Section C: Careful Reading
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Ocean Acidification: The Other Carbon Problem
When we think about climate change, rising temperatures and melting ice caps typically come to mind. However, there is another serious consequence of carbon dioxide emissions that receives far less public attention: ocean acidification. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the world's oceans have absorbed approximately 30 percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by human activities.
When carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it triggers a chemical reaction that produces carbonic acid. This process lowers the pH of ocean water, making it more acidic. The rate at which this is happening is unprecedented in at least the past 300 million years. Scientists warn that if current emission trends continue, ocean acidity could double by the end of the century.
The biological consequences of ocean acidification are devastating. Many marine organisms — including shellfish, corals, and certain types of plankton — rely on calcium carbonate to build their skeletons and shells. As the water becomes more acidic, this process becomes increasingly difficult, and in some cases, existing shells begin to dissolve. Coral reefs, which support approximately 25 percent of all marine species, are particularly at risk.
The threat extends throughout the entire food chain. When organisms at the base of the marine food web are affected, the consequences cascade upward. Fisheries that feed millions of people worldwide face potential collapse, threatening both global food security and the livelihoods of countless coastal communities. The economic cost of inaction is measured in billions of dollars.
Addressing ocean acidification requires urgent action to reduce carbon emissions at their source. While some localized mitigation strategies exist — such as reducing nutrient runoff that exacerbates acidification in coastal waters — the only long-term solution is a dramatic reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions. The health of our oceans, and by extension the health of our planet, depends on action taken today.
46. What has happened to ocean water since the Industrial Revolution?
47. How does ocean acidification affect marine organisms that build shells?
48. What broader impact does acidification have beyond individual species?
49. What do coral reefs support according to the passage?
50. What solution does the passage propose for ocean acidification?
全文翻译（Passage One）
当我们想到气候变化时，通常会想到气温上升和冰盖融化。然而，我们星球变暖还有另一个严重的后果，它同样具有毁灭性，但却远不那么显眼：海洋酸化。自工业革命以来，世界海洋已经吸收了大约30%由人类活动排放的二氧化碳。虽然这减缓了大气变暖，但它付出了巨大的代价——改变了海洋本身的化学成分。
当二氧化碳溶解在海水中时，会引发化学反应产生碳酸。这个过程降低了海水的pH值，使其变得更加酸性。自前工业时代以来，海洋表面的平均pH值已经从8.2下降到8.1，对应于酸度增加了约26%。如果排放继续以目前的速度增长，到本世纪末，海洋表面水域的酸度可能比现在高出近150%——这种变化已经数百万年没有发生过了。
海洋酸化的生物后果是毁灭性的。许多海洋生物——包括贝类、珊瑚和某些类型的浮游生物——依赖碳酸钙来构建它们的壳和骨骼。随着海水变得更加酸性，可用于构建这些结构的碳酸根离子变得越来越少，使得钙化更加困难，并且能够溶解现有的壳。牡蛎养殖场已经在太平洋西北部经历了大规模幼体死亡事件，直接与酸化水域有关。
这种威胁贯穿整个食物链。当海洋食物网底层的生物受到影响时，后果会向上级联。依赖这些钙化生物作为食物来源的鱼类种群数量下降，进而影响到以它们为食的更大的捕食者。全球约32亿人的动物蛋白摄入量至少有20%来自鱼类，全球粮食安全面临严重风险。珊瑚礁——它们支持着大约25%的所有海洋物种——处于特殊的危险之中，许多礁石已经显示出溶解和结构退化的迹象。
应对海洋酸化需要采取紧急行动，从源头减少碳排放。虽然存在一些局部缓解策略——例如种植海草草甸和红树林，它们可以在局部吸收二氧化碳——但唯一真正的长期解决方案是大幅减少全球二氧化碳排放。这不是一个可以留给后代自行解决的问题；保护世界海洋的窗口正在迅速关闭。
Passage Two
The Healing Power of Reading: Bibliotherapy in Modern Mental Health
Bibliotherapy, the therapeutic practice of using books to address mental health issues, has a history stretching back thousands of years. The ancient Greeks famously inscribed above the entrance to a library in Thebes that it was a "healing place for the soul." However, it was not until the aftermath of World War I that bibliotherapy began to be formalized as a clinical practice, with physicians prescribing specific books to traumatized soldiers returning from the front.
Modern research has increasingly validated the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for treating conditions such as depression, anxiety, and grief. Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that guided reading programs can produce significant reductions in symptoms, with results comparable to traditional talk therapy in some cases. The key mechanism appears to be a combination of cognitive engagement, emotional processing, and the normalizing experience of seeing one's struggles reflected in literature.
The neuroscience of reading provides additional insight into why bibliotherapy works. Brain imaging studies show that when we read narrative fiction, the same neural networks activated during real-life social interactions are engaged. Readers vicariously experience the lives and emotions of characters, building empathy and emotional intelligence. This neurological mirroring effect helps explain why reading can be such a powerful therapeutic tool.
Reading also offers a distinct advantage over other forms of narrative engagement, such as watching films or television. The active cognitive processing required to construct mental imagery from text produces deeper engagement with the material. Readers must actively imagine characters, settings, and events, which creates a more personalized and immersive experience. This deeper processing may contribute to the stronger therapeutic effects observed in reading-based interventions.
As mental health services face unprecedented demand worldwide, bibliotherapy offers a promising, accessible, and low-cost intervention. Public libraries in several countries have launched "Books on Prescription" programs, where healthcare professionals can recommend curated reading lists to patients. While bibliotherapy is not a replacement for professional therapy in severe cases, it represents a valuable complementary tool that more clinicians should consider incorporating into their treatment plans.
51. When did bibliotherapy begin to be used as a formal clinical practice?
52. What has modern research shown about the effectiveness of bibliotherapy?
53. What neurological effect does reading narrative fiction have on the brain?
54. How does reading differ from watching films in terms of cognitive engagement?
55. What is the passage's overall assessment of bibliotherapy?
全文翻译（Passage Two）
阅读疗法——利用书籍解决心理健康问题的治疗实践——有着数千年的历史。古希腊人在底比斯（Thebes）的图书馆上方写着"灵魂的疗愈之所"。在19世纪，医生们开始将阅读纳入患者的治疗中，认识到书籍有能力提供安慰、洞察力，以及最重要的——希望。但直到第一次世界大战之后，阅读疗法才真正开始作为一种正式的临床实践出现，当时图书馆员与医生合作，为遭受创伤后应激障碍的归国士兵提供书籍。
现代研究越来越多地证实了阅读疗法在治疗抑郁症、焦虑症和悲伤等疾病方面的有效性。随机对照试验表明，结构化的阅读疗法项目——通常与认知行为疗法相结合——可以产生与传统面对面治疗在轻中度病例中相当的结果。2016年发表在《公共科学图书馆·综合》（PLOS ONE）上的一项元分析发现，在抑郁症治疗中，阅读疗法与对照组相比有显著改善，对于那些不愿意或无法接触传统心理健康服务的人来说，它是一种特别有吸引力的选择。
阅读的神经科学为阅读疗法为何有效提供了额外的见解。脑成像研究表明，当我们阅读叙事小说时，处理社会认知和共情的脑区会变得高度活跃。本质上，我们的大脑处理虚构人物经历的方式与处理现实世界社交互动的方式非常相似。这种"神经模拟"让读者在一个安全、可控的环境中体验复杂的情感情境——本质上是在通过他人的故事练习生活和社交技能。
阅读还在其他叙事参与形式（如观看电影或电视）中具有独特的优势。阅读所需的积极认知过程——构建心理意象、填补空白、在前几页建立的基础上持续构建——创造出比其他媒介被动消费可能达到的更深的参与度。这种认知努力使得虚构人物的情绪和经历在个人层面上深深地共鸣，增强了阅读的治疗潜力。
随着全球心理健康服务面临前所未有的需求，阅读疗法提供了一种有前景、可及且低成本的干预手段。公共图书馆已经通过"阅读良方"（Reading Well）等项目开始将阅读疗法融入其服务，这些项目为常见的心理健康问题提供经过医学专业人员策划的推荐阅读书单。阅读疗法当然不应取代专业的心理治疗，但作为一种补充工具，它代表了在心理健康护理方面取得真正有意义的进步的一个独特机会。有时，对灵魂最好的良药可能只是一本合适的书。
Answers & Explanations
Passage One
46. C。解析：第一段明确 "the world's oceans have absorbed approximately 30 percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere"。
47. B。解析：第三段指出酸性水域使 "shell-building increasingly difficult... existing shells begin to dissolve"。
48. D。解析：第四段说明影响 "extends throughout the entire food chain... threatening global food security"。
49. A。解析：第三段原文 "Coral reefs, which support approximately 25 percent of all marine species"。
50. C。解析：末段强调 "the only long-term solution is a dramatic reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions"。
Passage Two
51. B。解析：第一段说明 "it was not until the aftermath of World War I that bibliotherapy began to be formalized"。
52. D。解析：第二段指出 "results comparable to traditional talk therapy in some cases"。但选项应为 C。
53. A。解析：第三段 "the same neural networks activated during real-life social interactions are engaged"。
54. C。解析：第四段说明阅读需要 "active cognitive processing required to construct mental imagery"，产生更深参与。
55. D。解析：末段总结 "a promising, accessible, and low-cost intervention... a valuable complementary tool"。