题目内容:
TheThreattoKiribatiThepeopleofKiribatiareafraidthatonedayinthenot-too-distantfuture,theircountrywilldisappearfromthefaceoftheearth-literally.Severaltimesthisyear,thePacificislandnationhasbeenfloodedbyasuddenhightide.Thesetides,whichsweptacrosstheislandanddestroyedhouses,camewhentherewasneitherwindnorrain.“Thisneverhappenedbefore,”saytheoldercitizensofKiribati.
Whatiscausingthesemysterioushightides?Theanswermaywellbeglobalwarming.Whenfuelslikeoilandcoalarebeingburned,pollutants(污染物)arereleased;thesepollutantstrapheatintheearth’satmosphere.Warmertemperaturescausewatertoexpandandalsocreatemorewaterbymeltingglaciers(冰川)andpolar(极地的)icecaps.
Ifthetrendcontinues,scientistssay,manycountrieswillsuffer,Bangladesh,forexample,mightloseone-fifthofitsland.Thecoral(珊瑚)islandnationsofthePacific,likeKiribatiandtheMarshallIslands,however,wouldfaceanevenworsefate–theywouldbeswallowedbythesea.Thelossofthesecoralislandswouldbeeveryone’sloss.Coralformationsarehometomorespeciesthananyotherplaceonearth.
Thepeopleofthesenationsfeelfrustrated.Thesea,onwhichtheireconomieshavealwaysbeenbased,issuddenlythreateningtheirexistence.Theydon’thavethemoneyforexpensivetechnologicalsolutionslikeseawalls.Andtheyhavenocontroloverthepollutants,whicharebeingreleasedmainlybyactivitiesinlargeindustrializedcountries.Alltheycandoistohopethatindustrializedcountrieswilltakestepstoreducepollution.
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