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
30
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.
Scientists are sure that
选项
A、the number of the whales is rising slowly by a small percentage.
B、greater scrutiny of the whale population explains the growing number.
C、the whales are in an irrevocable decline despite all their efforts.
D、the whales have other summer habitats besides Sakhalin’s offshore.
答案
D
解析
事实细节题。倒数第二段末句为一个多重复合句,该句提到,专家组发现灰鲸有了更广阔的活动区域,所以去年夏天在萨哈林岛海域只发现了数量很少的灰鲸。所以,[D]正确。萨哈林能源公司称,灰鲸的数量每年似乎增长了2.5%,但并不确定,且不是科学家们的看法,故排除[A];[B]、[C]分别是对第五段第二句和倒数第二句的错误理解。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/zOO4777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
By"MiucciaPradawasobviouslybitinghernails"(Paragraph1),theauthormeansItcaninferredfromthetextthat
SoBig.Fdamagedcomputerprogramsmainlyby______.Whichofthefollowingbestdefinestheword"doctored"(Para.1)?
Thefollowingparagraphsaregiveninawrongorder,youarerequiredtoreorganizetheseparagraphsintoacoherentarticleby
Investmentinthepublicsector,suchaselectricity,irrigation,publicservicesandtransport(excludingvehicles,shipsandp
Intherelationshipofeducationtobusinessweobservetodayafinestateofparadox.Ontheonehand,theemphasiswhichmost
Whentheworldwasasimplerplace,therichwerefat,thepoorwerethin,andright-thinkingpeopleworriedabouthowtofeedt
[A]RefuseGimmicks[B]BeWaryofPriceLevels[C]SayNotoUselessThings[D]NeverPayListPrice[E]StanduptoTemptation
Fatehasnotbeenkindtothewesterngreywhale.Itsnumbershavedwindledto130orso,leavingit"criticallyendangered"in
Themostexcitingkindofeducationisalsothemostpersonal.Nothingcan【C1】______thejoyofdiscoveringforyourselfsomethin
Duringrecentyearswehaveheardmuchabout"race";howthisracedoescertainthingsandthatracebelievescertainthingsan
随机试题
A.简化口腔卫生指数(OHI—S)B.龈指数(GI)C.龈沟出血指数(SBI)D.探诊出血(BOP)E.牙周指数(PI)适用于流行病学调查和临床疗效评价牙龈炎症程度,但对炎症较重的人群有缺陷的是
慢性肾衰竭患者最早出现与最常见的症状是
在下列组织机构形式中,具有集中领导、职责清晰,但各职能部门之间的横向联系差,信息传递路线长等特点的是()组织机构形式。
2014年1月18日,荣昌商贸有限责任公司(以下简称荣昌公司)从龙腾公司购进一批货物,同时向龙腾公司开具一张商业承兑汇票,用于货款结算。荣昌公司开具商业承兑汇票时,将付款人填写为“荣晶商贸有限责任公司”,出票日期填写为“贰零壹壹年壹月拾捌日”,收款人未填写
甲公司向乙公司购买一批货物,双方签订的买卖合同约定,由本合同发生的一切纠纷,由W市仲裁委员会仲裁。后因货物质量存在问题,双方发生争议,甲公司向W市人民法院提起诉讼,则下列说法中正确的是()。
涉税专业服务机构可以包括()。
形式训练说所涉及的迁移本质上是()。
()是按照班级授课制的培养目标和教育规范组织起来的,以共同学习活动和直接人际交往为特征的社会心理共同体。
以优惠价出售日常家用小商品的零售商通常有上千雇员,其中大多数只能领取最低工资,随着国家法定的最低工资额的提高,零售商的人力成本也随之大幅度提高。但是,零售商的利润非但没有降低,反而提高了。以下哪项如果为真,最有助于解释上述看来矛盾的现象?
当一台主机要解析域名为www.abc.com的IP地址时,如果这台主机配置的域名服务器为215.12.66.89,因特网顶级服务器为10.2.8.6;而存储www.abc.com与其1P地址对应关系的域名为215.120.18.5,那么这台主机解析该域名将
最新回复
(
0
)