Underground Coal fires a looming Catastrophe
Coal burning deep underground in China, India and Indonesia is threatening the environment and human life, scientists have warned. These large-scale underground blazes cause the ground temperature to heat up and kill surroundings vegetation, produce greenhouse gases and can even ignite forest fires, a panel of scientists told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver. The resulting release of poisonous elements like arsenic and mercury can also pollute local water sources and soils, they warned.
“Coal fires are a global catastrophe,” said Associate Professor Glenn Stracher of East Georgia College in Swainsboro, USA. But surprisingly few people know about them.
Coal can heat up on its own, and eventually catch fire and burn, if there is a continuous oxygen supply. The heat produced is not caused to disappear and under the right combinations of sunlight and oxygen, can trigger spontaneous catching fire and burning. This can occur underground, in coal stockpiles, abandoned mines or even as coal is transported. Such fires in China consume up to 200 million tones of coal per year, delegates were told. In comparison, the U.S. economy consumes about one billion tons of coal annually, said Stracher, whose analysis of the likely impact of coal fires has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of coal ecology, once underway, coal fires can burn for decades, even centuries. In the process, they release large volumes of greenhouse gases; poisonous gases fumes and black particles in to the atmosphere.
The members of the panel discussed the impact these fires may be having on global and regional climate change, and agreed that the underground nature of the fires makes them difficult to protect. One of the members of the panel, Assistant Professor Paul Van Dijk of the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation in the Netherlands, has been working with the Chinese government to detect and monitor fires in the northern regions of the country.
Ultimately, the remote sensing and other techniques should allow scientists to estimate how much carbon dioxide theses fires are emitting. One suggested method of containing the fires was presented by Cary Colaozzi, of the engineering firm Goodson, which has developed a heat-resistant grout (a thin mortar used to fill cracks and crevices,) which is designed to be pumped into the coal fire to cut off the oxygen supply.
1。 According to the first paragraph, one of the warnings given by the scientists is that
A. underground fires loom large in the forests.
B. coal burning deep underground is found in China
C. poisonous elements released by the underground fires can pollute water sources.
D. arsenic and mercury are the most poisonous elements to water sources
2 According to the third paragraph, what will happen when the underground heat does not disappear?
A. coal heats up on its own and catches fire and burns
B. the underground oxygen will be used up
C. poisonous fumes and greenhouse gases will be accumulated underground
D. there will be an increases of abandoned mines
3 What did Stracher analyze in his article published in the International Journal of Coal Ecology?
A. annual consumption of coal in U.S.
B. annual consumption of coal in China
C. how long coal fires has lasted in the northern region of China
D. coal fires can have an impact on the environment
4 Which of the following statements about Paul Van Dijk is Not true?
A. he was one of the scientists who have warned against the threats of underground fires
B. he has detected and monitored underground fires in Netherlands
C. he has worked with the Chinese government on the underground fires issue.
D. He works for a research institute in Netherlands.
5 According to the fifth paragraph, what is the suggested method to control underground fires?
A. using remote sensing techniques
B. controlling the release of carbon dioxide
C. making the soil heat resistant
D. cutting off the oxygen supply
第五部分：補(bǔ)全短文（每題2分，共10分，建議在10分鐘以內(nèi)完成）
閱讀下面的短文，文章中有5處空白，文章后有6組文字，請(qǐng)根據(jù)文章的內(nèi)容選擇5組文字，將其分別放會(huì)文章原有位置，以恢復(fù)文章原貌。請(qǐng)將答案涂在答題卡相應(yīng)的位置。
High Dive
Cheryl Stems aims to go boldly where no human has ever gone before in a balloon：40 kilometers up into the atmosphere．
1．No one has ever leapt from such a height or gone supersonic without an airplane or a spacecraft．Yet Stems，an airline pilot，is not the only person who wants to be the first to accomplish those feats．Two other brave people，an Australian man and a Frenchman，are also planning to make similar leaps．
2．First，she’ll climb into a cabin hanging from a balloon the size of a football field．Then the balloon will take her high into the stratosphere—the layer of Earth’s atmosphere 12 to 50 kilometers above the planet．“The ascent will take two and a half to three hours．” said Stems．”I’ll be wearing a fully pressurized，temperature-controlled space suit．’’
At 40 kilometers。Stems will be able to see the gentle curve of Earth and the blackness of space over head．Then she’11 unclip herself from the cabin and dive headfirst，like a bullet，into the atmosphere.3.
For high dive，astronaut escape suits are a key to success．Current pilot and astronaut escape suits are guaranteed only a maximum altitude of 21 kilometers．Del Rosso，a NASA engineer of spacesuits and life—support systems，said the suit designed for Stern’s jump could serve as a model for the lethal environment of higher climbs．4.The first hazard is oxygen-deficient air．Any person without an additional oxygen supply at 40 kilometers would die within three to five seconds．The second hazard is low atmospheric pressure．Atmospheric pressure is much lower at high altitudes than it is at sea level．The low atmospheric pressure of the upper stratosphere causes the gases in body fluids to fizz out of solution like soda bubbles．5．Other hazards include temperatures as low as-55 degrees Celsius，flying debris，and solar radiation．
For Sterns to survive，her spacesuit will have to protect her from all of these hazards．“A spacesuit is like a one-person spaceship。”Del Rosso explained．“You have to take everything you need in a package that’s light enough，mobile enough，and tough enough to do the job．You Can’t exist without it．”
A． It will handle several major hazards．
B． Escape suits are tough enough to stand the atmospheric pressure of the upper stratosphere
C． From there，she’11 take a death-defying leap back to Earth at supersonic speed．
D． In 30 seconds，I'll be going Mach(馬赫)speed，said Stems．
E． How will Stems make her giant jump?
F ．In short，blood boils．
Coal burning deep underground in China, India and Indonesia is threatening the environment and human life, scientists have warned. These large-scale underground blazes cause the ground temperature to heat up and kill surroundings vegetation, produce greenhouse gases and can even ignite forest fires, a panel of scientists told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver. The resulting release of poisonous elements like arsenic and mercury can also pollute local water sources and soils, they warned.
“Coal fires are a global catastrophe,” said Associate Professor Glenn Stracher of East Georgia College in Swainsboro, USA. But surprisingly few people know about them.
Coal can heat up on its own, and eventually catch fire and burn, if there is a continuous oxygen supply. The heat produced is not caused to disappear and under the right combinations of sunlight and oxygen, can trigger spontaneous catching fire and burning. This can occur underground, in coal stockpiles, abandoned mines or even as coal is transported. Such fires in China consume up to 200 million tones of coal per year, delegates were told. In comparison, the U.S. economy consumes about one billion tons of coal annually, said Stracher, whose analysis of the likely impact of coal fires has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of coal ecology, once underway, coal fires can burn for decades, even centuries. In the process, they release large volumes of greenhouse gases; poisonous gases fumes and black particles in to the atmosphere.
The members of the panel discussed the impact these fires may be having on global and regional climate change, and agreed that the underground nature of the fires makes them difficult to protect. One of the members of the panel, Assistant Professor Paul Van Dijk of the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation in the Netherlands, has been working with the Chinese government to detect and monitor fires in the northern regions of the country.
Ultimately, the remote sensing and other techniques should allow scientists to estimate how much carbon dioxide theses fires are emitting. One suggested method of containing the fires was presented by Cary Colaozzi, of the engineering firm Goodson, which has developed a heat-resistant grout (a thin mortar used to fill cracks and crevices,) which is designed to be pumped into the coal fire to cut off the oxygen supply.
1。 According to the first paragraph, one of the warnings given by the scientists is that
A. underground fires loom large in the forests.
B. coal burning deep underground is found in China
C. poisonous elements released by the underground fires can pollute water sources.
D. arsenic and mercury are the most poisonous elements to water sources
2 According to the third paragraph, what will happen when the underground heat does not disappear?
A. coal heats up on its own and catches fire and burns
B. the underground oxygen will be used up
C. poisonous fumes and greenhouse gases will be accumulated underground
D. there will be an increases of abandoned mines
3 What did Stracher analyze in his article published in the International Journal of Coal Ecology?
A. annual consumption of coal in U.S.
B. annual consumption of coal in China
C. how long coal fires has lasted in the northern region of China
D. coal fires can have an impact on the environment
4 Which of the following statements about Paul Van Dijk is Not true?
A. he was one of the scientists who have warned against the threats of underground fires
B. he has detected and monitored underground fires in Netherlands
C. he has worked with the Chinese government on the underground fires issue.
D. He works for a research institute in Netherlands.
5 According to the fifth paragraph, what is the suggested method to control underground fires?
A. using remote sensing techniques
B. controlling the release of carbon dioxide
C. making the soil heat resistant
D. cutting off the oxygen supply
第五部分：補(bǔ)全短文（每題2分，共10分，建議在10分鐘以內(nèi)完成）
閱讀下面的短文，文章中有5處空白，文章后有6組文字，請(qǐng)根據(jù)文章的內(nèi)容選擇5組文字，將其分別放會(huì)文章原有位置，以恢復(fù)文章原貌。請(qǐng)將答案涂在答題卡相應(yīng)的位置。
High Dive
Cheryl Stems aims to go boldly where no human has ever gone before in a balloon：40 kilometers up into the atmosphere．
1．No one has ever leapt from such a height or gone supersonic without an airplane or a spacecraft．Yet Stems，an airline pilot，is not the only person who wants to be the first to accomplish those feats．Two other brave people，an Australian man and a Frenchman，are also planning to make similar leaps．
2．First，she’ll climb into a cabin hanging from a balloon the size of a football field．Then the balloon will take her high into the stratosphere—the layer of Earth’s atmosphere 12 to 50 kilometers above the planet．“The ascent will take two and a half to three hours．” said Stems．”I’ll be wearing a fully pressurized，temperature-controlled space suit．’’
At 40 kilometers。Stems will be able to see the gentle curve of Earth and the blackness of space over head．Then she’11 unclip herself from the cabin and dive headfirst，like a bullet，into the atmosphere.3.
For high dive，astronaut escape suits are a key to success．Current pilot and astronaut escape suits are guaranteed only a maximum altitude of 21 kilometers．Del Rosso，a NASA engineer of spacesuits and life—support systems，said the suit designed for Stern’s jump could serve as a model for the lethal environment of higher climbs．4.The first hazard is oxygen-deficient air．Any person without an additional oxygen supply at 40 kilometers would die within three to five seconds．The second hazard is low atmospheric pressure．Atmospheric pressure is much lower at high altitudes than it is at sea level．The low atmospheric pressure of the upper stratosphere causes the gases in body fluids to fizz out of solution like soda bubbles．5．Other hazards include temperatures as low as-55 degrees Celsius，flying debris，and solar radiation．
For Sterns to survive，her spacesuit will have to protect her from all of these hazards．“A spacesuit is like a one-person spaceship。”Del Rosso explained．“You have to take everything you need in a package that’s light enough，mobile enough，and tough enough to do the job．You Can’t exist without it．”
A． It will handle several major hazards．
B． Escape suits are tough enough to stand the atmospheric pressure of the upper stratosphere
C． From there，she’11 take a death-defying leap back to Earth at supersonic speed．
D． In 30 seconds，I'll be going Mach(馬赫)speed，said Stems．
E． How will Stems make her giant jump?
F ．In short，blood boils．