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  3. For years, global warming was discussed in the hypothetical—a threat in the distant future. Now it is increasingly regarded as a

For years, global warming was discussed in the hypothetical—a threat in the distant future. Now it is increasingly regarded as a

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问题     For years, global warming was discussed in the hypothetical—a threat in the distant future. Now it is increasingly regarded as a clear, observable fact. This sudden shift means that all of us must start thinking about the many ways global warming will affect us, our loved ones, our property and our economic prospects. We must think—and then adapt accordingly.
    When climate scientists use the word adaptation, they are referring to actions intended to safeguard a person, community, business or country against the effects of climate change. Its complement is mitigation—any measure that will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, such as drawing power from a wind turbine rather than a coal-fired power plant. By cutting emissions, it aims to slow rising temperatures.
    For years, adaptation was overlooked or disparaged in policy circles; many complained that even discussing it was a sellout that gave governments and others an excuse not to act. Today adaptation has become an accepted part of the discussion.
    The need for adaptation is rooted in the unhappy fact that we can’t turn global warming off, at least not anytime soon. The momentum of the climate system—carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for decades, while oceans store heat for centuries—ensures that no matter how much humanity cuts greenhouse-gas emissions, our previous emissions will keep warming the planet for decades. Even if we were to magically stop all emissions today, "temperatures will keep rising, and all the impacts will keep changing for about 25 years," says Sir David King, chief science adviser to the British government. So while we strive to green our economies, we must also mount a major new effort to strengthen our resilience against the impact on the climate that our past emissions have set in motion.
    Public discussion of global warming in the U.S. is years behind the rest of the world, and adaptation is no exception. "You can’t adapt to a problem you don’t admit exists," notes Richard Klein of the Stockholm Environment Institute, another IPCC co-author. The U.S. has only recently acknowledged global warming, while other countries are already taking concrete action to prepare for its impact. The Netherlands has some of the strongest flood defenses in the world and is making them stronger. Britain has doubled spending on flood and coastal-defense management, to about $1 billion a year. Even Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest nations, is taking action.
The underlined word in Paragraph 3 refers to______.
选项 A、involved
B、paid attention to
C、looked down upon
D、debated
答案C
解析 属词义推断题。单词所在句中用“or”连接两个词汇来形容政策制定者眼中的“适应”问题，前一个是“overlook”，故可知所考查词汇应为“overlook”的同义词，或比其程度更深的词，故选项C“不被重视”符合题意。选项A(包括)、B(重视)、D(辩论)均不符合原意。
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