The people of Kiribati are afraid that one day in the not-too-distant future, their country will disappear from the face of the earth-literally. Several times this year, the Pacific island nation has been flooded by a sudden high tide. These tides, which swept across the island and destroyed houses, came when there was neither wind nor rain. "This never happened before," say the older citizens of Kiribati.
What is causing these mysterious high tides? The answer may well be global warming. When fuels like oil and coal are being burned, pollutants (污染物) are released. These pollutants trap heat in the earth"s atmosphere. Warmer temperatures cause water to expand and also create more water by melting glaciers (冰川) and polar (极地的) ice caps.
If the trend continues, scientists say, many countries will suffer, Bangladesh, for example, might lose one-fifth of its land. The coral (珊瑚) island nations of the Pacific, like Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, however, would face an even worse fate—they would be swallowed by the sea. The loss of these coral islands would be everyone"s loss. Coral formations are home to more species than any other place on earth.
The people of these nations feel frustrated. The sea, on which their economies have always been based, is suddenly threatening their existence. They don"t have the money for expensive technological solutions like seawalls. And they have no control over the pollutants, which are being released mainly by activities in large industrialized countries. All they can do is to hope that industrialized countries will take steps to reduce pollution.
单选题
The people of Kiribati worry that one day their country will be taken away by a sudden high tide.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：基里巴斯人民担心也许有一天他们的国家会被潮水突然卷走。文章开头首句提到：“The people of Kiribati are afraid that one day in the not-too-distant future, their country will disappear from the face of the earth literally. Several times this year, the Pacific island nation has been flooded by a sudden high tide”(基里巴斯人民担心将来有一天他们的国家就会从地球上消失。太平洋岛国今年已经几次遭到潮水的突然袭击了)。题干所述与文章信息一致，故选A。
单选题
High tides used to attack Kiribati when there was strong wind or heavy rain.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：风强雨大的时候，潮水经常袭击基里巴斯。文章第一段最后两句提到：“These tide, which swept across the island and destroyed houses, came when there was neither wind nor rain. "This never happened before," say the older citizens of Kiribati”(当无风无雨的时候这些潮水就会到来，一位老人说：“这以前从来都没有发生过”)。就是说现在无风无雨也会出现潮水，而在过去只有大风大雨的时候才会出现潮水。故选A。
单选题
The heat released by burning oil and coal is the direct cause of global warming.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：燃烧石油和煤释放出的热量是全球变暖的直接原因。文章第二段提到：“When fuels like oil and coal are being burned, pollutants (污染物) are released. These pollutants trap heat in the earth"s atmosphere”(当燃料(如石油和煤)被燃烧时，会释放污染物，这些污染物圈住地球大气层中的热量。这是引起全球变暖的一个原因)。而题干所述把它范围缩小，说成直接原因，故选B。
单选题
Scientists are not sure how serious the effects of global warming will be.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：科学家对于全球变暖将产生多么严重的后果还不确定。文章第三段提到：“If the trend continues, scientists say, many countries will suffer, would face an even worse fate”(如果这个形势继续发展，很多国家将会遭受或者面临更严峻的形势)。也就是说，科学家们还是看到了全球变暖的严峻性。故选B。
单选题
The coral island nations of the Pacific have a long history of civilization.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：太平洋的珊瑚岛有很长的文明历史。文章第三段提到“The coral (珊瑚) island nations of the Pacific”(太平洋的珊瑚岛国)，但是并没有提到它们有很长的文化历史。故选C。
单选题
The people of the coral island nations are unable to do anything substantial about the problem of global warming.
单选题
Some industrialized countries are unwilling to spend money in reducing pollution.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：一些工业化国家不愿意花钱减少污染。文章最后一句提到：“All they can do is to hope that industrialized countries will take steps to reduce pollution”(所有他们能做的就是希望工业化国家能够采取措施减少污染)。但是这并没有说明工业化国家不愿意花钱减少污染。故选C。