Fall down as you come onstage. That‟s an odd trick. Not recommended. But it saved the pianist Vladimir Feltsman when he was a teenager back in Moscow. The veteran cellist Mstislav Rostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre-performance panic, 2 Mr. Feltsman said, “ All my fright was gone. I already fell. What else could happen?” Today, music schools are addressing the problem of anxiety in classes that deal with performance techniques and career preparation. There are a variety of strategies that musicians can learn to fight stage fright and its symptoms: icy fingers, shaky limbs, racing heart, blank mind.3
Teachers and psychologists offer wide-ranging advice, from basics like learning pieces inside out,4 to mental discipline, such as visualizing a performance and taking steps to relax. Don‟t deny that you‟re jittery，they urge; some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamic playing. And play in public often, simply for the experience.
Psychotherapist Diane Nichols suggests some strategies for the moments before performance, “Take two deep abdominal breaths, open up your shoulders, then smile,‟‟ she says. “And not one of these „please don‟t kill me‟ smiles. Then choose three friendly faces in the audience, people you would communicate with and make music to, and make eye contact with them.”She doesn‟t want performers to think of the audience as a judge.
Extreme demands by mentors or parents are often at the root of stage fright，says Dorothy Delay, a well-known violin teacher. She tells other teachers to demand only what their students are able to achieve.
When Lynn Harrell was 20，he became the principal cellist of the Cleverland Orchestra, and he suffered extreme stage fright. “There were times when I got so nervous I was sure the audience could see my chest responding to the throbbing. It was just total panic. I came to a point where I thought,„ If I have to go through this to play music, I think I‟m going to look for another job.”5 Recovery, he said, involved developing humility-recognizing that whatever his talent, he was fallible，and that an imperfect concert was not a disaster.
6 It is not only young artists who suffer, of course. The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz‟s nerves were famous. The great tenor Franco Corelli is another example. “They had to push him on stage,”Soprano Renata Scotto recalled.
Actually，success can make things worse. “In the beginning of your career, when you‟re scared to death, nobody knows who you are, and they don‟t have any expectations,”Soprano June Anderson said. “There‟s less to lose. Later on, when you‟re known, people are coming to see you, and they have certain expectations. You have a lot to lose. Anderson added，“I never stop being nervous until I‟ve sung my last note.” 词汇： veteran / ˈvetərən / adj.经验丰富的 jittery / ˈdʒɪtəri / adj.紧张不安的 mentor / ˈmenˈtɔ: / n.指导者 soprano / səˈprprɑ:nəʊ / n.女高音;女高音歌手 cellist/ ˈtʃelɪst / n.大提琴演奏家 abdominal / æbˈdɔmənəl / adj.腹部的 fallible/ ˈfæləbəl / adj.易犯错误的 tenor /'tenə/ n.男高音
注释： 1.Stage Fright：舞台恐惧 2.The veteran cellist Mstislav Rostropovich tripped him purposely to cure him of pre-performance panic…资深大提琴家米提斯拉夫Ÿ罗斯特罗波维奇故意把他绊倒，因而治愈了他的上台前的恐惧症……cure somebody of illness (problem)：医治好病(解决问题) 3.… its symptoms：icy fingers, shaky limbs, racing heart, blank mind…：……舞台恐惧的症状有：手指冰凉、四肢颤抖、心跳加快和大脑一片空白…… 4.Teachers and
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psychologists offer wide-ranging advice, from basics like learning pieces inside out…：老师和心理学家给出了方方面面的建议，从基础的做法，比如详细地学习曲目…… inside out：in great detail详细地，从里到外地 5.I came to a point where I thought，„If I have to go through this to play music, I think I‟m going to look for another job‟.：我曾经一度认为，如果演奏音乐就必须过怯场这一关的话，那我可能得换其他工作了。 6.Recovery, he said, involved developing
humility-recognizing that whatever his talent, he was fallible, and that an imperfect concert was not a disaster.：他后来说，要克服恐惧重要的是学会谦逊，即认识到不论自己多有才，总有可能会失误，一个有瑕疵的音乐会绝对不是世界末日。 练习： 1.Falling down onstage was not a good way for Vladimir Feltsman to deal with his stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned 2.There are many signs of stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
3.Teachers and psychologists cannot help people with extreme -stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
4.To perform well on stage, you need to have some feelings of excitement. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
5.If you have stage fright, it's helpful to have friendly audience. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
6.Often people have stage fright because parents or teachers expect too much of them. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned 7.Famous musicians never suffer from stage fright. A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
答案与题解： 1.B 本文第一段讲的是钢琴家弗拉基米尔Ÿ菲兹曼被米提斯拉夫Ÿ罗斯特罗波维奇绊倒后，他的舞台恐惧被治愈的经历。 2.A 第二段的最后一句点出舞台恐惧的诸多症状为：手指冰凉、四肢颤抖、心跳加快和大脑一片空白。 3.B 本文的第三、第四、第五和第六段都在讲老师和心理学家为舞台恐惧者提供全方位的建议。 4.A 依据第三段的倒数第二句：some excitement is natural, even necessary for dynamic playing.适度的兴奋对于精彩演出是正常甚至是必要的。 5.C 第四段提到克服舞台恐惧的方法之一是：在观众中选择三位友好的面孔，与他们做眼光交流。而克服舞台恐惧是否需要观众友好文中未提。 6.A 第五段讲了舞台恐惧的根源在于指导者或父母对表演者要求太高。extreme demands就是expect too much of them的意思。 7.B 第七段讲的是：不只是年轻艺术家有舞台恐惧，钢琴家弗拉基米尔Ÿ霍洛维茨和男高音弗朗科Ÿ科莱里亦不能幸免。never一词不恰当。
概况大意 第十三篇 Ward off Travel Bugs
1 As the holiday season approaches, so does the prospect of jet lag, an upset stomach or sunburn2. With care and some help from natural sources, however, it is quite possible to avoid these problems.
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2 You can start to prepare a couple of weeks before you leave. Food poisoning will make any holiday miserable, but by taking some medicine such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria3, you can reduce the likelihood of succumbing to4 poisoning brought on5 by food or water tainted with unfamiliar bacteria.
3 By improving the bacteria balance in your digestive tract, you crowd out the pathogenic bacteria and stop them gaining a foothold.6 The beneficial bacteria also produce gentle but effective natural antibiotics in your gut.
4 In many holiday locations you need to remember the basics: drink bottled water, avoid undercooked meat and ensure that food hygiene is adequate. If you do succumb to food poisoning, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and see a doctor. However，if you detect diarrhea early enough, you might like to try taking about 10 or 15 pancreatic digestive enzymes, which can digest the multiplying bacteria before they take over.
5 Taking a teaspoon of silicol gel7 can also help. This lines the stomach and upper intestinal area and binds with bacteria and viruses，allowing them to be safely passed out of the gut. When you pack, include grapefruit-seed extract8, which is an excellent all-round anti-bacterial, anti- parasitic，anti-viral and anti-fungal agent.
6 Your flight can also be made more pleasant. Peppermint oil and ginger capsules9 ward off motion sickness，but a more delicious option is to nibble on crystallized ginger. If you tend to get earache on take-off and landing，you can use special earplugs with filler that slows down the rate of change in air pressure.
7 The greatest concern is “economy class syndrome”, the popular name for deep-vein thrombosis, which can lead to blood clots traveling from the legs to the lungs, heart or brain. To reduce this, you need a couple of hours to stay hydrated, and avoid alcohol.
8 You can also reduce the severity of inflammation by taking a daily gram of vitamin C with the bioflavonoid quercetin10. Vitamin C and quercetin also help to reduce prickly heat.
9 Finally, if any adverse symptoms persist while overseas, you should see a doctor.
词汇： bug / bʌg / n.臭虫;病菌;病毒 diarrhea /[ ˈdaɪəˈri:ə / n.腹泻 taint /teɪnt/ v.感染;污染 pancreatic / ˈpæŋkriˈætik / adj.胰腺的 antibiotic / ˈæntɪbaɪˈɔtɪk / n.抗生素 option /ˈɔpʃən / n.选择 jet lag (跨时区高速飞行后)生理节奏的破坏，飞行时差反应 anti-parasitic /ˈæntɪˈpærəˈsɪtɪk / adj.抗寄生虫的 anti-fungal / ˈæntɪˈfʌŋgl / adj.抗真菌的，杀真菌的 nibble /丨nɪbl/ vt.一点点地咬下 pathogenic /ˈpæθəˈdʒenɪk / adj.病原的;致病的;发病的 thrombosis /θrɔmˈbəusis / n.血栓 anti-viral / ˈæntɪˈvaɪərəl / adj.抗病毒的 hydrate /'haidr(e)it/ v.保持水分 注释： 1.ward off ：避开;防止 2.As the holiday season approaches, so does the prospect of jet lag, an upset stomach or sunburn.：随着假日的临近，由于高空飞行时差引起的生理不适、胃痛或日光灼烧等潜在问题也接踵而至。第二个分句是由so引导的倒装句。例如：“He is a doctor. ” “So am I.” 3.lactobacillus and bifidobacteria：乳(酸)杆菌和双歧杆菌 4.succumb to：屈服，屈从 5.bring on：引起，导致 6.By improving the bacteria balance in your digestive tract, you crowd out the pathogenic bacteria and stop them gaining a foothold.：通过改善消化道内的细菌平衡，你就可以排出致病细菌，使它们没有立足之地。crowd out：驱赶出 7.silicol gel：偏磷酸酪蛋白氧化硅
8.grapefruit-seed extract：葡萄軒榨汁 9.peppermint oil and ginger capsules：薄荷油和生姜胶囊。medicine —般指内服药(包括液体药剂，例如可以说a drop of medicine)，pill指小的丸粒，tablet指药片，但有时medicine可代表药品的总称。 10.bioflavonoid quercetin：生物类黄酮槲皮素 A Basics of What to Eat and Drink B Medicine Against Bacteria and VirusesC Avoiding Holiday Troubles D Basics of Having a Pleasant Flight E A Teaspoonful of Helpful Silicol F Preparations Against Food Poisoning
练习： 1.Paragraph 1 ________. 2.Paragraph 4 ________. 3.Paragraph 5 ________. 4.Paragraph 6 ________. 5.Food-poisoning may pose a problem ________ .6.Special earplugs can make you feel better ________. 7.It is important to drink a lot of water ________. 8.Don‟t forget to bring necessary medicine ________.A when your
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plane is about to land B when you are taking tablets C when you suffer from food-poisoningD when you are travelling E when you are packing for your tourF when you are having a cold 答案与题解： 1.C 实际上，这段也点明了全文的中心思想。 2.A 本段说明旅行时在吃与喝方面应注意的基本卫生问题。 3.B 注意E没有概括本段的中心意思。 4.D 本段开始介绍坐飞机旅行时的注意事项。 5.D 第二、第三、第四、第五段都谈到了注意旅行中的饮食卫生。 6.A 答案的根据为文章第六段的第三句。 7.C 第四段提到当食物中毒时要多喝水，以免脱水。 8.E 答案的根据在第五段。
第三十六篇 Life as a Movie Extra
Ordinary people have always been attracted to the world of movies and movie stars. One way to get closer to this world is to become a movie extra. Although you have seen movie extras, you may not have paid attention to them. Extras are the people seated at tables in a restaurant while the two main actors are in conversation. They are the guests at the wedding of the main characters. They are the people crossing the street while “the bad guy\" is being chased by the police. Extras don‟t normally speak any lines, but they help make the scenes look real1.
Being a movie extra might seem like a lot of fun. You get to see what life is like behind the scenes. But don‟t forget that being an extra is really a job, and it‟s mostly about doing nothing. First-time extras are often shocked to learn how slow the process of movie making is. In a finished movie, the action may move quickly. But it can sometimes take a whole day to shoot a scene that appears for just a few minutes on the screen.
The main requirement for being an extra is the ability to wait. You may report to work at 5 or 6 a. m.，and then you wait until the director is ready for your scene. This could take several hours. Then there may be technical problems, and you have to wait some more. After the director says “action”and you do the first “take”，you may have to do it again if he or she is not satisfied with the scene. In fact, you may have to do the same scene over and over again. You could be on the set for hours, sometimes waiting outdoors in very hot or cold weather.2 You may not be finished until 11 p. m. or midnight. The pay isn‟t good, either — often only a little bit above minimum wage. And you must pay the agent who gets you the job a commission of about 10 percent.
So who would want to be a movie extra? In spite of the long hours and low pay, many people still apply for the job. Some people truly enjoy the work. They like being on a movie set, and they enjoy the companionship of their fellow extras. Most of them have flexible schedules, which allow them to be available.3They may be students, waiters, homemakers, retired people, or unemployed actors. Some unemployed actors hope the work will help them get real acting jobs, but it doesn‟t happen often. Most people in the movie industry make a sharp distinction between extras and actors, so extras are not usually considered for large parts.
The next time you see a movie，don‟t just watch the stars. Take a closer look at the people in the background, and ask yourself : Who are they? Why are they there? What else do they do in life? Maybe there is someone in the crowd who is just like you.
词汇： movie extra群众演员 chase / tʃeis /v.追捕 shoot /ʃu:t/ vt.拍摄 action / ˈækʃən / n.(导演指令)开拍 commission / kəˈmiʃən / n.佣金 注释： 1.Extras don‟t normally speak any lines, but they help make the scenes look real.：虽然群众演员通常没有台词，但他们的存在使整个场景更加逼真。 2.You could be on the set for hours，sometimes waiting outdoors in very hot or cold weather.：在拍摄现场，你可能一演就是几个小时，有时还要一直待在很热或很冷的环境中。on the set：在拍摄现场。 3.Most of them have flexible schedules, which allow them to be available.：这些人中大部分都是时间比较灵活的人，这样他们就能腾出时间来演戏。
练习：1.What is true about movie extras? A) Only agents get them jobs in movies. B) They often have to wait around on movie sets and do nothing. C) It‟s a good way to get a real acting job. D) They can have drinks in a restaurant.
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2.What might surprise movie extras the first time they do the job? A) It can take hours to do a scene that is only a few minutes long in the movie. B) They always do the same scene many times. C) The actors are interested in talking to them. D) The action moves very quickly.
3.Why do most people work as movie extras? A) They like meeting famous movie stars. B) They think they will become famous. C) They want to be on a movie set. D) They will get real acting jobs.
4.What are the job requirements for being a movie extra? A) You have to have a part-time job. B) You must be attractive. C) You must be willing to repeat a scene many times. D) You must start working very early.
5.It can be inferred from the passage that . A) being a movie extra can be boring B) movie extras need acting experience C) movie extras can play larger parts D) movie actors are quite different from actors
答案与题解： 1.B 本文的第三段详细叙述了群众演员的主要工作要求是在拍摄现场等，不用做事，所以答案为B;第一段中描述了群众演员的工作;他们是演员的陪衬，不用讲话。虽然提到他们是在餐馆里，但并没有提是否可以喝饮料，所以D可以排除;A中的only —词太笼统，所以A不对;从第四段可以看出，从群众演员到演员的转型是相当困难的，所以C也不对。 2.A 第二段中说明了令初做群众演员感到吃惊的是：拍一个场景需要一整天，而播放时只有几分钟。虽然B、D都有所提及，但不是令他们吃惊的事情。 3.C 虽然做群众演员耗时长而薪酬低，但他们为什么还选择这一工作呢?答案在第四段：他们喜欢这份工作，愿意与别的群众演员交流，他们自己的工作时间有弹性。A没有提到，B、D不太可能。 4.C 做群众演员的条件是什么?在第三段和第四段，我们可知：要有耐心(长时间等待，一个场景有时要拍好多次)，要肯吃苦(在恶劣的户外环境中拍戏)，报酬低，工作时间有弹性。A、B没有提到;在第三段的第二句提到：You may report to work at 5 or 6 a. m.，表明只是有时会很早开始工作，不是每日必须的，所以D不对。 5.A 从本文对群众演员的工作描述我们可以看出，群众演员只是演员的道具，所以是乏味的。B没有提到;据第四段的最后一句，C不对;第四段的最后一句清楚表明，群众演员和真正的演员差别很大，所以不是得出的推论，推论是通过字里行间推出来的，不是给出的陈述
补全短文 第十四篇 The Sandwich Generation
Today people often look forward to their middle age as a time when they will be able to take things easier. After their children are grown, they expect to enjoy the life they have worked hard to create. ____(1)____. In middle age, many people discover that they have two ongoing responsibilities1: one is to look after their aging parents,and the other is to help their young adult children deal with the pressures of life. Around the world, there are millions of people who are “sandwiched”in between the older and the younger generations. Sometimes there may be two or three generations living in the same household — a situation that is common in many Asian countries and in some parts of Europe. In other cases, a couple may be taking care of parents and children, but they do not live with them.
There are two important reasons for the rise of the sandwich generation. First, people are living longer than they used to. In the early nineteenth century, the average life expectancy for adults in the United States，for example，was about 40，whereas today people live to an average ageof 75. ____(2)____. The second reason is that these days, young adults often live with their parents for a longer time than they did in the past. This is often for financial reasons. It‟s also more common for today‟s young adults to return home during or after college if they need financial or emotional support.2
____(3)____. They may have to cover expenses that their parents cannot. They may have to manage their parents‟
financial and legal affairs. They may have to prepare for their parents‟ future needs, such as special medical care or a move to a nursing home. This can be a traumatic experience for everyone.
Caring for adult children presents challenges as well, and caregivers have to resolve important questions; How can
financial responsibilities be shared among members of the household? How can household chores be shared? What is the best way to ensure everyone‟s privacy? ____(4)____.
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The financial and emotional pressures on the sandwich generation can be overwhelming. However, this time in life also has its rewards. ____(5)____. It can also provide a valuable opportunity to spend more time with them. However, in order to survive this difficult period in their lives, the members of the sandwich generation must remember that they also need to pay attention to their own needs and look after the quality of their own lives. They can‟t be totally selfless.
词汇： sandwich / ˈsænwidʒ / n.三明治 traumatic / trɔ:ˈmætɪk / adj.使人不快的 overwhelming / ˈəuvəˈhwelmiŋ/ adj.令人难以应对的 life expectancy 预期寿命 resolve / riˈzɔlv / vt. 解决 selfless/ ˈselflɪs / adj. 无私的;不考虑自己的 注释： 1.two ongoing responsibilities意为“同时担负两项责任”。 2.It‟s also more common for today‟s young adults to return home during or after college if they need financial or emotional support.：现在，年轻人在上大学期间或毕业后还会回家，以寻求经济或情感支持，这种情况也很常见。 3.Successfully coping with these issues can avoid a lot of stress for the whole family.：成功解决这些问题，就可以为整个家庭减轻很大负担。 练习 A.Successfully coping with these issues can avoid a lot of stress for the whole family.3 B.Therefore, children are taking care of their parents over a longer period of time. C.People who take care of elderly parents often face difficult
issues .D.Young adults feel sandwiched between their financial responsibilities and their desire to enjoy life. E.However the reality is often very different. F.It can be a time to rediscover the special qualities of one‟s parents or children. 答案与题解：1.E 根据本空的上一句：孩子们长大了，中年人期望有时间享受努力工作创造的生活，但是现实却不允许;所以后一句论证为什么会这样，即中年人因为上有老、下有小，所以不能无忧无虑地享受生活。 2.B 依据上一句：19世纪早期，美国人的平均寿命在40岁左右，而现在人们通常能活到75岁。人们寿命延长的结果是：孩子要照顾父母的时间也相应延长了。 3.C 该句是本段的主题句。本段其余几句都在讲照顾父母可能要面临的种种闲难，C是一总括句。 4.A 本段都在讲照料成人孩子面临的种种问题。these issues可以是一种提示，就是指上面提到的问题。 5.F 依据本空的后一句It can also provide a valuable opportunity to spend more time with them，可以断定这两句是并列句，also一词是提示词。 Shopping for Clothes
Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in __1__. He knows what he wants, and his __2__ is to find it and buy it. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock, the deal can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly any chat and to everyone's __3__.
For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants. In that __4__ the salesman tries to sell the customer something else - he offers the nearest to the article required. Good salesman brings out such a substitute with __5__: \"I know this jacket is not the style you want, sir, but would you like to try it for size. It __6__ to be the colour you mentioned.\" Few men have __7__ with this treatment, and the usual response is: \"This is the right colour and may be the right size, but I should be __8__ my time and yours by trying it on.\"
For a woman, buying clothes is always done in the __9__ way. Her shopping is not often __10__ on need. She has never fully decided what she wants, and she is only \"having a look round\". She is always open to persuasion, willing to try __11__ any number of things. Uppermost in her mind is the thought of finding something that __12__ thinks suits her. Most women have an excellent sense of value and are always on the look-out for the unexpected __13__. Faced with a roomful of dresses, a woman nay easily spend an hour going from one rail to another __14__ selecting the dresses she wants to try on. It is a tiresome process, but apparently a(n) __15__one. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.
EXERCISE:
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1. A) detail B) advance C) hurry D) full
2. A) objective B) need C) dream D) reason
3. A) sadness B) amusement C) surprise D) satisfaction 4. A) time B) event C) case D) situation 5. A) care B) skill C) attention D) interest 6. A) happens B) is C) changes D) comes 7. A) experience B) is C) interest D) patience 8. A) losing B) wasting C) spending D) giving 9. A) same B) similar C) opposite D) clever 10. A) relied B) done C) related D) based 11. A) on B) with C) by D) people
12. A) nobody B) someone C) surprise D) everyone 13. A) deal B) bargain C) surprise D) people 14. A) before B) after C) as D) by
15. A) exhausting B) boring C) enjoyable D) graceful
Key: BADCBADBCDADBAC
Global Warming
Few people now question the reality of global warming and its effects on the world's climate. Many scientists (1) the blame for recent natural disasters on the increase (2) the world's temperatures and are convinced that, more than (3) before, the Earth is at (4) from the forces of the wind, rain and sun. (5) to them, global warming is making extreme weather events, (6) as hurricanes and droughts,even more (7) and causing sea levels all around the world to (8) Environmental groups are putting (9) on
governments to take action to reduce the (10) of carbon dioxide which is given (11) by
factories and power plants, thus attacking the problem at its source. They are in (12) of more money being spent on research into solar, wind and wave energy devices, which could then replace existing power (13) Some scientists, (14) believe that even if we stopped releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere tomorrow, we would have to wait (15) hundred years to notice the results. Global warming, it seems, is here to stay. 词汇: climate /'klaimit/ n. 气候,风气 hurricane n. 飓风,暴风 drought n. 干旱,旱灾 carbon dioxide n. 二氧化碳 solar 太阳的 n. atmosphere 大气 注释: 1. put the blame for ... :把„„归咎于„„ 2. ... in favour of more money being spent on ... :„„
赞成把钱花在„„
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练习:
1. A) give B) put C) take D) have 2. A) in B) at C) by D) to 3. A) yet B) never C) once D) ever 4. A) threat B) danger C) risk D) harm 5. A) Concerning B) Regarding C) Depending D) According 6. A) such B) just C) even D) well 7. A) strict B) severe C) strong D) heavy 8. A) raise B) arise C) rise D) lift
9. A) force B) pressure C) persuasion D) encouragement 10.A) amount B) deal C) number D) count 11.A) off B) away C) up D) over 12.A) belief B) request C) favour D) suggestion 13.A) factories B) generations C) houses D) stations 14.A) but B) although C) despite D) however 15.A) several B) over C) numerous D) various 答案与题解:
1. B 固定搭配 put the blame for ... ，表示“把„„归咎于„„”，所以 put 为正确答案。
2. A 介词搭配，文中“the world's temperatures”前需要补充一个介词，表达在全球范围内气温的上升，因此应该在 A 和 B 之间选择。而 at 后面只可以眼某个小地点，根据文意，只有 in 才是正确答案。
3. D 联系上下文，根据句意，显然作者要表达的是“以往任何时候”，因此选用 ever。其他三项均不符合句意。 4. C 固定搭配 at risk ，表达“濒临危险，处境危险”。
5. D 习惯用法 according to sb. 表示“据某某所说”，显然选择 D。 6. A 根据句意，作者要举例子，习惯用法即为 such as ... ，因此选 A。
7. B 根据句意，作者举例子是按照递进的顺序，从飓风、干早到排在后面的是更加严重的问题。strict 表示“严格的”，strong 表示“强烈的”，heavy 表示“沉重的，巨大的”，只有 severe 表示“严峻的，严重的”，因此 B 是正确答案。
8. C 根据句意，导致世界各地的海平面上升，所以在 A 和 C 之间选择。raise 表示\"举起，抬起，唤起\"，有主动意味，rise 表示客观的上升，因此是正确答案。
9. B 联系上下文，根据句意，根据选项，很容易理解是给政府施加压力，显然 pressure 最为恰当。 10. A 根据句意，减少二氧化碳的排放量，二氧化碳是不可数名词，因此 amount 是正确答案。
11. A 固定搭配，give off 表示\"排放(气体、液体、光)等\"，文中表达的是排放二氧化碳气体，显然选 A。而 give away 表示“泄露，分发” ，give up 表示\"放弃\" ，give over 表示“停止，交出”。 12. C 固定搭配 in favour of ... ，表示“支持„„，赞成„„”，所以选 C。 13. D 根据句意，作者表达的是\"发电站\"，为固定词组 power station。
14. D 联系上下文，上文说的是很多科学家的想法，下文转而言另外还有一些科学家的想法，有转折之意，且空格在两句未完的话之间，因此惯用法选择 however。
15.A 根据句意，还需要等几百年，several 表示\"几个\"，符合句意。其他三个选项均不合适。 译文：全球变暖 现在很少有人质疑全球变暖的现实及其对世界气候的影响。许多科学家把全球气温上升归咎于最近的自然灾害，他们确信，地球现在比以往任何时候都更受到风、雨和太阳这些力量的威胁。据他们说，全球变暖制造了极端天气事件，例如飓风、干旱，甚至更为严重的以至于世界各地的海平面上升。
环保团体对政府施加压力，要求政府采取行动减少工厂和发电厂排放的二氧化碳量，攻击它的资源问题。他们都赞成把更多的资金用到研发太阳能、风能和波浪能装置上，以取代现有的发电站。
然而，还有一些科学家，他们相信即使明天我们不再排放二氧化碳和其他气体到大气层中，我们也将不得不等待几百年才能得到结果。全球变暖似乎要在这里停留。
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