Researchers also note an increase in the number of areas setting new records for high and low temperatures.

    More severe storms have been reported in some areas．Other areas have suffered from a severe lack of rain.

    Alex Green of the University of Florida believes a general warming in Earth’s atmosphere is to blame．This warming is commonly called the Green-house Effect.

    Scientists believe it is caused by burning fuels such as oil and coal．Many scientists say the pollution released by burning the fuels enters the atmosphere and may lead to higher temperatures on Earth.

    Professor Green says the more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, the more extreme weather systems we can expect.

    But not all researchers agree．Tom Ross is a weather expert with the National Climatic Data Center in North Carolina．Mister Ross says what is happening now could become less of an issue at a future date．He notes that only twenty years ago some scientists were warning about the start of a new ice age.

    Mister Ross says more information needs to be collected before scientists can blame current weather conditions on the Greenhouse Effect．However, Mister Green says that by the time scientists agree about the problem it may be too late to do anything about it.

1．The number of areas setting new records for high and low temperature which have suffered from a severe lack of rain or more severe storms is ________;

A．one

B．two

C．under three

D．above three

2． The underlined “the Greenhouse Effect” means ________.

A．a general warming in Earth’s atmosphere

B．that the more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, the more extreme weather systems we can expect

C．burning fuels such as oil and coal

D．that the pollution released by burning the fuels enters the atmosphere

3．What is your opinion after reading the last paragraph? My opinion is that ________.

A．all the scientists can blame current weather conditions on the Greenhouse Effect

B．not all the scientists agree about the Greenhouse Effect

C．it is never too late to do anything almost Greenhouse Effect

D．it maybe too late to do anything about Greenhouse Effect

4．many Chinese are anxious to go to the United States

B．America is not a great country, compared with China

C．China too, is a great country and his friends don’t always see that

D．beauty in one’s own backyard is some times taken for granted

4．From this passage we can learn ________.

A．people sometimes made stupid mistakes

B．people sometimes take a one- sided view of things

C．people must look at things from all sides

D．beauty lies in love’s eyes

A．storms and the environment

B．the pollution caused by burning the fuels

C．the change of the environment and study

D．the Greenhouse Effect

    Scientists are studying new information about storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean．Weather experts say the North Atlantic had more storms this past year than during most years．The area had a record of five major hurricanes with wind speeds of one- hundred- ninety kilometers an hour or greater.

    Researchers also note an increase in the number of areas setting new records for high and low temperatures.

    More severe storms have been reported in some areas．Other areas have suffered from a severe lack of rain.

    Alex Green of the University of Florida believes a general warming in Earth’s atmosphere is to blame．This warming is commonly called the Green-house Effect.

    Scientists believe it is caused by burning fuels such as oil and coal．Many scientists say the pollution released by burning the fuels enters the atmosphere and may lead to higher temperatures on Earth.

    Professor Green says the more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, the more extreme weather systems we can expect.

    But not all researchers agree．Tom Ross is a weather expert with the National Climatic Data Center in North Carolina．Mister Ross says what is happening now could become less of an issue at a future date．He notes that only twenty years ago some scientists were warning about the start of a new ice age.

    Mister Ross says more information needs to be collected before scientists can blame current weather conditions on the Greenhouse Effect．However, Mister Green says that by the time scientists agree about the problem it may be too late to do anything about it.

1．The number of areas setting new records for high and low temperature which have suffered from a severe lack of rain or more severe storms is ________;

A．one

B．two

C．under three

D．above three

2． The underlined “the Greenhouse Effect” means ________.

A．a general warming in Earth’s atmosphere

B．that the more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, the more extreme weather systems we can expect

C．burning fuels such as oil and coal

D．that the pollution released by burning the fuels enters the atmosphere

3．What is your opinion after reading the last paragraph? My opinion is that ________.

A．all the scientists can blame current weather conditions on the Greenhouse Effect

B．not all the scientists agree about the Greenhouse Effect

C．it is never too late to do anything almost Greenhouse Effect

D．it maybe too late to do anything about Greenhouse Effect

4．The main idea of this passage is ________.

A．storms and the environment

B．the pollution caused by burning the fuels

C．the change of the environment and study

D．the Greenhouse Effect

The world's oceans have warmed 50 percent faster over the last 40 years than previously thought due to climate change, Australian and US climate researchers reported on Wednesday. Higher ocean temperatures expand the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to great damage in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.

The study, published in the British journal Nature, adds to a growing scientific chorus of warnings about the pace and consequences of rising oceans. It also serves as a corrective to a massive report issued last year by the Nobel-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change（IPCC）, according to the authors.

Rising sea levels are driven by two things: the thermal（熱）expansion of sea water, and additional water from melting sources of ice. Both processes are caused by global warming. The ice sheet that sits at the top of Greenland, for example, contains enough water to raise world ocean levels by seven metres（23 feet）, which would bury sea-level cities from Dhaka to Shanghai.

Trying to figure out how much each of these factors contributes to rising sea levels is critically important to understanding climate change, and forecasting future temperature rises, scientists say. But up to now, there has been a confusing gap between the projections of computer-based climate models, and the observations of scientists gathering data from the oceans.

The new study, led by Catia Domingues of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, is the first to reconcile（與…一致）the models with observed data. Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 metres（2,300 feet）from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimetre-per-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32 mm rise reported by the IPCC.

64. What happens when the ocean's temperature rises?

A. It causes sea levels to rise.

B. It causes sea levels to remain constant.

C. It causes sea levels to decrease.

D. It causes sea level to change.

65. Which of the followings would be buried by the rising sea?

A. Small island nations.

B. All coastal cities around the world.

C. People who enjoy holiday on the beach.

D. Low-lying regions.

66. The new study in this passage _____________.

A. shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.32 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels.

B. did not reveal anything that scientists hadn't already known.

C. used new techniques to assess ocean temperatures.

D. shows that models contradict the observed data.

67. What was the main finding of the study?

A. Nothing enough is being done about global warming.

B. That ocean waters have warmed faster than scientists had previously thought.

C. That the warming of the world's oceans is not a threat.

D. A massive report issued last year by IPCC was wrong.