Half of the world’s population is affected by Asian monsoons（季风）, but monsoons are difficult to predict. American researchers have put together a 700-year record of the rainy seasons, which is expected to provide guidance for experts making weather predictions.
Every year, damp air masses，known as monsoon，produce large amounts of rainfall in India, East Asia, Northern Australia and East Africa. All this wet air is pulled in by a high pressure area over the Indian Ocean and a low pressure area to the south.
According to Edward Cook , a weather expert at Columbia University in New York., the complex nature of the climate systems across Asia makes monsoons hard to predict. In addition, climate records for the area are too recent and not detailed enough to be of much use. Therefore, he and a team of researchers spent more than fifteen years traveling across Asia, looking for trees old enough to provide long-term records. They measured the rings, or circles, inside thousands of ancient trees in more than 300 places.
Rainfall has a direct link to the growth and width of rings on some kinds of trees. The researchers developed a document they are calling a Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas. It shows the effect of monsoons over seven centuries, beginning in the 1300s.
Professor Cook says the tree-ring records show periods of wet and dry weather. “If the monsoon basically fails or is a very weak one, the trees affected by monsoons at that location might put on a very narrow ring. But if the monsoon is very strong, the trees affected by that monsoon might put on a wide ring for that year. So, the wide and narrow ring widths of the chronology that we developed in Asia provide us with a measure of monsoon variability.” With all this information, researchers say they can begin to improve computer climate models for predicting the behavior of monsoons.
“There has been widespread famine and starvation and human dying in the past in large droughts. And on the other hand, if the monsoon is particularly heavy, it can cause extensive flooding.” said Eugene Wahl, a scientist with America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “So, to get a sense of what the regional moisture patterns have been, dryness and wetness over such a long period of time in great detail, I would call it a kind of victory for climate science.”
1.What’s the passage mainly about？
A. The effects of Asian monsoons.
B. The necessity of weather forecast.
C. The achievements of Edward cook.
D. A breakthrough in monsoon prediction.
2.It is difficult for experts to predict Asian monsoons because _______.
A. it is hard to keep long-term climate records.
B. they are formed under complex climate systems.
C. they influence many nations.
D. there is heavy rainfall in Asia.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Long and detailed climate records can offer useful information for monsoon research.
B. The Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas has a monsoon record for about 1,300 years.
C. The trees affected by monsoon grow fast if the monsoon is weak.
D. The rainfall might be low although the monsoon is strong in monsoon-affected areas.
4.According to Professor Cook, the rings of the trees _______.
A. determine the regional climate.
B. have a great influence on the regional climate.
C. offer people information about the regional climate.
D. reflect all kinds of regional climate information.
5.Which of the following best describes the tone of this passage?
A. Matter-of –fact B. Pessimistic C. Humorous D. Friendly.
My father was in the navy, which meant that my mother was married to both my father and the sea. As was often the , we had to pack our belongings into boxes and those we had grown to love. We would arrive at our new home and find ourselves once again standing at the pier (码头) good-bye to my father as his ship pulled him away from us. My mother would turn my brother and me around before the ship was out of , wipe our tears, and take us back home to start the process of in the new environment again.
Throughout the years of changing , schools and friends, there remained one constant in my childhood — my mother. For both my and me, she was the cook, maid and teacher. She played these roles while some type of part-time job. Leaving a career is just one of the sacrifices which my mother made for my family as we moved around the world with our father every three years or so. she had to deal with only a small budget, my mother, , managed to make each house the very home that is safe and .
This probably sounds like a depressing way to live, with two small children: “single”
parenthood, short-term friendships, and the inability to her career or establish a home. But it was not for my mother. She turned this into adventure for us all! Each relocation (变换位置) was a chance to another part of the world. My mother greeted each new culture, climate and neighborhood. Each new house was a to rearrange furniture, make curtains and pictures. Every part-time job was an opportunity to learn something new and work with interesting people.
No matter how difficult the life was, she was always having a attitude. She always had strength in the face of struggle and change. My mother was so all those years during my childhood — she was my island in a sea of change. She is my hero.
1.A. situation B. condition C. case D. matter
2.A. leave out B. leave behind C. leave off D. leave for
3.A. speaking B. staring C. waving D. talking
4.A. range B. shape C. sight D. control
5.A. adapting B. suiting C. matching D. fitting
6.A. names B. jobs C. addresses D. directions
7.A. father B. classmates C. brother D. relatives
8.A. performing B. seeking C. waiting D. applying
9.A. terrible B. promising C. hopeless D. negative
10.A. Once B. While C. When D. Unless
11.A. somewhere B. anyhow C. somewhat D. somehow
12.A. romantic B. comfortable C. mysterious D. wealthy
13.A. generally B. actually C. especially D. unfairly
14.A. desert B. develop C. affect D. limit
15.A. lifestyle B. value C. journey D. opportunity
16.A. acquire B. explore C. occupy D. realize
17.A. load B. sadness C. result D. challenge
18.A. hang B. draw C. took D. sold
19.A. changeable B. cautious C. positive D. negative
20.A. experienced B. brave C. ordinary D. annoyed
Only by doing what your soul is eager to do_______ your life something full of beautiful memories.
A. you can make B. could you make C. can you make D. you will make
The tourists gathered at________ was once a square, _______ is used as a theme park.
A. where; which B. what; which C. which; what D. that; which
---Why can you speak English so fluently?
---Oh, I________ English in Shanghai International Studies University for four years.
A. studied B. would study C. was studying D. had studied
The boy failed in the last exam, but if he continued being addicted to computer games, then so much______.
A. the worst B. worst C. worse D. the worse
