The Maldives faces the threat of extinction from rising sea levels, but the government said on Thursday it was looking to the future with plans to build homes and a golf course that float.
An increase in sea levels of just 18 to 59 centimeters would make the Maldives -- a nation of tiny coral islands in the Indian Ocean -- virtually uninhabitable by 2100, the UN’s climate change panel has warned.
President Mohamed Nasheed has vowed a fight for survival, and last month he signed a deal with a Dutch company to study proposals for a floating structure that could support a convention centre, homes and an 18-hole golf course. “It is still early stages and we are awaiting a report on the possibility,” a government official said.
The company, Dutch Docklands, is currently building floating developments in the Netherlands and Dubai. There was no immediate comment from the firm but its website said it undertook projects that make “l(fā)and from water by providing large-scale floating constructions to create similar conditions as on land”.
The Maldives began work on an artificial island known as the Hulhumale near the crowded capital island of Male in 1997 and more than 30,000 people have been settled there to ease congestion. The city, which has a population of 100,000, is already protected from rising sea levels by a 30-million-dollar sea wall, and the government is considering increasingly imaginative ways to combat climate change.
Nasheed, who staged the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in October to highlight his people’s dilemma , has even spoken of buying land elsewhere in the world to enable Maldivians to relocate if their homes are flooded. He has also pledged the Hulhumale to turn his nation into a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020. His plan involves ending fossil fuel use and powering all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources.
1. What’s the main idea of the passage?
A. The Maldives plans to build floating homes for the rising sea level.
B. The Maldives’s president signed a deal with a Dutch company.
C. The Maldives staged the first underwater cabinet meeting.
D. The Maldives is considering ways to fight against the global warming.
2. Which statement is true about the Hulhumale?
A. The Hulhumale is a natural island near the capital of Male.
B. The Hulhumale is an artificial island to be built near the capital.
C. The Hulhumale was built in 1997 and has settled over 30,000 people.
D. The Hulhumale is protected by a 30-million-dollar sea wall.
3. According to the passage, the underlined word congestion means _______.
A. being endangered B. being crowded
C. being flooded D. being disappearing
4. Which of the following is NOT Nasheed’s idea?_______
A. To purchase land elsewhere in the world to help Maldivians to relocate if their homes are flooded.
B. To make his nation a model for the rest of the world by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2020
C. To stop using fossil fuel and power all vehicles and buildings from “green” sources.
D. To build more artificial islands for people to settle there.
5. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. By 2100, all the the Maldives will live on artificial islands.
B. The plans to build homes and a golf course that float have been carried out
C. Maldive has been greatly affected by the global warming.
D. . Dutch Docklands is the president of Maldive.
閱讀快車系列答案科目：高中英語 來源：2013屆山西康杰中學(xué)高三第四次模擬英語卷（帶解析） 題型：單選題
－How was your trip to the Maldives?
－I’ve never had one before.
| A．a(chǎn) pleasant | B．a(chǎn) more pleasant | C．a(chǎn) most pleasant | D．the most pleasant |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年安徽省渦陽四中高一下學(xué)期第一次質(zhì)量檢測英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解
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（撤離）of an island nation—the citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century , sea level rose 8—12 inches. As a result ,Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water which 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（導(dǎo)致溫室效應(yīng)的氣體排放）,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 （易受影響的）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”.
【小題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 |
| A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations |
| B．higher surface water temperatures of the sea |
| C．continuous global warming |
| D．rising sea levels |
| A．a(chǎn)gree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions |
| B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu |
| C．a(chǎn)llow Tuvaluans to move to the US |
| D．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real |
| A．Australia | B．New Zealand | C．the Maldives | D．the United States |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年甘肅省永昌縣第一中學(xué)高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解
Somali pirates(海盜) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l, 200 Miles off the Somali coast, the farthest-off-shore attack to date, an officer said Tuesday.
Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡邏)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force, said a spokesman.
The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area”.
“Once they start attacking that far out, you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,” said an officer, Roger Middleton. “Once you’re that far out, it's just the Indian Ocean, and it means you’re looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia, from Asia to South Africa. ”
“This is the farthest robbing to date. They are now operating near the Maldives and India,” said another officer.
The three ships--the MV Prantalay 11, 12, and l 4—had 77 members on board in total. All of them are Thai, the spokesman said. Before the Sunday robbing, pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors.
Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes. of catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships, the success rate(率)has gone down, though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year.
【小題1】The pirate attack reported in the text happened __________.
| A．far out in the Indian Ocean |
| B．in the normal patrol area |
| C．near the Somali, coast |
| D．in the south of Africa |
| A．More goods on board are lost. |
| B．Pirate attacks happen in a larger area now. |
| C．The number of attacks has stayed the same these years. |
| D．Pirate attacks are as serious as before along the Somali coast. |
| A．The patrols are of little effect. |
| B．The patrols are more difficult. |
| C．More patrols are quite necessary even in Asia. |
| D．The patrols only drive the pirates to other areas. |
| A．228. | B．77. | C．383. | D．305. |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2012-2013學(xué)年甘肅永昌縣第一高級中學(xué)高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解
Somali pirates(海盜) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l, 200 Miles off the Somali coast, the farthest-off-shore attack to date, an officer said Tuesday.
Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡邏)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force, said a spokesman.
The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area”.
“Once they start attacking that far out, you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,” said an officer, Roger Middleton. “Once you’re that far out, it's just the Indian Ocean, and it means you’re looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia, from Asia to South Africa. ”
“This is the farthest robbing to date. They are now operating near the Maldives and India,” said another officer.
The three ships--the MV Prantalay 11, 12, and l 4—had 77 members on board in total. All of them are Thai, the spokesman said. Before the Sunday robbing, pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors.
Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes. of catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships, the success rate(率)has gone down, though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year.
【小題1】The pirate attack reported in the text happened __________.
| A．far out in the Indian Ocean |
| B．in the normal patrol area |
| C．near the Somali, coast |
| D．in the south of Africa |
| A．More goods on board are lost. |
| B．Pirate attacks happen in a larger area now. |
| C．The number of attacks has stayed the same these years. |
| D．Pirate attacks are as serious as before along the Somali coast. |
| A．The patrols are of little effect. |
| B．The patrols are more difficult. |
| C．More patrols are quite necessary even in Asia. |
| D．The patrols only drive the pirates to other areas. |
| A．228. | B．77. | C．383. | D．305. |
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科目：高中英語 來源：2010年高考試題（四川卷）解析版 題型：閱讀理解
Somali pirates(海盜) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l，200 Miles off the Somali coast，the farthest-off-shore attack to date，an officer said Tuesday.
Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡邏)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force，said a spokesman．
The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area”．
“Once they start attacking that far out，you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,” said an officer，Roger Middleton．“Once you’re that far out，it's just the Indian Ocean，and it means you’re looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia，from Asia to South Africa.”
"This is the farthest robbing to date．They are now operating near the Maldives and India,” said another officer．
The three ships--the MV Prantalay 11，12，and l 4—had 77 members on board in total．All of them are Thai, the spokesman said．Before the Sunday robbing，pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors．
Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes。f catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships，the success rate(率)has gone down，though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year.
1.The pirate attack reported in the text happened ．A．far out in the Indian Ocean
B．in the normal patrol area
C．near the Somali, coast
D．in the south of Africa
2.According to the text, which can best describe the situation of the pirate problems?
A．More goods on board are lost.
B．Pirate attacks happen in a larger area now.
C．The number of attacks has stayed the same these years.
D．Pirate attacks are as serious as before along the Somali coast.
3.Which is true about the warship patrols according to the text? A．The patrols are of little effect.
B．The patrols are more difficult.
C．More patrols are quite necessary even in Asia.
D．The patrols only drive the pirates to other areas.
4.How many sailors were held by the pirates up to the time of the report?
A．228. B．77. C．383. D．305.
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