高考英语阅读理解科普文(难度较高).doc

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2014年高考英语二轮复习阅读理解 拉分题（较难题目）特训：节能环保类
1
The Goldman Environmental Foundation recently recognized a group of individuals (个体) for their efforts to protect the environment. Each year, the American-based group honors environmental activists from six different areas.
The first three winners of the 2012 Goldman Prize are from Kenya, the Philippines and China.
The Goldman Environmental Foundation says Ikal Angelei is a hero to those who live around Lake Turkana. The Kenyan woman received the award because of her efforts to stop a dam project on a river in Ethiopia. Critics say the dam will harm the lake and restrict (限制) the flow of water for people who live nearby.
The Philippine island of Mindoro is home to those who depend on the area’s natural resources for food and jobs. Edwin Gariguez became concerned when a European company announced plans to mine for nickel (镍) on the island. The Roman Catholic minister said waste materials from the mining project would pollute the water and destroy the forests. So he started a campaign to stop the project.
In China, Ma June is working with businesses to clean up their pollution. He formed a group that collects information about pollution, and publishes it on the Internet.
The Goldman Prize was also awarded to activists from Argentina, Russia and the United States.
Sofia Gatica of Argentina is from a town where farmers commonly use pesticide (杀虫剂) products to protect soybean crops from insects. The town also has a high rate of cancer. Sofia Gatica believed that pesticide use was responsible for the death of her baby. She worked with other mothers to get government officials to ban the use of chemicals near populated areas.
Evgenia Chirikova objects to the plans to build a road through a protected forest just outside Moscow. She has demanded that Russian officials redirect the road away from the forest. She and her followers have been arrested for their activities. However, their campaign has gained widespread public support.
The sixth winner is American Caroline Cannon—a community leader in Point Hope Alaska. Miz Cannon is fighting to keep Arctic waters safe from oil and gas exploration.
60. We can know from the passage that ______.
A. the dam project has been prevented
B. the first three activists are all from Asia
C. a European company is going to dig for nickel
D. Ma June is trying to stop oil and gas exploration
61. From the 7th paragraph, we can know that ______.
A. pesticide use accounts for a high-rate of cancer
B. Sofia managed to ban the use of chemicals
C. the farmers mainly live on unpolluted products
D. the death of the baby was due to delayed treatment
62. What do we know about Evgenia Chirikova？
A. She plans to build a road to protect the forest.
B. She is in charge of a project far away from the road.
C. She persuaded the government to set her followers free.
D. Her environmental action has been widely acknowledged.
63. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Six Advanced Individuals for Hard Work
B. Efforts to Create a Clean and Beautiful World
C. Six Environmental Activists Win Goldman Prize
D. The Goldman Environmental Foundation Prize
2
SCS Global Services （SCS） has evaluated a new methodology for measuring the carbon sequestration（封存） ability of soil under the Verified（验证） Carbon Standard （VCS）, a leading greenhouse gas （GHG） accounting system. The methodology, developed by The Earth Partners, will allow land managers who sequester GHGs in grasslands and farmlands to produce carbon credits for sale in the voluntary market.
Managers of grasslands and farmlands can increase carbon sequestration in soil by practices such as changing grazing（放牧） practices and operating treatments designed to improve the variety and productivity of plant groups. The Earth Partners is presently piloting this methodology with farmers across seven million acres of the Palouse River and Columbia Plateau regions in the Pacific Northwest.
“The VCS program has achieved an important milestone in now combining grassland and rangeland carbon offset（抵消，补偿） projects," said Dr. Robert J. Hrubes, Executive Vice President of SCS."SCS looks forward to approving and verifying agricultural carbon offset projects that use this very powerful new methodology."
The VM0021 Soil Carbon Quantification Methodology is based on decades of soil carbon research and testing conducted by top soil scientists. The methodology was developed by The Earth Partners and verified by Environmental Services, Inc. as well as SCS Global Services. It is the first soil carbon methodology to be approved for use under the VCS.
"This widely tested methodology is the first to specially deal with soils in a market," said Steven I. Apfelbaum, Chairman of Applied Ecological Services, Inc. and Director of Science with The Earth Partners. According to Apfelbaum, soils represent the second largest living sink of carbon on the planet.
68. The new methodology is assessed according to　　　　　.
A. The Earth Partners　　　　B. the Verified Carbon Standard
C. Environmental Services, Inc.　　　　D. Applied Ecological Services, Inc.
69. Carbon sequestration in soil can be strengthened by　　　　　.
A. selling carbon credits in the voluntary market
B. changing grazing practices and operating treatments
C. reducing the variety and productivity of plant groups
D. decreasing farmlands in the Pacific Northwest
70. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The VCS program proves to be successful in carbon offset projects.
B. Many soil Carbon Methodologies have already been approved for use.
C. The new methodology has been tested in many fields including soil.
D. Soils seem to be the largest living sink of carbon on the planet.
71. What is the attitude of SCS towards the new methodology?
A. Opposed.　　　　B. Cautious.　　　　C. Doubtful.　　　　D. Approving.
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Rainforest is home to around two-thirds of all plant and animal species found on land—in addition to millions of people who depend on them for survival—our remaining ancient forests are some of the most diverse ecosystems known to science. They are also vitally important to the health of our planet, especially when it comes to regulating the climate. But ancient forests around the world are under attack.
Protecting rainforests is on the global agenda (议事日程) in a big way. Governments now recognize the importance of protecting tropical forests in order to avoid dangerous climate change, and there is now much debate. As governments try to thrash out the details of a new international agreement, expected to be signed at the end of 2009, they are discussing how best to include measures to save rainforests, and therefore address one of the major causes of climate change. Worldwide, forest destruction causes more greenhouse gas emissions (排放) each year than do all the trains, planes and cars on the planet. So if we are to deal with global warming, there is an urgent need to find ways to reduce the 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by forest destruction each year, and to keep the remaining forests standing.
We need to protect the planet’s remaining forests not only to stop climate change from getting worse, but to ensure that we can stand the impacts of global warming. Healthy forests absorb and store quantities of carbon, helping to regulate temperature and generate rain. When they are destroyed, this carbon is released into the atmosphere. Thus keeping forests standing is both a critical part of regulating climate change and of adapting to a warmer world.
To date, most of the talk has focused on how to pay for reducing deforestation (滥伐森林), rather than on how to actually go about doing it. We believe governments need to support local people to protect their environment, as we have been showing for 20 years can be a very effective way of saving rainforests.
1. The best title for the passage is　　　.
A. Rainforest and Climate Change
B. Strategies on Protecting Rainforest
C. Serious Deforestation to Rainforest
D. Present Situation of Rainforest
2. From the first paragraph we can infer that　　　.
A. we have little rainforest left until now
B. the ancient forests are being destroyed[来源:21世纪教育网]
C. rainforest control the planet in many ways
D. Rainforest is home to all plants and animals on earth
3. The underlined part “thrash out” in the second paragraph means　　　.
A. try to understand　　　　B. come up with　　　　C. hide away　　　　D. have a thorough discussion
4. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by forest destruction　　　.
A. are the same amount by transport on earth
B. take 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions
C. can be avoided by setting measures only
D. have nothing to do with climate change
5. From the text we can learn that healthy forest　　　.
A. can keep us healthy and happy
B. can increase the effect from global warming
C. can be helpful in adjusting the temperature
D. can give out large amounts of carbon
4
Rivers may be a significant source of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (一氧化二氮), scientists now find.
Their calculation suggests that across the globe the waterways contribute three times the amount of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere as had been estimated by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations scientific body charged with reviewing climate change research. They found that the amount of nitrous oxide produced in streams is related to human activities that release nitrogen (氮) into the environment, such as fertilizer use and sewage discharges.
“Human activities, including fossil fuel combustion and intensive agriculture, have increased the availability of nitrogen in the environment,” said Jake Beaulieu of the University of Notre Dame and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Cincinnati, Ohio, and lead author of the paper published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Much of this nitrogen is transported into river and stream networks,” Beaulieu said. There, microbes (微生物) convert the nitrogen into nitrous oxide (also called laughing gas) and an inert gas called dinitrogen (二氮).
The finding is important, the researchers say, because nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and destruction of the stratosphere’s ozone layer, which protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (紫外线) radiation. Compared with carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide is 300-fold more powerful in terms of its warming potential, though carbon dioxide is a far more common greenhouse gas. Scientists estimate nitrous oxide accounts for about 6 percent of human-induced climate change.
Beaulieu and colleagues measured nitrous oxide production rates in 72 streams. When summed across the globe, the results showed rivers and streams are the source of at least 10 percent of human-caused nitrous oxide emissions to the atmosphere.
“Changes in agricultural and land-use practices that result in less nitrogen being delivered to streams would reduce nitrous oxide emissions from river networks,” Beaulieu said.
1. From the second paragraph we can learn　　　.
A. actually rivers give off much more nitrous oxide than expected
B. scientists’ calculation is totally wrong
C. human activities release nitrous oxide in to the rivers
D. there is no nitrogen in fertilizer
2. Which of the following is NOT the source of nitrogen?
A. Fertilizer use.
B. Sewage discharges.
C. Fossil fuel combustion.
D. Climate change.
3. Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas because　　　.
A. it can protect us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation
B. it is to blame for most of human-induced climate change
C. it is a far more common greenhouse gas
D. it has much more warming potential than carbon dioxide
4. What does the passage mainly tells us?
A. Rivers may be a source of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.
B. It’s human activities that release nitrogen into the environment.
C. How to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from river networks
D What to do with the climate change caused by nitrous oxide.
5
The Maldives faces the threat of extinction from rising sea levels, but the government said on Thursday it was looking to the future with plans to build homes and a golf course that float.
An increase in sea levels of just 18 to 59 centimeters would make the Maldives—a nation of tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean—virtually uninhabitable by 2100, the UN’s climate change panel has warned.
President Mohamed Nasheed has vowed a fight for survival, and last month he signed a deal with a Dutch company to study proposals for a floating structure that could support a conference centre, homes and an 18-hole golf course.
“It is still early stages and we are awaiting a report on the practicality,” a government official who declined to be named said.
The company, Dutch Docklands, is currently building floating developments in the Netherlands and Dubai. There was no immediate comment from the firm but its website said it undertook projects that make “land from water by providing large-scale floating constructions to create similar conditions as on land”.
The Maldives began to work on an artificial island known as the Hulhumale near the crowded capital island of Male in 1997 and more than 30,000 people have been settled there to ease congestion. The city, which has a population of 100,000, is already protected from rising sea levels by a 30-million-dollar sea wall, and the government is considering increasingly imaginative ways to combat climate change.
Nasheed, who staged the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in October to highlight his people’s serious and difficult situation, has even spoken of buying land elsewhere in the world to enable Maldivians to relocate if their homes are completed covered.
He has also promised to turn his nation into a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020. His plan involves ending fossil fuel use and powering all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources such as burning coconut husks.
1. Why do you think Mohamed Nasheed chose Dutch Docklands?
A. Because it has experience in building floating structure.
B. Because it has a good fame throughout the world.
C. Because it charged much less than other companies.
D. Because it supports building floating structures in the world.
2. The Hulhumale was built with the purpose of　　　.
A. attracting more visitors
B. making it a new capital
C. making the capital less crowded
D. fighting against climate change
3. According to the last two paragraphs, Nasheed is a person who　　　.
A. has succeeded in buying land abroad
B. is more than well-known
C. has thought more for his nation
D. has stopped using fossil fuel
4. The underlined word “vowed” in paragraph 3 can be replaced by　　　.
A. ended　　　　 B. promised　　　　 C. failed　　　　 D. weighed
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PLAYA GRANDE,