Worse, it seems that the climate flipped from one condition to another very rapidly. "It apparently took very little time, perhaps less than a decade or two, to shift between the states," Dr. J. C. W. White of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado wrote earlier this year in the scientific journal, Nature: "We humans have built a remarkable socio-economic system during perhaps the only time when it could be built, when the climate was stable enough to let us develop the agricultural infrastructure(基础设施) required to maintain an advanced society."
We do not know why we have been so blessed. But if the Earth had an operating manual, the chapter on climate might begin with a warning that the system has been adjusted at the factory for optimum comfort—so don't touch the dials.
Unfortunately, we have been "twiddling the knobs(旋钮)" for decades. In December 1995 the official Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change(IPCC), which represents the work of 2,000 top meteorologists from around the world, concluded that global warming due to human activities is probably already taking place. Global warming sounds deceptively favorable to inhabitants of countries which currently experience harsh winters. In fact, with global warming, the world would struggle to cope with the effects of even a steady, gradual warming. This was spelt out to members of the British Royal Society by Sir John Houghton, chairman both of Britain's Royal Commission of Environmental Pollution and of one of the main IPCC working groups. Houghton put forward the IPCC picture of seas flooding much of Egypt, southern China and Bangladesh, making "many millions" of people homeless; of hordes of "environmental refugees" and of wars breaking out over dwindling(becoming gradually smaller) fresh water supplies, as world rainfall patterns changed.
There is at least a chance that the world could adapt to steady warming if it happened slowly enough. However, many scientists, believe that even this prediction from the IPCC is too cautious.
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.The climate in recorded human history has generally remained stable.
B.The climate from about 135,000 to 115,000 years ago was in a extremely cold state.
C.The human race has been lucky to have enjoyed the most favorable period of climate for them to build a socio-economic system.
D.The evidences scientists collected from the ice cores suggest that a civilization can not have arisen in the period from about 135,000 to 115,000.
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.The climate of earth has fluctuated quite a bit over the last 4.6 billion years.
B.An increase in the earth's temperature will have major consequences for all life on this planet.
C.The information we have got makes us unable to explain the global warming completely.
D.The Pleistocene began about t. 8 million years ago.
In paragraph 2, cities like London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam are mentioned ______.
A.to show that they are not good cities in terms of geography and climate
B.to prove that they have got more tourism than they can handle
C.to suggest that these cities lack places of historic interest and scenic beauty
D.to tell us how wealthy their residents are
The increase of greenhouse gases __________. 查看材料
A.will influence future climate change
B.was somewhat surprising
C.will rise rapidly
D.was known to us all
E.was much higher than had been expected
F.will drop dramatically
根据以下材料,回答题。
They Say Ireland"s the Best
Ireland is the best place in the world to live in for 2005, according to a life quality ranking that appeared in Britain"s Economist magazine last week:
The ambitious attempt to compare happiness levels around the world is based on the principle that wealth is not the only measure of human satisfaction and well-being.
,The index of the countries uses data on incomes, health, unemployment, climate, political stability, job security, gender equality as well as what the magazine calls "freedom, family and community life".
" Despite the bad weather, troubled health service, traffic congestion, gender inequality, and the high cost of living, Ireland scored an impressive 8.33 points out of 10.
That put it well ahead of second-place Switzerland, which managed 8.07. Zimbabwe, troubled by political insecurity and hunger, is rated the gloomiest, picking up only 3.89 points.
"Although rising incomes and increased individual choices are highly valued," the report said, "some of the factors associated with modernization such as the breakdown in traditional institutions and family values in part take away from a positive impact. "
"Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new with the preservation of certain warm elements of the old, such as stable family and community life. "
The magazine admitted measuring the quality of life is not a straightforward thing to do, and that its findings Would have their critics.
No. 2 on the list is Switzerland. The other nations in the top 10 are Norway, Luxembourg,Sweden, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Denmark and Spain.
The UK is positioned at No. 29, a much lower position chiefly because of the social and family breakdown recorded in official statistics. The US, which has the second highest per capita GDP after Lux~mbourg, took the 13th place in the survey. China was in the lower half the league at 60th.
For 2,005 years, Ireland has been the best place for humans to live in.. 查看材料
A.Right
B.Wrong
C.Not mentioned
根据短文的内容,回答下列题目
They Say Ireland&39;s the Best
Ireland is the best place in the world to live in for 2005, according to a life quality ranking that appeared in Britain&39;s Economist magazine last week.
The ambitious attempt to compare happiness levels around the world is based on the principle that wealth is not the only measure of human satisfaction and well-being.
The index of 111 cotmtries uses data on incomes, health, unemployment, climate, political stability, job security, gender equality as well as what the magazine calls "freedom, family and community life".
Despite the bad weather, troubled health service, traffic congestion (拥挤), gender inequality,and the high cost of living. Ireland scored an impressive 8.33 points out of 10.
That put it well ahead of second-place Switzerland, which managed 8.07. Zimbabwe, troubled by political insecurity and hunger, is rated the gloomiest (最差的), picking up only 3.89 points.
"Although rising incomes and increased individual choices are highly valued," the report said,"some of the factors associated with modernization such as the breakdown (崩溃) in traditional institutions and family values in part take away from a positive impact."
"Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new with the preservation of certain warm elements of the old, such as stable family and community life."
The magazine admitted measuring quality of&39;life is not a straightforward thing to do, and that its findings would have their critics.
No.2 on the list is Switzerland. The other nations in the top 10 are Norway, Luxembourg,Sweden, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Denmark and Spain. The UK is positioned at No.29, a much lower position chiefly because of the social and family breakdown recorded in official statistics.
The US, which has the second highest per capita GDP (人均国内生产总值) after Luxembourg,took the 13th place in the survey. China was in the lower half of the league at 60th.
For 2,005 years, Ireland has been the best place for humans to live in. 查看材料
A.Right
B.Wrong
C.Not mentioned
A.Because British companies are more ambitious than US companies.
B.Because British companies place more importance on PR than US companies.
C.Because British companies are heavily involved in planning activities.
D.Because four of the world's top PR agencies are British-owned.
A.小于70%
B.大于80%
C.小于90%
D.大于90%
What can you infer from the passage?
A.Mr. Bush is in a similar situation with Mr. Blair, and may resign.
B.Mr. Blair should beat all responsibilities but he didn't.
C.Bush has used unproven intelligence to lead the nation in to an invasion.
D.The intelligence departments of US and UK have deceived the top government officals.