Think of Japan in the spring and the image that comes to mind is likely the country’s famous cherry blossoms, also known as “Sakura” — white and pink flowers, blooming across cities and mountains.
The flowers, which experience a “peak bloom” that only lasts a few days, have been loved in Japan for more than a thousand years. Crowds celebrate with viewing parties, flocking to the most popular locations to take photos and have picnics underneath the branches.
But this year, cherry blossom season has come and gone in the blink of an eye, in one of the earliest blooms on record. Scientists warn it’s a symptom of the larger climate crisis threatening ecosystems everywhere.
Yasuyuki Aono, a researcher at Osaka Prefecture University, has gathered records from Kyoto back to 812 AD from historical documents and diaries. In the central city of Kyoto, cherry blossoms peaked on March 26, the earliest in more than 1,200 years, Aono said. And in the capital Tokyo, cherry blossoms reached full bloom on March 22, the second-earliest date on record.
The peak bloom dates shift every year, depending on numerous factors including weather and rainfall, but have shown a general trend of moving earlier and earlier. In Kyoto, the peak date stayed around mid-April for centuries, but began moving into early April during the 1800s. The date has only dipped into late March a handful of times in recorded history.
“Sakura blooms are very temperature sensitive,” said Aono. “Flowering and full bloom could be earlier or later depending on the temperature alone,” he said. “The temperature was low in the 1820s, but it has risen by about 3.5 degrees Celsius to this day.”
This year’s seasons in particular influenced the blossom dates, he added. The winter was very cold, but the spring came fast and unusually warm.
1 ． What is the best title of the passage?
A ． Cherry blossom celebrations.
B ． Warning of a climate crisis.
C ． A strong love for cherry blossom.
D ． Cherry blossom season coming earlier.
2 ． What does the underlined word “flocking” mean?
A ． Blocking. B ． Flooding. C ． Running. D ． Following.
3 ． What can we infer from paragraph 5?
A ． The peak blossom dates fall on a fixed date.
B ． The cherry blossom rarely peaks in March.
C ． The peak bloom dates mainly depend on weather and rainfall.
D ． Cherry blossom peaks around mid-April in Tokyo.
4 ． What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A ． To inform people the date of cherry blossom.
B ． To show a study on cherry blossom dates.
C ． To present a Japanese tradition of cherry blossom celebration.
D ． To make people aware of the influence of climate change on cherry blossom.
1 ． D
2 ． B
3 ． B
4 ． D
【分析】
本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了气候变化对日本樱花的影响。
1 ．
主旨大意题。根据第三段 “But this year, cherry blossom season has come and gone in the blink of an eye, in one of the earliest blooms on record. Scientists warn it’s a symptom of the larger climate crisis threatening ecosystems everywhere. ( 但今年，眨眼间，樱花盛开的季节来了又去，这是有记录以来最早的樱花盛开之一。科学家警告说，这是全球生态系统面临更大气候危机的征兆 )” 及下文对原因的分析可知，文章主要介绍了由于气候变化，日本樱花盛开的季节来得更早了。由此可知， Cherry blossom season coming earlier.( 樱花盛开的季节来得更早了 ) 适合作本文最佳标题。故选 D 。
2 ．
词句猜测题。根据划线词前面的 “The flowers, which experience a “peak bloom” that only lasts a few days, have been loved in Japan for more than a thousand years. Crowds celebrate with viewing parties ( 这种花的 “ 盛放期 ” 只持续几天，在日本已经流行了一千多年。人们以观赏派对来庆祝 )” 可推知，人们蜂拥至最受欢迎的地点拍照，在树枝下野餐。由此推知，划线词 flocking 与 flooding( 涌入 ) 意思接近。故选 B 。
3 ．
推理判断题。根据第五段中的 “The peak bloom dates shift every year, depending on numerous factors including weather and rainfall, but have shown a general trend of moving earlier and earlier. In Kyoto, the peak date stayed around mid-April for centuries, but began moving into early April during the 1800s. The date has only dipped into late March a handful of times in recorded history. ( 开花高峰期的日期每年都在变化，这取决于包括天气和降雨在内的许多因素，但已经显示出一种移动得越来越早的总体趋势。在京都，几个世纪以来，高峰日期一直在 4 月中旬左右，但在 19 世纪开始转移到 4 月初。在有记录的历史上，这个日期只是在三月底出现过几次 )” 可推知，樱花很少在三月盛开。故选 B 。
4 ．
推理判断题。根据第三段 “But this year, cherry blossom season has come and gone in the blink of an eye, in one of the earliest blooms on record. Scientists warn it’s a symptom of the larger climate crisis threatening ecosystems everywhere. ( 但今年，眨眼间，樱花盛开的季节来了又去，这是有记录以来最早的樱花盛开之一。科学家警告说，这是全球生态系统面临更大气候危机的征兆 )” 及最后一段 “This year’s seasons in particular influenced the blossom dates, he added. The winter was very cold, but the spring came fast and unusually warm.( 他补充说，今年的季节对花期的影响尤其大。冬天很冷，但春天来得很快，而且异乎寻常地温暖 )” 可知，作者写这篇文章的目的是让人们了解气候变化对樱花的影响。故选 D 。