Passage Four
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.
As 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.
36.What is the result of the human control over the nature?
A.Natural resources are being exhausted.
B.There is a global warming effect.
C.Species of animals and plants are reduced.
D.All of the above.
