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
Biosphere II was a spectacular failure. The gleaming glass-and-concrete habitat sprawling across the desert in Oracle, Arizona,
Biosphere II was a spectacular failure. The gleaming glass-and-concrete habitat sprawling across the desert in Oracle, Arizona,
admin
2011-01-04
27
问题
Biosphere II was a spectacular failure. The gleaming glass-and-concrete habitat sprawling across the desert in Oracle, Arizona, was supposed to support eight human "biospheri-ans" for two years, but the seal has to be broken before the experiment ended in 1993. Oxygen had fallen to levels normally seen at an elevation of 17,500 feet. Nitrous oxide had risen to the point where it threatened to cause brain damage. The fresh water supply became contaminated, and vines smothered(厚厚地覆盖)food plants. Insect pollinators(传授花粉的生物)and many other species became extinct. By the end, Biosphere II was overrun with swarms of ants and cockroaches.
Scientists who gathered recently to review the Biosphere II experiment reached a disturbing conclusion: "No one yet knows how to engineer systems that provide humans with the life-supporting services that natural ecosystems produce for free. "
The problem is that these ecosystems are undergoing wrenching changes. Water and air quality, while improving in some regions, are deteriorating in many others. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are climbing. The world’s population could reach 10 billion by 2050. And famed Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson says the current rate of species losses puts us "in the midst of one of the great extinction spasms (突然迸发) of geological history. " All of which makes many ecologists wonder whether humans too will soon become extinct. It’s an incredibly important but incredibly difficult question. If we continue on this course, we’re heading for a world in which we will have to engineer services we’ve always received for free from nature. That’s why the failure of Biosphere II was so disturbing: It proves that we don’t yet know how to do that.
The Biosphere II experience demonstrated that maintaining human life is a tricky proposition, especially if we can no longer rely on the services provided by natural ecosystems. If we are currently living through a mass extinction, as Wilson believes, we should consider the past. In the great Permian extinction 245 million years ago, 96 percent of species perished. Eventually, the Earth was repopulated with a rich collection of new species, but it took 100 million years. "That should give pause to anyone who believes that what Homo sapiens(现代人) destroys, nature will redeem," Wilson says. "Maybe so, but not within any length of time that has meaning for contemporary humanity. "
The seal of the Biosphere II had to be broken before the experiment ended because______.
选项
A、the bad climate of the desert made the human biospherians ill
B、the poisonous air caused brain damage of the human biospherians
C、the ecosystems in it became so bad that the human biospherians can’t live
D、the human biospherians were defeated by swarms of ants and cockroaches
答案
C
解析
事实细节题。文中第一段“has to be broken before the experiment ended.Oxygen had fallen to levels normally seen at an elevation…cockroaches"中可以看出氧气 浓度下降、氧化亚氮含量超高、水资源污染、许多昆虫及其他物种绝迹是人类无法生存其中、生态圈提前开启的重要原因。文中C选项表达的亦为此意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/pcHO777K
0
在职攻硕英语联考
相关试题推荐
(中国矿业大学2007年试题)TheIndiansrisesoonasitislight,thechildrenrundowntotherivertoswim,thewomangotothecreek
(中国矿业大学2015年试题)Oneofthemostfascinatingfieldsofpsychologyismemory.Thispassageisgoingto【C1】______afewthingsab
(中国矿业大学2015年试题)Oneofthemostfascinatingfieldsofpsychologyismemory.Thispassageisgoingto【C1】______afewthingsab
Hereissomeadviceonfoodshopping.The【C1】______familyspendsaboutone-sixthofitsincome【C2】______food.Becausefoodisex
Intoday’smedicalfield,littleagreementexistsonthe______fordefiningmentalillness.
Thegreatchariotofsociety,whichforsolonghadrundownthegentleslopeoftradition,nowfounditselfpoweredbyaninter
Cultureisactivityofthought,andreceptivenesstobeautyandhumanefeeling.【C1】______ofinformationhavenothingtodowith
Morethan50yearsago,thepsychologistCarlRogerssuggestedthatsimplylovingourchildrenwasn’tenough.Wehavetoloveth
Writeashortcompositionofabout250to300wordsonthetopicgivenbelow:Topic:China’sAutoIndustry
Moods,saytheexperts,areemotionsthattendtobecomefixed,influencingone’soutlookforhours,daysorevenweeks.That’s
随机试题
A.右下肺文变阴影B.右下肺炎性阴影伴空洞有液平C.双下肺环状、卷发状阴影D.两肺多发性结节阴影支气管扩张
A.肺内压B.胸膜腔内压C.肺泡表面张力D.跨肺压E.跨胸壁压有助于肺保持扩张状态的是
关于合同中的技术标准和图纸地位的说法,不正确的是()。
企业已经确认销售商品收入发生销售折让时,应冲减当月的销售商品收入,不应该冲减销售商品的成本和相应的增值税销项税额。()
根据以下资料,回答下列问题。2006年某省从事高新技术产品出口的企业共计1.65万家,比2002年翻了一番。各类企业在数量上保持了增长态势,其中国有企业数量比2002年增长11%,合资企业数量增长23%,外商与港澳台商独资企业数量增长了1.5倍,集体企业
一台安装了签名识别软件的电脑——这种软件仅限于那些在文档中签名的人进入计算机——不仅通过分析签名的形状,而且通过分析诸如笔尖的压力和签名的速度等特征来识别某人的签名。即使是最机灵的伪造者也不能复制该程序能分析的所有特征。以下哪项结论能合逻辑地从上述陈述中推
A、连续但不可偏导B、可偏导但不连续C、可微D、一阶连续可偏导C
Aspartofmorecomprehensivecomplianceandethicsprograms,manycompanieshaveformulatedinternalpoliciespertainingtothe
Itisconsideredunwisetogiveachild______heorshewants.
A、Takesomeextratime.B、Putdownwhateverideasshehasfirst.C、Dosomeworkforanothercourse.D、Writethestoryendingfir
最新回复
(
0
)