华中师范大学2007年考博英语真题

2007年试题

PartⅠReading Comprehension(40%)

Directions: There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed

by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four

choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and then

write the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.

Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

Nothing better illustrates the boradening of the concern about pollution from a local affair to a global one than air pollution. Local air pollution is improving in some cities in industrial countries, but it is worsening in others, principally in developing countries, and is hardly solved anywhere. Meanwhile, global use of fossil fuels and emissions of traditional pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides that result from it contiune to climb. Acid rain, ozone, and other consequences of these pollutants are affecting plant and animal life---killing forest and fish, damaging crops, changing the species composition of ecosystem---over vast areas of the globe.

Depletion of the stratosphere's ozone layer is a matter of such concern that an international treaty has been negotiated to reduce emissions of chlorofluorcarbons, but the latest measurements indicate the current protocol is already inadequate. And probably most serious of all, the buildup of infrared-trapping “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere contiunes.This buildup is largerly a conscquence of the use of fossil fuels and CFCs, deforestation, and various agricultural activities, and it now threatens societies with far-reaching climate change.

While the regional impacts of global warming are uncertain and difficult to predict, rainfall and monsoon patterns could shift, upsetting agricultural activities worldwide. The sea level could rise, flooding coastal areas. Ocean currents could shift, altering the climate of many areas and disrupting fisheries.The ranges of plant and animal species could change regionally, endangering protected areas and many species whose habitats are now few and confined. Record heat waves and other weather anomalies could harm susceptible people, crops, and forests.

These interrelated atmospheric issues probably constitute the most serious pollution threat in history. I say "interrelated" because these atmospheric issues are linked in ways that scientists are still discovering, and the scientists are far ahead of our policymakers. First, they are linked in time. The view is still common today that, initially, we should address local air pollution, then we should turn attention to regional issues of greenhouse gases. But the failures of our clean air efforts make urban air quality an issue for today, forcing a 1970's issue from the past into the present. Simultaneously, the realizations that Greenhouse gases other than CO2 double the urgency of the problem, and that societies may have already committed the planet to a 1 to 2.5C global average