大学英语快速阅读教程第一册第十七单元.docx

大学英语快速阅读教程第一册第十七单元.docx

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大学英语快速阅读教程第一册第十七单元

BookOne

UnitSeventeen

PassageOne

Directions:

Youwillhave10minutestoreadthispassagequicklyandanswerthefollowingquestionsfromA,B,CandD.Youshoulddecideonthebestchoice.

WhyGlobalWarmingIndicatesaFoodCrisis

Itcanbedifficultinthemiddleofwinter—especiallyifyouliveinthecoldNortheasternUnitedStates,likeIdo—toremainconvincedthatglobalwarmingwillbesuchabadthing.Beyondthefactthatpeoplepreferthewarmthtothecold,there’sareasontheworld’spopulationisclusteredinthetropicsandsub-tropics:

warmerclimatesusuallymeanlongerandrichergrowingseasons.Soit’seasytoimaginethatonawarmerglobe,thedamageinflictedbymorefrequentandsevereheatwavesmightbebalancedbytheagriculturalbenefitsofwarmertemperatures.

Acomfortingthought,exceptforonething:

it’snottrue.AstudypublishedintheJan.9issueofScienceshowsthatfarfromcompensatingfortheotherdamagesassociatedwithclimatechange（heavierandmorefrequentstorms,increasingdesertification,sealevelrise）,hottertemperatureswillseriouslydiminishtheworld’sabilitytofeeditself.Amorethan90%chancethatbytheendofthecentury,averagegrowingseasontemperatureswouldbehotterthanthemostextremelevelsrecordedinthepast.

Thatmeansthatbarringaswiftandsuddenreductioningreenhousegasemissions,bytheendofthecenturyanaverageJulydaywillalmostcertainlybehotterthanthehottestheatwavesweexperiencenow.Andtheextremeheatwillwiltourcrops.BattistiandNaylorlookedattheeffectthatmajorheatwaveshadonagricultureinthepast—liketheruthlessheatinWesternEuropeduringthesummerof2003—andfoundthatcropyieldshadsuffereddeeply.InItalymaizeyieldsfellby36%in2003,comparedwiththepreviousyear,andinFrancetheyfellby30%.Similarimpactswereseenduringamajorheatwavein1972,whichdecimatedfarmersintheformerSovietUnion,helpingtopushgrainpricestoworryinglyhighlevels.Ifthosetrendsholdinthefuture,theresearchersestimatethathalftheworld’spopulationcouldfaceaclimate-inducedfoodcrisisby2100.“I’mveryconcerned,”saysNaylor.“Howwearegoingtofeedaworldofeightorninebillion,withtheeffectsofclimatechange?

”

It’struethatastemperatureswarm,thereislikelytobeatemporary,beneficialeffectonagriculture.（Likepeople,plantsgenerallypreferthewarmthtothecold,andtheymayflourishwithrisinglevelsofCO2.）ButasresearchfromWolframSchlenkeratColumbiaUniversityshows,asaveragetemperaturescontinuetowarm,thosebenefitsdwindleandtheneventuallyreverse,andcropyieldsbegintodecline.“Itsimplybecomestoohotforthegrowingplants,”saysNaylor.“Theheatdamagesthecrops’abilitytoproduceenoughyields.”

What’smore,BattistiandNaylorarelookingonlyattheimpactofhighertemperaturesintheirstudy—notatthepossibleimpactofchangingprecipitationpatterns.Yetmanyclimatologistsbelievethatglobalwarmingwillmakedryareasdrierandfurtherdamagefarming,whichisespeciallydirenewsforsub-SaharanAfrica,aregionthatalreadystruggleswithheatwaves,droughtsandfamines,evenaspopulationcontinuestogrow.“ClimatechangeisgoingtobeamajorconcernforAfrica,”saysNteranyaSanginga,thedirectoroftheTropicalSoilBiologyandFertilityInstituteoftheInternationalCenterforTropicalAgriculture,inNairobi.“Wecouldlosewholegrowingseasons.”

Withthesefrighteningpredictionsinmind,weneedtotrytoheat-proofouragriculture.Thatcanbeaccomplishedbyusingcropsthathaveprovenresistanttoextremeheat—likesorghum（高粱）ormillet（黍）—tobreedhybrid（杂交）cropvarietiesthataremorecapableofwithstandinghighertemperatures.We’llneedtodropanysqueamishnessaboutconsuminggeneticallymodifiedcrops—unlesswecantapthepowerofgenetics,we’llneverfeedourselvesinawarmerworld.Butwe’llneedtoactquickly—itcantakeyearstobreedmoreheat-resistantspecies,andinvestmentinagriculturalresearchhasshriveled（decreased）inrecentyears.

There’salimit,however,toourabilitytoadapttoclimatechange—westillneedtoreducecarbonemissions,sharplyandsoon.Ifwefail,awarmerfuturewon’tjustbeuncomfortable,itwillbedownrightfrightening.“Weneedtowakeupandtakecareofthis,”saysNaylor.“Wewon’thaveenoughfoodtofeedtheworldtoday,letalonetomorrow.”

（725words）

Questions

1.ThepeopleintheNortheasternUnitedStatesdon’tthinkglobalwarming________.

A）suchabadthing

B）goodforthemtosomeextent

C）mightbebalancedbytheagriculturalbenefitsofwarmertemperatures

D）willbringthemmorecomfortinwinter

2.Accordingtothepassage,hottertemperatureswill_____.

A）bringheavierandmorefrequentstorms

B）bringincreasingdesertificationandsealevelrise

C）seriouslydiminishtheworld’sabilitytofeeditself

D）A,BandC

3.“Wilt”（inline4,Para.3）means“____”.

A）blossomB）witherC）growD）wet

4.Whatdoesn’tglobalwarmingmeanforAfrica?

A）Cropyieldsbegintoincrease.B）FamineC）DroughtD）Nogrowingseason.

5.Firstandforemost,whatdoweneedtodotosavetheglobe?

A）Weneedtotrytoheat-proofouragriculture.

B）Weneedtoinvestmoreinagriculturalresearch.

C）Westillneedtoreducecarbonemissions,sharplyandsoon.

D）Weneedtowakeup.

PassageTwo

Directions:

Inthispart,youwillhave10minutestogooverthepassagequicklyanddecidequestion1-8accordingtothepassage.Ifitistrueyoufill“T”intheparenthesis,ifnotorfalsefill“F”inparenthesisbeforethesentence.

SixSecretsofHigh-EnergyPeople

There’sanenergycrisisinAmerica,andithasnothingtodowithfossilfuels.Millionsofusgetupeachmorningalreadywearyoverthedayholds.“Ijustcan’tgetstarted,”peoplesay.Butit’snotphysicalenergythatmostofuslack.Sure,wecouldalluseextrasleepandabetterdiet.Butintruth,peoplearehealthiertodaythanatanytimeinhistory.Icanalmostguaranteethatifyoulongformoreenergy,theproblemisnotwithyourbody.Whatyou’reseekingisnotphysicalenergy.It’semotionalenergy.

Andyetweallknowpeoplewhoarefilledwithjoy,despitetheunpleasantcircumstancesoftheirlives.Evenasachild,Iobservedpeoplewhowerepoor,ordisabled,orill,butwhononethelessfacedlifewithoptimismandvigor.ConsiderLauraHillenbrand,whodespiteanextremelyweakbody,wrotethebest-sellerSeabiscuit.Hillenbrandbarelyhadenoughphysicalenergytodragherselfoutofbedtowrite.Butshewasfueledbyhavingastoryshewantedtoshare.Itwasemotionalenergythathelpedhersucceed.

Unlikephysicalenergy,whichisfiniteanddiminisheswithage,emotionalenergyisunlimitedandhasnothingtodowithgenesorupbringing.Sohowdoyougetit?

Youcan’tsimplytellyourselftobepositive.Youmusttakeaction.Herearesixpracticalstrategiesthatwork.

1.Dosomethingnew.

Verylittlethat’snewoccursinourlives.Theimpactofthissamenessonouremotionalenergyisgradual,buthuge:

It’slikeatyrewithaslowleak.Youdon’tnoticeitatfirst,buteventuallyyou’llgetaflat.It’suptoyoutoplugtheleak—eventhoughtherearealwaysadozenreasonstostaystuckinyourdullroutinesoflife.That’swhereMaura,36,awaitress,foundherselfayearago.

Fortunately,Maurahadalifeline—agroupofwomenfriendswhomeetregularlytodiscusstheirlives.TheirlivelydiscussionsspurredMauratomakesmallbutneverthelesslifealteringchanges.Shejoinedagyminthenexttown.ShechangedherlookwithashorthaircutandnewblackT-shirts.Eventually,Mauragatheredthecouragetoquitherjobandstartherownbusiness.

Here’sachallenge:

Ifit’ssomethingyouwouldn’tordinarilydo,doit.Tryadishyou’venevereaten.Listentomusicyou’dordinarilytuneout.You’lldiscoverthesesmallthingsaddtoyouremotionalenergy.

2.Reclaimlife’smeaning.

Somanyofmypatientstellmethattheirlivesusedtohavemeaning,butsomewherewentstale.

Thefirststepinsolvingthismeaningshortageistofigureoutwhatyoureallycareabout,andthendosomethingaboutit.AcaseinpointisIvy,57,apioneerininvestmentbanking.“ImistakenlybelievedthatallthemoneyImadewouldmeansomething,”shesays.“ButIfeellost,likea22-year-oldwonderingwhattodowithherlife.”WhatisIvy’ssolution?

ShestartedaprogramthatshowsWallStreetershowtodonatetimeandmoneytopoorchildren.Intheprocess,Ivyfilledherlifewithmeaning.

3.Putyourselfinthefunzone.

Mostofusgrown-upsareseriouslyfun-deprived.High-energypeoplehavethesameday-to-dayworkastherestofus,buttheymanagetofindsomethingenjoyableineverysituation.ArealestatebrokerIknowkeepsherselfamusedonthejobbymentallyredecoratingthehousessheshowstoclients.“Iloveimaginingwhateventhemostrun-downhousecouldlooklikewithalittletenderlovingcare,”shesays.“It’sachallenge—andtheleastdesirablepropertiesareusuallythemostfun.”

Wealldefinefundifferently,ofcourse,butIcanguaranteethis:

Ifyouputjustabitofitintoyourday,youenergywillincreasequickly.

4.Bidfarewelltoguiltandregret.

Everyone’spastisfilledwithregretsthatstillcausepain.Butfromanemotionalenergypointofview,theyaredeadweightsthatkeepusfrommovingforward.Whiletheycan’tmerelybewilledaway,Idorecommendyouremindyourselfthatwhateverhappenedisinthepast,andnothingcanchangethat.Holdingontothememoryonlyallowsthedamagetocontinueintothepresent.

5.Makeupyourmind.

Sayyou’vebeenthin