Thunderstorms often show up uninvited to Carnival（狂歡節(jié)）in Brazil.This year's attempt to influence the skies took place in San Pablo by a party's official sponsor，Skoal，a Brazilian beer brand. "The fun stops when it rains，" says Pedro Ada my，Skoal's marketing director.So do beer sales.
An airplane painted with Skoal's logo sprayed（噴灑）water droplets into clouds to make rain fall before the clouds reached the city.According to its YouTube video that has been viewed 12 million times，it is a "mission worthy of science fiction".
Whether it's science or fiction is up for debate.The use of cloud-seeding to increase rainfall dates back to the 1940s.But the United States government stopped funding it in the 1980s due to a lack of "scientific proof of the effectiveness of intentional weather change"，according to the National Research Council.A new paper based on experiments in Idaho found that seeding clouds with silver iodide increased snowfall on three occasions，but the authors say that more research is needed to find out if it can reliably promote precipitation（降水）.Paulo Artaxo，a Brazilian physicist，says flatly that cloud-seeding is "useless".
Still，governments and firms in many countries use the technology.Sao Pablo's water company has signed million dollar contracts with ModClima to bring rain，most recently during a drought in 2014-15.Although cloud-seeding normally uses a chemical such as silver iodide to provide a surface around which water or ice droplets from，ModClima says it has invented an "experimental" method that uses water alone.
Carnival-goers cheered when the first two days were cloudy but dry.Many shared Skoal's video.But at around 5 pm on February 24th，the sky darkened and rain poured down.Celebrants at one block party left the Skoal stands and rushed to buy umbrellas and plastic rain capes.
（1）Why did Skoal support cloud-seeding？ BB
A．To increase rainfall.
B．To promote its beer sales.
C．To provide evidence for a research.
D．To highlight the theme of the Carnival.
（2）Which is Artaxo's attitude toward cloud-seeding？ DD
A．Objective.
B．Doubtful.
C．Conservative.
D．Negative.
（3）Why was the US government no longer in favor of cloud-seeding？ AA
A．Its outcome couldn't be proved.
B．It worked in limited situations.
C．It needed more field researches.
D．It used an un-ecofriendly chemical.
（4）What is the best title of the text？ CC
A．Could rain ruin fun？
B．How do we change weather？
C．Could we rely on intentional rain？
D．How do we avoid cloud-seeding pollution？
【考點】說明文．
【答案】B；D；A；C
【解答】
【點評】
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發(fā)布：2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷：4引用：1難度：0.5
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1．It is widely believed that biodiversity（生物多樣性）is promoted to save species.But in reality species exist only as part of ecosystems and cannot survive unless their ecosystems are protected along with as much as possible of the diversity they contain.
Protecting habitats（棲息地）is important for keeping biodiversity.In 2003，over 102，000 habitats covering nearly 19 million square kilometres，or 11.5% of the world's land surface，were under some form of protection.Though this is a great improvement since 1962，when just 1，000 protected habitats were listed，it is still not considered enough to stop the ecocide that is endangering the world's biodiversity.
For a number of environmentalist，protecting the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots（熱點地區(qū)）is critical to saving habitats and species.But many hotspots are endangered already，having lost up to three-quarters of their original plants.
The poor state of most biodiversity hotspots results directly from population growth and migration（遷移） into these areas.A study found that by the mid-1990s around 1.1 billion people lived in these hotspots.Moreover，the annual population growth rate in these areas was 1.8%，higher than the global average of 1.4%.The PAI report concluded that human-related environmental changes will continue to put pressure on hotspots.Therefore，keeping biodiversity requires paying close attention to population size.
Protecting hotspots is not simply a matter of putting up fences and employing guards.The best results are achieved when local people are educated about the value of wildlife，and actually gain a share of the benefits from eco-tourism.Only then do they have a chance to see the benefits of protecting hotpots.
（1）What can we infer from paragraph 1？
A．The loss of any species can affect humans.
B．Endangered species are paid more attention to by humans.
C．Species can still survive when their ecosystems are destroyed.
D．Ecosystem protection is as important as diversity protection.
（2）What does the underlined word "ecocide" in paragraph 2 mean？
A．Ecosystem protection.
B．Reduction of the number of species.
C．Serious damage to habitats.
D．Habitats protection.
（3）What's the direct cause of the terrible state of the hotspots？
A．Population growth in hotpots.
B．Migration out of these areas.
C．Global warming.
D．The global average population growth rate.
（4）What's the author's opinion on protecting the hotspots？
A．It's simple to carry out.
B．It leads to the increase of tourists.
C．It's closely connected with local people.
D．It suggests that the local people are well educated.發(fā)布：2025/1/6 16:30:6組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5 -
2．International students who stayed in the US as their classes moved online during the COVID may be forced to leave，following guidelines of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement published due to the pandemic（流行?。?
"You know I don't want to put my family at risk，I don't want to put myself at risk to travel during a pandemic and go back to Pakistan，and even if I could delay the program for a year，it is not certain that I will get the visa again." said a Pakistani student.
Many students say they need to be in the US for more than attending cljye.ais.As a PhD student，the library is an extremely important resource for them，although it is because of COVED that those services have been closed，which means even this advantage is gone.
"You know more than 90% of the international students who were studying the US when COVID-19 hit and college campuses were closed have to remain in the US and this creates such trouble in their lives and such uncertainty that is unreasonable." said a lady from a university.
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The government said that the policy speaks for itself and that online coursework is not worth a visa.So far，not any sign of change has been within sight.As students are waiting for the policy to improve，their fall programming and their future remain in limbo.
（1）Why would international students prefer to stay in the US during the pandemic？
A．They couldn't delay the program for a year.
B．They can make full use of the library resource.
C．They wouldn't bring any potential danger to their family.
D．They can learn better with their classes moved online.
（2）What do international students staying in the United States think of the new rule？
A．The new rule treats them as American citizens.
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A．Favorable.
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C．Unfavorable.
D．Unclear.
（4）What does the underlined phrase "in limbo" in the last paragraph mean？
A．Horrible.
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C．Uncertain.
D．Unbelievable.發(fā)布：2025/1/6 15:30:8組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5 -
3．Most of us spend our lives seeking the natural world.We go fishing，sit in the garden，have a picnic，live in the suburbs or go to the seaside.The most popular leisure activity in Britain is going for a walk.When joggers jog，they don't run on the streets.Every one of them tends to go to the park or the river.
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We need the wild world.It is essential to our wellbeing，our health and our happiness.
（1）According to the author，people enjoyto seek nature.
A．jogging on the street
B．running in the gym
C．shopping in the supermarket
D．sitting in the garden
（2）From the second paragraph，we can see that.
A．Children don't want to approach nature
B．children probably spend less time in nature nowadays
C．climbing trees will certainly do good to the children
D．children tend to be happier as a result of their material satisfaction
（3）In what way do people benefit from their contact with nature？
A．Children with ADHD can be cured.
B．Children's performance at school is greatly improved.
C．Problems with crime and violent behavior will easily be solved.
D．A garden nearby improves the quality of old people's life.
（4）what is the main idea of this passage？
A．Access to nature improves our life.
B．Nature treats children for ADHD.
C．Getting close to nature reduces crime.
D．Man can't live without natural areas.發(fā)布：2025/1/6 16:30:6組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5
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