M: Hi professor! I was hoping I could have a moment of your time, if you are not too busy. I'm having some problems getting started on my dissertation and I was hoping you could give me some advice on how to begin.
W: Sure. I have quite a few students though. So can you remind me what your topic is?
M: The general topic I chose is aesthetics. But that's as far as I've got. I don't really know where to go from there.
W: Yeah, that's much too large a topic. You really need to narrow it down in order to make it more accessible, otherwise you will be writing a book.
M: Exactly. That's what I wanted to ask you about. I was hoping it would be possible for me to change topics. I'm really more interested in nature than beauty.
W: I'm afraid you have to adhere to the assigned topic. Still, if you are interested in nature, then that certainly can be worked into your dissertation. We've talked about Hume before in class right?
M: Oh yeah. He's the philosopher who wrote about where our ideas of beauty come from.
W: Exactly. I suggest you go to the library and get a copy of his biography. Start from there. But remember to stick to the parameters of the assignment. This paper is a large part of your accumulative grade, so make sure to follow the instructions. If you take a look at his biography, you can get a good idea of how his life experiences manifest themselves in his theories of beauty, specifically, the way he looked towards nature as the origin of what we find beautiful.
M: Great! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, professor. I'll let you get back to class now.
W: If there is anything else you need, please come see me in my office anytime.
Questions 5-8 are based on the conversation you have just heard.
Q5: What is the man's problem?
Q6: What does the professor think of the man's topic?
Q7: What is the man really more interested in?
Q8: What does the professor say the man has to do?
听力篇章
Passage 1:
During the Arctic winter from October to March, the average temperature in the frozen north typically hovers around minus 20 degrees Celsius. But this year, the Arctic is experiencing much higher temperatures.
On February 20th, the temperature in Greenland climbed above freezing or zero degree Celsius and it stayed there for over 24 hours. Then, on February 24th, the temperature on Greenland northern tip reached 6 degree Celsius. Climate scientists described the phenomenon as stunning.
Weather conditions that drive this bizarre temperature surge have visited the Arctic before. They typically appear about once in a decade. However, the last such increasing temperature took place two years ago.
This is troubling as climbing Arctic temperatures combined with rapid sea-ice loss are creating a new type of climate feedback loop which could accelerate Arctic warming. Indeed, sea-ice cover in the Arctic is melting faster than expected. Without those masses of cooling sea ice, warm air brought to the Arctic can penetrate further inland than it ever did before. The air can stay warmer, and longer too. This drives additional melting.
Overall, Earth is warming at a rapid pace — 2014 through 2017 rank as the hottest years on record —and the Arctic is warming twice as fast as anyplace else on Earth. This raises unique challenges for Arctic wildlife and indigenous people who depend on Arctic ecosystems to survive.
Previously, climate forecasts predicted that Arctic summer ice would disappear entirely by around 2060. But based on what scientists are seeing now, the Arctic may be facing summers without ice within 20 years.
Q9: What did climate scientists describe as stunning?
Q10: What does the passage say about the temperature surge in the Arctic?
Q11: What may occur in 20 years according to scientists' recent observations?
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