单选题Read the following text. Answer the questions below the text by choosing A,
B, C or D.
Warning on Global Warming
Global warming could cause drought and possibly famine in China, a new
report predicts. Hong Kong could also be at risk from flooding as sea levels
rose. The report recommends building sea-walls around low-lying areas such as
the new port and airport reclamations. Published by the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF), the report, which includes work by members of the Chinese Academy
of Meteorological Sciences, uses the most recent projections on climate change
to point to a gloomy outlook for China. By 2050 about 30 to 40
percent of the country will experience changes in the type of vegetation it
supports, with tropical and sub-tropical forest conditions shifting northward
and hot desert conditions rising in the west where currently the desert is
temperate. Crop-growing areas will expand but any benefit is expected to be
negated by increased evaporation of moisture, making it too dry to grow crops
such as rice. The growing season also is expected to alter, becoming shorter in
southern and central China, the mainland's breadbasket. The rapid changes make
it unlikely that plants could adapt. "China will produce
smaller crops. In the central and northern areas, and the southern part, there
will be decreased production because of water limitations," Dr. Rik Leemans, one
of the authors of the report, said during a brief visit to the territory
yesterday. Famine could result because of the demands of feeding the
population—particularly if it grows—and the diminished productivity of the land.
"It looks very difficult for the world as a whole," he said.
Global warming is caused by the burning of large amounts of fossil fuels, such
as coal and oil, which release gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. World
temperatures already have increased this century by about 0.6 degrees Celsius
and are projected to rise by between 1.6 degrees and 3.8 degrees by
2100. Dr. Leemans said China's reliance on coal-fired power for
its industrial growth did not bode well for the world climate. "I think the
economic power in China is much greater than the environmental power, and
(greenhouse gas emissions) could accelerate," Dr. Leemans said. "China is not
taking the problem seriously yet, although it is trying to incorporate this kind
of research to see what is going to happen." The climate change
report, which will be released, focuses on China but Mr. David Melville of
WWF-Hong Kong said some of the depressing scenarios could apply to the
territory. Food supplies, for instance, could be affected by lower crop yields.
"Maybe we could afford to import food from elsewhere but you have to keep in
mind that the type of changes experienced in southern China will take place
elsewhere as well," he said. Sea levels could rise as glaciers melted and the
higher temperatures expanded the size of the oceans, threatening much of
developed Hong Kong which is built on reclaimed land. Current projections are
that sea levels worldwide will rise by 15 to 90 centimetres by 2100, depending
on whether action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"Hong Kong has {{U}}substantial{{/U}} areas built on reclaimed land and sea level
rises could impact on that, not only on Chek Lap Kok but the West Kowloon
Reclamation and the Central and Western Reclamation—the whole lot," Mr. Melville
said, adding that sea-walls would be needed. Depleted fresh water supplies would
be another problem because increased evaporation would reduce levels. Mr.
Melville said the general outlook could be helped if Hong Kong used water less
wastefully and encouraged energy efficiency to reduce fuel-burning. He also
called on the West to help China improve its efficiency.
单选题
What is the overall situation of the future effects of global warming?
A. Disastrous.
B. Potentially disastrous.
C. Rather encouraging.
D. Relatively optimistic.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 从第一段最后一句话可知答案。
单选题
According to Paragraph 2, the natural condition for plants will
experience some changes except ______.
A. rainforests shifting northward
B. hot desert rising in the west
C. growing season becoming shorter in parts of China
D. crop-growing areas decreasing in size
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 从第二段第二句话可知答案。
单选题
Paragraph 3 is mainly about the topic of ______.
A. future changes in the climate of China
B. projected future changes in the climate of China
C. effects of changes in the climate of China on the growing season
D. effects of changes in the climate of China on food production
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 从第三段内容可知答案。
单选题
The main point of Paragraph 6 is to describe ______.
A. global warming
B. the effects of global warming
C. the causes and projected effects of global warming
D. the causes and effects of global warming
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 从第六段第二和第四两句话可知答案。
单选题
The word "substantial" in Paragraph 7 means "______".