Even with the best will in the world, reducing our carbon emissions is
not going to prevent global warming. It has become clear that even if we take
the most strong measures to control emissions, the uncertainties in our climate
models still leave open the possibility of extreme warming and rises in sea
level. At the same time, resistance by governments and special interest groups
makes it quite possible that the actions suggested by climate scientists might
not be implemented soon enough. Fortunately, if the worst comes
to the worst, scientists still have a few tricks up their sleeves. For the most
part they have strongly resisted discussing these options for fear of inviting a
sense of complacency that might thwart efforts to tackle the root of the
problem. Until now, that is. A growing number of researchers are taking a fresh
look at large-scale "geoengineering" projects that might be used to counteract
global warming. "I use the analogy of methadone," says Stephen Schneider, a
climate researcher at Stanford University in California who was among the first
to draw attention to global warming. "If you have a heroin addict, the correct
treatment is hospitalization, and a long rehab. But if they absolutely refuse,
methadone is better than heroin." Basically the idea is to
apply "sunscreen" to the whole planet. One astronomer has come up with a radical
plan to cool the earth; launch trillions of feather-light discs into space,
where they would form a vast cloud that would block the sun's rays. It's
controversial, but recent studies suggest there are ways to deflect just enough
of the sunlight reaching the earth's surface to counteract the warming produced
by the greenhouse effect. Global climate models show that blocking just 1.8% of
the incident energy in the sun's rays would cancel out the warming effects
produced by a doubling of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That could be
crucial, because even the most severe emissions- control measures being proposed
would leave us with a doubling of carbon dioxide by the end of this century, and
that would last for at least a century more.
单选题
According to the first two paragraphs, the author thinks that ______.
A. strong measures have been taken by the government to prevent global
warming
B. to reduce carbon emissions is all impossible mission
C. despite the difficulty, scientists have some options to prevent global
warming
D. actions suggested by scientists will never be realized
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 短文第一段讲了防止地球变暖是一项艰巨的任务；第二段说，尽管如此，科学家还是有一些办法，所以C项是正确选择。A项是错误选项，因为作者认为政府和一些利益集团阻碍了科学家所倡导的行动的实施；B项不是作者的观点；D项也不是正确选项，因为第一段的最后一句“might not be implemented soon enough”并不表明永远不能实现。
单选题
Scientists resist talking about their options because they don't want
people to ______.