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近日，巴西亚马逊雨林遭遇大火侵袭，引发国内外网友广泛关注。巴西国家空间研究所的卫星数据显示，亚马逊地区雨林大火已持续燃烧了三周，“地球之肺”正面临不能承受之重，大火产生的烟雾笼罩在附近城市上空，带来一片阴霾。
阅读短文并回答问题
Record fires sweeping across the Amazon this month have been grabbing global headlines as scientists and environmental groups are worried that they will aggravate climate change crisis and threaten biodiversity（生物多样性）.
As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is often called “the lungs of the world”. It is also home to about 3 million species of plants and animals, and 1 million indigenous（当地的）people. The vast swaths（大片土地）of rainforest play an important role in the world’s ecosystem because they absorb heat instead of it being reflected back into the atmosphere. They also store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, ensuring that less carbon is released, mitigating the effects of climate change.
“Any forest destroyed is a threat to biodiversity and the people who use that biodiversity,” Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist at George Mason University toldNational Geographic. “The overwhelming threat is that a lot of carbon goes into the atmosphere,” he stressed. “In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity. The Amazon must be protected,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
Data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) show that the number of forest fires in Brazil quickly increased by 82 percent from January to August this year from a year ago. A total of 71,497 forest fires were registered in the country in the first eight months of , up from 39,194 in the same period in , INPE said. “We estimate that the forest areas in the Brazilian Amazon have decreased something between 20 and 30 percent compared to the last 12 months,” Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo, told German broadcasterDeutsche Welle.
Brazil owns about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, whose degradation could have severe consequences for global climate and rainfall. The extent of the area ruined by fires has yet to be determined, but the emergency has transcended（超出）Brazil’s borders, reaching Peruvian, Paraguayan and Bolivian regions.
（节选自Global Times）
1. What is the second paragraph mainly talking about?
A. The effects of climate change.
B. The role of the Amazon rainforest.
C. The results of the Amazon rainforest fires.
D. The causes of the decreasing biodiversity.
2. Which of the following best explains “mitigating” underlined in Paragraph 2?
A. Easing.
B. Causing.
C. Worsening.
D. Benefitting.
3. What can we learn from Thomas’s and Antonio’s words?
A. The biodiversity makes the rainforests unique.
B. The rainforest fires result in serious consequences.
C. The global climate crisis brings more rainforest fires.
D. The dry weather leads to the rainforest fires.
4. Why does the author list the numbers in Paragraph 4?
A. To prove the importance of rainforest.
B. To show the influence of forest fires.
C. To explain the process of the research.
D. To present the reduction of rainforest areas.
5. Which section of a magazine is this text probably taken from?
A. Sports and music.
B. Science and technology.
C. Nature and geography.
D. Business and culture.
参考答案
1-5 BABDC
单词学习
1.aggravatev. 使恶化
Stress and lack of sleep can aggravate the situation.
紧张和缺乏睡眠会使情况恶化。
2.swathn. 一大片
3.carbon dioxide二氧化碳
4.oxygenn. 氧气
5.U.N. Secretary General联合国秘书长
6.the National Institute for Space Research (INPE)巴西国家空间研究所
7.registerv. 记录
8.degradationn. 退化
9.Peruvianadj. 秘鲁的
10.Paraguayanadj. 巴拉圭的
11.Bolivianadj. 玻利维亚的
长难句分析
1. Record fires sweeping across the Amazon this month have been grabbing global headlines as scientists and environmental groups are worried that they will aggravate climate change crisis and threaten biodiversity.
主干：Record fires have been grabbing global headlines.
译文：本月在整个亚马逊地区刷新记录的大火已经成为全球新闻头条。科学家们和各环保组织担心它们会加剧气候变化危机，并威胁生物多样性。
2. The vast swaths of rainforest play an important role in the world’s ecosystem because they absorb heat instead of it being reflected back into the atmosphere. They also store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, ensuring that less carbon is released, mitigating the effects of climate change.
主干：The rainforest play an important role in the ecosystem. They store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
译文：大片的雨林在世界生态系统中扮演着重要的角色，因为它们吸收热量，而不是将热量反射回大气层。它们还储存二氧化碳，制造氧气，确保释放更少的碳，减轻气候变化的影响。
3. Brazil owns about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, whose degradation could have severe consequences for global climate and rainfall. The extent of the area ruined by fires has yet to be determined, but the emergency has transcended Brazil’s borders, reaching Peruvian, Paraguayan and Bolivian regions.
主干：Brazil owns the Amazon rainforest. The area has yet to be determined.
译文：巴西拥有约60%的亚马逊雨林，其退化可能会对全球气候和降雨造成严重后果。被大火毁坏的地区的范围还有待确定，但是这一紧急情况已经越过了巴西的边界，到达了秘鲁、巴拉圭和玻利维亚地区。
背景拓展
TheAmazon Rainforest（亚马逊雨林）
亚马逊热带雨林位于南美洲的亚马逊盆地，占地700万平方公里，从安第斯山脉低坡延伸至巴西的大西洋海岸。雨林横跨巴西、哥伦比亚、秘鲁、委内瑞拉、厄瓜多尔、玻利维亚、圭亚那及苏里南，占据了世界雨林面积的一半，是全球最大以及物种最多的热带雨林。
亚马逊雨林对于全世界是至关重要的，它是人类非常珍贵的生物资源宝库。雨林能够吸收二氧化碳，产生氧气。亚马逊雨林被称为“地球之肺”。这一林区蕴藏的木材占全世界木材总蕴藏量的45%，生物物种占全世界总数的1/5，植物种类和鸟类各占世界的一半，淡水资源占世界总量的18%。因此，亚马逊河流域对全球气候和生态环境的影响是举足轻重的。
由于开发不当和保护不利，巴西的亚马逊雨林正在遭到严重的破坏，热带雨林面积正以惊人的速度减少，平均每8秒就有一个足球场大小的森林在那里消失，森林覆盖率已从原来的80%减少到58%。其影响有：
（1）区域环境及生物多样性遭破坏；
（2）温室效应加剧；
（3）对全球气候造成负面影响；
（4）造成水土流失、土壤退化、土地荒漠化等次生灾害；
（5）旱涝灾害频发。世界自然基金会警告称，如果毁林事态得不到有效控制，不久的将来，亚马逊雨林将空留其名。
造成亚马逊雨林大面积减少的原因：
（1）毁林造田。近年来大量移民涌入亚马逊地区，造成农业耕地紧缺；
（2）有效管理的缺乏，无序采矿、修路、建房等；
（3）人为或自然因素引发的大火。
环保人士指出，森林作为陆地生态系统的主体，对养护水源、保持水土、减少旱涝灾害有着不可替代的作用，毁林将严重破坏生态平衡，后果不堪设想。
声明
原文选自Global Times，试题与内容讲解由天学网产品教研部编写。
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