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  3. In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue

In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue

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问题     In the United States, the need to protect plant and animal species has become a highly controversial and sharply political issue since the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The act, designed to protect species’ living areas, and policies that preserve land and forests competes with economic interest. In the 1990’s, for example, the woodcutters in the Western United States were challenged legally in their attempt to cut trees for timber in the Cascade Mountains. The challenge was mounted to protect the endangered spotted owl (猫头鹰), whose remaining population occupies these forests and requires the intact, ancient forest for survival. The problematic situation set the interests of environmentalists against those of corporations and of individuals who stood to lose jobs. After months of debate and legal battles, the fate of the woodcutters—and the owls—was still undecided in mid-1992.
    Similar tensions exist between the developed and the developing nations. Many people in industrialized nations, for example, believe that developing nations in tropical regions should do more to protect their rain forests and other natural areas. But the developing countries may be impoverished (使穷困)，with populations growing so rapidly that using the land is a means to temporarily avoid worsening poverty and starvation.
    Many of the changes to Earth that concern scientists have the potential to rob the planet of its biological richness. The destruction of Earth’s ozone layer (臭氧层)，for example, could contribute to the general process of impoverishment by allowing ultra-violet rays to harm plants and animals. And global warming could wipe out species unable to quickly adapt to changing climates. Clearly, protecting Earth’s biological diversity is a complex problem. But solutions to humanity’s current problems will come only through coordinated international efforts to control human population, stabilize the composition of the atmosphere, and preserve intact Earth’s complex web of life.  
Among "humanity’s current problems" (Line 6, Para. 3), the chief concern of the scientists is______.
选项 A、the impoverishment of developing countries
B、the explosion of the human population
C、the reduction of biological diversity
D、the effect of global warming
答案C
解析 本题问在人类面临的问题中，科学家主要关注的是什么。根据文章第三段第一句我们知道，目前科学家关注的人类给地球带来的所有变化都是在使这一星球丧失其生物的丰富性，而这种情况最终会导致物种的灭绝。由此可见，科学家最关注的问题是目前生物资源正在不断减少。因此，本题的正确答案应是选项C“生物多样性的减少”。
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