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
The battle to prevent or at least slow global warming has intensified in the past year as scientists have learned more about the
The battle to prevent or at least slow global warming has intensified in the past year as scientists have learned more about the
admin
2019-09-30
109
问题
The battle to prevent or at least slow global warming has intensified in the past year as scientists have learned more about the magnitude of the problem. One of the leading climate experts, Inez Y. Fung, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Center at the University of California, Berkeley, recently showed that the earth may soon lose its ability to absorb much of the greenhouse gas that is raising temperatures. The oceans and continents currently soak up about half the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels. In the oceans, the gas combines with water to form carbonic acid; on land, plants take in more carbon dioxide and grow faster.
But computer modeling done by Fung and her colleagues indicates that these
carbon sinks
will become less effective as the earth continues to warm. For example, as the tropics become hotter and drier in the summer, plants will reduce their respiration of carbon dioxide to avoid water loss. Atmospheric measurements over the past decade have confirmed this effect. If the oceans and land take in less carbon dioxide, more will remain in the atmosphere and global warming could accelerate catastrophically. Despite these warning signs, the government administration has opposed approval of the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But nine states in the northeastern U.S. are attempting to sidestep the federal government’s opposition by taking action on their own. Last August the group reached a preliminary agreement to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 10 percent by 2020. The plan requires approval by the state legislatures, but environmentalists are already hoping that other regions of the U.S. will follow suit. If adopted nationwide, the proposal would lower greenhouse gas emissions by roughly as much as the Kyoto Protocol would have.
Steve Howard, chief executive of the Climate Group, is tackling the global-warming problem from a different angle. Founded in 2004, the Climate Group is a coalition of corporations and local governments that have voluntarily committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Members include oil giant BP (British Petroleum Co. PLC), drug-maker Johnson & Johnson, and Starbucks. Businesses in the Climate Group have discovered that improvements in energy efficiency can enhance profits as well as cut fossil-fuel emissions; BP, for instance, slashed its energy bills by $650 million over 10 years. "We have seen important evidence about successful emission reduction scattered here and there in the most surprising places all over the globe," Howard says. "We are working to bring all of it together so that it forms a body of evidence."
What does "carbon sinks" (Para. 2) mean?
选项
A、The process of producing greenhouse gas.
B、The gradual process of land submersion.
C、The absorbers of carbon dioxide.
D、The process of forming carbonic compounds.
答案
C
解析
词义理解题。题目问的是carbon sink的含义。第一段说的是陆地和海洋在吸收二氧化碳方面的作用,第二段通过But引起转折,指出这两种吸收体的效率将降低,因此carbon sink的意思为“二氧化碳的吸收体”,答案为C项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/wce4777K
0
考研英语二
相关试题推荐
Excitement,fatigue,andanxietycanallbedetectedfromsomeone’sblinks,accordingtopsychologistJohnStern(21)Washington
ManyAmericansregardthejurysystemasaconcreteexpressionofcrucialdemocraticvalues,includingtheprinciplesthatallc
IwasaddressingasmallgatheringinasuburbanVirginialivingroom-awomen’sgroupthathadinvitedmentojointhem.Through
Workingatnonstandardtimes—evenings,nights,orweekends—istakingitstollonAmericanfamilies.One-fifthofallemployedAm
IwasaddressingasmallgatheringinasuburbanVirginialivingroom—awomen’sgroupthathadinvitedmentojointhem.Through
Writingforanhistoricalseriesistricky,andtheoutcomeisnotalwaysasuccess.ThebestoverallEuropeanhistoryinEnglis
Writingforanhistoricalseriesistricky,andtheoutcomeisnotalwaysasuccess.ThebestoverallEuropeanhistoryinEnglis
Forthepastfiveyears,Dr.StephenPosthasbeenfundingresearchprojectsthattesthowaltruism(selflessness),compassion,a
Iamaddictedtoelectricity.Soareyou.Andsoisyourbusiness.Weliveinan"alwayson"world—airconditioners,streetlight
随机试题
替代品
女性几岁仍未开始性发育应考虑有性发育迟缓问题
清热药兼能
(2011年)按泵站在排水系统中的作用,可将排水泵站分为中途泵站和()。
个人外汇买卖业务多本着钞变钞、汇变汇的原则。下列说法不正确的有()。
某国游客在中国旅游期间自然死亡,按有关规定,若死者家属或()要求解剖,我方可同意,但必须有他们签字的书面请求。
马克思、恩格斯对无产阶级政党领导无产阶级和人民群众推进社会主义事业提出的基本准则和要求中,确立的分配原则是()
设3阶方阵A,B满足关系式A-1BA=6A+BA,且A=,则B=________.
关于TCP和UDP的说法,()是错误的。
Duringtheweek,Ihaveclasses______day,onMonday,WednesdayandFriday.
最新回复
(
0
)