Mayor: Migrating shorebirds stop at our beach just to feed on horseshoe-crab eggs, a phenomenon that attracts tourists. To bring more tourists, the town council plans to undertake a beach reclamation project to double the area available to crabs for nesting.
Birdwatcher: Without a high density of crabs on a beach, migrating shorebirds will go hungry because shorebirds only eat eggs that a crab happens to uncover when it is digging its own nest.
Which of the following, if true, would provide the mayor with the strongest counter to the birdwatcher’s objection?
Every year a certain percentage of crabs are caught by fishermen as bait for eel traps. Horseshoe crabs are so prolific that given favorable circumstances their numbers increase rapidly. On average, tourists who come to the town in order to watch birds spend more money there than tourists who come for other purposes. The additional land made available by the reclamation project will give migrating shorebirds more space. Some of the migrating shorebirds make only one stop during their migration form South America to Canada. Answer: B
还有这个~~~海中生物与二氧化碳 Scientists are discussing ways to remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by increasing the amount that is absorbed by plant life. One plan to accomplish this is to establish giant floating seaweed farms in the oceans. When the seaweed plants die, they will be disposed of by being burned for fuel.
Which of the following, if true, would indicate the most serious weakness in the plan above?
Some areas of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere do not contain sufficient nutrients to support large seaweed farms. When a seaweed plant is burned, it releases an amount of carbon dioxide comparable to the amount it has absorbed in its lifetime. Even if seaweed farms prove effective, some people will be reluctant to switch to this new fuel. Each year about seven billion tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere but only about five billion tons are absorbed by plant life. Seaweed farms would make more money by farming seaweed to sell as nutritional supplements than by farming seaweed to sell as fuel. Answer: B