Antarctica(南极洲) is known for being a vast land of ice and snow, a place too cold for most life. Despite (尽管) this, the continent is slowly starting to turn warm. According to the Guardian, the Antarctic has registered (登记) a new high temperature for the first time on record, prompting fears of climate instability(不稳定性) in the world’s iciest place.
On Feb 9, Brazilian researchers at Seymour Island reported a temperature of 20.75℃ on the icy continent of Antarctica. It was almost a full degree higher than the previous record of 19.8℃, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.
This record-breaking reading was taken at a monitoring (监测) station in the northern part of Antarctica. According to Brazilian soil scientist Carlos Schaefer, the temperature was documented during a 20-year-long research project. The focus of this project is to study the effect that climate change has on the permafrost (永久冻土) within the region. Permafrost is soil that stays frozen for at least two years. Although this is a first record high for Antarctica, Schaefer stressed that “We can’t use this to anticipate (预测) climatic changes in the future. It’s simply a signal that something different is happening in that area.”
But in fact, the last high temperature reading was in the 19℃ range. These higher temperatures can cause ice and glaciers (冰川) in Antarctic regions to melt. The Antarctic peninsula (半岛) —the long finger of land(狭长地带) that stretches towards Argentina（阿根廷）—is most dramatically affected. Scientists saw glaciers that have retreated by more than 100 meters in Discovery Bay where the snow melted in little more than a week, leaving dark exposed rock. This melted ice leads to a rise in sea levels that can threaten the safety of coastal areas. It’s believed to be behind an alarming decline of more than 50 percent in chinstrap penguin (帽带企鹅) colonies, which are dependent on sea ice.
Like American writer Ernest Hemingway once said, “The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” We should do everything we can to help save our planet. Otherwise, it may become too hot for us to fix.
【小题1】What did Brazilian researchers report on Feb 9?| A．Signy Island is the warmest region in the Antarctic. |
| B．Antarctica hit a record high temperature of 20.75℃. |
| C．The average temperature of Antarctica ranges from 19.8 C to 20.75℃. |
| D．Antarctica’s new record temperature is a full degree higher than the previous decade. |
| A．To predict possible climatic change in the future. |
| B．To monitor Antarctica’s contributions to world climate change. |
| C．To explain why the permafrost may cause glaciers to melt. |
| D．To examine how the permafrost is influenced by climate change. |
| A．Moved backward. | B．Increased in size. |
| C．Covered a certain area | D．Stretched in an opposite direction. |
| A．the pollution of ocean water | B．the release of various viruses |
| C．threats to penguin habitats | D．disappearances of coastal cities |
The seasons in Australia are not like ours. When it is winter in China, it is summer there. Australia is a southern country; it is in the south of the world. July and August are the winter months; September, October and November are spring; summer is in January, February and December, and March, April and May are the autumn months. The north of the country is hotter than the south.
A very large part of this country has no rain at all. The east coast (海岸地区)has rain all year, and there are no dry months there. The southeast winds blow (吹)here all the year. They bring rain from the sea. There is not much rain on the west side. The southeastern part of Australia has summer rain from the southeast winds. They only blow here in summer.
The southwestern part of Australia has winter rain. The west winds blow over the southwest in winter only. In summer, the southwest of the country has no rain. In the north of Australia ,there is no rain in winter. The rain comes in summer. The northwest winds bring it.
【小题1】In October, it is________ in Australia.
| A．spring | B．summer |
| C．autumn | D．winter |
| A．warmer | B．hotter |
| C．colder | D．cooler |
| A．eastern | B．southeastern |
| C．southern | D．northern |
| A．north | B．northeast |
| C．northwest | D．southwest |
| A．enough | B．a heavy |
| C．more | D．no |
| Wu Ling: It’s cool and sunny most of the time in our country．I live in Beijing, a beautiful city．It’s July now．Though it is a little hot, I still feel comfortable． | Waxili: I live in Moscow．There are storms too often there．When the sky is dark and clouds are moving across the sky, the storm is coming．I don’t like that．Always it’s not safe in the storm． |
| John: I live in the north of Canada．It’s quite cold in winter, so we wear warm clothes．Many people like snowy weather because they can make snowmen and enjoy themselves． | Joe: I come from Australia．I never see a snowy day．It’s very hot most of the time in our country．In winter it’s not very cold． |
【小题1】It isin Australia when the four students are camping．
| A．spring | B．winter | C．autumn | D．summer |
| A．John | B．Wu Ling | C．Waxili | D．Joe |
| A．snowy | B．rainy | C．windy | D．cloudy |
| A．different cities | B．different talks in different cities |
| C．different countries | D．different kinds of weather in different areas |
Many places in our world are becoming hotter and the weather is becoming more surprising. More and more ice is melting (融化) at the North Pole and South Pole of our Earth. Unluckily, we may not be able to stop these changes. Why? Because the weather of our Earth is so difficult to control (控制)!
I will tell you something about our world’s surprising weather: one Roman man wrote about frogs raining from the sky almost 2,000 years ago. Can this really happen? Yes, it can! What’s more, fish and other small animals can also “rain”. They sometimes happen when a storm (暴风雨) brings very strong winds. The winds blow over the surface of oceans or lakes. Small frogs and fish aren’t very heavy, so the winds take them to the sky and then they come back down with the rain.
The frog rain isn’t new in many places. In 2005, people in Serbia walked outside their homes after a storm and couldn’t believe their eyes. Hundreds of frogs were trying to jump back to water. If you’re interested to see what “frog rain”, looks like, you can go to watch the 1999 movie Magnolia.
Bad weather may cause many problems to people’s lives. It’s not easy to control the weather. However, everyone should do something to protect our Earth.
【小题1】How does the writer make us know the surprising weather well?| A．By answering some questions. | B．By making a study. |
| C．By using some numbers. | D．By giving us some examples. |
| A．To tell us that only frogs can “rain”. | B．To tell us about a kind of strange weather. |
| C．To ask us to protect frogs and other animals. | D．To tell us something about the danger near the sea. |
| A．Happy. | B．Tired. | C．Angry. | D．Surprised. |
| A．To make us love science. | B．To let us care about animals. |
| C．To ask us to protect our Earth. | D．To ask us to watch Magnolia. |
| A．A storybook. | B．A cartoon book. |
| C．A geography magazine. | D．A travel magazine. |
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