1 . A new United Nations scientific report says that human-caused climate change is greatly reducing land quality worldwide. It warns that the way humans use land is causing the earth's atmosphere to warm faster and could harm food production. The effects of climate change are already making food more costly and less nutritious (有营养的) and are worsening food shortages (缺乏).
The scientists write that if humans change the way they eat, grow food and manage forests, it could help slow world temperature rises.
About 30 percent of the earth's surface is land. But the report says that the land is warming two times faster than the planet as a whole. While heat-trapping (吸热的) gases are causing problems in the atmosphere, land has been less talked about as a part of climate change.
“The change could be worse,” the report says. Agriculture and forestry together account for about 23 percent of the heat-trapping gases that are warming the earth. That does not include energy costs, food transportation and packaging. With those activities added, the amount grows to 37 percent.
But land can absorb heat trapping gases out of the air. From 2009 to 2018, for example, agriculture and forestry each year put 5.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air. But the land pulled 11.2 billion metric tons out of it. Carbon dioxide is a main heat trapping gas.
Scientists have long believed that one of the few good things about higher levels of carbon dioxide is that plants grow well in such conditions. But many studies show that the high levels of carbon dioxide can reduce protein (蛋白质) and nutrients in many crops.
The report also suggests ways that carbon emissions could be reduced further. This could be done if humans reduce the amount of red meat they eat and instead eat more fruit, vegetables and seeds. That would also make people healthier.
1. What has not been paid much attention to in the study of climate change?| A．Greenhouse gases. | B．Land. | C．The earth's surface. | D．People's lifestyles. |
| A．It takes in a lot of carbon dioxide. | B．It produces grains less nutritious. |
| C．It causes the majority of heat-trapping gases. | D．It sends off more carbon dioxide than it removes. |
| A．Growing plants to absorb carbon dioxide. | B．Planting high quality crops. |
| C．Limiting red meat intake. | D．Producing enough food. |
| A．Humans should live a healthy life. |
| B．Global warming is more and more serious. |
| C．There will be a food shortage in the future. |
| D．Climate change affects land quality and food production. |
