Question

When she first started learning about the climate change from one of her elders, Fawn Sharp was invited on a helicopter flight over the Olympic Mountains to survey the Mount Anderson glacier(冰川). But the glacier was gone, melted by the warming climate. Sharp had a deep sense of loss when she discovered the glacier wasn't there anymore.

Loss is a growing issue for people working and living on the front lines of climate change. And that gave Jennifer Wren Atkinson, a full-time lecturer at the University of Washington Bothell, US, an idea for a class.

This term, she taught students on the Bothell campus about the emotional burdens of environmental study. She used the experiences of Nalive American tribes (部落) , scientists and activists, and asked her 24 students to face the reality that there is no easy fix -- that "this is such an intractable problem that they're going to be dealing with it for the rest of their lives.”

Student Cody Dillon used to be a climate science skeptic (怀疑论者) . Then he did his own reading and research, and changed his mind.

Dillon wasn't going into environmental work--he was a computer-science major. Yet,the potential for a worldwide environmental catastrophe seemed so real to him five years ago that he quit his job and became a full-time volunteer for an environmental group that worked on restoration (恢复) projects.

Six months into the work, he decided that Alkinson's class was just what he was looking for - - a place where he could discuss his concerns about a changing climate.

Atkinson said she hopes the class helped her students prepare themselves for the amount of environmental loss that will happen over their lifetimes.

“We are already changing the planet - . so many species are going to be lost, displaced or massively impacted (巨大影响的) ,”she said. “The future isn't going to be what they imagined.”

1.Why did the author mention the case of Fawn Sharp?

A. To lay a basis for Fawn Sharp's further research.

B. To prove Fawn Sharp's work is similar to Atkinson's.

C. To lead into the issue of loss caused by climate change.

D. To show scientists' concern about the Mount Anderson glacier.

2.What's the main purpose of Atkinson's class?

A. To explore how different people deal with climate change.

B. To get students more concerned about environmental issue.

C. To find solutions to the Olympic Mountains environmental issue.

D. To teach students how to conduct a research about environment.

3.Which of the following best explains “intractable” underlined in Paragraph Three?

A. Simple.    B. Difficult.

C. Common.    D. Interesting.

4.How did Atkinson's class influence Dillon?

A. Dillon worked as a part-time volunteer for restoration projects.

B. It made him realize a planet-wide climate disaster would happen.

C. It encouraged him to be more involved in environmental protection.

D. It discouraged him to work on restoration projects for the environment.

Answer

1. C

2. B

3. B

4. C

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。报道了美国华盛顿博瑟尔大学的全职讲师詹妮弗·雷恩·阿特金森给同学们上环境研究的情感负担课，意在通过这样的课告诉学生气候变化日益严峻，没人能够独善其身，要更加关注环境问题。

1.推理判断题。由第一段的内容可知，Fawn Sharp被邀请乘坐直升机飞越奥林匹克山脉，调查安德森山冰川。但是冰川消失了，被气候变暖融化了，当Fawn Sharp发现冰川已经不在那里时，她有一种深深的失落感。所以作者通过Fawn Sharp发现可冰山消失以及她的感受，判断出作者提到Fawn Sharp的例子就是为了引入“气候变化导致的环境损失的问题”故C选项正确。

2.推理判断题。由倒数第二段“Atkinson said she hopes the class helped her students prepare themselves for the amount of environmental loss that will happen over their lifetimes.”可知，阿特金森说，她希望这个课程能帮助她的学生为他们一生中将要发生的环境损失做好准备。所以判断出阿特金森课程的主要目的是让学生更加关注环境问题。故B选项正确。

3.词义猜测题。由第三段“…there is no easy fix -- that "this is such an intractable problem that they're going to be dealing with it for the rest of their lives.”可知，没有简单的解决办法——“这是一个如此棘手的问题，他们将在余生中处理它。”所以判断出Difficult“困难”最能解释intractable的意思。故B选项正确。

4.推理判断题。由“Yet,the potential for a worldwide environmental catastrophe seemed so real to him five years ago that he quit his job and became a full-time volunteer for an environmental group that worked on restoration (恢复) projects.可知，然而，五年前，他认为世界环境灾难的可能性是如此的真实以至于他辞去了工作，成为了一个致力于修复项目的环保组织的全职志愿者”以及第六段“Six months into the work, he decided that Alkinson's class was just what he was looking for - -- a place where he could discuss his concerns about a changing climate.”可知，工作六个月后，他认为阿特金森的课正是他想要的——一个他可以讨论他对不断变化的气候担忧的地方。所以通过在环保组织工作了六个月，狄龙意识到阿特金森老师的课对他的影响很大，使他意识到他参加环保组织保护环境是对的。故判断出阿特金森的课鼓励了狄龙更多地参与环境保护。故C选项正确。