A
You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world's temperature. But rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation (撤离) of an island nation. The citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century, sea level rose 812 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water that has polluted the country's drinking water.
Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (减少温室效应气体排放), which are a main cause of global warming. “By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years，” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable (易受影响的) to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”．
篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述了全球变暖引起海平面上升，给一些国家带来的不利影响。
1．The text is mainly about ________ .
A．rapid changes in earth's temperature
B．bad effects of global warming
C．moving of a country to a new place
D．reasons for lowland flooding
答案：B 主旨大意题。这篇短文主要讲述了全球变暖造成的恶劣影响。
2．According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is ________ .
A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B．higher surface water temperatures of the sea
C．continuous global warming
D．rising sea levels
答案：B 细节理解题。根据第三段中的“Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.”可判断出，造成更大和更具破坏性的暴风雨的直接原因是源自全球变暖的海洋表面水温变得更高。
3．Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States because it did not ________ .
A．agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C．allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
答案：A 细节理解题。由第四段第一句话可知，Laupepa对美国不满意的原因是美国拒绝签署减少温室效应气体排放的公约。
4．The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is ________ .
A．Australia B．New Zealand
C．the Maldives D．the United States
答案：C 细节推断题。根据最后一段可判断出the Maldives与Tuvalu的境况相似。
