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  3. You might think a little global warming is good for farming. Longer, warmer growing seasons and more carbon dioxide(CO2)—what pl

You might think a little global warming is good for farming. Longer, warmer growing seasons and more carbon dioxide(CO2)—what pl

admin2013-07-11  86
问题     You might think a little global warming is good for farming. Longer, warmer growing seasons and more carbon dioxide(CO2)—what plant wouldn’t love that? The agricultural industry basically agrees on that. But global warming’s effects on agriculture would actually be quite complicated—and mostly not for the better.
    It’s true that some crops will prosper on a warmer planet, but the key word there is "some." According to a government report, higher CO2 levels and longer growing seasons will increase yields for fruit growers in the Great Lakes region. But many major American crops already use CO2 so efficiently that more of it probably won’t make much difference to them.
    What will make a difference are all the other things we’ll have more of as temperatures rise—namely droughts(干旱), bugs and big storms. More droughts mean lower crop yields. Melting snow in the Western U.S. will increase water availability in spring but decrease it in summer, forcing farmers to change cropping practices. As insects that eat crops adapt their migration patterns to our warmer climate, farmers will have to either use more insecticide or plant hardier crops.
    Farmers on both coasts are already starting to reap some of what the nation’s fossil-fuel addiction has sown. Crops in those regions require a certain number of colder days, or "winter chill" before they break dormancy(冬眠)and begin flowering. Too few cold days breaks the plants’ flowering schedule which in turn affects pollination(授粉)and hurts yield.
    So, given how much is at stake for them, how are farm states working to shape climate legislation? In response to agricultural demands, the Waxman-Markey bill frees the agricultural industry from CO2 emission limits and gives up control over what activities guarantee carbon offset credit to the Agricultural Department.
    Some farmers—and some farm state congressional leaders—have argued that because plants convert CO2 into oxygen, agricultural lands store more CO2 than they emit. This is only theoretically true. What we can say with certainty is that, like most big industries, farming is fossil-fuel intensive—large quantities of CO2 are emitted from farm equipment such as irrigation pumps and tractors.
What is the result of "the nation’s fossil-fuel addiction" on both coasts?
选项 A、Plants yield decreases due to shortened winter chill.
B、Plants yield without dormancy and flowering.
C、Crops require longer winter chill than before.
D、The yields are no longer influenced by the climate.
答案A
解析 本题询问美国热衷于使用化石燃料而造成的后果。该段首句即提到东西两岸的农民已尝到了其带来的恶果。对化石燃料的过度使用造成全球变暖，缩短了那些地方农作物应有的winter chill，影响农作物的授粉和产量，A与第4段文意相符，故为正确答案。
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