单选题 Throughout the past century humanity did everything in its power to control nature. We dammed earth"s rivers, chopped down the forests and exhausted the soils. Burning up fuels, we pumped a great deal of greenhouse gases into the air, altering the chemistry of the atmosphere and warming the planet in just a few decades. And as our population began in the year 2000 above the 6 billion mark, still spreading across the continents, dozens of animal and plant species were dying out every day, including the first primate (灵长类) to disappear in more than 100 years.
At the start of the 21st century there were unmistakable signs that nature was beginning to take its revenge. Melting ice in both poles of the earth suggested that the climate was changing rapidly. Weather was even more changeable than usual, giving some places too little rain and others too much. Fires raced across the dried American West last summer, and recent storms spread damages from Britain to China. No specific event could be directly blamed on global warming. Floods and drought will be more frequent and severe. Other sad signs from an overburdened planet include falling grain and fish harvests and fierce competition for scarce water supplies.
But there were also, in the year 2000, signs of great awareness. Connected by the Internet, hundreds of millions of people gathered for the 30th anniversary of Earth Day. Governments from Washington to Lima took steps to protect the large wild areas from development. Progress was made toward using more renewable energy from the wind and the sun, and new cars that used both gasoline and electricity spotted (显示) fuel-economy statistics.
The goal for the new century is "sustainable development". Is that possible? It depends on how well we understand that humanity is part of nature, not lord and master.

单选题 What is the result of the human control over the nature?

单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that scarce water supplies are directly caused by ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 第二段最后一句：“Other sad signs from an overburdened planet include falling grain and fish harvests and fierce competition for scarce water supplies. ”
推理判断题。根据定位句可知，不堪重负的地球所显示出的其他悲伤的迹象还包括谷物及鱼产量的下降和水资源短缺。地球不堪重负肯定是人口过多导致的。故选D。

单选题 Which of the following is true according to the passage?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 全文。
事实细节题。根据第二段第四句“Fires raced across the dried American West last summer, and recent storms spread damages from Britain to China. ”可知，是美国西部而不是美国，所以A错误：根据第三段第三句“Governments from Washington to Lima took steps to protect the large wild areas from development. ”可知，是保护大型野生区域远离发展，而不是停止发展，所以B错误：根据第一段第二句“We dammed earth"s rivers, chopped down the forests and exhausted the soils. ”可知，C正确；根据第一段最后一句“And as our population began in the year 2000 above the 6 billion mark, still spreading across the continents, dozens of animal and plant species were dying out every day, including the first primate (灵长类) to disappear in more than 100 years. ”可知，已经濒临灭绝而不是将要，所以D错误。故选C。