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There was one thought that air pollution affected¹ only the area immediately around large cities with factories and heavy automobile² traffic. At present, we realize that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally³ worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the east of the United States and brought health warnings in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be infected by air pollution. Some scientists consider that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels （coal and oil） is creating a “greenhouse effect”— conserving⁴ heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature. If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be in water.

Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particular matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature — a result that would be equally disastrous⁵. A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to a new ice age, and would mane agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. Today we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen （though one recent government report drafted by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very possible） Perhaps, if we are lucky enough, the two tendencies will offset⁶ each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now. Driven by economic profits, people neglect the damage on our environment caused by the “advanced civilization”. Maybe the air pollution is the price the human beings have to pay for their development. But is it really worthwhile?

56. As pointed⁷ out at the beginning of the passage, people used to think that air pollution _______.

[ A ] cause widespread damage in the countryside

[ B ] affected the entire eastern half of the United States

[ C ] had damaged effect on health

[ D ] existed merely in urban and industries areas

57. As to the greenhouse effect, the author __________.

[ A ] share the same view with the scientist.

[ B ] is uncertain of its occurrence

[ C ] rejects it as being ungrounded

[ D ] thinks that it will destroy the world soon

58. The word “offset” in the second paragraph could be replaced by _________.

[ A] slip into [ B ] make up for

[ C ] set up [ D ] catch up with

59. It can be concluded that ____________.

[ A ] raising the world's temperature only a few degrees would not do much harm to life on earth.

[ B] lowering the world's temperature merely a few degrees would lead major farming areas to disaster.

[C] almost no temperature variations have occurred over the past decade.

[D] the world's temperature will remain constant in the years to come.

60. This passage is primarily about __________.

[A]the greenhouse effect……

[ B ] the burning of fossil fuels……

[C] the potential effect of air pollution.

[ D] the likelihood of a new ice age.