单选题
A Sunshade for the Planet

Even with the best will in the world, reducing our carbon emissions is not going to prevent global wanning. It has become clear that even if we take the strongest 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 "geo-engineering" projects that might be used to counteract global wanning. "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 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 per cent 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______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】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是正确选择。A是错误选择,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不是作者的观点;D也不是正确选择,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______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】文章的第二段说,即使最糟糕的情况发生,科学家还是有几招的。但他们不希望讨论他们的招数,因为恐怕人们不再有危机感而削弱彻底解决问题的努力,所以c是正确选择。
单选题 What does Stephen Schneider say about a heroin addict and methadone?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文章的第二段中,Stephen Schneider教授将自己解决地球变暖问题的办法比作美沙酮,因为在瘾君子拒绝正常住院治疗时,服用美沙酮是一种缓解海洛因毒瘾的有效方法。所以,A是正确的选择。
单选题 What is Stephen Schneider's idea of preventing global warming?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】文章最后一段的第一个句子提供的答案。
单选题 What is NOT true of the effectiveness of"sunscreen", according to the last paragraph?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】短文最后一段描述了sunscreen如何解决地球变暖问题。尽管有争议,但是研究证明,“太阳屏”能反射和阻碍阳光,起到抵消由温室效应引起的地球升温。最后一段的第三、四句是理解这个问题的关键。D不是文章所表达的内容,所以是正确答案。