Rachel Carson, born in rural Pennsylvania in 1907, had a great impact on the environment. Carson earned a master’s degree in zoology in 1932. It was as a writer and not as a research scientist, however, that she made her mark, sharing her view that human beings are just one element in a larger natural order.
In the articles on natural history Carson wrote for various publications, she expressed dry facts in poetic and persuasive language. She wrote five books. Two of them, The Sea Around Us and The Edge of the Sea, have been called “biographies of the ocean.”
Carson also made the world aware of how scientific discoveries can harm as well as help living things. In her best-selling book Silent Spring, Carson challenged the profligate use of chemical pesticides by large agricultural and government organizations. She was the first to detail how the pesticide DDT had entered the food chain and damaged populations of bald eagles, falcons, and brown pelicans by causing the shells of their eggs to become so thin that they could not withstand the weight of the parent bird.
Carson died of cancer in 1964. Today, the Rachel Carson Council collects and disseminates (散播) information on pesticide-related issues. In 1970, the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge, a large area of salt marsh and freshwater habitat in Maine, was dedicated to her memory.
小题1:Which of the following words is closest to the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 3 ?
A．excessive
B．inadequate
C．authoritative
D．efficient小题2:Which of the following inferences is correct ?
A．Carson wrote books that the average person could understand.
B．Dangerous properties of new chemical products may be immediately apparent.
C．If not for Carson, no one would have learned about the dangers of DDT.
D．In 1970, large quantities of salt and freshwater were dedicated to Carson’s memory by the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge小题3:Which of the statements below expresses the main idea of the passage ?
A．Writers have played an important role in the battle against pollution.
B．The scientist Rachel Carson taught people about environmental issues through her writing.
C．Carson’s book Silent Spring changed the way some pesticides were used.
D．Many of Carson’s books were about pesticide-related issues.
