听力原文： The Antarctic is probably the most difficult place..

第1题

听力原文：Among global warming's most frightening threats is the prediction that the polar

听力原文： Among global warming's most frightening threats is the prediction that the polar ice-caps will melt, raising sea level so much that coastal cities from New York to Los Angles to Shanghai will be flooded.

Scientists agree that key player in this scenario is the West Antarctic ice sheet, a Brazil-size mass of frozen water that is as much as 7, 000 feet thick. Unlike floating ice shelves which have little impact on sea level when they break up, the ice sheet is anchored to bedrock well blow the sea surface. Surrounded by open ocean, it is also vulnerable, but Antarctic experts disagree strongly on just how unstable it is.

Now, new evidence reveals that all or most of the west Antarctic ice sheet collapsed at least once during the past 1. 3 million years, a period when global temperatures probably were not significantly higher than they are today. And the ice sheet was assumed to have been stable. In geological time, a million years is recent history. The proof, which was published last week in Science, comes from a team of scientists from Uppsala University in Sweden and the California Institute of Technology who drilled deep holes near the edge of the ice sheet. Within samples collected from the solid substance lying beneath the ice,they found fossils of microscopic marine plants which suggest that the region was once an open ocean, not solid ice. As Herman Englehart, a co-author from the California Institute of Technology says, "the West Antarctic ice sheet disappeared once, and can disappear again. "

26. Q: What is one of the most frightening threats of global warming according to the passage？

27. Q:What did scientists disagree on？

28. Q:What does the latest information reveal about the West Antarctic ice sheet？

29. Q:What does the scientists' latest finding suggest？

(32)

A．The whole Antarctic region will be submerged.

B．Some polar animals will soon become extinct.

C．Many coastal cities will be covered with water.

D．The earth will experience extreme weathers.

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第2题

听力原文：W: Doctor White, we recently learned that a large piece of the Larsen lee shelf i

n Western Antarctica broke off in early January. Could you please tell us exactly what happened？

M: I'd be happy to. The piece that broke off was over a thousand square miles in area. More recently and quite alarming to scientists is that a forty-mile crack, some 30 feet wide in places has torn through the ice shelf.

W: I understand that the scientific community is quite concerned. What is the significance of these events？

M: Well, some scientists believe that this is a clear sign of global warming. Back in 1978, some American researchers predicted that Antarctica would show early signs of global warming due to the green house effect.

W: But couldn't crumbling ice shelves also be a result of the unusual weather Antarctica itself has experienced lately？

M: That's certainly possible, but you'll have to remember that over the past thousands of years, ice shelves have been through a lot of weather changes without breaking up.

W: I think most people know that if the ice cap over Antarctica melts, the level of the oceans will rise. What sort of impact will this have？

M: Well, the ice shelves currently insulate the Antarctic continent from wind, which slows down the melting. If the winds cause even a tenth of the continent's ice to melt, the world's oceans could rise as much as 30 feet.

What are the speakers mainly discussing？

A．An experiment in Antarctica.

B．Part of the Larsen Ice Shelf broke off.

C．The formation of the Larsen Ice Shelf.

D．An expedition in Antarctica.

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第3题

听力原文：M: Hey, Sue. I was wondering if you could fill me in on Monday's class. I had to

go to the dentist for an emergency and I missed Prof. Smith's lecture (19) . What was it on？

W: It was pretty interesting. She talked about volcanoes, active volcanoes, under the-uh-West Antarctic ice sheet (20) .

M: There are active volcanoes under the ice？

W: Apparently so. She said they help protect the ice sheet and prevent melting. Flooding would be pretty bad if that ice melted, not only there, but all over the world.

M: You lost me there. Volcanoes are hot. How can something hot prevent ice from melting (21) .9

W: Wait a minute, let me check my notes. Yeah, here it is. Volcanic heat melts just enough ice to create a slippery surface on the bottom of the glacier. This water allows ice to flow out into the ocean. So the solid interior ice is protected from the ocean's warmth. Does that make sense？

M: Sort of. You mean that because the ice is flowing out to the ocean, the warmer ocean water can't flow in.

W: Exactly. And the ice that melts is constantly being replaced by snow. Prof. Smith said that if the ice sheet ever broke up and melted, the sea level would go up seven meters. Then we would have those floods.

M: Is that really possible？. or is it one of those exaggerations you hear all the time？

W: As far as I can understand, it is possible, because of global warming. I mean if the ocean got a lot warmer that interior ice would be very likely to melt.

M: Thanks for telling me about the lecture. Sounds like I've missed a pretty important class.

(23)

A．He wasn't present at the lecture.

B．He didn't appreciate the lecture.

C．He didn't listen to the lecture attentively.

D．He disliked some part of the lecture.

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第4题

听力原文：How do the birds manage to find their way？ There seems to be no single answer: （3

听力原文： How do the birds manage to find their way？ There seems to be no single answer: (32)they use many methods. Some we are beginning to understand; and there may be some that depend on abilities we have not yet suspected. (33) Many birds certainly follow major geographical features. Migrants follow recognized land, fly over familiar sea and arrive at their summer homes.

But all birds cannot use such straightforward methods. An Arctic sea bird, for example, has to fly at least 3,000 kilometers across the Antarctic Ocean with no land to guide it. We know that some birds flying at night, (34) navigate by the star for on cloudy nights they tend to get lost.

Day-flying birds may use the sun. If they are to do so, they must (35) have a precise sense of time. Still others appear to be able to use the earth's magnetic field as a guide. So it seems that many migrating birds must carry in their brains a clock, a compass and the memory of a map.

(33)

A．They use many different methods.

B．All birds follow major geographical features.

C．All birds use their memory of a map.

D．We have no information about this.

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第5题

听力原文：How do the birds manage to find their way？ There seems to be no single answer: th

听力原文： How do the birds manage to find their way？ There seems to be no single answer: they use many methods. Some we are beginning to understand; and there may be some that depend on abilities we have not yet suspected. Many birds certainly follow major geographical features. Migrants follow recognized land, fly over familiar sea and arrive at their summer homes.

But all birds cannot use such straightforward methods. An Arctic sea bird, for example, has to fly at least 3,000 kilometers across the Antarctic Ocean with no land to guide it. We know that some birds flying at night, navigate by the star for on cloudy nights they tend to get lost.

Day-flying birds may use the sun. If they are to do so, they must have a precise sense of time. Still others appear to be able to use the earth' s magnetic field as a guide. So it seems that many migrating birds must carry in their brains a clock, a compass and the memory of a map.

(33)

A．They use many different methods.

B．All birds follow major geographical features.

C．All birds use their memory of a map.

D．We have no information about this.

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第6题

听力原文：How do the birds manage to find their way？ There seems to be no single answer: th

听力原文： How do the birds manage to find their way？ There seems to be no single answer: they use many methods. Some we are beginning to understand; and there may be some that depend on abilities we have not yet suspected. Many birds certainly follow major geographical features. Migrants follow recognized land, fly over sea and arrive at their summer homes.

But all birds cannot use such straightforward methods. An Arctic sea bird, for example, has to fly at least 3,000 kilometers across the Antarctic Ocean with no land to guide it. We know that some birds flying at night, navigate by the stars for on cloudy nights they tend to get lost.

Day-flying birds may use the sun. If they are to do so, they must have a precise sense of time. Still others appear to be able to use the earth's magnetic field as a guide. So it seems that many migrating birds must carry in their brains a clock, a compass and the memory of a map.

(33)

A．They use many different methods.

B．All birds follow major geographical features.

C．All birds use their memory of a map.

D．We have no information about this.

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第7题

SECTION BPASSAGESDirections: In this section, you will hear several passages. Listen to th

SECTION B PASSAGES

Directions: In this section, you will hear several passages. Listen to the passages carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

听力原文： The Antarctic is probably the most difficult place on earth for human beings to survive. For six months of the year there is total darkness, and temperatures may fall as low as -88℃. Even in the summer months the temperature is often below zero.

The first successful expedition to the South Pole was led by Ronald Amundsen. His team used dogs and sledges to cross the frozen continent, and reached the pole in December 1911.

In 1928, Richard Byrd decided to lead an expedition to the Antarctic to explore the unknown area from the air for the first time. It was the largest and best equipped expedition that had ever set out for the Antarctic. Byrd and his team established a base which they called Little America on the coast of the Rosa Sea. In November 1929, during the Antarctic spring, Byrd and three colleagues flew from the Little America base to the South Pole and back in 19 hours.

Byrd's major achievement was to introduce the use of aircraft, radio and other devices in polar exploration. He did not agree with Ronald Amundsen that the airplanes would one day replace dogs and sledges; he believed that modem techniques were only an addition to the traditional methods of exploration. All of his expeditions, therefore, carried dogs and sledges, and people to look after them. This proved very efficient, and Byrd was able to achieve results of great scientific value.

What is the lowest temperature in the Antarctic？

A．-78℃.

B．-98℃.

C．-88℃.

D．-68℃.

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第8题

听力原文： According to a weather expert's prediction, the atmosphere will be 3℃ warmer in

the year 2050 than it is today, if man continues to burn fuels at the present rate. If this warming up took place, the ice caps in the poles would begin to melt, thus raising sea level several meters and severely flooding coastal cities. At the same time, the increase in atmospheric temperature would lead to great changes in the climate of the northern hemisphere, possibly resulting in an alteration of earth's chief food-growing zones.

In the past, concern about a man-made warming of the earth has concentrated on the Arctic because the Antarctic is much colder and has a much thicker ice sheet. But the weather experts are now paying more attention to West Antarctic, which may be affected by only a few degrees of warming, in other words, by a warming on the scale that will possibly take place in the next fifty years from the burning of fuels.

Satellite pictures show that large areas of Antarctic ice are already disappearing. The evidence available suggests that a warming has taken place. This fits the theory that carbon dioxide warms the earth.

However, most of the fuel is burnt in the northern hemisphere, where temperatures seem to be falling. As a result, scientists conclude that up to now natural influences on the weather have exceeded those caused by human being.

(30)

A．Releasing less and less carbon dioxide.

B．Continuing to burn fuels at the present rate.

C．Melting of ice caps in the poles.

D．The rising sea level several meters.

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第9题

听力原文：M: Hey, Sue. I was wondering if you could fill me in on Monday's class. I had to

go the dentist for an emergency and I missed Prof. Smith's lecture. What was it on？

W: It was pretty interesting. She talked about volcanoes, active volcanoes, under the -- uh -- West Antarctic ice sheet.

M: There ere active volcanoes under the ice？

W: Apparently so. She said they help protect the ice sheet and prevent melting. Flooding would be pretty bad if that ice melted, not only there, but all over the world.

M: You lost me there. Volcanoes are hot. How can something hot prevent ice from melting？

W: Wait a minute, let me check my notes. Yeah, here it is. Volcanic heat melts just enough ice to create a slippery surface on the bottom of the glacier. This water allows ice to flow out into the ocean. So the solid interior ice is protected from the ocean's warmth. Does that make sense？

M: Son of. You mean that because the ice is flowing out to the ocean, the warmer ocean water can't flow in.

W: Exactly. And the ice that melts is constantly being replaced by snow. Prof. Smith said that if the ice sheet ever broke up and melted, the sea level would go up seven meters. Then we would have those floods.

M: Is that really possible？ Or is it one of those exaggerations you hear all the time？

W: As far as I can understand, it is possible, because of global warming. I mean if the ocean got a lot warmer that interior ice would be very likely to melt.

M: Thanks for telling me about the lecture. Sounds like I've missed a pretty important class.

Why did the man ask about the lecture？

(20)

A．He wasn't present at the lecture.

B．He didn't listen to the lecture attentively.

C．He didn't appreciate the lecture.

D．He disliked some part of the lecture.

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第10题

听力原文：I won the first prize in the speech contest．（15)A．Congratulations.B．Thank you.C．C

听力原文：I won the first prize in the speech contest．

(15)

A．Congratulations.

B．Thank you.

C．Certainly.

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听力原文：The Antarctic is probably the most difficult place on earth for human beings to s