人教版M5 Unit 2 The environment(测)-高中英语复习(解析).docx

M5 Unit 2 The environment(测)-2022年高考英语一轮复****讲练测(新高考•江苏)
一、阅读理解
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
(2021·浙江高三二模)Mud. Muck. Dirt. Although we have plenty of words for it, we rarely give soil a second thought. But without soil, we would certainly be dead.
Soil is key to almost every aspect of life on land, from water storage to climate regulation, flood prevention, nutrient cycling and decomposition(分解). The dirt beneath our feet is also an exceptionally high source of biodiversity: some estimates suggest that at least one quarter of all species live in or on the soil. The UN has named 2015 the Year of soils and 5 December also happens to be World Soil Day.
As plants gradually colonized the land and began to input large quantities of organic matter into the soil, its water storage capacity increased. Water storage and filtration(过滤) is one of the most important roles soil plays, even today: we depend on it for our drinking water and agriculture. The water storage capacity of soil is also important in reducing flood risk, as well as providing an important buffer against drought.
But soil is also facing severe danger these days. In effect, our agriculture is reversing billions of years of soil evolution and making our soils easier to wear away. In fact, half of the world’s topsoil, the most active and important part of the soil, has been lost over the last 150 years.
The problem may only get worse. The increase of agricultural processes is lowering the soils quality in a global scale, and with the population set to reach 9 billion by 2050, the security of our future food supply is hanging in the balance.
The good news is that if we do begin taking better care of the world’s soil we can take advantage of their carbon storing capacity, to help fight against the effects of climate change.
We might not give it much thought, but soil is silently keeping us alive. By acting now to protect soil as a key ecosystem worldwide we can ensure it continues to provide us w