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
考研
Fate has not been kind to the western grey whale. Its numbers have dwindled to 130 or so, leaving it “critically endangered” in
Fate has not been kind to the western grey whale. Its numbers have dwindled to 130 or so, leaving it “critically endangered” in
admin
2014-06-13
46
问题
Fate has not been kind to the western grey whale. Its numbers have dwindled to 130 or so, leaving it “critically endangered” in the eyes of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Fishing-nets, speeding ships, pollution and coastal development threaten the few that remain. Most recently, drilling for oil and gas in their main summer feeding grounds, near Sakhalin island off Russia’s Pacific coast, has brought fresh risks for the luckless creatures. Yet the rush to develop Sakhalin’s offshore fields may yet be the saviour of the species.
When drilling was first discussed in the 1990s, there were muted complaints. When a consortium called Sakhalin. Energy, led by Royal Dutch Shell, announced plans to build an oil platform and lay pipelines in the only bay where the whales were known to congregate, these protests proliferated.
In response, the consortium established an independent panel to advise it on how best to protect the whales and promised to fund its work. It subsequently agreed to change the route of the pipeline at the panel’s suggestion, although it refused to move the platform, as other critics had demanded. It also agreed either to follow the panel’s recommendations in future or to explain publicly why it was rejecting them.
The platforms and pipelines are now complete. Sakhalin Energy exported its first cargo of liquefied natural gas last week. The project, says Shell, is an engineering triumph and a commercial success despite all the controversy.
But has it been a success for the whales? Sakhalin Energy says their number seems to be growing by 2.5% a year, although Ian Craig, the firm’s boss, admits that the cause might be greater scrutiny rather than population growth. The scientists on the panel still seem worried. They complain that the firm has not always provided the information they need to assess the threat to the whales. It also has not always followed advice, the scientists’ advice about how noisy construction might scare the animals away, for example, or the speed that boats should travel to minimize the risk of hitting the whales. The scientists warn that the loss of just a few fertile females would be enough to tip the population into irrevocable decline. Last summer, there seemed to be far fewer whales around than normal.
On the other hand, the panel knows this only because Sakhalin Energy funds lots of research on the whales. As a result, it has discovered that they have a wider range than originally thought, which might explain why so few of them showed up off Sakhalin island last year.
Therefore, it is hard to escape the conclusion that, for creatures with a lot as sorry as the western grey whale, a nearby oil project is something of a blessing.
Sakhalin Energy supports the panel’s work
选项
A、unconditionally.
B、enthusiastically.
C、half heartedly.
D、earnestly.
答案
C
解析
推理判断题。由第三段首句可知萨哈林能源公司承诺要为专家组的工作提供资金支持;同时文章在第五段第四句的复杂句处又提到,专家们抱怨该集团有时不给他们提供研究所需的信息,也不听他们的建议。综合两处,可知[C]正确。[A]“无条件地”、[B]“热情地”、[D]“认真地”与文章中的语气不符。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/sOO4777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Thefollowingparagraphsaregiveninawrongorder,youarerequiredtoreorganizetheseparagraphsintoacoherentarticleby
Theearliestcontroversiesabouttherelationshipbetweenphotographyandartcenteredonwhetherphotographer’sfidelitytoapp
Inthefollowingtext,somesentenceshavebeenremoved.ForQuestions41-45,choosethemostsuitableonefromthelist(A、B、C、
ThetextsuggeststhatthewealthypeopleintheU.S.______Accordingtothetext,themostimportantfactortoperfecttaxsy
(46)Afavouritepredictionofenvironmentalismhasbittenthedust—toomanynaturalresources,ratherthantoofew,arethecaus
EducationisallenormousandexpensivepartofAmericanlife.Itssizeismatchedbyitsvariety.DifferencesinAmericans
Oneofthesilliestthingsinourrecenthistorywastheuseof"Victorian"asatermofcontemptorabuse.Ithadbeenmadefas
HuBing,oneofyourfriends,failedinthelastIELTSandisupset.Writealettertohimto1)expressyourpity,pointoutth
Thechildrenprefercampinginthemountains______anindooractivity.
随机试题
傣族普遍信奉的佛教为()。
预计该婴儿可以完成的动作是在感知觉发育上,预计该婴儿可以
依据《企业安全生产标准化基本规范》(GB/T33000),工程发包单位和承包商在依法签订工程合同的同时,必须签订安全协议。下列关于安全协议的内容中,正确的是()。
“财务费用”账户的贷方登记()。
下列关于消费税纳税地点的说法,符合现行政策规定的是()。
因住宅室内装饰装修活动造成相邻住宅的管道堵塞、渗漏水、停水停电、物品毁坏等,()应当负责修复和赔偿。
培训取得高层领导支持的最有效的方式就是提供一份详细的()。
一位长期从事醉酒及酒精中毒研究的医生发现,一般情况下,醉酒者的暴力倾向高于未饮酒者或适度饮酒者。据此,该医生断定,具有暴力倾向的人容易喝醉酒。以下哪项严重削弱了这位医生的断定?
根据以下资料,回答下列问题:当前我国既处于发展的重要战略机遇期,又处于社会矛盾凸显期。要充分认识新形势下加强和创新社会管理的重大意义,统筹经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设以及生态文明建设,把社会管理工作摆在更加突出的位置。社会管理
inclusivegrowth
最新回复
(
0
)