The marine environment is fascinating to study and work in due to its beauty, richness, and complexity. It covers three quarters of the surface of the Earth, yet we know more detail about the surface of Mars.
In the past, it was seen as both an inexhaustible resource and a bottomless sink for our wastes. Yet the increasing pressures of overpopulation, pollution and the threat to our natural environment mean that there is an increasing need for scientists who can understand how it all works, how it affects us, and how we are affecting it from global warming through to the smallest plankton.
From local issues to global concerns, we now know that the marine environment is inextricably linked to our lives, and to our future survival. It is an area where much remains to be discovered, and where only a multidisciplinary approach can cover the breadth of issues to be confronted. This is the approach taken on our Marine Environmental Science degree course.
This course takes a multi-disciplinary approach to explore and understand the marine environment. After an initial grounding in basic science, optional choices are available in specialist topics such as marine ecosystems and pollution, coastal navigation and oceanography, among others.
Our new harbor side marine laboratory is used for some of the specialist lectures, laboratory and project work, while a week's residential field course in the Isle of Man provides training to prepare for the research project conducted in your final year. There is an optional trip to Belize in the final year to study tropical marine environments.
From the passage, we can infer that ______.
A. people waste a lot of resource
B. marine environment covers 3/4 of the surface of Mars
C. marine environment is beautiful for its sufficient resources
D. the Earth is similar to Mars
The present environment of the Earth forces the experts and scholars to study ______.
A. the relationship between people’s actions and natural environment
B. the relationship between people’s actions and pollution
C. the relationship between people’s actions and overpopulation
D. the relationship between people’s actions and plankton
According to the passage, a multi-disciplinary approach is effective because _______.
A. we can choose some issues as optionally as we can
B. we have practiced the approach for a long time
C. the approach is linked to our future survival
D. the approach covers a lot of problems we will meet
We can divide the lectures of the course into ______ parts.
A.1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4
If a student choose marine Environmental Science degree course, he must ______.
A. make lectures about the issues to be confronted
B. provide training to get ready to do research project
C. take several days residential field in the Isle
travel to Belize to study tropical marine environments
Answers:
阅读快车系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow
water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small
fish gather by the thousands off an Alabama pirer. Birds covered in
oil are crawling deep into marshes （沼泽）, never to be seen again.
Marine scientists studying the effects of the BP disaster（英国石油公司漏油事件）are seeing
some strange phenomena. Fish and other wildlife seem to be fleeing the oil out in the Gulf and clustering in cleaner waters along the coast in a trend that some researchers see as a potentially troubling sign. The animals' presence close to shore means their usual habitat is badly polluted, and the crowding could result in mass die-offs as fish run out of oxygen. Also, the animals could easily be captured by their enemies.
The nearly two-month-old spill（漏油）has created an environmental disaster in US history as tens of millions of gallons have flown into the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Scientists are seeing some unusual things as they try to understand the effects on thousands of species of marine life.
For nearly four hours Monday, a three-person crew with Greenpeace cruised past delicate
islands and mangrove-dotted inlets in Barataria Bay off southern Louisiana. They saw dolphins by the dozen frolicking（嬉戏）in the oily sheen（光泽）and oil-tinged pelicans feeding their young. But they spotted no dead animals.
"I think part of the reason why we're not seeing more yet is that the impacts of this crisis are
really just beginning," Greenpeace marine biologist John Hocevar said.
The counting of dead wildlife in the Gulf is more than an academic exercise; the deaths will
help determine how much BP pays in damages.
What do the marine life react to the BP disaster?
A．Birds crawl deep into caves.
B．Dolphins and sharks show up in deep water.
C．Tens of thousands of marine animals are found dead.
D．Sea creatures flee from oil spill, gathering near seashore.
Which of the following is NOT related to the potentially troubling sign?
A．The usual habitat of deep-water animals is badly polluted.
B．Many animals could be easily eaten by their enemies.
C．Masses of fishes could die due to lack of oxygen.
D．Some dolphins are frolicking in marshes.
The environmental disaster was caused by .
A．the damage of the Mexico Gulf ecosystem
B．the lack of environmental sense of BP
C．the nearly two-month-old oil spill
D．the crowding marine life
What is John Hocevar’s attitude towards the disaster?
A．Worried. B．Disappointed. C．Depressed. D．Hesitant.
From the passage, we can infer that .
A．Bp will pay much money according to the number of dead wildlife there
B．marine scientists have seen some strange phenomena
C．the disaster has little influence on dolphins
D．a three-person crew reached no conclusion
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
信息匹配(共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分.
The people below are all looking for a hotel in Scotland for their holidays. After the description of these people, there is information about six Scotland hotels A-F. Decide which hotel would be most suitable for the people mentioned in questions 56-60
A．Edinburgh. Post House
A popular base for visitors to Edinburgh, this fine hotel stands next to the zoological Gardens within easy reach of the many famous sights, shops and entertainments of one of Europe’s most elegant capitals.
B．Gatehouse of Fleet. Cally Hotel
This impressive hotel, well-known for its good Scottish cooking, is an ideal choice for a relaxing family holiday. Set in 100 acres of private grounds, the Cally, a former stately home, has something for everyone including its own fishing lake, outdoor heated swimming pool, green lawn, tennis court, children’s playground and sauna baths.
C．Glenborrodale. Glenborrodale Castle Hotel
There can be few better places for a refreshing holiday than this picturesque hotel set in its own 120 acres of beautiful countryside by charming Lake Sunart on the Ardnamurchan Peninsular（半岛）. Boating and fishing are both available here.
D．Inverness. Royal Hotel!
A unique feature of the Royal is its fine collection of antique furniture, china and glass. This friendly comfortable hotel, a favourite meeting place for the townspeople, is an excellent base for getting to know the Highlands-Lake Ness, Great Gien and Culloden Moor are all within easy reach.
E．Peebles. Tontine Hotel
The Tontine had a fascinating beginning-it was built in 1808. This homely hotel has been extended to make it a really comfortable base for exploring the Tweed Valley and the attractive Lowland country.
F．North Berwick. Marine Hotel
This fine hotel overlooks the famous West Links golf course and is close to several sandy beaches. The Marine has its own open-air swimming pool and putting green as well as tennis courts, squash courts and saunas. Edinburgh, well-know for its art festivals, is only some 24 miles away.
Two women friends who want to do several all-day hikes in the mountains during the spring. They like a place with traditional decorations and superb views
A woman with two children aged six and ten, who will spend July in Scotland. The children are interested in animals and plants and the mother enjoys fashions.
A handicapped lawyer who must use a wheelchair but drives her own car. She enjoys concerts, museums, fine architecture and swimming. She will spend the first two weeks of October in Scotland.
A writer, a teacher and their one-year-old daughter. They want to be in a quiet place during August. They enjoy good food, and like to take long walks(the baby rides in a back-pack..
An old couple, aged 65 and 68. They love mountain scenery and still take easy walks by the lakeside when they can. They hope to enjoy fresh air and some relaxing activities.
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010—2011年度黑龙江省牡丹江一中高三上学期期末考试英语卷 题型：阅读理解
For photographers lacking training, experience and even the ability to click a shutter button, they produce remarkable pictures．Under the sea, deep in the woods and high in the sky, furry, feathery and leathery-skinned creatures are opening up vistas（远景）by taking cameras where no human can go．
This is the world of animal-borne imagine celebrated last month at a conference sponsored(supported) by the National Geographic Society for the 20th anniversary of its Crittercam, the device that started it all．
Since its debut（首次公开露面）in 1987 on the back of a turtle, the Crittercam and similar devices developed by others have grown smaller and more powerful．
“It’s more than just a camera now,” said Greg Marshall, the marine biologist and now filmmaker who invented the Crittercam．“We are now including more instruments to gather more data while at the same time reducing everything in size．”
The idea of attaching video cameras to animals came to Mr．Marshall in 1986 on a dive off Belize when a shark apporached him．When the animal quickly turned away, he noticed a shark with a sucker fish on its belly．He came up with the idea that putting a camera in place of the sucker fish would allow people to witness the shark’s behavior without disturbing it．
Crittercams have been attached to sharks, sea lions and other marine animals, and, more recently, to land animals．
Birds are a new addition, Mr．Marshall said．Dr．Christian Rutz of Oxford recently reported on tiny cameras called feathercams that monitor the crows in the South Pacific．It has discovered that crows are smarter than anyone knew they not only use twigs（嫩枝）and grass stems as tools to root out food, but they also save their favorite tools to use again．
Tracey L．Rogers, director of the Australian Marine Mammal Research Center in Sydney, said crittercam was a powerful tool in her work with leopard seals（豹斑海豹）in Antarctica．“In studying animals,” Dr．Rogers said at the meeting, “you want to see how our animal models align（与……一致）with reality．With a camera, you actually see what they do．You don’t have to guess．”
【小题1】What’s the text mainly about?
| A．The advantages of crittercam． |
| B．The development of Crittercams in the past 20 years． |
| C．How crittercam was invented． |
| D．How crittercam works． |
| A．The sight of sucker fish clinging to a shark on a dive． |
| B．The thought of how to photograph animals better． |
| C．Noticing a shark eating a sucker fish on a dive． |
| D．Seeing a shark with a camera on its belly on a dive． |
| A．can clear up all your doubts about animals |
| B．is the most powerful tool in studying animals |
| C．enabled her to observe the crows in the South Pacific closely |
| D．helped a lot with her research on leopard seals in Antarctica |
| A．the size is becoming smaller |
| B．more instruments are involved to gather more data |
| C．they allow researchers to see where and how animals live |
| D．they are able to be applied to smaller animals such as birds |
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科目：高中英语 来源：江苏省宿迁市2010届高三下学期第二次模拟考试试题（英语） 题型：阅读理解
Ocean Acidification: 'Evil Twin' Threatens World's Oceans
The rise in human emissions of carbon dioxide is driving dangerous changes in the chemistry and ecosystems of the world's oceans, international marine（海洋的）scientists have warned. "Ocean conditions are already more extreme than those experienced by marine organisms and ecosystems for millions of years," says the latest issue of the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. "This emphasizes the urgent need to adopt policies that markedly reduce CO2 emissions."
Ocean acidification, which the researchers call the 'evil twin of global warming', is caused when the CO2 emitted by human activity, mainly burning fossil fuels, dissolves into the oceans. It is happening independently of, but in combination with, global warming. Evidence gathered by scientists over the last few years suggests that ocean acidification could represent an equal -- or perhaps even greater threat -- to the biology of our planet than global warming. More than 30% of the CO2 released from burning fossil fuels, cement production, deforestation and other human activities goes straight into the oceans, turning them gradually more acidic.
"The resulting acidification will impact many forms of sea life, especially organisms whose shells or skeletons are made from calcium carbonate（碳化钙）, like corals and shellfish. It may interfere with the reproduction of plankton species which are a vital part of the food web on which fish and all other sea life depend," he adds.
The scientists say there is now persuasive evidence that mass extinctions in past Earth history, like the "Great Dying" of 251 million years ago and another wipeout 55 million years ago, were accompanied by ocean acidification, which may have delivered the deathblow to many species that were unable to cope with it. "These past periods can serve as great lessons of what we can expect in the future, if we continue to push the acidity the ocean even further" said lead author, Dr. Carles Pelejero, from ICREA and the Marine Science Institute of CSIC in Barcelona, Spain. "Given the impacts we see in the fossil record, there is no question about the need to immediately reduce the rate at which we are emitting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," he said further.
"Today, the surface waters of the oceans have already acidified by an average of 0.1 pH units from pre-industrial levels, and we are seeing signs of its impact even in the deep oceans," said co-author Dr. Eva Calvo, from the Marine Science Institute of CSIC in Spain. "Future acidification depends on how much CO2 humans emit from here on -- but by the year 2100 various projections indicate that the oceans will have acidified by a further 0.3 to 0.4 pH units, which is more than many organisms like corals can stand," Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg says.
"This will create conditions not seen on Earth for at least 40 million years."
"These changes are taking place at rates as much as 100 times faster than they ever have over the last tens of millions of years" Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg says. Besides directly impacting on the fishing industry and its contribution to the human food supply at a time when global food demand is doubling, a major die-off in the oceans would affect birds and many land species and change the biology of Earth as a whole profoundly, Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg adds.
67. What is the biggest cause of the ocean acidification according to the report?
A. the increase of carbon dioxide emission by human beings
B. The worsening of global warming
C. The disappearance of the world’s forests
D. The decrease of marine life
68. In what way according to the report does ocean acidification affect the majority of marine life?
A. It affects their reproduction B. It destroys their food chain
C. It affects the growth of their young D. destroys their habitats
69. Which of the following statements is NOT true about ocean acidification?
A. Ocean acidification has made ocean conditions most extreme in millions of years.
B. Ocean acidification may do more damage than global warming to human and plant life in the long run.
C. Ocean acidification is suspected of having caused mass extinctions of life in past Earth history.
D. The effects of ocean acidification are not now but will be felt in the foreseeable future.
70. From the report we can clearly feel that the situation with ocean acidification __________.
A. is quite optimistic B. remains well under control
C. looks more than urgent D. is already out of control
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年四川省昭觉中学高二10月月考英语试卷（带解析） 题型：阅读理解
When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strong happened to the large animals; they suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived; the large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction.
Now something similar could be happening in the oceans. That the seas are being over-fished has been known for years and researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass (the amount of living biological matter) of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators (animals that kill and eat other animals) inanes fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then.
Dr. Worm acknowledges that these figures are conservative (保守的). One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Today’s vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around noise.
Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the date support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the “shifting baseline”. The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do business.
【小题1】The aim of the extinction of large prehistoric animals is to suggest that _______.
| A．large animal were not easy to survive in the changing environment |
| B．small species survived as large animals disappeared |
| C．large sea animals may face the same threat today. |
| D．Slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones |
| A．the stock of large predators in some old fisheries has reduced by 90% |
| B．there are only half as many fisheries are there were 15 years ago |
| C．the catch sizes in new fisheries are only 20% of the original amount |
| D．the number of larger predators dropped faster in new fisheries than in the old |
| A．fishing technology has improved rapidly |
| B．then catch-sizes are actually smaller then recorded |
| C．the marine biomass has suffered a greater loss |
| D．the date collected so far are out of date. |
| A．people should look for a baseline that can’t work for a longer time |
| B．fisheries should keep the yield below 50% of the biomass |
| C．the ocean biomass should restore its original level. |
| D．people should adjust the fishing baseline to changing situation. |
| A．management efficiency |
| B．biomass level |
| C．catch-size limits |
| D．technological application. |
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