2017职称英语考试省份|2017职称英语考试复习资料综合类C级(四)

　A Strong Greenhouse Gas
　　1.Methane is a colorless, odorless gas; it is also a potent greenhouse gas, and once released into the atmosphere, it absorbs heat radiating from Earth’s surface. That’s why methane is a major contributor to the planet’s increasing temperature rise—or global warming. Molecule for molecule, methane’s heat-trapping power in the atmosphere is 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide, the most abundant greenhouse gas.
　　2.With 13 billion cows belching almost constantly around the world (100 million in the U.S. alone), it’s no surprise that methane released by livestock is one of the chief global sources of the gas. Other prime methane sources: petroleum, drilling, coal mining, solid-waste landfills and wetlands.
　　3.Greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide make up only a small part of Earth’s atmosphere, which is 78 percent nitrogen and nearly 21 percent oxygen. And without greenhouse gases to trap the sun’s heat and warm the planet, life was we know it couldn’t exist. But in the last 200 years, human activity that requires burning oil, natural gas, and coal for energy has magnified the greenhouse effect.
　　4.Atmospheric concentrations of methane have more than doubled in the last two centuries. Blame for this often focuses on big industries and gas-guzzling vehicles. But agriculture plays a major role, too. In the past 40 years alone, the global cattle population has doubled.
　　5.Cows munch mostly grasses and hay—yet they grow big and hefty. Why? Because of the rumen. The rumen holds 160 liters of food and billions of microbes. These microscopic bacteria and protozoa break down cellulose and fiber into digestible nutrients. A cow couldn’t live without its microbes. As the microbes digest cellulose, they release methane. The process occurs in all animals with a rumen (cows, sheep, and goats, for example), and it makes them very gassy. It’s part of their normal digestion process. When they chew their cud, they regurgitate some food to rechew it, and all this gas comes out. the average cow expels 600 liters of methane a day.
　　6.That’s why we say livestock gas is also a major factor of causing the global warming.
　　词汇：
　　methane 甲烷 munch 用力咀嚼
　　odorless 无味的 hefty 健壮的
　　potent 强有力的 rumen 瘤胃
　　belch 打嗝 protozoa 原生动物(复数)
　　livestock 家畜，牲畜 cellulose 纤维素
　　landfill 埋填的废渣 nutrient 有营养的
　　magnify 扩大 cud 反刍的食物
　　guzzle 大量消耗(燃料等) regurgitate 反刍
　　注释：
　　1.once released into the atmosphere…：一旦(甲烷)释放到大气中……once released into the atmosphere相当于once methane is released into the atmosphere。
　　2.Molecule for molecule，molecule's heat-trapping power in the atmosphere is 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide…：按分子与分子对比，甲烷在大气中吸热的能力比二氧化碳强20倍……介词for表示“对比或比例关系”。
　　3.without greenhouse gases…life as we know it could'n't exist：没有温室气体……我们所知道的生命就不能生存。本句中，life是主语。as从句中的it指代life。
　　4.Atmospheric concentrations of methane：甲烷在大气中的浓度。
　　练习：
　　1.Paragraph 1 _____
　　2.Paragraph 2 _____
　　3.Paragraph 4 _____
　　4.Paragraph 5 _____
　　A. Life of Microscopic Bacteria in Livestock’s Rumen
　　B. Ways to Reduce Methane’s Heat-trapping Power
　　C. Agriculture Also Contributes to Increased Concentrations of Methane in the Atmosphere
　　D. Why Livestock Releases Methane
　　E. Methane as a Strong Greenhouse Gas
　　F. Livestock as a Prime Factor of the Greenhouse Effect
　　5.Methane is ___________ to the intensifying greenhouse effect.
　　6.Greenhouse gases are indispensable to mankind, but the problem mankind is faced with is ___________.
　　7.Generally people heap criticism on __________ for the planet’s temperature rise.
　　8.Nothing has been mentioned in the passage about __________.
　　A one of the major contributors
　　B the ever-increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases
　　C big and hefty cows
　　D livestock’s normal digestion process
　　E how to cut down the cattle populations
　　F big industries and gas-guzzling vehicles

2017职称英语考试复习资料综合类C级(四).doc

本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/hKyn.html