Over-dried Earth The south-west of the United States，together with some parts of Mexico across the Rio Grande，is one of the driest parts of the North American continent.But，over the past two decades，even that expected dryness（1）has been takenhas been taken （take）to the limit.According to Park Williams，who works at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory，the current lack of rainfall in the area constitutes a megadrought of a severity（2）seenseen（see） on only four other occasions in the past 1，200 years.
Dr Williams studies the annual growth rings of 1，586 ancient trees，in order to reconstruct soil-moisture patterns going back to 800 A.D.During warm，wet years trees grow fast，producing wide rings.During cold，dry（3）onesones they grow more slowly，producing narrow rings.During a drought，a tree（4）might/maymight/may not grow much at all.
（5）AsAsthey describe in this week's Science，the team identified dozens of droughts over the centuries in question.But four stood out.They then took the average soil-moisture value for the current drought and compared it with sequential（連續(xù)的）19-year averages with the previous four，one of them（6）lastinglasting（last） nearly a century.This showed that the region is already drier than it was during the first three of the previous megadroughts，and is equivalent to the event of 1575-1603.
In a world（7）wherewhere human actions are driving temperatures up，Dr Parker and his colleagues wondered how much people are （8）to blameto blame（blame） for this state of affairs.To estimate that，they turned to climate modelling.
Climate models are able to re-run the past with and（9）withoutwithout the warming effects of human activity，offering a way to compare what actually happened with what might have done.In their simulated world in which anthropogenic（人類起源的）emissions had not increased the greenhouse-gas effect，the team found that a drought did indeed still influence the western reaches of North America during the first two decades of the 21st century.But this imaginary dry spell was considerably（10）less severeless severe（severe） than the real one-ranking 11th rather than 2nd in the period under study （see chart）.
【考點(diǎn)】自然科學(xué)研究成果．
【答案】has been taken；seen；ones；might/may；As；lasting；where；to blame；without；less severe
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
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發(fā)布：2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷：0引用：1難度：0.6
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1．Like a tired marriage，the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been dull.E-books，however，are causing heartache.Libraries know they need digital services，but many publishers are too cautious about piracy and lost sales to co-operate.Among the big six publishers，only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries.
Publishers are wise to be nervous.Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need：book-lovers with money.If these people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them，what then？Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient.Unlike printed books，which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles away，book files can be downloaded at home.The files disappear from the device when they are due.
E-lending is not simple，however.There are various incompatible e-book formats，devices and licenses.Most libraries use a company called OverDrive，which secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format.Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive's global market dominance，as the company can control fees and conditions.Publishers were annoyed when OverDrive cooperated with Amazon，the world's biggest online bookseller，last year.Owners of Amazon's Kindle e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon's website.
According to Pew，an opinion researcher，library users are a perfect market for Amazon.Late last year Amazon introduced its Kindle Owners' Lending Library，which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.But a recent Pew survey found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.It also noted that e-books actually are available at most libraries，and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists，which may inspire people to buy.
So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance.Random House raised its licensing price earlier this year，and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
（1）It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that.
A．several big publishers have sold e-books to libraries
B．both libraries and publishers caution the e-book piracy
C．some publishers are hesitant to cooperate with libraries
D．libraries are eager to keep strong relationship with publishers
（2）What worries publishers about people's switch to e-books？
A．The risk of e-book piracy.
B．The possible decline of book sales.
C．No time limit for the downloaded book files.
D．The availability of the incompatible e-book formats.
（3）We can learn from Paragraph 3 and 4 that.
A．Amazon is adopting measures to win more customers
B．OverDrive distributes e-books and audio files to publishers
C．over half of Americans are borrowing e-books from libraries
D．the fees of lending e-books are under the control of publishers
（4）What is the best title for the text？
A．The Hopeful Future of Publishing Business
B．The Uncertain Economics of Lending E-books
C．The Dull Relationship between Libraries and Publishers
D．The Close Cooperation between OverDrive and Amazon發(fā)布：2025/1/1 16:0:1組卷：1引用：3難度：0.5 -
2．One day something that upset me happened，bringing（1）
（tear）to my eyes and making me angry.The incident took me out（2）balance and disturbed my inner peace.
To restore calm，I put on my outdoor equipment，picked up my skis（滑雪板）and（3）（go）to the park.I skied at（4）slow steady pace.I listened to the sound of the snow beneath my skis and the wind blowing through the bare branches of the trees.
I was honest with myself，（5）（recognize） that I was angry and could let it go.With each pass around the park，I felt my inner peace returning.I began to hear the birds singing.I noticed the wind had filled in my tracks with snow in some areas，creating a clean snowfield.I felt the（6）（strong）of my arms and legs as they worked together，aiming（7）（make） the skiing an enjoyable experience.I felt the healing power of being in nature.
I forgave（8）（I）for reacting with anger when it served no purpose.I forgave those people，（9）gave me cause to lose my temper.My heart（10）（fill） with light and love for all.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 16:0:1組卷：2引用：2難度：0.9 -
3．Is there a link between social media and depression？Do social media have a negative impact on your mental health？It's complicated.
In a recent study，the investigators compared social media use and depression between teens.（1）Specifically，for every hour per day that one teen spent on social media more than her peers，she likely had a 0.64-point higher depression score.
A different study published in 2018 identified five distinct types of social media users.The finding was that "problematic social media use" was one of the main themes for people whose mental health was affected by social media.You can have alcohol in your life without it being a problem，or your alcohol use may become problematic. （2）
There's one important thing to remember about survey research — just because two things happen together，it's not necessarily true that one causes the other.（3）For all we know，it could be that people who are already more depressed choose to spend more time on social media.
（4）If you think that we shouldn't paint social media with one broad brush，you're on the right track.On the one hand，participants often described social media as a valuable way to cope with stress.On the other hand，cyberbullying via social media was also a common experience for participants.Some also said that constantly checking their own social media profile was stressful.
It's certainly possible that experiences like cyberbullying，comparing yourself to idealized images，and constantly monitoring your profile，are bad for your mood.It's also true for many that social media offer community support and positive messages.Given the inconclusive research，it's safe to say that at least we shouldn't write off social media altogether.（5）Anyway，you cannot use it as a crutch（依靠）for coping with other stressors and mental health problems.
A.It's the same with social media.
B.Social media can be a double-edged sword.
C.People get more opinionated about the potential problems of social media.
D.They found that those who used social media more had higher depression scores.
E.They reviewed all existing research and found that there were both benefits and drawbacks.
F.The key to benefiting from social media may lie in using it in moderation and staying socially connected.
G.For example，just because higher social media use co-occurs with higher levels of depression doesn't mean social media use causes depression.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 15:0:2組卷：6引用：3難度：0.5
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