1、公共英语五级-36 及答案解析(总分：100.00，做题时间：90 分钟)一、Section Listening (总题数：0，分数：0.00)二、Part A(总题数：1，分数：5.00)You will hear a talk. As you listen, answer Questions 1 to 5 by writing T (for True) or F (for False). You will hear the talk ONLY ONCE. （分数：5.00）(1).English people often prefer to talk about weather becau
2、se it is always foggy.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(2).The Englishman“s character has been influenced by the uncertainty about the weather, so he is cautious and adaptable.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(3).In England, it“s always warm as day breaks.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(4).According to the speaker, the foreigner often regrets h
3、is laughter at an Englishman beginning a journey on a sunny morning with a raincoat.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误(5).The main idea of the passage is that no country can experience four seasons in a single day.（分数：1.00）A.正确B.错误三、Part B(总题数：2，分数：6.00)Questions 1 3 are based on the following talk; listen and choos
4、e the best answer. （分数：3.00）(1).What are the minimum and maximum temperatures in the U.S.?（分数：1.00）A.-20/25.B.-25/20.C.0/20.D.0/25.(2).How is the climate in the Gulf Plain?（分数：1.00）A.Snowy.B.Hot in summer and cold in winter.C.Warm and moist.D.Windy and rainy.(3).Why is it that there is too little ra
5、in available for almost the whole western half of the country?（分数：1.00）A.Because winds gather the rains as they leave the ocean.B.Because of its high latitude.C.Because it is far from the ocean.D.Because the Cascade and the Sierra Nevada mountains stop the rain from the ocean.Questions 4 6 are based
6、 on the following talk; listen and choose the best answer. （分数：3.00）(1).What is the main reason for the rise of carbon dioxide concentration?（分数：1.00）A.The “greenhouse effect“.B.The burning of fossil fuels.C.A high proportion of the long-wave energy radiated back by the earth.D.The carbon in the und
7、erlying soil.(2).Where is the change in the earth“s climate expected to be most intense?（分数：1.00）A.The Polar Region.B.Agricultural areas.C.Forests where trees are cleared.D.Along the coasts of the oceans.(3).Which of the following is NOT true according to the speaker?（分数：1.00）A.Rapid melting of the
8、polar ice caps would result in the rise of sea level, causing flooding of vast areas of low lying land.B.Since 1860, some 90 to 180 thousand million tons of carbon have been released to the atmosphere as a result of forest clearing.C.Since 1860, some 150 to 190 thousand million tons of carbon have b
9、een released from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.D.Forest clearance is harmful as the carbon sink effect of trees is lost and more carbon is released to the atmosphere.四、Part C(总题数：1，分数：5.00)You will hear a talk. As you listen, you must answer Questions 1 5 by writing NO MORE THAN THREE wo
10、rds. （分数：5.00）(1).What kind of climate is found in the north-eastern part of the U.S.?（分数：1.00）_(2).What kind of climate is found in the south-eastern United States?（分数：1.00）_(3).What is the most important factor influencing the climate in the U.S.?（分数：1.00）_(4).What brings about the warmth in South
11、ern Alaska and the northern part of west coast?（分数：1.00）_(5).What affects the climate of the Far West?（分数：1.00）_五、Section Use of Eng(总题数：1，分数：30.00)Climate, more than any other single factor, determines the distribution of life on Earth. Climatic boundaries establish the limits within 1 organisms ca
12、n survive. Plants, 2 more than animals, must be well 3 in order to survive. They cannot move about or 4 shelter but must be equipped to endure whatever weather conditions are 5 to occur. In the harsh 6 of the tundra, for example, low growing mosses, lichens, and a few flowering plants all hug the gr
13、ound for shelter 7 icy winds. Animals, 8 their ability to move about and find shelter, are just as much influenced by climate as plants are. Creatures such as camel and the penguin are so 9 specialized that they have an extremely limited distribution. Others, such as bears, are 10 enough to adapt to
14、 a range of climates. Ocean dwelling organisms are just as sensitive to climatic changesin this case temperature and salinityas land animals. Reef corals can 11 only in clear warm seawater. Certain foraminifers are so sensitive to 12 in their environment that their presence is taken 13 an index of s
15、ea temperature. Human beings are 14 the least specialized of all animals and can live almost 15 . Their clothes and their homes act as a sort of “miniature climate“ that can be taken with them everywhere.（分数：30.00）六、Section Reading Co(总题数：0，分数：0.00)七、Part A(总题数：1，分数：10.00)Many of the most damaging a
16、nd life-threatening types of weathertorrential rains, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoesbegin quickly, strike suddenly, and disappear rapidly, devastating small regions while leaving neighboring areas untouched. One such event, a tornado, struck the northeastern section of Edmonton, Alberta, in Jul
17、y 1987. Total damages from the tornado exceeded $250 million, the highest ever for any Canadian storm. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-lived local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed eno
18、ugh to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms. In most nations, for example, weather-balloon observations are taken just once every twelve hours at locations typically separated by hundreds of miles. With such limited data, conventional forecasting models
19、 do a much better job predicting general weather conditions over large regions than they do forecasting specific local events. Until recently, the observation-intensive approach needed for accurate, very short-range forecasts, or “newscast“, was not feasible. The cost of equipping and operating many
20、 thousands of conventional weather stations was prohibitively high, and the difficulties involved in rapidly collecting and processing the raw weather data from such a network were insurmountable. Fortunately, scientific and technological advances have overcome most of these problems. Radar systems,
21、 automated weather instruments, and satellites are all capable of making detailed, nearly continuous observation over large regions at a relatively low cost. Communication satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyze
22、this large volume of weather information. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly. As meteorolog
23、ists have begun using these new technologies in weather forecasting offices, newscasting is becoming a reality.（分数：10.00）(1).Why couldn“t conventional forecasting models provide accurate, timely, and very short-range forecasts?（分数：2.00）A.Because weather is changeable in some locations.B.Because weat
24、her forecasters emphasize general weather conditions.C.Because subtle atmospheric changes are usually ignored.D.Because the weather data available are too limited.(2).The word “discern“ in paragraph 1 means _.（分数：2.00）A.to discoverB.to see, to noticeC.to compileD.to program(3).According to the passa
25、ge, which of the following statements is TRUE?（分数：2.00）A.Human beings used to suffer from damages caused by severe types of weather because traditional weather forecasting models show limitations in predicting general weather conditions.B.The close cooperation between meteorologists and computer sci
26、entists makes “newscast“ a reality.C.Many thousands of conventional weather stations have been established in order to predict specific local weather conditions.D.New sophisticated scientific and technological instruments are adopted in order to improve weather conditions.(4).The word “insurmountabl
27、e“ (Para. 2) is closest in meaning to _.（分数：2.00）A.easy to overcomeB.accumulatedC.too hard to be dealt withD.impossible to imagine(5).The writer“s main point in writing this article is _.（分数：2.00）A.to show the progress in weather forecastingB.to point out the necessity of weather forecastingC.to dis
28、cuss scientific and technological advancesD.to reduce or avoid natural disasters八、Part B(总题数：1，分数：10.00)When we burn fossil fuels (principally coal and oil) we send extra quantities of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Since 1958, the proportion of CO 2 in our air has risen 25 percent. Many scient
29、ists think that within a century this simple gas could devastate our world. 1 Consider CO 2 , for example. Today, it causes about half the total greenhouse effect. Each year our skies receive five billion tons of CO 2 , from the burning of fossil fuels, and up to half again as much from the clearing
30、 and burning of almost 33 million acres of tropical forest. At the present rate of increase, the amount of this gas alone could double during the next century. The University of Chicago atmospheric scientist V. Ramanathan calculates that the earth“s average temperature already has risen during this
31、century by one degree F., almost certainly because of the increase in greenhouse gases. Even without further atmospheric pollution, he estimates that trapped heat from gases we“ve already put in our skies will boost global temperatures another one to five degrees over 1980 levels in the next century
32、. If our emissions of these gases continue to increase as they have, he and others predict that by the year 2030 the earth“s average temperature could climb by nine degrees F. over 1900 levels. A two-or-three-degree warming seems small until we realize that it approximates the rise that 100,000 year
33、s ago ended the last major ice age. If we don“t slow the rate of warming, here“s what a number of researchers fear you and your children will face: the droughts and heat waves that blistered much of the United States in 1988 will become routine summer weather. As rainfall across the country“s wheat
34、and corn belts diminishes by 40 percent, droughts will become common and the Dust Bowl era will return. Summer will mean plagues of insects devouring every moist crop leaf they can find. Prairie and forest fires will become far more frequent and harder to control. Giant hurricanes, with 50 percent m
35、ore destructive potential than those today, will hit farther north and during more months of the year. 2 How much of this terrifying scenario is science, and how much is science fiction? Many scientists believe that a number of these greenhouse problems will come to pass unless actions are taken to
36、slow some of today“s trends. Others aren“t so sure. “We scientists can“t even be 100-percent certain that the world has gotten warmer during this century,“ says Tim Barnett, a marine scientist at the Climate Research Group at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Early in this
37、 century inferior techniques and instruments were used for measuring temperatures, and today many of our weather stations are near urban “hot“ areas that may be under-reporting the effects of trees and other natural modifiers on temperatures. 3 Help From Sea Plankton. The earth, scientists know from
38、 fossil records, has over millions of years faced times when large-scale volcanic activity or sea-floor hot springs have loaded the atmosphere with CO 2 and heated the climate. Yet somehow a runaway greenhouse effect was prevented. The oceans themselves appear to have an enormous capacity for absorb
39、ing CO 2 , but even more amazing is the life that came from the oceans and its role in regulating CO 2 levels in the atmosphere. 4 As a warming climate increases plankton breeding, growing communities of the small organisms emit more and more dimethyl-sulphide (DMS) gas into the air. DMS triggers th
40、e formation of unusually small water droplets, which can reflect more sunlight than ordinary clouds do, thus helping to cool the earth“s climate. A. The earth“s climate, adds Michael MacCracken, head of atmospheric sciences at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, “is like a Rube Gol
41、dberg machine.“ The trouble with making any predictions about climatic change is that thousands of factors influence climateincluding many that trigger a cascade of other unexpected changes. B. How? Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, like the glass in a greenhouse, lets sunlight pass through, then ca
42、tches and retains some of the sunlight“s energy as heat. This greenhouse effect helps warm the earth“s climate. If CO 2 and other greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons vanished tomorrow, the earth would become overnight a frozen, lifeless world like Mars. In fact, a
43、ll these gases have been increasing since the start of the Industrial Revolution. C. As the world“s climate warms, according to this theory, polar icecaps will melt and ocean levels will rise by up to four feet during the next century, threatening such cities as New York, London, Beijing and Seoul.
44、Farmland will be devastated, water supplies contaminated, and wildlife habitats decimated. D. If you have held a piece of blackboard chalk, for example, the fevers of past greenhouse warming. About 160 million years ago, ocean plankton took carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and used the carbon to m
45、ake their protective shells of limestone. When the plankton died, their shells sank to the ocean bottom, locking the carbon away in mineral deposits that one day would rise from the sea as white cliffs of chalk. E. Handler speculates that tropical volcanoes trigger other kinds of weather as well. Tw
46、elve of the biggest such eruptions in this century, he notes, were followed immediately by weather disturbances called El Nino-Southern Oscillations. Occurring three or four years, El Ninos are marked by a shift in Pacific equatorial winds associated with an unusual warming of the eastern tropical P
47、acific Ocean. Most climatologists believe that the higher ocean-surface temperature in turn alters atmospheric pressures, temperatures and wind currents, with the most massive E1 Ninos causing wild distortions in weather throughout the world.（分数：10.00）九、Part C(总题数：1，分数：20.00)A=Section A B=Section B
48、C=Section C It is urgent to take action against greenhouse gas emission rather than 1 wait for decades. Greater emphasis is being given to the scientific uncertainties in relating global climate change to future emissions of greenhouse gases. 2 Some people believe that economic impact of climate change is small. 3 Inaction could prove catastrophic to the future generation. 4 It is difficult to predict fut
