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 concept of obtaining fresh water from icebergs that are towed to populated regions of the world was once treated as a joke m
The concept of obtaining fresh water from icebergs that are towed to populated regions of the world was once treated as a joke m
admin
2014-09-28
62
问题
The concept of obtaining fresh water from icebergs that are towed to populated regions of the world was once treated as a joke more appropriate to cartoons than real life. But now it is being considered quite seriously by many nations, especially since scientists have warned that the human race will outgrow its fresh water supply faster than it runs out of food.
Glaciers are a possible source of fresh water that have been overlooked until recently. Three quarters of the Earth’s fresh water supply is still tied up in glacial ice, a reservoir of untapped fresh water so immense that it could sustain all the rivers of the world for 1, 000 years. Floating on the oceans every year are 7, 659 trillion metric tons of ice encased in 10, 000 icebergs that break away from the polar ice caps, more than ninety percent of them from Antarctica.
Huge glaciers that stretch over the shallow continental shelf give birth to icebergs throughout the year. Icebergs are not like sea ice, which is formed when the sea itself freezes; rather, they are formed entirely on land, breaking off when glaciers spread over the sea. As they drift away from the polar region, icebergs sometimes move mysteriously in a direction opposite to the wind, pulled by subsurface currents. Because they melt more slowly than smaller pieces of ice, icebergs have been known to drift as far north as 35 degrees south of the equator in the Atlantic ocean. To corral them and steer them to parts of the world where they are needed would not be too difficult.
The difficulty arises in other technical matters, such as the prevention of rapid melting in warmer climates and the funneling of fresh water to shore in great volume. But even if the icebergs lost half of their volume in towing, the water they could provide would be far cheaper than that produced by desalination, or removing salt from water.
The main idea of the passage is about______.
选项
A、the movement of glaciers
B、icebergs as a source of fresh water
C、future water shortages
D、the future of the world’s rivers
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/pvXd777K
本试题收录于:
公共英语五级笔试题库公共英语(PETS)分类
0
公共英语五级笔试
公共英语(PETS)
相关试题推荐
WhatarethecharacteristicsofStandardEnglish?WhichofthefollowingfactorsdidnotcontributetotheLondondialectbecom
Themid-19thcenturytimetravelerswouldnotbesurprisedbytoday’sInternetbecause______.Thethemeofthepassageis____
Anewstudyonbirds’sleephasrevealedthat______.Theexampleofabirdsleepinginfrontofamirrorindicatesthat______
Whereispopulationgrowthhappening?
StrongYuanPreventsAsia-wideCollapseCHINAwillcontinuetokeeptheyuanstablethisyear,saidanarticleintheFinanc
A=TheNewEnglandRegionB=TheMiddleAtlanticRegionC=TheSouthRegionWhichregion...ANewEnglandconsists
______isoriginallyaretrieverbutnowbecomesmainlyapet?______isnotoriginatedinGermany?
What’sthebasicdifferencebetweenEnglishfootballandAmericanfootball?
Germany,Italy(and)Russia
ThepagesoftheHarvardBusinessReviewarenotusuallypopulatedbynovelists.ButJosephFinderisjustsuchararity.Recent
随机试题
精益生产方式的关键是实行________。
Amanoncesaidhowuselessitwastoputadvertisementsinthenewspapers."Lastweek,"saidhe,"myumbrellawasstolenfroma
“夺血者无汗,夺汗者无血”的理论依据是()
在正常条件下能作频繁起动用的低电控制和保护器有()。
下列各项,属于流动负债的有()。
营运能力是指通过借款人()的有关指标反映出来的资产利用效率,它表明企业管理人员经营、管理和运用资产的能力。
我国正处在经济转型升级时期,下列属于银行业案件多发的内部因素的是()
在社会主义的发展动力问题上,强调()。
关于滥用职权罪,下列说法不正确的是()
以下叙述中错误的是()。
最新回复
(
0
)