Read the given passage and answer the following questions based on…
2023
Read the given passage and answer the following questions based on it.Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases plunged 4.6 percent in 2020, as lockdowns in the first half of the year restricted global mobility and hampered economic activity. Many hoped that this would mark the beginning of a more permanent shift downwards in emissions. Emissions from the manufacturing and the energy sectors contributed the most to recent global increases based on updated information from the IMF’s Climate Change Indicators Dashboard—a joint effort among national and international statistical organizations to provide timely data to help monitor the transition to lower carbon use. As greenhouse gas emissions from human activities increase, they build up in the atmosphere and warm the climate, leading to many other changes around the world—in the atmosphere, on land, and in the oceans. While total emissions have climbed significantly above prepandemic levels, increases from transportation and households were more muted last year as the pandemic weighed on global mobility. This was particularly evident with the emergence of the omicron variant in the fourth quarter of last year. The public health policy measures in many countries drove down the emissions of households and of the electricity sector.It will be important to monitor the emissions of both of these sectors as economies fully reopen in the context of historically high fossil fuel-based energy prices. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that, in the scenarios they assessed, limiting atmospheric warming to the key level of around 1.5 degrees Celsius requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak by 2025 at the latest, emphasizing that achieving this milestone is a crucial step towards controlling the severity of climate change. The new data from the climate dashboard underscore what some scientists have warned: time is running out, and we must urgently bend the emissions curve to achieve the necessary reductions to limit atmospheric warming.How do greenhouse gas emissions impact the climate, as mentioned in the passage?
- A.
They lead to increased atmospheric humidity.
- B.
They reduce atmospheric warming.
- C.
They cause changes in the atmosphere, land, and oceans.
- D.
They only affect the atmosphere.
- E.
Their impact on climate is miniscule thus cannot be judged effectively.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: In a reading-comprehension item the answer is whatever the passage itself states; you must locate the exact sentence that addresses the question and prefer the option that reproduces its meaning in full, rejecting options that add unstated claims, narrow the scope, or reverse the passage's direction.
Application: The question asks how greenhouse-gas emissions impact the climate. The passage states that as emissions increase, "they build up in the atmosphere and warm the climate, leading to many other changes around the world—in the atmosphere, on land, and in the oceans." The option that matches this scope is "They cause changes in the atmosphere, land, and oceans," which captures all three domains the passage names.
Contrast:
"They cause changes in the atmosphere, land, and oceans" — reproduces the passage's exact three domains, so it is the full and correct reading.
"They only affect the atmosphere" — too narrow; it drops land and oceans, which the passage explicitly includes.
"They reduce atmospheric warming" — reverses the passage, which says emissions warm the climate, not cool it.
"They lead to increased atmospheric humidity" — introduces a humidity claim the passage never makes.
"Their impact on climate is miniscule thus cannot be judged effectively" — contradicts the passage's stress that time is running out and warming must be limited.