Apparently everyone knows that global warming only makes climate more extreme. A hot, dry summer has caused another flood of such claims. And one of the players that benefit the most from this story is the media: the idea of "extreme" climate simply makes for more exciting news. Consider Paul Krugman writing breathlessly in The New York Times about the "rising incidence of extreme events." He claims that global warming caused the current drought in America's Midwest, and that supposedly record-high corn prices could cause a global food crisis . But the United Nations's latest assessment tells us precisely the opposite--there has an overall slight tendency toward less dryness in North America. Moreover, there is no way that Krugman could have identified this drought as being caused by global warming without a time machine since climate models estimate that such detection will be possible by 2048, at the earliest. And, fortunately, this year's drought appears unlikely to cause a food crisis, as global rice and wheat supplies are plentiful. Moreover, Krugman overlooks inflation :Prices have increased six-fold since 1969.So, the inflation-adjusted price of corn was higher throughout most of the 1970s. Finally, Krugman forgets that concerns about global warming are the main reason that corn prices have skyrocketed since 2005.Nowadays 40 percent of corn grown in the United States is used to produce ethanol ,which raises the price of corn -at the expense of many of the world's poorest people. Bill Mickbben similarly worries in The Guardian About the Midwest drought and corn prices.He confidently tells us that fierce wildfires from New Mexico and Colorado to Siberia are "exactly" what the early stages of global warming look like. In fact, the latest study on global wildfire suggests that fire incidence has declined over the past 70 years and is now close to its preindustrial level. When well--meaning campaigners want us to pay attention to global warming, they often end up making overstatements. And exaggerated ... What is the chief reason for the rise in corn prices according to the author? A) Inflation rates have been skyrocketing since the 1970s. B) A considerable part of corn is used to produce green fuel. C) Climate change has caused corn supply to drop markedly. D) Demand for food has been rising in the developing countries.
B
In winter Hammerfest is a thirty-hour ride by bus from Oslo, though why anyone would want to go there in winter is a question worth considering. It is on the edge of the world, the northernmost town in Europe, as far from London as London is from Tunis, a place of dark and cruel winters, where the sun sinks into the Arctic Ocean in November and does not rise again for ten weeks.I wanted to see the Northern Lights. Also, I had long harboured a half-formed urge to experience what life was like in such a remote and forbidding place. Sitting at home in England with a glass of whisky and a book of maps, this had seemed an excellent idea. But now as I picked my way through the grey, late-December slush of Oslo I was beginning to have my doubts. Things had not started well. I had overslept at the hotel, missing breakfast, and had to leap into my clothes. I couldn't find a cab and had to drag my unreasonably overweighted bag eight blocks through slush to the central bus station. I had had huge difficulty persuading the staff at the Kreditkassen Bank on Karl Johans Gate to cash sufficient traveller's cheques to pay the overcharged 1,200-kroner bus fare-they simply could not be made to grasp that the William McGuire Bryson on my passport and the Bill Bryson on my traveller's cheques were both me-and now here I was arriving at the station two minutes before departure, breathless and steaming from the endless uphill exertion that is my life, and the girl at the ticket counter was telling me that she had no record of my reservation. "This isn't happening," I said. "I'm still at home in England enjoying Christmas.Pass me a drop more port, will you, darling?" Actually, I said, "There must be some mistake. Please look again." The girl studied the passenger list. "No, Mr Bryson, your name is not here*" But I could see it, even upside-down. "There it is, second from the bottom,, "No," the girl decided, "that says Bemt Bjornson. That's a Norwegian name*" "It doesn't say Bernt Bjornson. It says Bill Bryson. Look at the loop of... We can learn from the passage that _ . A) the author's journey to the north was not worthwhile B) the Europeans didn't welcome visitors C) the author wrote a letter to the girl's manager D) the author's journey to the north was not smooth
D
(Question)
For many businessmen online education has been a dream. Now it has come true. The investment in higher education, whether financial or in terms of time, has long been impossible for many of them. But well-known educational institutions have chosen to deliver an internet-based program, and these barriers have been lifted. That is good news for people eager to improve themselves and is more attractive to employers. It is also a benefit to industry with better qualified candidates applying for jobs at every level. Having the benefits of a higher qualification without going to the university campus is attractive to many students. Campus study means greater cost, while online programs are flexible and save time, whether at home or at work. Students can achieve their degrees without causing too much _ to their career or home life. In addition to affordable, flexible classes and greater convenience, students also have access to the online learning resources of many of the world's top educational institutions. They can also communicate with their tutors no matter what time it is or whether either party is away for any reason. This has opened up the possibility of getting a qualification from a university or college that many students could only have dreamed of in the past. It also allows specialists to get the precise qualifications and focus on their studies. As well as seeing the increase of applicants from lower-incomes and housewives, studying online in the US is even becoming popular with younger people of college age. Employers have become increasingly welcome and positive to online qualifications as more candidates earn them, especially if they're properly approved by the US Department of Education. US institutions have led the way in online education provision. Many top US colleges and universities offer a range of online programs that are highly respected and in every way perfectly fit for adults who need to combine their studies with a working life. Which would be a good title for the passage? A) Adult Education Online B) Top US Universities Offering Online Education C) The Best of USA's Online Education D) Online Education Taking the Place of Campus Education
(Answer)
C