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 Truth about the Environment A)For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hit-lis
The Truth about the Environment A)For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hit-lis
admin
2015-01-31
73
问题
The Truth about the Environment
A)For many environmentalists, the world seems to be getting worse. They have developed a hit-list our main fears: that natural resources are running out; that the population is ever growing, leaving less and less to eat; that species are becoming extinct in vast numbers, and that the planet’ s air and water are becoming ever more polluted.
B)But a quick look at the facts shows a different picture. First, energy and other natural resources have become more abundant, not less so, since the book ’ The Limits to Growth’ was published in 1972 by a group of scientists. Second, more food is now produced per head of the world’ s population than at any time in history. Fewer people are starving.
C)Third, although species are indeed becoming extinct, only about 0.7% of them are expected to disappear in the next 50 years, not 25-50%, as has so often been predicted. And finally, most forms of environmental pollution either appear to have been exaggerated, or are transient-associated with the early phase of industrialisation and therefore best cured not by restricting economic growth, but by accelerating it. One form of pollution—the release of greenhouse gases that causes global warming-does appear to be a phenomenon that is going to extend well into our future, but its total impact is unlikely to pose a devastating problem. A bigger problem may well turn out to be an inappropriate response to it.
D)Yet opinion polls suggest that many people nurture the belief that environmental standards are declining and four factors seem to cause this disjunction between perception and reality.
E)One is the lopsidedness built into scientific research. Scientific funding goes mainly to areas with many problems. That may be wise policy, but it will also create an impression that many more potential problems exist than is the case.
F)Secondly, environmental groups need to be noticed by the mass media. They also need to keep the money rolling in. Understandably, perhaps, they sometimes overstate their arguments. In 1997, for example, the World Wide Fund for nature issued a press release entitled: "Two third of the world’ s forest lost forever". The truth turns out to be nearer 20%.
G)Though these groups are run overwhelmingly by selfless folk, they nevertheless share many of the characteristics of scepticism to environmental lobbying as they do to lobby groups in other fields. A trade organisation arguing for, say, weaker pollution controls is instantly seen as self-interested. Yet a green organisation opposing such a weakening is seen as altruistic, even if an impartial view of the controls in question might suggest they are doing more harm than good.
H)A third source of confusion is the attitude of the media. People are clearly more curious about bad news than good. Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants. That, however, can lead to significant distortions of perception. An example was America’s encounter with EI Nino in 1997 and 1998.This climatic phenomenon was accused of working tourism, causing allergies, melting the ski-slopes and causing 22 deaths.
I)However, according to an article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the damage it did was estimated at US$4 billion but the benefits amounted to some US$19 billion. These came from higher winter temperatures(which saved an estimated 850 lives, reduced heating costs and diminished spring floods caused by meltwaters).
J)The fourth factor is poor individual perception. People worry that the endless rise in the amount of stuff everyone throws away will cause the world to run out of places to dispose of waste. Yet, even if the America’s trash output continues to rise as it has done in the past, and even if the American population doubles by 2100, all the rubbish America produces through the entire 21st century will still take up only one-12,000th of the area of the entire United States.
K)So what of globe warming? As we know, carbon dioxide emissions are causing the planet to warm. The best estimates are that the temperatures will rise by 2 °C ~3 °C in this century, causing considerable problems, at a total cost of US$5,000 billion.
L)Despite the intuition that something drastic needs to be done about such a costly problem, economic analyses clearly show it will be far more expensive to cut carbon dioxide emissions radically than to pay the costs of adaptation to the increased temperature increase of 1.9 degrees. Or to put it another way, the temperature increase that the planet would have experienced in 2094 would be postponed to 2100.
M)So this does not prevent global warming, but merely buys the world six years. Yet the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, for the United States alone, will be higher than the cost of solving the world’s single, most pressing health problem: providing universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation. Such measures would have experienced in 2094 would be postponed to 2100. So this does not prevent global warming, but merely buys and world six years. Yet the cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, for the United States alone, will be higher than the cost of solving the world’ s single, most pressing health problem: providing universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation. Such measures would avoid 2 million deaths every year, and prevent half a billion people from becoming seriously ill.
N)It is crucial that we look at the facts if we want to make the best possible decisions for the future. It may be costly to be overly optimistic—but more costly still to be too pessimistic.
Newspapers print items that are intended to meet readers’ expectations.
选项
答案
H
解析
题干意为,新闻条目意图满足读者的期待。定位于原文H段第三句“Newspapers and broadcasters are there to provide what the public wants.”“meetreaders’expectations”与“provide what the public wants”为近义改写。因此,正确答案是H。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/y3h7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Manyprivateinstitutionsofhighereducationaroundthecountryareindanger.Notallwillbesaved,andperhapsnotall【B1】__
Manyprivateinstitutionsofhighereducationaroundthecountryareindanger.Notallwillbesaved,andperhapsnotall【B1】__
Lowlevelsofliteracyandnumeracyhaveadamagingimpactonalmosteveryaspectofadultlife,accordingtoasurveypublished
Lowlevelsofliteracyandnumeracyhaveadamagingimpactonalmosteveryaspectofadultlife,accordingtoasurveypublished
Musicians—fromkaraokesingerstoprofessionalcelloplayers—arebetterabletoheartargetedsoundsinanoisyenvironment,
Musicians—fromkaraokesingerstoprofessionalcelloplayers—arebetterabletoheartargetedsoundsinanoisyenvironment,
A、AmericansarehappierthanEuropeans.B、TheGDPofEuropeishigherthanthatofAmerica.C、Peopleallovertheworldchooset
Researchersareincreasinglyinterestedinmanipulatingtheenvironmentearlyinchildren’sliveswhentheyareperceivedtobe
Forthousandsofyearsmanhasexploitedandoftendestroyedtherichesofland.Nowmancovets(觊觎)thewealthoftheoceans.Eve
A、She’shappythatthestudentcenterisgettingmorecomputers.B、She’llletthemanusehercomputer.C、Shehopestotakeast
随机试题
膜式蒸发器中,适用于易结晶、结垢物料的是()。
原发性肝癌早期转移途径为()
骨关节结核病人,若体质极度虚弱,发热,脉速,冷脓肿继发感染,皮肤红热,脓肿黏稠而又不能耐受较大手术者,应进行下列哪项局部处理
能发挥生理作用的血钙是
下列不属于城市对外交通的综合布局中应考虑的原则的是()。
某工程项目业主采用工程量清单计价方式公开招标确定了承包人,双方签订了工程承包合同,合同工期为6个月。合同中的清单项目及费用包括:分项工程项目4项,总费用为200万元,相应专业措施费用为16万元;安全文明施工措施费用为6万元;计日工费用为3万元;暂列金额
我国利率市场化的基本方式有()。
投保人故意造成被保险人死亡、伤残或疾病的,保险人虽不承担给付保险金的责任,但若投保人已交足1年以上保费,保险人应向其他权利人退还保险单的现金价值。()
甲科技公司(以下简称甲公司)开发出一种新型保健技术,为将该技术转化为产品,甲公司与乙企业签订了技术合同。合同约定:资金、设备、材料等物质条件由乙企业提供,研究开发工作全部由甲公司负责。为使开发顺利进行,乙企业决定投资兴建一座新技术试验楼。经过必要的程序,乙
假设是两个变量之间的关系假定,如假设“社会工作者应变能力越强,服务对象出现积极改变的可能越大”,属于()。
最新回复
(
0
)