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  3. Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat

Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat

admin2015-03-20  41
问题     Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat waves, wildfires and floods. Waiting without actions makes all three of those problems—and many more—worse.
    That was the serious warning from the world’s scientific community last week, in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC). The U.N.-chartered body produced its first comprehensive report since 2007 on the climate changes.
    There are some things the scientists are very confident will happen in a warming world over the next century. Sea levels will rise, threatening coastal cities and low-lying nations. Island states could get hit very hard. There are probably going to be relatively more extremely hot days than extremely cold ones, and food-borne illnesses will probably increase.
    But part of the risk of climate Change is that scientists don’t have a crystal ball to foretell how, exactly, the environment will respond to rising temperatures, and they are trying to predict effects over the course of decades. The experts anticipate that forests could die off and that wetland and rain forest ecosystems could crumble. They anticipate effects on water systems just about everywhere: more flooding in many places, less water in dry areas, more humidity inhibiting human labor in wetter climes.
    There could also be some positive effects for some, the experts note. They predict fewer deaths due to cold, but more due to heat. Some areas of the planet, particularly in higher latitudes, might be come more fertile. But lower crop yields elsewhere will outweigh those benefits. Indeed, the planet’s green lands along the equator might be much worse off. The scientists, for example, predict that fish and other aquatic life will flee elsewhere as ocean temperatures change. And, of course, there could be effects, good and bad, that the experts aren’t anticipating. That shouldn’t be comforting.
    The experts leave little doubt about the right response: Cut pollution to head off the worst possible consequences and prepare for the risks the world is unlikely to avoid, given its inability to slash emissions quickly. Delaying action, they note, reduces the world’s options and affords vulnerable people less time to cope. Isn’t it time we did something?
Climate change may cause the following disasters EXCEPT______.
选项 A、floods will erode highland soil
B、coastal cities will be threatened
C、low-lying nations will be affected by higher sea level
D、wetland and rain forest ecosystems could be in great danger
答案A
解析 根据第二段中的Sea levels will rise,threatening coastal cities and low-lying nations．及第五段中的Some areas of the planet，particularly in higher latitudes，might become morefertile可知，洪水并没有对地势高的地区造成危害，故A项描述错误，为题目要求的答案。这两句中的前一句说明了B项“沿海城市将受到威胁”、C项“低洼国家将受到海平面上升的影响”描述正确。第四段中的The experts anticipate that forests could die off and that wetlandand rain forest ecosystems could crumble说明D项“湿地和雨林生态系统将处于危险之中”描述正确。
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