Section 7: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 30 to 36.
The change in the global surface temperature between 1850 and the end of the 21st Century is likely to exceed 1.5°C, most simulations suggest. The WMO says that if the current warming trend continues, temperatures could rise 3-5°C by the end of this century. Temperature rises of 2°C had long been regarded as the gateway to dangerous warming. More recently, scientists and policymakers have argued that limiting temperature rises to 1.5°C is safer.
An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in 2018 suggested that keeping to the 1.5°C target would require “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”. The UN is leading a political effort to stabilise greenhouse-gas emissions for as long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases, temperatures will continue to rise. China emits more CO2 than any other country. It is followed by the US and the European Union member states, although emissions per person are much greater there. But even if we now cut greenhouse-gas emissions dramatically, scientists say the effects will continue. Large bodies of water and ice can take hundreds of years to respond to changes in temperature. And it takes CO2 decades to be removed from the atmosphere.
As more CO2 is released into the atmosphere, uptake of the gas by the oceans increases, causing the water to become more acidic. This could pose major problems for coral reefs. Global warming will cause further changes that are likely to create further heating. This includes the release of large quantities of methane as permafrost - frozen soil found mainly at high latitudes - melts.
Responding to climate change will be one of the biggest challenges we face this century. As the world warms, more water evaporates, leading to more moisture in the air. This means many areas will experience more intense rainfall - and in some places snowfall. But the risk of drought in inland areas during hot summers will increase. More flooding is expected from storms and rising sea levels. But there are likely to be very strong regional variations in these patterns.
Question 30: Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
A. Solutions to Climate Change
B. Global Warming and its Effects
C. Greenhouse Emissions and Rising Sea Levels
D. The Global Surface Temperature On the Rise
Question 31: The word “exceed” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______ .
A. be less than B. be faster than
C. be equal to D. be greater than
Question 32: According to paragraph 1, it is better to limit the temperature rise _______ .
A. to 1.5°C B. over 1.5°C C. to 2°C D. between 3-5°C
Question 33: The word “It” in paragraph 2 refers to _______ .
A. the US B. CO2 C. China D. any other country
Question 34: The word “uptake” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______ .
A. taking something in B. taking something up C. releasing something D. heating up something
Question 35: Which of the following statements is NOT true, according to the passage?
A. The global temperature is rising much higher than expected.
B. Greenhouse-gas emissions are the main cause of global warming.
C. Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions will stop global warming immediately.
D. Coral reefs could be put at risk due to acidic water caused by CO2 emission.
Question 36: Which of the following statements can be inferred from paragraph 5?
A. Global warming means more rainfall in all places of the world.
B. Global warming leads to the decrease in humidity.
C. Storms and rising sea levels are caused by floods.
D. Global warming may lead to extreme weather.