Americans don't like to lose wars. Of course, a lot depends on how you define just what a war is. There are shooting wars-the kind that test patriotism and courage-and those are the kind at which the U.S excels. But other struggles test those qualities too. What else was the Great Depression or the space race or the construction of the railroads? If American indulge in a bit of flag—when the job is done, they earned it.

　　Now there is a similar challenge. Global warming. The steady deterioration(惡化)of the very climate of this very planet is becoming a war of the first order, and by any measure, the U.S. produces nearly a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases each year and has stubbornly made it clear that it doesn't intend to do a whole lot about it. Although 174 nations approved the admittedly flawed Kyoto accords to reduce carbon levels, the U.S. walked away from them. There are vague promises of manufacturing fuel from herbs or powering cars with hydrogen. But for a country that tightly cites patriotism as one of its core values, the U.S. is taking a pass on what might be the most patriotic struggle of all. It's hard to imagine a bigger fight than one for the survival of a country's coasts and farms, the health of its people and stability of its economy.

　　The rub is, if the vast majority of people increasingly agree that climate change is a global emergency, there's far less agreement on how to fix it. Industry offers its pans, which too often would fix little. Environmentalists offer theirs, which too often amount to native wish lists that could weaken American's growth. But let's assume that those interested parties and others will always bent the table and will always demand that their voices be heard and that their needs be addressed. What would an aggressive, ambitious, effective plan look like-one that would leave the U.S. both environmentally safe and economically sound?

　　Halting climate change will be far harder. One of the more conservative plans for addressing the problem calls for a reduction of 25 billion tons of carbon emissions over the next 52 year. And yet by devising a consistent strategy that mixes and blends pragmatism(實(shí)用主義)with ambition, the U.S. can, without major damage to the economy, help halt the worst effects of climate change and ensure the survival of its way of life for future generations. Money will do some of the work, but what's needed most is will. "I'm not saying the challenge isn't almost overwhelming," says Fred Krupp. "But this is America, and America has risen to these challenges before."

　　16. What does the passage mainly discuss?

　　A. Human wars.

　　B. Economic crisis.

　　C. America's environmental policies.

　　D. Global environment in general.

　　17. From the last sentence of Paragraph 2 we may learn that the survival of a country's coasts and farms, the health of its people and the stability of its economy is__________

　　A. of utmost importance.

　　B. a fight no one can win.

　　C. beyond people's imagination.

　　D. a less significant issue.

　　18. Judging from the context, the word "rub" ( Line 1, Para.3 ) probably means_________

　　A. friction.

　　B. contradiction.

　　C. conflict.

　　D. problem.

　　19. What is the author's attitude toward America's policies on global warming?

　　A. Critical.

　　B. Indifferent.

　　C. Supportive.

　　D. Compromising.

　　20. The paragraphs immediately following this passage would most probably deal with___________

　　A. the new book written by Fred Krupp.

　　B. how America can fight against global warming.

　　C. the harmful effects of global warming.

　　D. how America can tide over economic crisis.

　　參考答案

　　C A A A C