One of Lewis Gordon Pugh’s first big attempts to put his cold-water skills to the test nearly ended in disaster. On a one-mile swim in Antarctica in December 2005, just yards from the finish, his body began to give in. The temperature inside his thigh muscle dropped to 87.8 degrees, the lowest ever measured in him. He was completely at the limits of his ability.
Despite what he called the “grueling (折磨人的)” Antarctic swim, Pugh scheduled an even more fearsome test for himself at the North Pole. Stepping off the way of the Russian icebreaker that had crunched(咯吱作響的穿過) through floating sea ice for five days to take him to the North Pole, Pugh walked across the ice to a pool of open water over one mile long and two and a half miles deep. The sea temperature was 29 degrees, only a little above the freezing point of salt water.
Pugh quickly took off his padded clothes. In only his bathing suit and cap, his skin already pink, he walked to the water’s edge. “The only place I’m getting out is at the end,” he told himself. Then he removed his earphones and dived in.
The pain was immediate. His entire body felt on fire. The doctor kept pace with him in a boat. Through iced-up goggles(護目鏡), Pugh could see the armed guards keeping watch for bears.
His friend Becker had broken down the huge task into manageable parts, each one marked by a flag planted in the ice that represented a friend, family member, or teammate. Fog started to roll in as Pugh headed for the final marker, the flag of Great Britain. He imagined his late father standing beside it--- the man who had done so much to give him an interest in adventure. Then Pugh drove himself to the finish. After 18 minutes 50 seconds in the water, his body was not even hypothermic(體溫過低的).
【小題1】.
Why did Lewis Gordon Pugh swim in Antarctica in December 2005?

One of Lewis Gordon Pugh’s first big attempts to put his cold-water skills to the test nearly ended in disaster. On a one-mile swim in Antarctica in December 2005, just yards from the finish, his body began to give in. The temperature inside his thigh muscle dropped to 87.8 degrees, the lowest ever measured in him. He was completely at the limits of his ability.

   Despite what he called the “grueling (折磨人的)” Antarctic swim, Pugh scheduled an even more fearsome test for himself at the North Pole. Stepping off the way of the Russian icebreaker that had crunched(咯吱作響的穿過) through floating sea ice for five days to take him to the North Pole, Pugh walked across the ice to a pool of open water over one mile long and two and a half miles deep. The sea temperature was 29 degrees, only a little above the freezing point of salt water.

   Pugh quickly took off his padded clothes. In only his bathing suit and cap, his skin already pink, he walked to the water’s edge. “The only place I’m getting out is at the end,” he told himself. Then he removed his earphones and dived in.

   The pain was immediate. His entire body felt on fire. The doctor kept pace with him in a boat. Through iced-up goggles(護目鏡), Pugh could see the armed guards keeping watch for bears.

   His friend Becker had broken down the huge task into manageable parts, each one marked by a flag planted in the ice that represented a friend, family member, or teammate. Fog started to roll in as Pugh headed for the final marker, the flag of Great Britain. He imagined his late father standing beside it--- the man who had done so much to give him an interest in adventure. Then Pugh drove himself to the finish. After 18 minutes 50 seconds in the water, his body was not even hypothermic(體溫過低的).

1..

Why did Lewis Gordon Pugh swim in Antarctica in December 2005?

   A. To train his determination.

   B. To end a disaster.

   C. To test his cold-water skills.

   D. To check the temperature in Antarctica.

2..

. It can be inferred that in the pool at the North Pole Lewis Gordon Pugh __________.

   A. had to suffer from the cold water with his goal to achieve

   B. dived to the depth of two and a half miles

   C. broke the records that the Russian kept

   D. spent nearly 19 minutes walking over one mile

3..

. To make sure of the successful test in the pool at the North Pole, __________.

   A. Lewis Gordon Pugh had to carry flags

   B. Lewis Gordon Pugh was accompanied by his father

   C. Pugh took measures to keep his body temperature

   D. Pugh’s task was separated into several parts

One of Lewis Gordon Pugh’s first big attempts to put his cold-water skills to the test nearly ended in disaster. On a one-mile swim in Antarctica in December 2005, just yards from the finish, his body began to give in. The temperature inside his thigh muscle dropped to 87.8 degrees, the lowest ever measured in him. He was completely at the limits of his ability.
Despite what he called the “grueling (折磨人的)” Antarctic swim, Pugh scheduled an even more fearsome test for himself at the North Pole. Stepping off the way of the Russian icebreaker that had crunched(咯吱作響的穿過) through floating sea ice for five days to take him to the North Pole, Pugh walked across the ice to a pool of open water over one mile long and two and a half miles deep. The sea temperature was 29 degrees, only a little above the freezing point of salt water.
Pugh quickly took off his padded clothes. In only his bathing suit and cap, his skin already pink, he walked to the water’s edge. “The only place I’m getting out is at the end,” he told himself. Then he removed his earphones and dived in.
The pain was immediate. His entire body felt on fire. The doctor kept pace with him in a boat. Through iced-up goggles(護目鏡), Pugh could see the armed guards keeping watch for bears.
His friend Becker had broken down the huge task into manageable parts, each one marked by a flag planted in the ice that represented a friend, family member, or teammate. Fog started to roll in as Pugh headed for the final marker, the flag of Great Britain. He imagined his late father standing beside it--- the man who had done so much to give him an interest in adventure. Then Pugh drove himself to the finish. After 18 minutes 50 seconds in the water, his body was not even hypothermic(體溫過低的)

1. 1.

   Why did Lewis Gordon Pugh swim in Antarctica in December 2005?

   1. A.
      To train his determination
   2. B.
      To end a disaster
   3. C.
      To test his cold-water skills
   4. D.
      To check the temperature in Antarctica
2. 2.

   It can be inferred that in the pool at the North Pole Lewis Gordon Pugh __________

   1. A.
      had to suffer from the cold water with his goal to achieve
   2. B.
      dived to the depth of two and a half miles
   3. C.
      broke the records that the Russian kept
   4. D.
      spent nearly 19 minutes walking over one mile
3. 3.

   To make sure of the successful test in the pool at the North Pole, __________

   1. A.
      Lewis Gordon Pugh had to carry flags
   2. B.
      Lewis Gordon Pugh was accompanied by his father
   3. C.
      Pugh took measures to keep his body temperature
   4. D.
      Pugh’s task was separated into several parts

     Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will lose most of its coral cover by 2050 and, at worst, the world’s largest coral system could collapse by 2100 because of global warming, a study recently said.

     The study by Queensland University’s Center for Marine Studies, commissioned (委托) by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, said that the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef was unavoidable due to global warming, regardless of what actions were taken now. “Under the worst-case scenario, coral populations will collapse by 2100 and the reestablishment of coral reefs will be highly unlikely over the following 200-500 years,” said the report entitled “Implications (可能的影響) of Climate Change for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.”

     The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living reef formation stretching 2,000 km north to south along Australia’s northeast coast. “Only if global average temperature change is kept to below two degrees Celsius can the Reef have any change of recovering from the predicted damage,” the report said. Coral has a narrow comfort zone and is highly stressed by a temperature rise of less than one degree Celsius. Water temperature rises of less than one degree coincided (同時發生) with the world’s worst recorded coral bleaching (顏色變淡) period in 1988. The warmer water forces out the algae (海藻) that give coral its color and, if all are lost, the coral dies and the reef will die out. In 1988, 16 percent of the world’s coral died, with 46 percent of the Indian Ocean coral destroyed.

     Scientists express water temperatures to rise this century by between two and six degrees Celsius. “There is little to no evidence that corals can adapt fast enough to match even the lower  temperature rise,” said the report. Over-fishing and pollution from coastal farms were also contributing to the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef.

     The Great Barrier Reef supports huge fishing and tourism industries. Even under favorable conditions tourists would only be able to experience real corals in reef “theme parks”.

The underlined word “scenario” in Paragraph 2 probably means         .

A. imagination        B. intention        C. expectation       D. prediction

From the passage, we can infer that         .

A. corals have no difficulty in ad高☆考♂資♀源?網apting the temperature change

B. if we take quick actions we can avoid the destruction of corals

C. we can find corals in many areas of the seas or oceans

D. the algae help corals to live

Which of the following is NOT the cause of the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef?

A. Direct sunshine.              B. Over-fishing.

C. Global warming.              D. Pollution.

By saying “Coral has a narrow comfort zone” (Para. 3), the author means         .

A. coral can only live in a small area     

B. coral prefers a crowded place

C. coral can hardly adapt to the temperature change     

D. coral grows best in a small are高☆考♂資♀源?網a

  Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will lose most of its coral cover by 2050 and, at worst, the world’s largest coral system could collapse by 2100 because of global warming, a study recently said.
The study by Queensland University’s Center for Marine Studies, commissioned (委托) by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, said that the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef was unavoidable due to global warming, regardless of what actions were taken now. “Under the worst-case scenario, coral populations will collapse by 2100 and the reestablishment of coral reefs will be highly unlikely over the following 200-500 years,” said the report entitled “Implications (可能的影響) of Climate Change for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.”[來源:學|科|網]
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living reef formation stretching 2,000 km north to south along Australia’s northeast coast. “Only if global average temperature change is kept to below two degrees Celsius can the Reef have any change of recovering from the predicted damage,” the report said. Coral has a narrow comfort zone and is highly stressed by a temperature rise of less than one degree Celsius. Water temperature rises of less than one degree coincided (同時發生) with the world’s worst recorded coral bleaching (顏色變淡) period in 1988. The warmer water forces out the algae (海藻) that give coral its color and, if all are lost, the coral dies and the reef will die out. In 1988, 16 percent of the world’s coral died, with 46 percent of the Indian Ocean coral destroyed.
Scientists express water temperatures to rise this century by between two and six degrees Celsius. “There is little to no evidence that corals can adapt fast enough to match even the lower  temperature rise,” said the report. Over-fishing and pollution from coastal farms were also contributing to the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef supports huge fishing and tourism industries. Even under favorable conditions tourists would only be able to experience real corals in reef “theme parks”.
【小題1】The underlined word “scenario” in Paragraph 2 probably means         .