A
(2020·长沙统一模拟)When she first started learning about the climate change from one of her elders, Fawn Sharp was invited on a helicopter flight over the Olympic Mountains to survey the Mount Anderson glacier. But the glacier was gone, melted by the warming climate. Sharp had a deep sense of loss when she discovered the glacier wasn’t there anymore.
Loss is a growing issue for people working and living on the front lines of climate change. And that gave Jennifer Wren Atkinson, a fulltime lecturer at the University of Washington Bothell, US, an idea for a class.
This term, she taught students on the Bothell campus about the emotional burdens of environmental studies. She used the experiences of Native American tribes(部落), scientists and activists, and asked her 24 students to face the reality that there is no easy fix—that “this is such an intractable problem that they’re going to be dealing with it for the rest of their lives.”
Student Cody Dillon used to be a climate science skeptic(怀疑论者). Then he did his own reading and research, and changed his mind.
Dillon wasn’t going into environmental work—he was a computerscience major. Yet, the potential for a worldwide environmental catastrophe seemed so real to him five years ago that he quit his job and became a fulltime volunteer for an environmental group that worked on restoration(恢复) projects.
Six months into the work, he decided that Atkinson’s class was just what he was looking for—a place where he could discuss his concerns about a changing climate.
Atkinson said she hoped the class helped her students prepare themselves for the amount of environmental loss that will happen over their lifetimes.
“We are already changing the planet—so many species are going to be lost, displaced or massively impacted，” she said. “The future isn’t going to be what they imagined.”
【解题导语】 Fawn Sharp通过一次搭乘直升机飞行的经历认识到了冰川融化的严重性，同时Jennifer Wren Atkinson给学生开设了课程，教学生如何面对气候变化，她的课程让很多学生关注环境问题。
1．Why did the author mention the case of Fawn Sharp?
A．To lay a basis for Fawn Sharp’s further research.
B．To prove Fawn Sharp’s work is similar to Atkinson’s.
C．To lead into the issue of loss caused by climate change.
D．To show scientists’ concern about the Mount Anderson glacier.
C 解析：推理判断题。通读第一段可知，Fawn Sharp在一次直升机飞行中意识到气候变化导致了冰川融化；由此可推知，作者在第一段中提及Fawn Sharp的例子是为了引出下文气候变化导致环境问题的话题，故选C。
2．What’s the main purpose of Atkinson’s class?
A．To explore how different people deal with climate change.
B．To get students more concerned about the environmental issue.
C．To find solutions to the environmental issue of Olympic Mountains.
D．To teach students how to conduct research about environment.
B 解析：细节理解题。根据第三段中的“she taught students...the emotional burdens of environmental studies...and asked her 24 students to face the reality that there is no easy fix—that ‘this is such an intractable problem that they’re going to be dealing with it for the rest of their lives.’”可知，她给学生讲环境研究的情感压力，她让她的24个学生面对没有简单的解决方法这个事实——这是“一个如此困难的问题以至于学生们将用他们的余生来解决它。”由此可知，Atkinson的课程目的是让学生们更加关注环境问题，故选B。
3．Which of the following words best explains “intractable” underlined in Paragraph 3?
A．Simple. B．Difficult.
C．Common. D．Interesting.
B 解析：词义猜测题。根据上文可知，Atkinson用美洲土著部落、科学家以及积极分子们的经历让她的24个学生面对没有简单的解决方法这个事实，并结合该句“this is such an intractable problem that they’re going to be dealing with it for the rest of their lives”可知，这是一个如此困难的问题以至于学生们将用他们的余生来解决它，故选B。
4．How did Atkinson’s class influence Dillon?
A．It made him work as a parttime volunteer for restoration projects.
B．It made him realize a planetwide climate disaster would happen.
C．It encouraged him to be more involved in environmental protection.
D．It discouraged him to work on restoration projects for the environment.
C 解析：推理判断题。根据倒数第三段“Six months into the work...discuss his concerns about a changing climate.”可知，Dillon在环保组织做了六个月志愿者之后，他认为在Atkinson的课堂上他可以讨论他对气候变化的担忧；由此可推知，Atkinson的课程鼓励Dillon参与环境保护，故选C。
