Heavy downpours last month in Rhode Island led to widespread flooding, causing millions of

发布时间:2020-08-16 16:48:08

Heavy downpours last month in Rhode Island led to widespread flooding, causing millions of dollars in property damage and leaving thousands homeless. The floodwaters also poured vast amounts of raw sewage (污水) into the rivers and streams that flow into Narragansett Bay.
It sounds like the makings of an environmental nightmare, but in fact it’s just the opposite. To scientists’ delight, the sewage-loaded floodwaters have caused a well-timed growth of phytoplankton, the microscopic creatures that form the foundation of marine food chains. With more food available for fish, clams and other sea creatures, the bay’s fisheries industry is expected to benefit.
In decades past, Narragansett Bay typically experienced a late winter/early spring algal (海藻) bloom that fed creatures up and down the water column. But in recent years, the waters of Narragansett Bay have warmed greatly, interrupting this seasonal event.
Mark Berman, an oceanographer with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the flood seemed to have sent the bay back to its normal state.
However, local, state and federal officials in Rhode Island have been battling other algal blooms that, by contrast, are causing widespread harm to the Narragansett Bay ecosystem. During summer months, sewage and agricultural runoff flows into the bay, causing large blooms. But instead of being food for sea creatures, much of the phytoplankton is consumed by bacteria, which grow fast in the warmer waters. The rapid bacteria growth leads to hypoxia – a decrease of oxygen in the water that can cause large fish kills. One such die-off occurred in 2003, when millions of oxygen-starved fish washed up on the beaches of Narragansett Bay.
The flood’s positive impact will probably be a one-time event, Mr. Berman said. Meanwhile, efforts to curb the harmful summer blooms continue; in 2008, for instance, Providence pleted a $359 million sewage tunnel under the city designed to reduce the polluted storm overflow into Narragansett Bay.
【小题1】 Scientists believe that the raw sewage flowing into the bay will     .A.pollute the island’s environmentB.cause lots of property damageC.increase the fisheries productionD.destroy the food chains in the bay【小题2】The potential benefit of fisheries industry relies on the     .A.warm temperatures of the bayB.growth of phytoplanktonC.large summer alga bloomsD.consumption of oxygen by bacteria【小题3】 People struggle against the summer blooms because they will     .A.pollute the local natural environmentB.increase the production of fishery industryC.cause large fish kills of the bay indirectlyD.provide too much food for sea creatures【小题4】It can be inferred that     .A.money spent on the summer blooms has been wastedB.the government is investing to promote the local fisheriesC.research of oceanology should be encouragedD.opinions on the raw sewage impact are currently contradictory【小题5】 The underlined word “curb” in the last paragraph can be defined as “    ”.A.controlB.consumeC.causeD.cureC【小题1】B【小题1】C【小题1】D【小题1】A 

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(答案→)C【小题1】B【小题1】C【小题1】D【小题1】A 
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