首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The thousands of people forced to abandon their homes in recent weeks to floodwaters are victims not just of nature but of human
The thousands of people forced to abandon their homes in recent weeks to floodwaters are victims not just of nature but of human
admin
2015-05-28
77
问题
The thousands of people forced to abandon their homes in recent weeks to floodwaters are victims not just of nature but of human error as well. Years of mismanagement of the vast Mississippi River ecosystem—the continuous and often inadvisable construction of levees (堤坝) and navigation (导航)channels, the paving over of wetlands, the commercial development of flood plains—have made the damage worse than it might otherwise have been.
The Obama administration is now completing an inspection of the guidelines governing dams, levees and other water-related projects built with federal money.
Historically, projects had been shaped by two main factors: the Army Corps of Engineers’ conviction that nature can be subdued by levees and dams, and its reflexive green-lighting of any flood control project that encouraged commercial or agricultural development. The new rules, Congress said, should require the Corps and other federal agencies to give equal weight to less easily measurable benefits like wildlife habitat and to "nonstructural" solutions to flood control like preserving wetlands, flood plains and other " natural systems. "
To give the Corps its due, it has performed nobly in the present emergency. Its main-stem levees have held. Its decision to blow holes in levees guarding the New Madrid floodway in Missouri clearly saved Cairo, Illinois, and other places downstream. These methods had long been part of Corps emergency plans, and they worked.
The question the environmental community and many in Congress are asking is whether this would have been necessary if the river had been better managed. In populated areas, some levees were built solely to attract more development, while others closed off flood plains that could have acted as a natural safety valve.
Meanwhile, over the years, the upper Mississippi watershed has lost millions of acres of wetlands that could have served as a natural sponge for floodwaters.
So-called 100-year floods seemed to be hitting the Mississippi with scary regularity—a $ 16 billion flood in 1993, a bad one in 2001, another in 2008, and now this one. Climate change, which some suspect of causing violent downpours, may be part of the problem, though the connection is unclear. What is clear is that we should learn from our mistakes, let nature help out where it can, and not build or farm in places where it makes no sense to do so. As the saying goes, nobody ever beats the river.
What is the author’s assessment of the Corps?
选项
A、It has done nothing useful in flood control.
B、It has caused great damage to the ecosystem.
C、It has played an important role in emergency.
D、It has justified its projects effectively.
答案
C
解析
题干中的assessment意为“评价”,据此判断本题考查的是作者对工兵部队的看法。定位句中的短语give sb.one’s due意为“公正地对待某人”。作者认为应公正地评价工兵部队,它在当前的危机中表现出色,由此判断C“它在紧急情况下发挥了重要作用”为答案。A“它在控制洪水中没有发挥任何作用”和原文意思不符,故排除;B“它给生态系统造成了极大破坏”夸大了原文意思,故排除;D“它已经证明了它所建造工程的有效性”原文未提及,故排除。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/XUl7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Onmylastvisit,aboutthreemonthsago,mydoctorhadtoldmethatasa6-foot-tall,39-year-oldman,Ishouldweigharound18
Volumeshavebeenwrittenabouttechnology’sabilitytoconnectpeople.Butburyingone’snoseinabookhasalwaysbeensomewha
Thereareplentyofstudieswhichshowthatdogsactassocialcatalysts(催化剂),helpingtheirownersforgeintimate,long-termre
Ifyou’vebeenfollowingthestatusofArcticseaiceforthepastfewyears,hearingscientists【C1】______thepotentialcomingo
WhenCaptainCookaskedthechiefsinTahitiwhytheyalwaysate【B1】______,theyreplied,"Becauseitisright."IfweaskAmeri
A、Becauseitisreallytoughforparentstoenforcebedtime.B、Becauseitisbiologicallydifficultforstudentstoriseearly.
A、Eachquestioninaformmustbeanswered.B、Everythinginaformmustbereadcarefully.C、Somethingofyourinterestismost
中国人有在清明节扫墓祭祖和踏青插柳的习俗。每到清明节,家家户户都要到郊外去祭扫祖先的坟墓。人们为坟墓除去杂草,添加新土,在坟前点上香(incense),摆上食物和纸钱,表示对祖先的思念和敬意。清明时节,树木发芽,到处一片新绿,呈现出生机盎然的景色。人们会到
Moreandmoreforeignstudentsexperiencetheirindependentlifeinthequesttogainawesterneducation.They【B1】______anunfa
A、Hehasalreadytakenapictureoftheflowers.B、Hedoesn’tknowhowtousethecamera.C、Hedoesn’tthinktheflowersareb
随机试题
关于硬脊膜,下列叙述哪些正确()
互动投影技术是通过捕捉设备(感应器)对目标影像(如参与者等)进行捕捉拍摄,然后由影像分析系统分析,从而产生被捕捉物体的动作,该动作数据结合实时影像互动系统呈现,使参与者与屏幕之间产生紧密结合的互动效果。根据上述定义,下列体现了互动投影技术的是:
设函数z=μ2lnν,而μ=,ν=3x一2y,则=()
在血清蛋白质醋酸纤维素薄膜电泳图谱中
关于Crozat矫治器的适应症,不正确的是
(2016年)2014年3月5日,机床生产商甲公司向乙公司出售机床20台,每台20万元。乙公司因资金周转困难,欲向丙银行贷款400万元,并与甲公司约定:“仅在乙公司的400万元银行借款于2014年6月2日前到账时,机床买卖合同始生效。”2014年4月2日
教育学作为一门独立学科,发端于()
【B1】【B5】
CounselingTeamandtheServices1.CounselingteamNaomiFlynna.Targeting:ThosewhohaveneverusedacounselorbeforeThose
Atop-leveldomainisthepartofanInternetaddressafterthedot.Themostcommonofwhatarecalledgenerictop-leveldomain
最新回复
(
0
)