Concern for the environment in the US extends back into the nineteenth century, when nature lovers and sports enthusiasts first sought protection for areas of exceptional natural beauty or significance. But it was not until the late 1960’s that environment concerns entered the mainstream of American political debate. By then many Americans had come to the conclusion that more development was not necessarily desirable, especially if it meant more polluted air, dying lakes and rivers, and a landscape strewn with unsightly waste, and crowded with sprawling construction projects. In May of 1970, several environmental groups staged the first Earth Day celebration, designed to heighten public awareness of environmental problems. The success of that initial effort led to it becoming a regular annual event.
During the 1950s and 1960s, industrial and vehicle pollution levels had become a serious threat to public health, so the environmental movement of this period focused heavily on restoring and ensuring the cleanliness of basic air and water supplies. Rapidly expanding development pressures were also spurring efforts to preserve unique lands and threatened wildlife habitats, and to protect the endangered species supported by them before they vanished into extinction. It is generally accepted that the environmental protection movement was so successful because of its grass roots support; groups of activists in hundreds of towns that took the initiative in cleaning up their own communities. During the 1970s, this local activism reinforced support for the passage of key laws at the national level, such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act, which together have constituted the foundation for environmental standards in the US ever since.
In addition to this national legislation, the year after the first Earth Day, by executive order, President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPS); an organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the environment. The EPA spearheaded many contemporary efforts to protect the environment, but it was not working alone. It was allied with a wide variety of distinctly different and separate organizations ranging from a small number of well-funded high-profile national and international organizations to many thousands of smaller special interest groups and even individuals working at the local level. The EPA has now become one of the government’s largest and most influential regulatory agencies. Through its own efforts and in cooperation with other organizations, it has earned a large measure of credit for protecting and restoring the quality of the environment in the United States.
Although one might assume that the cause of environmental protection would engender universal support, it does have its detractors. One criticism that has been leveled against the movement is the claim that its predictions about the dire consequences of environmental damage have often been in error. Environmentalists counter this assertion by pointing out that their warnings have often brought about changes on the part of the public, the government and private industry, and that these changes prevented the predictions from being realized. However, just as it is often very difficult to gauge the impact of human activity on something as complex as the environment, it is equally difficult to determine which side is right in this debate. Because environmental issues cover such a wide range of concerns, this is a question that must be considered on a case by case basis. These voices of dissent have demonstrated to environmentalists the need to apply quantitative methods in assessing the extent of the destruction they have witnessed, or the degree to which their work has been manifested in actual improvement of the environment.
However vocal the critics of environmental protection efforts may be, given the very considerable body of environmental legislation that exists, it is safe to assume that their views do not represent the majority opinion. Private advocacy groups, the EPS, state legislatures and Congress have worked together to enact numerous laws regarding air and water quality, land use and waste management. That should be evidence enough of the broad extent of the popular support that underlies the movement.
The word dire in the passage is closest in meaning to ?
Concern for the environment in the US extends back into the nineteenth century, when nature lovers and sports enthusiasts first sought protection for areas of exceptional natural beauty or significance. But it was not until the late 1960’s that environment concerns entered the mainstream of American political debate. By then many Americans had come to the conclusion that more development was not necessarily desirable, especially if it meant more polluted air, dying lakes and rivers, and a landscape strewn with unsightly waste, and crowded with sprawling construction projects. In May of 1970, several environmental groups staged the first Earth Day celebration, designed to heighten public awareness of environmental problems. The success of that initial effort led to it becoming a regular annual event.
During the 1950s and 1960s, industrial and vehicle pollution levels had become a serious threat to public health, so the environmental movement of this period focused heavily on restoring and ensuring the cleanliness of basic air and water supplies. Rapidly expanding development pressures were also spurring efforts to preserve unique lands and threatened wildlife habitats, and to protect the endangered species supported by them before they vanished into extinction. It is generally accepted that the environmental protection movement was so successful because of its grass roots support; groups of activists in hundreds of towns that took the initiative in cleaning up their own communities. During the 1970s, this local activism reinforced support for the passage of key laws at the national level, such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act, which together have constituted the foundation for environmental standards in the US ever since.
In addition to this national legislation, the year after the first Earth Day, by executive order, President Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPS); an organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the environment. The EPA spearheaded many contemporary efforts to protect the environment, but it was not working alone. It was allied with a wide variety of distinctly different and separate organizations ranging from a small number of well-funded high-profile national and international organizations to many thousands of smaller special interest groups and even individuals working at the local level. The EPA has now become one of the government’s largest and most influential regulatory agencies. Through its own efforts and in cooperation with other organizations, it has earned a large measure of credit for protecting and restoring the quality of the environment in the United States.
Although one might assume that the cause of environmental protection would engender universal support, it does have its detractors. One criticism that has been leveled against the movement is the claim that its predictions about the dire consequences of environmental damage have often been in error. Environmentalists counter this assertion by pointing out that their warnings have often brought about changes on the part of the public, the government and private industry, and that these changes prevented the predictions from being realized. However, just as it is often very difficult to gauge the impact of human activity on something as complex as the environment, it is equally difficult to determine which side is right in this debate. Because environmental issues cover such a wide range of concerns, this is a question that must be considered on a case by case basis. These voices of dissent have demonstrated to environmentalists the need to apply quantitative methods in assessing the extent of the destruction they have witnessed, or the degree to which their work has been manifested in actual improvement of the environment.
However vocal the critics of environmental protection efforts may be, given the very considerable body of environmental legislation that exists, it is safe to assume that their views do not represent the majority opinion. Private advocacy groups, the EPS, state legislatures and Congress have worked together to enact numerous laws regarding air and water quality, land use and waste management. That should be evidence enough of the broad extent of the popular support that underlies the movement.
The word dissent in the passage is closest in meaning to?
Passage Translation：
For many years, the law enforcement community has attempted to detect impaired drivers through numerous innovative efforts and measures. The problem of driving under the influence is well known throughout society, yet, even with all of the strategies used to remove these drivers from U.S. highways, it continues to cause needless and tragic loss of life each year. When will such madness end? When will society no longer tolerate drunk driving? Until that time, the law enforcement community must attempt to contain the carnage inflicted upon law-abiding citizens by impaired drivers.
紐約市的美國銀行(Bank of America)遭到搶劫。兩名戴著面罩、武裝的搶匪進入銀行。有位女性共犯在幫助搶匪逃跑的車內等候他們。當搶匪跳到櫃台取走金錢後，其中一位搶匪進入金庫並企圖搶走更多的現金。很快地，搶匪離開了銀行，而在跳進車內時，掉了一包袋子。不久之後，一位制服巡邏員警發現這部協助嫌犯脫逃的車輛被棄置在距離銀行幾哩的地方。哪裡是第一犯罪現場?而哪裡又是第二犯罪現場?
Reading Comprehension
(I)
Internet dating has gone from daring to dull. As a result, many singles these days are looking to their cell phones instead of their laptops in an effort to locate love. Cell phone technology now allows users to post tiny photographs and mini-profiles to a dating service mailbox, which can be visited by other cell phone users in search of a date. When a profile looks promising, users use their phones to send a text message to their person of interest.
Some phone dating services also are experimenting with ways to turn cell phone into homing devices. In other words, the phones can alert users to potential dates who may be just a short distance away － or, at the other end of the bar.
Europeans are heavily into phones dating, and China, which has 430 million cell phone users, also has embraced “mobile romance.”
The wireless service providers love phone dating, too, because all that text messaging pumps up their revenues. Analysts estimate that global mobile dating revenues were US $31 million in 2005; by 2009, that figure is projected to reach US $215 million.
Some people say that phone dating is more about flirting than about serious romance. “People who want to use their mobile devices are more interested in short-term relationships than people who want to use their computers,” said an officer of Match.com, a service with a quarter-million mobile users.
But, who really can say for sure. The next time the cell phones rings, it could be one calling Cupid.
Which is the function the dating service can offer through cell phones?
Internet dating has gone from daring to dull. As a result, many singles these days are looking to their cell phones instead of their laptops in an effort to locate love. Cell phone technology now allows users to post tiny photographs and mini-profiles to a dating service mailbox, which can be visited by other cell phone users in search of a date. When a profile looks promising, users use their phones to send a text message to their person of interest.
Some phone dating services also are experimenting with ways to turn cell phone into homing devices. In other words, the phones can alert users to potential dates who may be just a short distance away － or, at the other end of the bar.
Europeans are heavily into phones dating, and China, which has 430 million cell phone users, also has embraced “mobile romance.”
The wireless service providers love phone dating, too, because all that text messaging pumps up their revenues. Analysts estimate that global mobile dating revenues were US $31 million in 2005; by 2009, that figure is projected to reach US $215 million.
Some people say that phone dating is more about flirting than about serious romance. “People who want to use their mobile devices are more interested in short-term relationships than people who want to use their computers,” said an officer of Match.com, a service with a quarter-million mobile users.
But, who really can say for sure. The next time the cell phones rings, it could be one calling Cupid.
How can someone get information on any possible date on their cell phones?
Internet dating has gone from daring to dull. As a result, many singles these days are looking to their cell phones instead of their laptops in an effort to locate love. Cell phone technology now allows users to post tiny photographs and mini-profiles to a dating service mailbox, which can be visited by other cell phone users in search of a date. When a profile looks promising, users use their phones to send a text message to their person of interest.
Some phone dating services also are experimenting with ways to turn cell phone into homing devices. In other words, the phones can alert users to potential dates who may be just a short distance away － or, at the other end of the bar.
Europeans are heavily into phones dating, and China, which has 430 million cell phone users, also has embraced “mobile romance.”
The wireless service providers love phone dating, too, because all that text messaging pumps up their revenues. Analysts estimate that global mobile dating revenues were US $31 million in 2005; by 2009, that figure is projected to reach US $215 million.
Some people say that phone dating is more about flirting than about serious romance. “People who want to use their mobile devices are more interested in short-term relationships than people who want to use their computers,” said an officer of Match.com, a service with a quarter-million mobile users.
But, who really can say for sure. The next time the cell phones rings, it could be one calling Cupid.
Who may gain the most advantage of cell phone dating economically?
Internet dating has gone from daring to dull. As a result, many singles these days are looking to their cell phones instead of their laptops in an effort to locate love. Cell phone technology now allows users to post tiny photographs and mini-profiles to a dating service mailbox, which can be visited by other cell phone users in search of a date. When a profile looks promising, users use their phones to send a text message to their person of interest.
Some phone dating services also are experimenting with ways to turn cell phone into homing devices. In other words, the phones can alert users to potential dates who may be just a short distance away － or, at the other end of the bar.
Europeans are heavily into phones dating, and China, which has 430 million cell phone users, also has embraced “mobile romance.”
The wireless service providers love phone dating, too, because all that text messaging pumps up their revenues. Analysts estimate that global mobile dating revenues were US $31 million in 2005; by 2009, that figure is projected to reach US $215 million.
Some people say that phone dating is more about flirting than about serious romance. “People who want to use their mobile devices are more interested in short-term relationships than people who want to use their computers,” said an officer of Match.com, a service with a quarter-million mobile users.
But, who really can say for sure. The next time the cell phones rings, it could be one calling Cupid.
What are cell phone romance seekers often interested in?
