全国通用版2019版高考英语大一轮复习单元检测卷29Unit4Globalwarming新人教版选修.docVIP

Unit 4 Global warming Ⅰ.阅读理解 A They may be tiny, and live for just three months, but ants could be the key to solving climate change. Rough harvester ants have been found to “weather” minerals in sand to produce calcium carbonate, also known as limestone(石灰岩)．When the ants make this limestone, the process traps carbon dioxide in the rock, ultimately removing it from the atmosphere. It is uncertain how the minerals are changed, however, and theories vary a lot from ants licking the sand to excreting (排泄) the substance. Professor Dorn buried sand at six sites in the Catalina Mountains in Arizona, and Polo Duro Canyon in Texas, 25 years ago. Every five years, he measured the minerals in the sand, and discovered the ants broke down minerals up to 300 times faster than sand left undisturbed. Professor Dorn believes the ants collect calcium and magnesium(镁) and use these elements to make the limestone. This may occur when ants lick sand grains to stick them to the walls of their nests. Alternatively, the limestone could be created from bacteria in the insects gut before it is excreted. This process is similar to whats known as carbon sequestration(隔离)． Natural carbon sequestration is the process on Earth that manages the carbon dioxide expelled by animals and humans. Trees and the oceans help trap this carbon dioxide. Another method is geological sequestration where the carbon dioxide is pumped into underground chamber, or into areas full of calcium and magnesium. Carbon dioxide reacts with these elements to form limestone. It is this latter method that Dorn believes the ants perform naturally. But Professor Dorn claims it is still unknown how much atmospheric carbon is removed by the ants. 语篇导读　本文为说明文。多恩教授认为，蚂蚁也许是应对气候变化的关键因素。他通过实验证明蚂蚁能够吸收空气中的二氧化碳，但是具体能吸收多少至今尚未确定。 1．The fifth paragraph is mainly about ________. A．how ants break down limestone B．how ants change minerals into limestone C．how ants decorate their nests with sand D．how ants use sand to kill bacteria 解析 B　主