Question

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The contemporary environmental movement is often said to have begun with the publication of Silent Spring by the zoologist and biologist Rachel Carson (1907－1964). This landmark work, which took Carson 4 years to complete, diligently detailed the relationship between animal death  and the use-now understood as the abuse of manmade chemicals used as pesticides, especially DDT. One of the claims of the book that she tried to demonstrate was that DDT had the effect of softening the eggshells of birds as well as interfering with their reproduction, and that such effects would lead to their extinction if the use of DDT were to continue. It would eventually create a springtime of silence when the songs of birds would not be heard. Her studies also found DDT to be a cause of human cancers.      Born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, Carson graduated from the Pennsylvania College for Women in Pittsburgh (now Chatham College), where she majored in English until her junior year, when a course in biology inspired her to switch to zoology as her field of concentration. She earned a master’s degree in this area from Johns Hopkins University and became a biologist at the Bureau of Fisheries in 1936. During this time, she wrote for various national magazines, and her first book, Under the SeaWind, was published. Carson had concerns as early as 1945 about pesticides being used more and more by the government. But her cautionary claims in Silent Spring were met with anger by the pesticide and chemical industries. Her authority as a scientist was challenged, and it was held that her findings were just the roars of a hysterical(歇斯底里的) woman. She was even accused of being a member of the Communist Party. Some go so far as to say that she told a lie.      But she is often celebrated as the founder of the contemporary U. S. environmental movement. Yet her work in Silent Spring, warning about the misuse of pesticides and other chemicals, has not as yet taken firm hold. Americans likely use twice as much the volume of pesticides that they did at the time she published her seminal work, and globally, their use is ever increasing. Powerful pesticides are sold over the counter, and their use is so widespread that many environmentalists are fearful that chemical runoff into streams and rivers is still polluting the animals that humans eat and the water that they drink. In short, while the main purpose of Silent Spring was to warn the public of the dangers of the overuse of pesticides and chemicals, nonetheless the public haven't refused such use. Isn't it time that we firmly said no to pesticides? Title: The    ____1____    of Environmentalism The ____ 2____: the publication of Silent Spring The contents One of the claims of the book  was that DDT had the effect on softening the eggshells of birds, interfering with their reproduction and   ____3____ The author Name: ____4____ Her formal major: English Her latter major:  ____5____   Her first published book:  ____6____     The present  situation Pesticides are still  ____7____, the volume of which is twice as much as it was   Pesticides are ____8____  to homeowners Chemical is still polluting the animals and    ____9____   Conclusion We should ___10_____ pesticides

Answer 1

1. History    2. origin/ beginning   3. human cancers  4. Rachel Carson    5. Zoology    
6. Under the SeaWind   7. overused  8. available    9. (the)water    10. say no to