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  3. Acid Rain However, many advantages the industrial society brings us also have a down side. One of the adverse effects of i

Acid Rain However, many advantages the industrial society brings us also have a down side. One of the adverse effects of i

admin2013-10-11  37
问题                                    Acid Rain
      However, many advantages the industrial society brings us also have a down side. One of the adverse effects of industrialization is acid deposition due to power plants, fossil fuels and automobile emissions. Acid rain is the popular term but the scientists prefer the term acid deposition. Acid rain can have adverse effects on the environment by damaging forests and lakes, making it too difficult for many plants and animals to live.
     Charles Angus Smith, an Englishman, was the first to suggest, in 1852, that sulfuric acid in Manchester, England, was causing metal to rust and dyed goods to fade. One source that causes acid rain is fossil fuel. This energy source contributes 23.1 million tons of sulfur dioxide and 20.5 million tons of nitrogen oxides to our atmosphere worldwide. When fossil fuels are ignited, such as oil and coal, they release carbon dioxide, a so-called greenhouse gas that traps heat within the earth’s atmosphere, which causes global warming. Also, they release sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and metals such as mercury, aluminum into the atmosphere, which later can be carried a long distance from their source and be deposited as acid rain.
       Forests are a complex ecosystem that involves trees, soil, water, the air, climate and other living organisms that support the community of wildlife: animals, birds, insects and plants. The countries most affected by acid rain are in Europe. Central Europe faces a much greater threat since it has a large amount of forest area and about 8% of German’s forest face the lethal effect of acid rain. Acid rain kills about 50 million hectares of forest. Acid rain does not kill trees outright but weakens them to the point where they become susceptible to extremes of heat or cold, attacks from blight-causing or from inserts, and other environmental stresses.
      When acid rain falls into lakes and rivers, it destroys all living things and populations of fish, aquatic plant life and microorganisms decline. Fish just goes extinct because they simply fail to reproduce and become less and less abundant, until they die out.
      The result of acid rain is not only the destruction of forests and lakes, but also the corrosion of buildings and monuments. Almost every building of a major urban or industrial centre may be at risk from the corrosive effects of acid deposition and the rate of corrosion has increased dramatically in many urban areas. The Athenian monuments have got worst in the past 20～25 years as a result of pollution. Acid attack can also lead to stone decay through the creation of salt, which can crystallize and force apart mineral grains, causing the stone to disintegrate.
      As our society gets more advanced, there is also the rising effect of pollution. To stop the effect we need to find alternative ways to remove or replace fossil fuel that is responsible for acid rain.  The government needs to put stricter laws on the industries that pollute. People should find an efficient and alternative way to stop the pollution, because the effects of acid rain can be seen all round us, starling with forests and lakes, and in the heart of a city where the buildings and monuments are being eaten away by pollution.
The example of the Athenian monuments is given to show ______.
选项 A、the growing seriousness of the pollution
B、the alarming effect of increased pollution
C、the result of the air pollution caused by acid rain
D、the worst effect of the pollution caused by acid rain
答案B
解析 从理论上来说，所给的四项选择都有可能。作者举了雅典的例子就是要说明酸雨的污染作用越来越严重了：酸雨不仅破坏了动植物赖以生存的环境，而且直接污染了城市中心的建筑物。这是本段的主旨：The result of acid rain is not only the destruction of forests and lakes，but also the corrosion of buildings and monuments．同时，作者又举例说明了雅典建筑物受到了近年来最严重的污染：The Athenian m
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