The
people of Kiribati are afraid that one day in the not-too-distant future, their
country will disappear from the face of the earth-literally. Several times this
year, the Pacific island nation has been flooded by a sudden high tide. These
tides, which swept across the island and destroyed houses, came when there was
neither wind nor rain. "This never happened before, "say the older citizens of
Kiribati. What is causing these mysterious high tides? The
answer may well be global warming. When fuels like oil and coal are being
burned, pollutants (污染物)are released; these pollutants trap heat in the earth's
atmosphere. Warmer temperatures cause water to expand and also create more water
by melting glaciers (冰川)and polar (极地的) ice caps. If the trend
continues, scientists say, many countries will suffer. Bangladesh, for example,
might lose one-fifth of its land. The coral (珊瑚) island nations of the Pacific,
like Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, however, would face an even worse
fate—they would be swallowed by the sea. The loss of these coral islands would
be everyone's loss. Coral formations are home to more species than any other
place on earth. The people of these nations feel frustrated.
The sea, on which their economies have always been based, is suddenly
threatening their existence. They don't have the money for expensive
technological solutions like seawalls. And they have no control over the
pollutants, which are being released mainly by activities in large
industrialized countries. All they can do is to hope that industrialized
countries will take steps to reduce pollution.
单选题
The people of Kiribati worry that one day their country will be taken
away by a sudden high tide.