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  3. Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat

Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat

admin2015-03-28  92
问题     Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat waves, wildfires and floods. Just wait until climate change makes all three of those problems — and many more — worse.
    That was the stern warning from the world’s scientific community last week, in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The U.N.-chartered body produced its first comprehensive report since 2007 on the changes that might accompany a rising global temperature and on humanity’s potential to cope with them. It isn’t encouraging.
    There are some things the scientists are very confident will happen in a warming world over the next century. Sea levels will rise, threatening coastal cities and low-lying nations. Island states could get hit very hard. There are probably going to be relatively more extremely hot days than extremely cold ones, and water-and food-borne illnesses will probably increase. Various sections of North America will probably be drier and more prone to wildfires, while cities will likely see more urban floods. But part of the peril (危险) of climate change is that scientists don’t have a crystal ball (占卜用的水晶球) to foretell how, exactly, the environment will respond to rising temperatures. The experts anticipate that forests could die off and that wetland and rain forest ecosystems could crumble. They anticipate effects on water systems just about everywhere: more flooding in many places, less water in dry areas, more humidity inhibiting human labor in wetter climes.
    There could also be some positive effects for some, the experts note. They predict fewer deaths due to cold, but more due to heat. Some areas of the planet, particularly in higher latitudes, might become more fertile. But lower crop yields elsewhere will outweigh those benefits. Indeed, the planet’s verdant lands along the equator might be much worse off. The scientists, for example, predict that fish and other aquatic life will flee elsewhere as ocean temperatures change. And, of course, there could be effects, good and bad, that the experts aren’t anticipating. That shouldn’t be comforting.
    The experts leave little doubt about the right response: Cut pollution to head off the worst possible consequences and prepare for the risks the world is unlikely to avoid, given its inability to slash emissions quickly. Delaying action, they note, reduces the world’s options and affords vulnerable people less time to cope.
    How much change should be headed off with emissions cuts now, and how much will we simply have to cope with? How much should we pay to prepare for the risks we are unwilling to avoid? How do we get the major countries of the world all moving in the right direction? These are essential questions that should be at the heart of our political debate. But answering them demands that both parties admit there is a dangerous problem that demands attention — now.
What can we know about the report of 2007?
选项 A、It was the first report from IPCC to state the serious problem.
B、It predicted that forest would die off over the next century.
C、People don’t think it is encouraging for limiting climate change.
D、IPCC did not release any information about it until last week.
答案A
解析 第2段第2句提到，这一联合国特许组织(即IPcc)在2007年发表了它的第一篇综合报告，该报告主要关于可能带来全球气温升高的气候变化以及人类应对气候变化的可能性。同时末句指出，报告所反映的情况并不令人振奋，也就是说问题是很严重的。综合这两句可知，2007年的这篇报告是政府间气候变化专门委员会发表的第一篇阐述这一严重问题的报告。故A)符合题意。B)是利用第3段倒数第2句中的forests could die off没置的无关干扰。C)是对文意的曲解，文中说的是气候变化带来的问题不容乐观。上周发表的是政府间气候变化专门委员会的最新报告，与2007年的报告无关，故D)也不符合文意。
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