A regular drop in the sun’s radiation(輻射) can cause unusually cold winters in parts of North America and Europe, scientists say, a finding that could improve long-range forecasts and help countries prepare for snowstorms.
Scientists have known for a long time that the sun has an 11-year cycle during which radiation measured by sunspots on the surface reaches a peak then falls. But explaining a clear connection to weather is harder.
“Our research confirms the observed connection between solar change and regional winter climate,” lead author Sarah Ineson of the UK Met Office told the reporters in an email. The study was published in the magazine Nature Geoscience on Monday.
The researchers found that the reducing of ultraviolet(UV，紫外線) radiation from the sun can affect high-altitude wind patterns in the Northern Hemisphere(半球), causing cold winters.
“While UV levels won’t tell us what the day-to-day weather will do, they show us the bright future of improved forecasts for winter conditions for months and even years ahead. These forecasts play an important role in long-term possibility planning,” Ineson, a climate scientist, said.
Ineson and colleagues from Imperial College London and the University of Oxford used satellite data that more accurately(精確的) measures UV radiation from the sun and found a much greater change than previously thought.
They found that in years of low activity, unusually cold air forms high in the atmosphere over the tropics. This causes a redistribution(重新分配) of heat in the atmosphere, making easterly winds that bring freezing weather and snowstorms to northern Europe and the United States and milder weather to Canada and the Mediterranean.
When solar UV radiation is stronger, the opposite occurs.
More study was needed, though. A key uncertainty in the experiment lay in the satellite data used, because it covers only a few years. “So questions remain concerning both accuracy(精確) and also applicability to other solar cycles,” she said.
小題1:The new finding claims cold winters in the North Hemisphere can be caused by ______.
A．a(chǎn) sharp rise in the amount of sunspots
B．a(chǎn) drop in the sun’s UV radiation
C．a(chǎn) complex computer model simulation
D．a(chǎn) clear link between the sun and the earth
小題2: It has long been known by scientists that ______.
A．UV radiation can affect high-altitude wind patterns
B．there’s a clear connection between the sun’s activity and weather
C．the sun’s radiation reaches a peak every eleven years
D．they can predict day-to-day weather conditions from UV levels
小題3:What will happen if the sun turns into years of high activity according to the finding?
A．Canada and the Mediterranean will have milder weather.
B．The whole Northern Hemisphere will suffer from extreme winter days.
C．Freezing cold weather will appear in northern Europe.
D．Burning hot weather will appear in the United States.
小題4: It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A．researchers have analyzed the data collected in eleven years
B．long-term weather conditions can be accurately predicted depending on UV levels
C．the research doesn’t seem correct and true enough due to limited satellite data used
D．climate scientists have just begun their research in severe weather forecast

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:D
小題4:C

試題分析：科學家們發(fā)現(xiàn)太陽紫外線的降低會使北半球的冬天更為寒冷，這一研究發(fā)現(xiàn)有可能會有助于發(fā)展長期準確的天氣預報，從而能夠提醒人們提前防備暴風雪的來臨。但是科學家們同時也指出這項研究還有待于更多的科學數(shù)據(jù)支持。
小題1:B細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第四段 the reducing of ultraviolet(UV，紫外線) radiation from the sun can affect high-altitude wind patterns in the Northern Hemisphere(半球), causing cold winters.可知太陽紫外線輻射的降低有可能造成北半球冬天氣溫的下降，所以B選項正確。
小題2:C細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章第二段Scientists have known for a long time that the sun has an 11-year cycle during which radiation measured by sunspots on the surface reaches a peak then falls.可知太陽輻射每十一年到達一個頂峰,所以C選項正確。
小題3:D推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段內(nèi)容可知當太陽黑子活動減少的時候，會造成北美等地的寒冷氣候，而文章倒數(shù)第三段又進一步提到When solar UV radiation is stronger, the opposite occurs.由此判斷當太陽紫外線強的時候，北美等地就會炎熱，故答案選D。
小題4:C推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章末段More study was needed, though. A key uncertainty in the experiment lay in the satellite data used, because it covers only a few years.可知實驗的不確定性在于可以依賴的數(shù)據(jù)較少，目前參考的僅僅是幾年的數(shù)據(jù)，所以判斷C為正確選項。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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B．Where to build its flood defences
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D．How to improve the function of the old flood defences
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A．increasing population and coal-fired power stations
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小題1:
A．possible B．easy C．new D．different
小題2:
A．that B．what C．whether D．a(chǎn)s if
小題3:
A．usual B．normal C．certain D．common
小題4:
A．realistic B．reasonable C．moral D．instructive
小題5:
A．difficult B．impossible C．important D．necessary
小題6:
A．thinkable B．designed C．imagined D．planned
小題7:
A．do B．make C．have D．a(chǎn)re
小題8:
A．lessons B．dreams C．experience D．magic
小題9:
A．working B．thinking C．living D．understanding
小題10:
A．knowledge B．skill C．words D．grammar
小題11:
A．make B．get C．use D．have
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A．a(chǎn) newspaper B．something C．everything D．a(chǎn) story
小題13:
A．find B．learn C．know D．hope
小題14:
A．too B．not C．a(chǎn)ll D．so
小題15:
A．dangerous B．serious C．strange D．terrible
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A．talk B．learn C．read D．think
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A．telling B．pretending C．promising D．guessing
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A．mind B．life C．world D．society
小題19:
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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Contraction of front and side parts—as cells die off—was seen in some people in their thirties, but it was still not found in some sixty and seventy-year-olds.
Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple way to prevent the contraction—using the head.
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小題1:The team of doctors wanted to find out _____.
A．a(chǎn)t what point people grow mentally old
B．how to make people live longer
C．the size of certain people’s brains
D．which people are the most clever
小題2:Their research findings are based on _____.
A．a(chǎn)n examination of farmers in northern Japan
B．tests given on a thousand old people
C．examining the brain volumes of different people
D．using computer technology
小題3:The doctors’ tests show that _____.
A．our brains contract as we grow older
B．one part of the brain does not contract
C．sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-olds
D．some people’s brains have contracted earlier than other people’s
小題4:The most possible conclusion of the passage is that _____.
A．most of us take more exercise
B．it’s better to live in the town
C．the brain contracts if it is not used
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Scores on a national test released(發(fā)布)on November 1 show that students in the U.S.A. have improved in math over the last two years, but mostly stayed the same in reading. This year, 422,000 fourth graders and 343,000 eighth graders took the exams between January and March. Students were asked to read grade-appropriate(年級適合的) materials and answer questions for the reading test. For the math test, students answered questions about geometry, algebra, number properties, measurement and other topics.
The U.S Department of Education released the scores in a report called The Nation’s Report Card (NAEP). This year, students earned the highest scores ever recorded on the math exam, which has been given since 1990.Fourth graders scored an average of 241.That is a one-point increase from 2009and a 28-point increase from 1990. Eighth graders made similar progress. Then average score this year was 284,up one point from 2009 and 21 points from 1990.
In reading, fourth graders scored an average of 221 points, the same average score since 2007.That score is four points above those from 1992, when the first reading test was given. Eighth graders scored an average of 265 points, up one point from 2009 and five points from 1992.
Education experts say reading is a harder subject to improve in the classroom than math. While math is largely learned in classrooms, reading results depend on how much kids read outside of school and how much they read in other subjects, such as history and science.
On the NAEP, math scores were the highest among students who have limited use of calculators(計算器) during math lessons, compared with students who have unlimited use or no use. Reading scores were the highest among students who said they read for fun on their own time almost every day.
小題1:According to the test, students in the U.S.A _______________________.
A．do better in math than in reading
B．work harder at reading than at math
C．prefer to learn math in their spare time
D．a(chǎn)re more interested in reading than before
小題2:In 1990, the fourth graders’ average score on the math exam was about____________
A．238B．240C．213D．220
小題3:We can learn from the third paragraph that ______________.
A．eighth graders all took part in the test in 2007
B．reading scores have not improved much since 2007
C．eighth graders got higher scores than fifth graders
D．fourth graders’ scores are becoming lower and lower
小題4: What can we learn from the passage?
A．The first reading test was given in 1990.
B．Eighth graders’ average math score was 285 in 2009
C．Eighth graders got the same average as fourth graders in the reading this year
D．Reading is hard to improve in the classroom because that requires students to read a lot outside of school.

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