You might think that “global warming” means nothing more than a rise in the world’s temperature. But rising sea levels caused by it have resulted in the first evacuation of an island nation. The citizens of Tuvalu will have to leave their homeland.
During the 20th century, sea level rose 8~12 inches. As a result, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding of salt water that has polluted the country’s drinking water.
Paani Laupepa, a Tuvaluan government official, reported to the Earth Policy Institute that the nation suffered an unusually high number of fierce storms in the past ten years. Many scientists connect higher surface water temperatures resulting from global warming to greater and more damaging storms.
Laupepa expressed dissatisfaction with the United States for refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement calling for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions（导致温室效应的气体排放）,which are a main cause of global warming. “By refusing to sign the agreement, the US has effectively taken away the freedom of future generations of Tuvaluans to live where their forefathers have lived for thousands of years.” Laupepa told the BBC.
Tuvalu has asked Australia and New Zealand to allow the gradual move of its people to both countries.
Tuvalu is not the only country that is vulnerable （易受影响的）to rising sea levels. Maumoon Gayoon, president of the Maldives, told the United Nations that global warming has made his country of 311,000 an “endangered nation”.
小题1:. The text is mainly about_________.
A．rapid changes in earth’s temperature
B．bad effects of global warming
C．moving of a country to a new place
D．reasons for lowland flooding小题2:.. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word in the first paragraph?
A．撤离
B．危险
C．淹没
D．消失小题3:. According to scientists, the DIRECT cause of more and fiercer storms is_________.
A．greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized nations
B．continuous global warming
C．higher surface water temperatures of the sea
D．rising sea levels小题4:. Laupepa was not satisfied with the United States be
cause it did not_________.
A．believe the problems facing Tuvalu were real
B．sign an agreement with Tuvalu
C．allow Tuvaluans to move to the US
D．agree to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions小题5:. The country whose situation is similar to that of Tuvalu is_________.
A．Australia
B．New Zealand
C．the Unit
ed States
D．the Maldives
