Climate change will greatly _____ wheat and rice production

Text 1 Giant corporations often claim to be"green,"pointing to programs they've undertaken aimed at being environmentally conscious.But sometimes these efforts don't really amount to much.They can be no more than'igrcenwashing,"a public relations effort that doesn't represent any fundamental shift in thinking.But such a change may actually be going on among several of the world's largest fossil fuel companies,namcs such as ExxonMobil,Shell,and BP.One of the biggest reasons:pressure from the companies'sharcholdcrs.Investors arc asking corporations to make more transparent the effects climate change will have on their businesses,as well as explain what they are doing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.While sharcholdcr motivcs are cerlainly aimed at helping in the worldwide fight against global warming,they also represent a practical need to better understand a company's prospects.If the burning of oil and gas is grcaily curtailed as a result of the December 2015 intemational Paris climate agreement,for example,how might that affect the bottom line of a corporation whose chief source of revenue is extracting and selling carbon-emitting oil and gas?Or,conversely,how is a company planning to take advantage of the business opportunities that emerge from a shift away from fossil fuels?Climate Action 100+,for example,is a shareholder action group that is asking corporations to make stronger commitments to meeting the 80 percent cut in carbon emissions proposed by the Paris agreement signed two years ago by nearly 200 nations.Some 225 investment groups who manage more than S26.3 trillion have signed on in support.Last week,intemational energy giant ExxonMobil said it will step up its reporting to shareholders and the public about the impacts climate change will have on its business,including any expected increased risks.The new policy follows a vote by ExxonMobil investors at the company's annual meeting in May that called for a yearly assessment of the effects of climate change on the company.The new position represents a sea change for ExxonMobil,which until the early 2000s had disputed the need to take action on climate change.Around the world national govemments are shaping new policies in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will not allow global temperatures to rise more than 2 degrees Celsius.In the U,S.,individual states and cities are pursuing lawsuits against companies that fail to deal responsibly with greenhouse gas emissions,which they contend harm the public.24.What's ExxonMobil's attitude toward taking action on climate change?

A.Biased.
B.Objective.
C.Indifferent.
D.Supportive.

In June,California department of forestry and fire protection determined that 12 devastating fires that struck Northern California tate last year were the result of trees coming into contact with power lines or other problems tied to the electric utility PG&E.Thanks to a policy known as inverse conclemnation,the utility could be on the hook for those damages,even if ii is not found to be negligeni.In the past,PG&-E has paid the bills when it was blamed for fires and other damages.But the company now says it cannot keep footing the bill so long as climate change continues to increase the likelihood of fires.Millions of trees have died across California after years of intense drought.creating vast quantities of fuel that allow fires to burn faster and over greater clistances-all combined with higher temperatures.It has pushed to raise electricity rates to pay for tlie clamage.Meanwhile.state officials are pushing a change in the law.Governor Jerry Brown proposed a new plan ihat would allow a court to decide whether the utility acted"reasonably"before forcing the company to pay claims."Costly wildfires and natural disasters have the poiential to undermine the sysiem*"Brown told legislators."leaving our energy sector in a state of weakness at a time when it shoulcl be making even greater investments in safety."Within the U.S.,the debate over liability for climate change has taken several forms.On the fecleral level,proactive policymakers have pushed to rework the National Flood Insurance Program（NFIP）,which pays people to rebuild their homes after floods-even in areas where damage is likely to strike again.In effect,that program,which is more than$20 billion in clebt,put.s the burden of climate-change-related natural disasters in the hands of the U.S.government ancl the taxpayer.Infrastructure experts have also pushed the government to rethink its post disaster funding to require climate change preparedness measures.A group of pioneering American cities have sought to have the oil-and-gas industry pay for climate-change-relatecl clamages and disaster-prevention measures.A series of lawsuits have blamed the companies for years of polluting the planet while concealing evidence that emissions would contribute to devastaiing climate change.The authorities behind the lawsuits hope that courts will force the industry to pay up.Thus far,U.S.courts have expressed skepticism-not necessarily of the fault of oil and gas but of the ability of the judicial system to address the issue."The problem deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a district judge or jury in a public nuisance case,"wrote William Alsup of the U.S.District Court in Northern California.Elsewhere,a large number of litigants have also looked to the courts.Lacking other avenues for addressing the issue,people feeling the impacts of climate change are increasingly Lurning to courts to help find a global answer to a global problem.
To which of the following would William Alsup most probably agree?

A.The oil-and-gas industry should pay for climate-change-related damages.
B.Climate change should not be viewed as the faulr of oil and gas.
C.The problem of a warming planet is too big for the courts to solve.
D.The judicial system has the responsibility to settle greenhouse-gas-related disputes.

The high prices for corn--while driving hunger in Africa--have encouraged other farmers to__________land from wheat, soybeans, or even pasture to corn production.

A．turn over
B．turn on
C．turn up
D．turn around

In June,California department of forestry and fire protection determined that 12 devastating fires that struck Northern California tate last year were the result of trees coming into contact with power lines or other problems tied to the electric utility PG&E.Thanks to a policy known as inverse conclemnation,the utility could be on the hook for those damages,even if ii is not found to be negligeni.In the past,PG&-E has paid the bills when it was blamed for fires and other damages.But the company now says it cannot keep footing the bill so long as climate change continues to increase the likelihood of fires.Millions of trees have died across California after years of intense drought.creating vast quantities of fuel that allow fires to burn faster and over greater clistances-all combined with higher temperatures.It has pushed to raise electricity rates to pay for tlie clamage.Meanwhile.state officials are pushing a change in the law.Governor Jerry Brown proposed a new plan ihat would allow a court to decide whether the utility acted"reasonably"before forcing the company to pay claims."Costly wildfires and natural disasters have the poiential to undermine the sysiem*"Brown told legislators."leaving our energy sector in a state of weakness at a time when it shoulcl be making even greater investments in safety."Within the U.S.,the debate over liability for climate change has taken several forms.On the fecleral level,proactive policymakers have pushed to rework the National Flood Insurance Program（NFIP）,which pays people to rebuild their homes after floods-even in areas where damage is likely to strike again.In effect,that program,which is more than$20 billion in clebt,put.s the burden of climate-change-related natural disasters in the hands of the U.S.government ancl the taxpayer.Infrastructure experts have also pushed the government to rethink its post disaster funding to require climate change preparedness measures.A group of pioneering American cities have sought to have the oil-and-gas industry pay for climate-change-relatecl clamages and disaster-prevention measures.A series of lawsuits have blamed the companies for years of polluting the planet while concealing evidence that emissions would contribute to devastaiing climate change.The authorities behind the lawsuits hope that courts will force the industry to pay up.Thus far,U.S.courts have expressed skepticism-not necessarily of the fault of oil and gas but of the ability of the judicial system to address the issue."The problem deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a district judge or jury in a public nuisance case,"wrote William Alsup of the U.S.District Court in Northern California.Elsewhere,a large number of litigants have also looked to the courts.Lacking other avenues for addressing the issue,people feeling the impacts of climate change are increasingly Lurning to courts to help find a global answer to a global problem.
According to Paragraphs l and 2,PG&E

A.is blamed for multiple intense fires.
B.is found guilty of negligence.
C.is coniributing to climate change.
D.is refusing to pay its current bills.

Text 1 Giant corporations often claim to be"green,"pointing to programs they've undertaken aimed at being environmentally conscious.But sometimes these efforts don't really amount to much.They can be no more than'igrcenwashing,"a public relations effort that doesn't represent any fundamental shift in thinking.But such a change may actually be going on among several of the world's largest fossil fuel companies,namcs such as ExxonMobil,Shell,and BP.One of the biggest reasons:pressure from the companies'sharcholdcrs.Investors arc asking corporations to make more transparent the effects climate change will have on their businesses,as well as explain what they are doing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.While sharcholdcr motivcs are cerlainly aimed at helping in the worldwide fight against global warming,they also represent a practical need to better understand a company's prospects.If the burning of oil and gas is grcaily curtailed as a result of the December 2015 intemational Paris climate agreement,for example,how might that affect the bottom line of a corporation whose chief source of revenue is extracting and selling carbon-emitting oil and gas?Or,conversely,how is a company planning to take advantage of the business opportunities that emerge from a shift away from fossil fuels?Climate Action 100+,for example,is a shareholder action group that is asking corporations to make stronger commitments to meeting the 80 percent cut in carbon emissions proposed by the Paris agreement signed two years ago by nearly 200 nations.Some 225 investment groups who manage more than S26.3 trillion have signed on in support.Last week,intemational energy giant ExxonMobil said it will step up its reporting to shareholders and the public about the impacts climate change will have on its business,including any expected increased risks.The new policy follows a vote by ExxonMobil investors at the company's annual meeting in May that called for a yearly assessment of the effects of climate change on the company.The new position represents a sea change for ExxonMobil,which until the early 2000s had disputed the need to take action on climate change.Around the world national govemments are shaping new policies in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will not allow global temperatures to rise more than 2 degrees Celsius.In the U,S.,individual states and cities are pursuing lawsuits against companies that fail to deal responsibly with greenhouse gas emissions,which they contend harm the public.25.The U.S.is quoted to indicate

A.its great achievement in dealing with climate change.
B.greenhouse gas emissions have been under control.
C.countries are striving to cope with climate change.
D.it has rules and laws against greenhouse gas emissions