It's clear that people quickly form strong opinions based on _____________.

he American's claim to the seals was based on______.

A. the idea that the seals coming to American shores were American property

B. the idea that they were international arbitrators

C. the fact that the United States had purchased all the waters off Alaska

D. the fact that the United States had special rights for open-ea areas

Researchers said it was clear that the world's oceans play a major role in queuing up rapid climate changes, but that thus far the mechanics (机制，结构) of such changes were poorly under stood.

"It's like being blindfolded and walking toward the edge of a cliff," said Wallace Brocker, a professor of environmental sciences at Columbia University. "We don't understand (the factors) so we don't really know what to look for."

Using ice cores drilled from glaciers and other ice sheets, the researchers have developed a model showing world temperatures' rising and falling with unsettling frequency over the past110 000 years.

While some of the changes have been slow and steady, such as the end of the last Ice Age some 12 000 years ago, others have been swift and unexpected, such as the rapid warming of the North Atlantic from 1920 to 1930 and the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s.

The most drastic temperature changes—believed to be as much as 18 degrees Fahrenheit over the space of just a few years—exceed any recorded in human history, they said．This was not in tended to alarm the public, but that they hoped it would stimulate policy makers to prepare for the possibility of rapid temperature flux.

Greenhouse gases, emitted by fossil fuels such as oil and coal, have been linked by many re searchers to a rise in global temperatures. A 1997 Kyoto Treaty on global warming sought to cut emissions of such gasses by developed nations, but the Bush administration this year spurned (轻蔑或傲慢地拒绝) the treaty, saying pollution controls would be too costly for the U.S. economy.

The NAS panel called for research to identify what it described as "no-regrets" measures that would cost relatively little and would be good policies regardless of the extent of environmental change.

Such measures could include regulations to reduce damage to water, air and land, or slow climate change, or helping societies cope with abrupt climate changes by developing new financial instruments such as weather derivatives (衍生证券) and catastrophe bonds to reflect the risks.

Societies have faced both gradual and abrupt climate changes for millennial and have learned to adapt through various mechanisms, such as moving indoors, developing irrigation for crops, and migrating away from inhospitable (不适宜居住的) regions. It is important not to be fatalistic (宿命论的) about the threats posed by abrupt climate changes.

The passage cites "It's like being blindfolded and walking toward the edge of a cliff," (Para.2) in order to show that_____.

A．so far we are still almost ignorant of the mechanics of rapid climate changes

B．now we are still causing serious damages to the environment

C．we are still not sure whether ocean plays a role in causing rapid climate changes

D．so far we are still unaware of the possibility of rapid climate changes

Write a note of about 50~60 words based on the following situation: You didn’t attend Prof. Turner’s class yesterday and failed to hand in your paper. Write a note of apology to Prof. Turner.

It's clear that her painting is ______ by Picasso, who is the greatest Russian painter.

A．influenced

B．affected

C．effected

D．interfered

The Greenhouse Effect

Earth's climate has been changing constantly over its 5-billion-year history.

Sometimes, the climate has warmed so that the oceans have risen and covered much of the Earth. Each of the changes may seem extreme, but they usually occurred slowly over many thousands of years.

Ancient Climate History

The first people arrived in America between 151 000 and 30, 000 years ago. During that time, much of North America was covered by great ice sheets. Some 14, 000 years ago, the last ice sheet began to melt very quickly. By 7, 000 years ago, the ice was gone.

This end to the ice ages caused big changes on the Earth. The changes caused many kinds of plants and animals to die. For example, mastodon-elephant-like animal-and other large mammals that preferred cold climates may not have been able to live in the warmer, drier conditions.

The Little Ice Age

Starting in the 14th century, Europeans lived through what is known as the "Little Ice Age." The Little Ice Age lasted for several hundred years. During the Little Ice Age, the advance of glaciers along with hard winters and famines caused some people to starve and others to leave their homes.

Recent Climate History

The Earth has warmed about 1°F in the last 100 years. And the four warmest years of the 20th century all happened in the 1990s. Periods of increased heat from the sun may have helped make the Earth warmer. But many of the world's leading climatologists think that the greenhouse gases people produce are making the Earth warmer, too.

Scientists think the sea has risen partly because of melting glaciers and sea ice. When some glaciers melt, they release water into the sea and make it higher than it was before. Scientists also think that warmer temperatures in the sea make it rise even more. Heat makes water expand. When the ocean expands, it takes up more space.

What Might Happen?

Scientists are not fortune-tellers. They don't know exactly what will happen in the future. But they can use special computer programs to find out how the climate may change in the years ahead. And the computer programs tell us that the Earth may continue to get warmer.

Together, the melting glaciers, rising seas, and computer models provide some good clues. They tell us that the Earth's temperature will probably continue to rise as long as we continue increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Scientists have to think like detectives. They look for clues to help them understand how the world works. Then they investigate the clues to find evidence -- real facts that can give them a better idea of what is going on. Here are some of the ways that scientists gather evidence about climate, both past and present:

Weather Stations

Weather stations help us find out the temperature on the surface of the Earth. Weather stations use special thermometers that tell us the temperature. They can be set up almost anywhere on land. Weather stations also can tell us how fast the wind is moving and how much rain falls on the ground during a storm.

Weather Balloons

Almost everyone likes balloons -- including scientists! Weather balloons are released to float high up into the atmosphere. They carry special instruments that send all kinds of information about the weather back to people on the ground.

Ocean Buoys

A buoy is an object that floats on water, and is often used to warn boats away from dangerous places in the ocean or on a river. But some buoys have special instruments on them. These buoys can tell us the temperature and other things about the conditions of the atmosphere.

Weather Satellites

Humans send satellites into space to travel around the Earth. The satellites send back information to scientists on the ground. Some of the information they gi

A．Y

B．N

C．NG