long time, I didn’t know what it was.
Finally, after listening carefully to many Japanese conversations, I discovered what my problem was. Even though I was speaking Japanese, I was handing the conversation in a Western way.
Japanese-style conversations develop quite differently from Western-style conversation. And the difference isn’t only in the languages. I realized that just as I kept trying to hold Western-style conversations even when I was speaking Japanese, so my English students kept trying to do hold Japanese-style conversations even when they were speaking English. We were unconsciously playing entirely different conversational ball games.
A Western-style conversation between two people is like a game of tennis. If I introduce a topic, a conversational ball, I expect you to hit it back, if you agree with me, I don’t expect you simply to agree and do noting more. I expect you to add something – a reason for agreeing, another example, or an elaboration to carry the idea further. But I don’t expect you always to agree. I am just as happy if you question me, or challenge me, or completely disagree with me. Whether you agree or disagree, your response will return the ball to me. And then if is my turn again. I don’t serve a new ball from my original starting line. I hit your ball back again from where it has bounced. I carry your idea further, or answer your questions or objections, or challenge or question you. And so the ball goes back and forth.
If there are more than two people in the conversation, then it is like doubles in tennis, or like volleyball. There’s no waiting in line. Whoever is neatest and quickest hits the ball, and if you step back, someone else will hit it. No one stops the game to give you a turn. You’re responsible for taking your own turn.
But whether it’s two players or a group, everyone does his or her best to keep the ball going, and no one person has the ball for very long.
A Japanese-style conversation, however, is not at all like tennis or volleyball. It’s like bowling. You wait for your turn. And you always know your place in line. It depends on such things as whether you are older or younger, a close friend or a relative stranger to the previous speaker, in a senior or junior position, and so on.
When your turn comes, you step up to the starting line with your bowling ball and carefully bowl it. Everyone else stands back and watches politely, murmuring encouragement. Everyone waits until the ball has reached the end of the alley and watches to see if it knocks down all the pins, or only some of them, or none of them. There is a pause, while everyone records your score.
Then, after everyone is sure that you have completely finished your turn, the next person in line steps up to the same starting line, with a different ball. He doesn’t return your ball, and he does not begin from where your ball stopped. And there is always a suitable pause between turns. There is no rush, no rush, no scramble for the ball.
No wonder everyone looked surprised when I took part in Japanese conversations. I paid no attention to whose turn it was and kept snatching the ball halfway down the alley and throwing it back at the bowler. Of course the conversation died. I was playing the wrong game.
But if you have been trained all your life to play one game, it is no simple matter to change to another, even if you know the rules,. Knowing the rules is not at all the same thing as playing the wrong game.
But if you have been trained all your life to play one game, it is no simple matter to change to another, even if you know the rules. Knowing the rules is not at the same thing as playing the game.
Even now, during a conversation in Japanese, I will notice a surprised reaction and realize, though a bit too late, that once again I have rudely interrupted. It is no easier for me to “just listen” during a conversation than it is for my Japanese students to “just relax” when speaking with foreigners. Now I can truly sympathize with how hard they must find it to try carry on a Western-style conversation.

Select the most appropriate answer for each of the following questions.

11. The main idea of this article that _____________.
A) people talk differently in Japan than in the West
B) it’s important to take part in conversations
C) it’s difficult to have a conversation with someone from another country
D) it’s rude to interrupt someone who is speaking
12. The writer makes use of all the following arguments except________________.
A) Japanese-style conversations are like bowing
B) Western-style conversations, you must wait your turn to speak
C) In Japanese-style conversations, you must wait your turn to speak
D) Western-style conversations are longer than Japanese-style conversations
13. We know from the passage that the writer__________________.
A) was born in Japan
B) Is a teacher
C) no longer lives in Japan
D) is an athlete
14. To show the differences in rules of conversation of languages with different cultures, the writer compares conversations to ________________.
a) various ball games
b) rules of politeness
c) tennis rules
d) volleyball rules
15. The reason why the writer was unsuccessful in talking with her Japanese friends was that _________________ .
a) she kept interrupting them
b) she could not speak Japanese well
c) she did not live in Japan long enough
d) she did not know the rules of bowling
Passage 4
Read passage 4 carefully and complete items 16-20 as required (15 points, 3 points)
Industry and the Environment

Do you recycle your newspapers? Do you always take shopping bag with you when you go shopping, so that the shop doesn’t waste plastic bags? If so, then you are a “Green” you are “environmentally conscious”. That means that you are aware that human