1、Unit 1 Our living planetGrammar and composition p6Inversion 倒装A Exploring the rules Below is an article from a science website about the changing lengths of days and years. Find the sentences that use inversion and fill in the box below. The first one has been done for you. 下面是一篇来自科学网站的文章，探讨了日期和年份的变
2、化规律。找出使用倒装句的句子，填入下面的方框，第一个已经完成了。Seldom do we doubt that a day is 24 hours long and that a year consists of 365 days (well, a little more actually, which is why we have leap years). These timings are based on the Earths planetary motions. It takes the Earth a day to spin once on its axis and a year t
3、o make one complete circular movement around the Sun. However, would it surprise you to learn that scientists have found evidence that this has not always been the case?Under the oceans lies the hidden evidence for the changing lengths of days and years. Ancient corals, just like tree trunks, show d
4、istinct growth rings, and by counting these rings, it is possible for scientists to calculate the number of days in a year, many millions of years ago. Here is an example. By studying corals that were over 400 millions years old, scientists estimate that an earth year was 420 days long back then. Si
5、milarly, tidal records laid down in ancient river mouths also reveal different lengths of days and years in the past. Examining the daily, monthly and seasonal cycles of these tidal records lets scientists know the number of days in previous years. They indicate, for instance, that 620 million years
6、 ago the day was possibly 3 hours shorter than it is today.Based on all this evidence, not only do scientists conclude that the lengths of days and years have changed in past eras, they also predict that days will get longer in the future. So, one day, the expression 24/7 may well have to be replace
7、d with the revised expression,25/7!我们很少怀疑一天有24小时长，一年有365天(嗯，实际上多一点，这就是为什么我们有闰年)。这些时间是基于地球的行星运动。地球绕地轴转一圈需要一天，绕太阳转一圈需要一年。然而，当你得知科学家发现证据表明事实并非总是如此时，你会感到惊讶吗? 在海洋下面隐藏着日期和年份变化的证据。古代的珊瑚，就像树干一样，呈现出独特的生长年轮，通过计算这些年轮，科学家可以计算出一年中，几百万年前的天数。这里有一个例子。通过研究超过4亿年的珊瑚，科学家估计地球年的时间是420天。同样，古代河口的潮汐记录也揭示了过去不同的日期和年份的长度。通过检查这
8、些潮汐记录的每日、每月和季节周期，科学家们可以知道前几年的天数。例如，他们指出，6.2亿年前的一天可能比今天短3个小时。根据所有这些证据，科学家们不仅得出结论，过去时代的天和年的长度已经改变，他们还预测未来的天将会变长。所以，有一天，这个表达式24/7很可能会被修改过的表达式25/7所取代！Integrated skills p8Talking about climateA Daniel is doing a school science project for the upcoming World Meteorological Day. Read the leaflet about clim
9、ate and answer the following questions.Daniel 正在为即将到来的世界气象日，做一个学校科学项目。阅读有关气候的小册子，并回答以下问题。In recent years, much of the worlds population has been drawn into conversations and debates about the worlds climate and the worrying prospect of climate change. Lets look at some basic information about climat
10、e.近年来，世界上许多人都参与到有关世界气候和令人担忧的气候变化前景的对话和辩论中。让我们来看一些关于气候的基本信息。Q: What is the difference between weather and climate?A: Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time with regard to heat, wind, rain, etc. Climate, however, is the typical long-term pattern of weather in a particula
11、r area. For example, a region might be described as generally warm and dry, or cold and wet. To put it simply, climate is what you can expect but weather is what you actually get!Q: What factors affect climate?A: There are a number of factors that affect the climate of a region but the most signific
12、ant are: distance north or south of the equator, height above sea level, winds, and ocean currents. In recent years, it has been widely accepted that human activity is now impacting on the worlds climate.Q: How has climate changed?A: Climate change is quite normal for our planet. We know from the ev
13、idence of seven ice ages over the last 650,000 years that the Earth has always experienced climate change. However, measurements taken by scientists in recent years show that the temperatures of the Earth have been rising at their quickest rate ever. In 2020, the temperature in the South Pole reache
14、d a record high of 18.3C. It is estimated that sea levels have risen by over 20 centimetres since 1880. The main cause would seem to be human activity increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which help trap heat within the Earths atmosphere.问: 天气和气候的区别是什么? 答: 天气是指某个特定地点和时间的大气状况，
15、包括热量、风、雨等。例如，一个地区可能被描述为一般温暖和干燥，或寒冷和潮湿。问: 什么因素影响气候? 答: 有许多因素影响一个地区的气候，但最重要的是: 赤道以北或以南的距离，海平面以上的高度，风和洋流。近年来，人类活动对世界气候的影响已经被广泛接受问: 气候是如何变化的？答：气候变化对我们的星球来说是很正常的。我们从过去65万年间，七个冰河时期的证据中得知，地球一直经历着气候变化。然而，科学家近年来的测量显示，地球的温度正以有史以来最快的速度上升。2020年，南极的气温达到了18.3摄氏度的历史新高，据估计，自1880年以来，海平面上升了20多厘米。主要原因似乎是人类活动增加了大气中温室气体的数量，这有助于将热量保存在地球大气层中。
