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Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat

admin2015-03-28  75
问题     Humans are having a hard enough time coping with the natural variability in our environment, which causes disasters such as heat waves, wildfires and floods. Just wait until climate change makes all three of those problems — and many more — worse.
    That was the stern warning from the world’s scientific community last week, in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The U.N.-chartered body produced its first comprehensive report since 2007 on the changes that might accompany a rising global temperature and on humanity’s potential to cope with them. It isn’t encouraging.
    There are some things the scientists are very confident will happen in a warming world over the next century. Sea levels will rise, threatening coastal cities and low-lying nations. Island states could get hit very hard. There are probably going to be relatively more extremely hot days than extremely cold ones, and water-and food-borne illnesses will probably increase. Various sections of North America will probably be drier and more prone to wildfires, while cities will likely see more urban floods. But part of the peril (危险) of climate change is that scientists don’t have a crystal ball (占卜用的水晶球) to foretell how, exactly, the environment will respond to rising temperatures. The experts anticipate that forests could die off and that wetland and rain forest ecosystems could crumble. They anticipate effects on water systems just about everywhere: more flooding in many places, less water in dry areas, more humidity inhibiting human labor in wetter climes.
    There could also be some positive effects for some, the experts note. They predict fewer deaths due to cold, but more due to heat. Some areas of the planet, particularly in higher latitudes, might become more fertile. But lower crop yields elsewhere will outweigh those benefits. Indeed, the planet’s verdant lands along the equator might be much worse off. The scientists, for example, predict that fish and other aquatic life will flee elsewhere as ocean temperatures change. And, of course, there could be effects, good and bad, that the experts aren’t anticipating. That shouldn’t be comforting.
    The experts leave little doubt about the right response: Cut pollution to head off the worst possible consequences and prepare for the risks the world is unlikely to avoid, given its inability to slash emissions quickly. Delaying action, they note, reduces the world’s options and affords vulnerable people less time to cope.
    How much change should be headed off with emissions cuts now, and how much will we simply have to cope with? How much should we pay to prepare for the risks we are unwilling to avoid? How do we get the major countries of the world all moving in the right direction? These are essential questions that should be at the heart of our political debate. But answering them demands that both parties admit there is a dangerous problem that demands attention — now.
What does the author think is the most important thing before the political debate?
选项 A、Both parties reaching a unanimous opinion on the problem of climate change.
B、The way to avoid risks that we are unwilling to get into while it gets warm.
C、To better understand the most essential questions that lie in the heart of the debate.
D、How to attract more top talents specialized in politics into joining the parties.
答案A
解析 倒数第2句提到，上述那些问题确实是我们政治辩论中心的重要问题，接着下一句转折指出，但是回答这些问题需要两党承认，有一个需要立即引起注意的严重问题存在。结合上文可知，这里说的a dangerous problem即指气候变化问题，由此可见，作者认为在政治辩论前最重要的是两党要就气候变化问题达成共识。故A)符合文意。B)和D)属于无中生有，予以排除。C)是利用句中提到的essential questions和the heart of our political debate设置的干扰项。
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