题型：任务型阅读 题类：常考题 难易度：普通
河南省鹤壁市2017-2018学年高二下学期英语期末考试试卷
Rich and Famous
Twenty years ago the most common ambition of American children was to be a teacher, followed by working in banking and finance, and then medicine. But today's situation is quite different. Instead they most commonly say they want to be a sports star, or an actor—in other words, they hope to become a celebrity.
According to experts, young people desire these jobs largely because of the wealth and the fame. Let's take athletes and singers as an example. Their careers are short-lived. Many athletes' best time only lasts a few years and singers can have a very limited career. The field that was once the focus of their lives becomes something they have little or no involvement in. As a result, they'll have a feeling of worthlessness and a lack of control. The truth is quite simple: they have been so far removed from it for so long.
In spite of these disadvantage, there is greater ambition than ever among young people to achieve that status. They are not satisfied just making a living—they want to be rich and famous. Globally, more and more TV shows provide talent competitions where winners can achieve their goals in just a few weeks or months. They unrealistically believe that this lifestyle is easily obtained and leads to great satisfaction.
While many people argue that there is nothing wrong with having such ambitions, others feel that this trend will finally lead to dissatisfaction as more and more people are unable to reach their goals. That means they ignore the simple fact that great effort is needed before success. As a result, many people won't realize their childhood dreams, which could have a negative effect on their happiness.
A. The younger generation don't favor these professions any more.
B. In many ways this has been brought about by the celebrity culture.
C. Unfortunately, they do not always have a positive effect on people's life.
D. Besides, it can be difficult for them to adapt back to a normal everyday life.
E. People no longer have a sense of satisfaction once their goals have been achieved.
F. This quick way of gaining wealth and fame creates a celebrity culture among people.
G. The reason is that they don't realize it takes talent and hard work to be rich and famous.
Lindsay Renwick, the mayor of Deniliquin, a country town in New South Wales, misses the constant whir（嗡嗡声）of the rice mill whose giant fans dried the rice. The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere (南半球), once processed enough grain to meet the needs of 20 million people globally. But six years of drought have had a destructive effect, reducing Australia's rice crop by 98 percent and leading to the mothballing of the mill last December.
Drought affects every agriculture industry based in Australia, not just rice – from sheep farming, the country's other backbone, to the cultivation of grapes for wine, the fastest-growing crop there, with that expansion often coming at the expense of rice. The drought's effect on rice has produced the greatest impact on the rest of the world, so far. It is one factor contributing to skyrocketing prices, and many scientists believe it is among the earliest signs that a warming planet is starting to affect food production.
Researchers are looking for solutions to global rice shortages – for example, rice that blooms earlier in the day, when it is cooler, to fight against global warming. Rice plants that happen to bloom on hot days are less likely to produce grains of rice, a difficulty that is already starting to emerge in inland areas of China and other Asian countries as temperatures begin to climb. 'there will be problems very soon unless we have new varieties of rice in place,” said Reiner Wassmann, climate change director at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The recent reports on climate change carried a warning that could make the news even worse: that existing models for the effects of climate change on agriculture did not yet include newer findings that global warming could reduce rainfall and make it more variable.
Yet the effects of climate change are not uniformly bad for rice. Rising concentrations (浓度) of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, can actually help rice – although the effect reduces or disappears if the plants face unnecessary heat, inadequate water, severe pollution or other stresses. Still, the flexibility of farmers here has persuaded some climate experts that, particularly in developed countries, the effects of climate change may be relieved, if not completely avoided. “I'm not as negative as most people,” said Will Steffen, director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society at Australian National University. “Farmers are learning how to do things differently.”
Meanwhile, changes like the use of water to grow wine grapes instead of rice carry their own costs, as the developing world is discovering. “Rice is an essential food,” said Graeme Haley, the general manager of the town of Deniliquin. “Wine is not.”
Phenomenon | Six years of drought reduced Australia's rice crop by 98%, leaving the rice mill{#blank#}1{#/blank#} |
{#blank#}2{#/blank#}of drought and climate change | Every Australian agriculture industry is affected,{#blank#}3{#/blank#}from sheep farming to the cultivation of grapes for wine. The whole world is in{#blank#}4{#/blank#}of rice. Prices rise{#blank#}5{#/blank#} . Temperatures begin to climb, causing{#blank#}6{#/blank#}rice production. |
{#blank#}7{#/blank#}to global rice shortages | Seek a new variety of rice that blooms earlier when it is cooler as a{#blank#}8{#/blank#} |
Some good news | Unless faced with unnecessary heat, inadequate water or other stress, the main green house gas can actually do{#blank#}9{#/blank#}to rice. Farmers are flexible and they can do things{#blank#}10{#/blank#}. |
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