题型：任务型阅读 题类：常考题 难易度：困难
江苏省扬州市2017-2018学年高二下学期英语期末考试试卷
It is easy to miss amid the day-to-day headlines of global economic recession, but there is a less obvious kind of social upheaval（剧变）underway that is fast changing both the face of the planet and the way human beings live. That change is the rapid growth in urbanization. In 2008, for the first time in human history, more than half the world's population was living in towns and cities. And as a recently published paper shows, the process of urbanization will only accelerate in the decades to come—with an enormous impact on biodiversity and potentially on climate change.
As Karen Seto, the lead author of the paper, points out, the wave of urbanization isn't just about the migration of people into urban environments, but about the environments themselves becoming bigger to provide enough room for all those people. The rapid expansion of urban areas will have a huge impact on biodiversity hotspots and on carbon emissions in those urban areas.
Humans are the ultimate invasive species-when they move into new territory, they often displace the wildlife that was already living there. And as land is cleared for those new cities—especially in the dense tropical forests-carbon will be released into the atmosphere as well. It's true that as people in developing nations move from the countryside to the city, the shift may reduce the pressure on land, which could in turn be good for the environment. This is especially so in desperately poor countries, where residents in the countryside slash and burn forests each growing season to clear space for farming. But the real difference is that in developing nations, the move from rural areas to cities often leads to an accompanying increase in income—and that increase leads to an increase in the consumption of food and energy, which in turn causes a rise in carbon emissions. Getting enough to eat and enjoying the safety and comfort of living fully on the grid is certainly a good thing-but it does carry an environmental price.
The urbanization wave can't be stopped—and it shouldn't be. But Seto's paper does underscore the importance of managing that transition. If we do it the right way, we can reduce urbanization's impacts on the environment “There's an enormous opportunity here, and a lot of pressure and responsibility to think about how we urbanize,” says Seto. “One thing that's clear is that we can't build cities the way we have over the last couple of hundred years. The scale of this transition won't allow that.” We're headed towards an urban planet no matter what, but whether it becomes heaven or hell is up to us.
Title | Urbanization |
Present | Throughout the world, over half population live in urban areas with the process of urbanization still up in the coming decade. |
Characteristics | ·People into urban environments. ·Environments become bigger to all those from rural areas. |
| Biodiversity hot-spots and carbon emissions in the areas will be . |
Means of urbanization | the wildlife away from where they used to live. ·Clear land to make for new cities. more food and energy, causing a rise in carbon emissions. |
Conclusion | We should the way we have built cities so as to manage the transition and reduce the impacts on environment. |
If you can find a tree which has been cut down，you will see many rings，or circles，on the base of the trunk.By learning to read these rings，you can find out about the tree's life.
The number of rings tells you how old the tree is.Each year，new wood is formed on the outside of the tree.This new wood is light in color when the tree is growing in spring and summer，and dark in winter when the tree is not growing much.So，if you count the rings of darkorlight colored wood，you can often find out how old the tree is.
You can also tell which years have been good years and which years have been bad years.When the lightcolored rings are very wide，it means that the tree has been growing quickly that year.If the rings are narrow，it has been growing slowly.If the rings on a tree trunk were greatly magnified，you would be able to see why the rings are lightcolored when the tree is growing quickly and darkcolored when the tree is growing slowly.The tree trunk is made up of microscopic tubes，like some pipes，carrying water from the soil，through the trunk，and up to the leaves.They are wide and thinwalled when the tree is growing quickly and they are carrying a lot of water.They are narrow and stuck together when the tree is not growing so quickly.
When a tree is old，the tubes in the centre of the tree don't carry water.The walls of the tubes have become thick with materials which have stuck along them over the years，forming a kind of wood called“heartwood”．This kind of wood is darker in color than the young，growing wood on the outside of the tree.
You don't very often see whole tree trunks which have been cut across.But once you learn to read a cross section of the wood，you can see much more in wood which has been used to make boxes，houses and other things.
In most wood，instead of seeing the trunk cut across，you are seeing it cut along its length.Because you don't see the whole tree，you can't tell how old it is.
Title：{#blank#}1{#/blank#} of a Tree
General information | Old trees | ||
Items | Facts | Items | Facts |
Where can rings be seen | On the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} of a trunk | The tubes in the centre of the tree | Don't carry water |
The{#blank#}3{#/blank#} of rings | Helps us know about its age | The walls of the tubes | Become {#blank#}4{#/blank#}； Form {#blank#}5{#/blank#} |
{#blank#}6{#/blank#} lightcolored rings | Show the tree grows quickly | ||
Narrow{#blank#}7{#/blank#} rings | Mean the tree grows slowly | ||
Microscopic tubes | Function | Carry{#blank#}8{#/blank#} | |
Features | Wide and {#blank#}9{#/blank#} when growing quickly | ||
Narrow and stuck together when growing {#blank#}10{#/blank#} | |||
Do you have any problem with time? Start doing these and you will see the difference.
●Write it down
Don't rely on your memory to keep track of every little detail. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Write down the things you need to do in a small notebook, or use online tool to create and update your “to-do” list.
●{#blank#}2{#/blank#}
Working for long periods without a break can waste your time. It is more efficient to work or study for a shorter period of time, take a break, and then go back to work. You may get more done in tow focused 45-minute sessions.
● One thing at a time
{#blank#}3{#/blank#} Do one thing at a time, and do it well. As the Chinese proverb says, “One cannot manage too many affairs. Like pumpkins in the water, one pops up while you try to hold down the other.”
● Schedule email time
On your cell phone you get a notification every time someone sends you an email. If so, you have to check your email many, many times a day. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Schedule time to check your email. It doesn't matter when.
● Choose to say “No”.
It's easy to become overwhelmed if we say “yes” to everything. Think about the task before you commit to it. Do you need to do it? Can someone else do it? Avoid saying “yes” to every request. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}
● Keep a goal journal
Write down your goals in a journal and evaluate them regularly. Mark your progress for each goal. Be sure you take the necessary step to achieve your goals.
A. Make a list first B. Don't skip the breaks C. Turn that notification off D. Memory is not always accurate E. Don't forget to focus on your task F. This takes time away from more important tasks G. Every time we switch from one task to another, we lose focus |
Yu Xu, one of China's first female fighter pilots who could fly a J-10 jet, died during a flight training in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province on Saturday. Almost all major media outlets have sung high praise for Yu's spirit. People's Daily said: "She died for the peace and happiness of so many families ... The name of Yu and other heroes will be carved not only in stone, but also in the hearts of millions." However, despite being a news hit, a lot of social media platforms still pay much attention to pop stars, no matter their weddings, problematic marriages or just datings. The day Yu died, she did not even make it to the top-10 hot topics on micro blogs.
Some netizens have criticized such people for being too cold to news about heroes who defend our country. They even quoted from the book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, to express their concerns over people being misled by new media while referring to pop stars as "xi zi", a contemptuous(轻蔑的) term used for entertainment stars in the old days.
However, it is unnecessary to shame those netizens who were busy reading about film stars and other celebrities. We live in the age of social and new media, where the celebrities usually draw greater public attention than real heroes. This is partly because the agents(经纪人) of celebrities（名人）are very skilled at using social tools to expand their fan base for commercial gains.
Of course, we should admit the great influence entertainment has on people's minds and it helps the media industry make money. Pop stars do take up a lot of our time, and especially many young people waste their spare energy on them, their new songs, new movies, even rumors about their love life and other scandals. The domestic media industry needs improvement, some entertainment stars should improve their public images, but it is not right to call them "xi zi".
The media may be encouraging people to pay greater attention to celebrities than military heroes, but that does not necessarily mean people pay less respect to heroes than stars. The increasing number of reports about the pilot shows the heroes are worth people's added attention, and they get it.
Greater attention to celebrities doesn't mean less respect for heroes
Introduction to the news | In an unexpected accident during a fight training Yu Xu {#blank#}1{#/blank#} her life in Tangshan, Hebei Province on Saturday, who was a female fighter pilot of the J-10 jet. |
Different attitudes toward the news | Almost all major media outlets have thought{#blank#}2{#/blank#} of Yu's spirit including People's Daily, which commented that Yu's name will{#blank#}3{#/blank#} down in history with other heroes. A lot of social media platforms cared little about Yu's death, which {#blank#}4{#/blank#}to enter the top-10 topics on micro blogs. |
Criticism for not caring about heroes | Being cold to the news about heroes makes some netizens even disrespectfully call pop stars “xi zi” to show their{#blank#}5{#/blank#} |
Reasons for greater attention to stars | In order to make money, the agents of celebrities are trying to {#blank#}6{#/blank#} more fans for their employers with their social skills. The media industry uses the influence of{#blank#}7{#/blank#} to make money and keeps trying to satisfy people's {#blank#}8{#/blank#}about pop stars' privacy（隐私）. |
Conclusion | More and more reports about the pilot have{#blank#}9{#/blank#}up, which reflects the heroes{#blank#}10{#/blank#} people's added attention and they get it. |
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