题型：任务型阅读 题类：常考题 难易度：普通
上海市嘉定区2019届高三上学期英语期末考试试卷
Why do some people feel obliged to do the craziest things, while most of us are happy to sit on the sofa and watch their exploits on TV? Robin Styles ponders(考虑)this question.
Generally, we love to watch someone's bravery and drama--a single person against the wilds of nature, testing their endurance beyond belief. And our pleasure is greater because we live a comfortable and increasingly risk-free life, where the greatest test of endurance is getting to work through the rush hour. However, there are countless ways to test the limits of your endurance, if you should wish to do so, by attempting something unpleasant, uncomfortable or just plain dangerous.
American Lynne Cox swims in sub-zero temperatures through the planet's most dangerous oceans wearing only a swimsuit--for fun! According to Lynne, there is always something driving her on. At age 9, when she was swimming in an outdoor pool one day, a violent storm blew up, but she refused to get out of the pool. Something make her carry on. Then she realized that, as the water got colder and rougher, she was actually getting faster and warmer, and she was really enjoying it. At age 14, she broke her first endurance record. Years later, experts discovered that Lynne has a totally even layer of body fat, like a seal.
The famous British explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, has led many major expeditions (远征) in the extreme cold, including walking right round the Arctic Circle. He has also led expeditions in the extreme heat, and discovered the Lost City of Ubar in the Omani desert. Sir Fiennes has said, "If I am getting sick, I find a very powerful way of conquering it is to know that my father would have definitely done it."
There is probably no such thing as a "normal" adventurer. Unsurprisingly, risk-takers tend to be single-minded and unusually determined people who hate the stability and routine that most people prefer. They tend to take risks for the "fun" of it. The excitement becomes addictive, and they want more and more of it. Ordinary life seems boring in comparison.
A. She is perfectly made for doing what she does, it seems.
B. Adventurers are clearly different from the rest of us.
C What she did was really beyond our imagination.
D. It seems that many adventurers spend their lives trying to live up to the image of a parent.
E. And most of us would prefer it to remain that way.
F. Many adventurers have amazed the world with their extraordinary skills.
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Anyone who has ever tried to stop smoking knows how difficult it is to quit. There is no lack of information about how unhealthy smoking is for you- not to mention the unpleasant smell. So why would teens ever begin to smoke?
{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Research shows that the majority of smokers lit up their first cigarette in their early or mid-teens, precisely at a time when children are beginning to establish their own identity apart from their parents. Smoking can be an act of rebellion(反抗) against parents or authority figures, as well as a way to fit in with others and feel accepted.
Here are some things that parents can do to help a child stay smoke-free.
Start talking to your teen about how bad smoking is for him early, well before his teens. Keep talking, too. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}
{#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, smoking makes your hair and clothing smell bad, stains the teeth, and reduces your lung power to play sports.
{#blank#}4{#/blank#} Talk about the addictive power of smoking and tell him while those few cigarettes are his choice, the addiction that occurs shortly afterwards makes him powerless to decide whether or not he wants to light up.
Work on self-esteem(自尊) and self-confident with your teen. Much of the attraction of smoking is to gain acceptance. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}
A.Young teens live in the moment, too. B.Play on your child's desire to make his own choices. C.The answer lies in the develop-mental stage of your teens. D.Give your child the facts, but focus on the things he can relate to. E.Help your teen to feel good about himself without having to smoke. F.One discussion will not be enough to help your child not to smoke. G.They won't be aware of how powerful addictive smoking is in a very short time. |
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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