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  3. In choosing a method for determining climatic conditions that existed in the past, paleoclimatologists invoke four principal cri

In choosing a method for determining climatic conditions that existed in the past, paleoclimatologists invoke four principal cri

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问题     In choosing a method for determining climatic conditions that existed in the past, paleoclimatologists invoke four principal criteria. First, the material— rocks, lakes, vegetation, etc—on which the method relies must be widespread enough to provide plenty of information, since analysis of material that is rarely encountered will not permit correlation with other regions or with other periods of geological history. Second, in the process of formation, the material must have received an environmental signal that reflects a change in climate and that can be deciphered by modern physical or chemical means. Third, at least some of the material must have retained the signal unaffected by subsequent changes in the environment. Fourth, it must be possible to determine the time at which the inferred climatic conditions held. This last criterion is more easily met in dating marine sediments, because dating of only a small number of layers in a marine sequence allows the age of other layers to be estimated fairly reliably by extrapolation and interpolation. By contrast, because sedimentation is much less continuous in continental regions, estimating the age of a continental bed from the known ages of beds above and below is more risky.
    One very old method used in the investigation of past climatic conditions involves the measurement of water levels in ancient lakes. In temperate regions, there are enough lakes for correlations between them to give us a reliable picture. In arid and semiarid regions, on the other hand, the small number of lakes and the great distances between them reduce the possibilities for correlation. Moreover, since lake levels are controlled by rates of evaporation as well as by precipitation, the interpretation of such levels is ambiguous. For instance, the fact that lake levels in the semiarid southwestern United States appear to have been higher during the last ice age than they are now was at one time attributed to increased precipitation. On the basis of snowline elevations, however, it has been concluded that the climate then was not necessarily wetter than it is now, but rather that both summers and winters were cooler, resulting in reduced evaporation.
    Another problematic method is to reconstruct former climates on the basis of pollen profiles. The type of vegetation in a specific region is determined by identifying and counting the various pollen grains found there. Although the relationship between vegetation and cli- mate is not as direct as the relationship between climate and lake levels, the method often works well in the temperate zones. In arid and semiarid regions in which there is not much vegetation, however, small changes in one or a few plant types can change the picture dramatically, making accurate correlations between neighboring areas difficult to obtain.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the study of past climates in arid and semiarid regions?
选项 A、It is sometimes more difficult to determine past climatic conditions in arid and semiarid regions than in temperate regions.
B、Although in the past more research has been done on temperate regions, paleoclimatologists have recently turned their attention to arid and semiarid regions.
C、Although more information about past climates can be gathered in arid and semiarid than in temperate regions, dating this information is more difficult.
D、It is difficult to study the climatic history of arid and semiarid regions because their climates have tended to vary more than those of temperate regions.
E、The study of past climates in arid and semiarid regions has been neglected because temperate regions support a greater variety of plant and animal life.
答案A
解析 关于干旱、半干旱区古气候研究，哪一点可从原文推出?A．正确。有时确定干旱、半干旱区古气候比温和湿润区要难。第二段湖水位法、第三段花粉测定法都能推出这个结论。B．过去研究温润区，现在学者更关注干旱区。原文无。C．干旱区过去气候资料能更多得到。无。D．“vary more”原文无。E．“neglected”原文未提。
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