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  3. A useful definition of an air pollutant is a compound added directly or indirectly by humans to the atmosphere in such quantitie

A useful definition of an air pollutant is a compound added directly or indirectly by humans to the atmosphere in such quantitie

admin2014-12-26  41
问题     A useful definition of an air pollutant is a compound added directly or indirectly by humans to the atmosphere in such quantities as to affect humans, animals, vegetation, or material adversely. Air pollution requires a very flexible definition that permits continuous change. When the first air pollution laws were established in England in the fourteenth century, air pollutants were limited to compounds that could be seen or smelled—a far cry from the extensive list of harmful substances known today. As technology has developed and knowledge of the health aspects of various chemicals has increased, the list of air pollutants has lengthened. In the future, even water vapour might be considered an air pollutant under certain conditions.
    Many of the more important air pollutants, such as sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, are found in nature. As the earth developed, the concentrations of these pollutants were altered by various chemical reactions; they became components in biogeochemical cycles. These reactions serve as an air purification scheme by allowing the compounds to move from the air to the water or soil. On a global basis, nature’ s output of these compounds dwarfs that resulting from human activities. However, human production usually occurs in a localized area, such as a city.
    In this localized region, human output may be dominant and may temporarily overload the natural purification scheme of the cycles. The result is an increased concentration of noxious chemicals in the air. The concentrations at which the adverse effects appear will be greater than the concentrations that the pollutants would have in the absence of human activities. The actual concentration need not be large for a substance to be a pollutant; in fact the numerical value tells us little until we know how much of an increase this represents over the concentration that would occur naturally in the area. For example, sulphur dioxide has detectable health effects at 0.08 parts per million(ppm), which is about 400 times its natural level. Carbon monoxide, however, has a natural level of 0.1 ppm and is not usually a pollutant until its level reaches about 15 ppm.
It can be inferred from the first paragraph that______.
选项 A、water vapour is an air pollutant in localized areas
B、the definition of an air pollutant will continue to change
C、a substance becomes an air pollutant only in cities
D、most air pollutants today can be seen or smelled
答案B
解析 细节题。根据文章第一段Air poilution requires a very flexible definition thatpermits continuous change．“空气污染物的定义要求具有灵活性以适应不断的变化”和B选项“空气污染物的定义会继续发生变化”的表达一致。所以答案选B。
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