[背景了解]
　　文章取自于2002年6月的閱讀真題，是篇關于全球變暖問題的說明文。
　　[文章部分]
　　As environmentalists convene in Rio de Janeiro this week to ponder the global climate of the future, earth scientists are in the midst of a revolution in understanding how climate has changed in the past — and how those changes have transformed human existence. Researchers have begun to piece together an illuminatingpicture of the powerful geological and astronomical forces that have combined to change the planet’s environment from hot to cold, wet to dry and back again over a time period stretching back hundreds of millions of years.
　　[單詞學習]
　　convene v.召集，集合
　　ponder v.沉思, 考慮
　　revolution n.革命, 旋轉
　　illuminating 富有啟發性的；很有助益的
　　stretch 伸, 拉伸, 伸長[展], 展寬
　　[課后作業]
　　請翻譯下列5個句子
　　1.The tribunal will convene tomorrow.
　　2.You have pondered long enough, it is time to decide.3.He has lived through two revolutions.
　　4.This is an illuminating analysis.
　　5.She stretched across the table for the butter.
　　練習答案：
　　1.The tribunal will convene tomorrow.法庭將于明日開庭。
　　2.You have pondered long enough, it is time to decide.你考慮的時間夠長了，該做決定了。
　　3.He has lived through two revolutions.他經歷了兩次革命。
　　4.This is an illuminating analysis.這是很有啟發的分析。
　　5.She stretched across the table for the butter.她探身去取放在餐桌對面的黃油。