单选题 One of the most pressing challenges that the United States—and indeed, the world—will face in the next few decades is how to alleviate the growing stress that human activities are placing on the environment. The consequences are just too great to ignore. Wildlife habitats are being degraded or disappearing altogether as new developments take up more land. Plant and animal species are becoming extinct at a greater rate now than at any time in Earth's history. As many as 30 percent of the world's fish stocks are overexploited. And the list goes on.
Yet, there is reason to have hope for the future. Advances in computing power and molecular biology are among the tremendous increases in scientific capability that are helping researchers gain a better understanding of these problems. Recent developments in science and technology could provide the basis for some major, and timely actions that would improve our understanding of how human activities affect the environment.
One priority for research is improving hydrological forecasting. It has been estimated that the world's water use could triple in the next two decades. Already, widespread water shortages have occurred in parts of China, India, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. The need for water also is taking its toll on freshwater ecosystems in the United States. Only 2 percent of the nation's streams are considered in good condition, and close to 40 percent of native fish species are rare to extinct. Using a variety of new remote sensing tools, scientists can learn more about how precipitation affects water levels, how surface water is generated and transported, and how changes in the landscape affect water supplies.
To prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases in plants, animals, and humans, more study is needed on how pathogens, parasites, and disease-carrying species—as well as humans and other species they infect— are affected by changes in the environment. The overuse of antibiotics both in humans and in farm animals has contributed to the growth of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. Researchers can take advantage of new technologies in genetics and computing to better monitor and predict the effects that environmental changes might have on disease outbreaks.
Humans have made alterations to Earth's surface—such as tropical deforestation, reduction of surface and ground water, and massive development—so dramatic that they approach the levels of transformation that occurred during glacial periods. Such alterations cause changes in local and regional climate, and will determine the future of agriculture. Recent advances in data collection and analysis should be used to document and better understand the causes and consequences of changes in land cover and use.

单选题 The expression "And the list goes on" (Para. 1) is used to suggest that
A. there are many more ways in which humans are hurting the environment.
B. environmental degradation is continuing unabated.
C. the total of animal and plant species facing extinction are too numerous to list.
D. in addition to fish, many other plant and animal species face over-exploitation by humans.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。And the list goes on出现在第一段最后一句(字面意思是“而且这个单子会列下去”)。它所在的上文列举了很多人类活动对环境造成的后果，如：土地占用越来越多，野生动植物的栖息地正在退化甚至完全消失，动植物种类灭绝速度很快，世界上高达30%的鱼类被过度捕捞。由此可知And the list goes on的意思是说“诸如此类的现象还有很多，而且会有增无减”，即A项正确。B、C、D项的内容在本段都已经涉及，所以list中不必再包括这些内容。
单选题 The poor condition of streams in the U.S. can be attributed to
A. overfishing of native fish species.
B. lack of up-to-date monitoring equipment.
C. the demand for water in the U.S..
D. the global water shortage.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。题目中的关键词stream出现在第三段第五句(全国只有2%的河流被认为处于良好的状态……)，它的上文即是导致河流状况不好的原因：对水的需求给美国淡水生态系统也造成了危害。由此可知，C项正确。A项是结果不是原因；B项在文中没有涉及；D项与本段第三句不符，句中提到了几个国家，并非全球。
单选题 Which of the following does the author NOT suggest as an important area for research?
A. How precipitation affects water levels.
B. How to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases.
C. How urban development affects the environment.
D. How the industrial pollution impacts the environment.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。本题适合使用排除法。根据第三段scientists can learn more about how precipitation affects water levels可知A项正确。根据第四段To prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases in...more study is needed on...可知B项正确。C项和D项看起来意思相近，但是根据第五段内容可以看出文中主要是说人类活动对环境的影响，也就是urban development，而不是industrial pollution，因此C项正确，D项错误。注意本题需选择说法不正确的选项，故正确答案为D项。
单选题 Throughout the text, the author mainly emphasizes
A. the need for more federal funding of environmental scientific research.
B. the role of science in alleviating environmental degradation.
C. the role technology could play in environmental research.
D. the extent of damage humans have wrought on the environment.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 主旨题。文章第一段指出“将来的几十年中，全人类要关注如何减轻人类活动对环境施加的越来越大的压力”。第二段表明“我们有理由对未来抱有希望，因为最近取得的科学技术进展对认识和解决这一问题有帮助”。第三、四段介绍具体的研究项目、重点及其所需技术。最后一段说明研究进展及成绩。由此看来，全文的重点是C项“技术在环境中发挥着很大的作用”。A项文中没有涉及；B项中science一词范围太大；D项只是作者在文中用来引出有必要解决问题的铺垫，不是中心思想，故排除。
单选题 The last paragraph implies that
A. local and regional climates have not fluctuated so much since the glacial periods.
B. the future of agriculture depends on how land usages affect climate.
C. until recently, very little information was documented about changes and consequences of land usage.
D. current human transformations of the land surface is of almost unprecedented scale.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 推断题。选项A、B与最后一段内容不符，原文说地球表面状况的改变引起地方性和地区性的气候变化，并将决定未来的农业走向。C项(直到最近，还几乎没有关于土地利用的变化和结果的记录)与最后一句不符，原文说最近取得的数据收集和分析进展应当用于如实记录和更好的认识地表变化的起因和结果以及土地利用的情况。D项符合本段第一句的意思：人类改变了地球表面的情况……，变化之大接近于冰川时期出现的改变程度。因此，D项正确(其中unprecedented“空前的”和原文的dramatic“巨大的”是同义表达)。