The world's oceans are slowly getting more acidic, say scientists. The researchers from California say the change is taking place in response to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The lowering of the waters' pH value is not great at the moment but could pose a serious threat to current marine life if it continues, they warn. Ken Caldeira and Michael Wickett, from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, report their concerns in the journal Nature. Increasing use of fossil fuels means more carbon dioxide is going into the air, and most of it will eventually be absorbed by seawater. Once in the water, it reacts to form carbonic acid. Scientists believe that the oceans have already become slightly more acidic over the last century. But these researchers have tried to predict what will happen in the future by combining what we know about the history of the oceans with computer models of climate change. "This level of acidity will get much more extreme in the future if we continue releasing CO2 into the atmosphere," said Dr Caldeira. "And we predict amounts of future acidity will exceed anything we have seen over the last several hundred million years, let alone perhaps after rare catastrophic events such as asteroid impacts ." If carbon dioxide release continues unabated , ocean pH could be reduced by as much as 0.77 units, the authors warn. It is not ly clear what that means for marine life, however. Most organisms live near the surface, where the greatest pH change would be expected to occur, but deep-ocean lifeforms may be more sensitive to pH changes. Coral reefs and other organisms whose skeletons or shells contain calcium carbonate may be particularly affected, the team speculate. They could find it much more difficult to build these structures in water with a lower pH. In recent years some people have suggested deliberately storing carbon dioxide from power stations in the deep ocean as a way of curbing global warming. But Dr Caldeira said that such a strategy should now be... Most experts once believed storing carbon dioxide in the ocean would reduce _ . A) the CO2 absorbed by the ocean B) the acidity of the ocean C) the amount of greenhouse warming D) the gradual release of CO2
C
(Question)
A person, like a commodity, needs packaging. But going too far is absolutely undesirable. A little exaggeration will do no harm when it shows the person's unique qualities to their advantages. To show personal attractiveness in a casual and natural way, it is important for one to have a clear knowledge of oneself. A skilled packager knows how to add art to nature without any signs of _ so that the person so packaged is not a commodity, but a human being, lively and lovely. A young person, especially a female, shining with beauty and full of life, has all the favor granted. Youth however, comes and goes in a flash. Packaging for the middle-aged is primarily to hide the marks made by years. If you still enjoy life enough to keep self-confidence and work at pioneering work, you are unique in your natural qualities, and your attractiveness and grace will remain. Elderly people are beautiful if their river of life has been, through plains, mountains and jungles, running its course as it should. You have really lived your life, which now arrives at a self - satisfied stage of quietness and calmness with no interest in fame or wealth. There is no need to make use of hair dyeing. The snow-capped mountain itself is a beautiful scene of fairyland. Let your looks change from young to old in step with the natural ageing process so as to keep in harmony with nature, for harmony itself is beauty, while the other way round will only end in unpleasantness. _ As long as one finds where one stands, one knows how to package oneself, just as a commodity sets up its brand by the right packaging. For the middle-aged, attractiveness _ . A) hardly exists B) is the strongest C) comes from the inside D) comes from the appearance
(Answer)
C
Ques: Sixteen years ago, Eileen Doyle's husband, an engineer, took his four children up for an early morning cup of tea, packed a small case and was never seen or heard from again. Eileen was astonished and in a state of despair. They had been a happy family and, as far as she knew, there had been nothing wrong with their marriage. Every day of the year a small group of men and women quietly pack a few belongings and, without so much as a note or a good-bye, close the front door for the last time, leaving their debts, their worries and their confused families behind them. Last year, more than 1,200 men and nearly as many women were reported missing from home -- the highest in 15 years. Many did return home within a year, but others rejected the past completely and are now living a new life somewhere under a different identity. To those left behind this form of desertion is a terrible blow to their pride and self-confidence. Even the finality of death might be preferable. At least it does not imply rejection or failure. Worse than that, people can be left with an unfinished marriage, not knowing whether they will have to wait seven years before they are free to start a fresh life. Clinical psychologist Paul Brown believes most departures of this kind to be well planned rather than impulsive. "It's typical of the kind of personality which seems able to ignore other people's pain and difficulties. Running away, like killing yourself, is a highly aggressive act. By creating an absence the people left behind feel guilty, upset and empty." The man or woman left behind with an unfinished marriage usually _ . A) admits their responsibility for the situation B) feels embarrassed and useless C) will have no legal marriage life for seven years D) wishes the person who has left were dead
Ans: B
Ques: Attitudes toward new technologies often fall along generational lines. That is, generally, younger people tend to outnumber older people on the front end of a technologic I shift. It is not always the case, though. When you look at attitudes toward driverless cars y there doesn't seem to be a dear generational divide. The public overall is split on whether they'd like to use a driverless car. In a study last year, of all people surveyed, 48 percent said they wanted to ride in one, while 50 percent did not. The fact that attitudes toward self-driving cars appear to be so steady across generations suggests how varying the shift to driverless cars could be. Not everyone wants a driverless car now-and no one can get one yet-but among those who are open to them, every age group is similarly involved. Actually, this isn't surprising. Whereas older generations are sometimes unwilling to adopt new technologies, driverless cars promise real value to these age groups in particular. Older adults, especially those with limited moving or difficulty driving on their own, are one of the classic use-cases for driverless cars. This is especially interesting when you consider that younger people are generally more interested in travel-related technologies than older ones. When it comes to driverless cars, differences in attitude are easily noticeable based on factors not related to age. College graduates, for example, are particularly interested in driverless cars compared with those who have less education. 59 percent of college graduates said they would like to use a driverless car compared with 38 percent of those with a high-school diploma or less. Where a person lives matters, too. More people who live in cities and suburbs said they wanted to try driverless cars than those who lived in rural areas. While there's reason to believe that interest in 8elf-driving cars is going up across the hoard, a person's age will have little to Ho with how self-driving cars can become mainstream. Once driverless cars are actually... Why does the driverless car appeal to some old people? A) It helps with their moving. B) It saves their money and energy. C) It adds to the safety of their travel. D) It makes their life more interesting
Ans:
A