7．
A．The definite danger New York is faced with．B．Study results of the climate threats on New York．
C．The high cost of disaster-prevention plans．
D．Measures already taken to protect New York from flooding．
E．Choice of the areas to be saved from future disasters．
F．Prevention projects needed to fight rising sea． |
76．BOn Monday，New York Gov．Andrew Cuomo said that the response to Hurricane （颶風） Sandy will cost $42 billion．On the same day，a group of climate researchers released research findings that sea levels appear to be on track to rise by several feet over the next century，with every inch putting more New Yorkers at risk．Sea-level researchers estimate that a five-foot rise would produce Sandy-like floods in New York every 15 years，on average．
77．DProtecting New York city from the advancing ocean is likely to be one of this century's great infrastructure （公共設施）investments．some work，such as constructing sea walls and rebuilding subway entrances，is already happening．Money has been spent to prepare for the next storm．Waterproofing electrical facilities and flood-proofing subway tunnels are under construction．The latter is especially important； damage to the subway system was the biggest-ticket item the Hurricane Sandy had caused．
78．FEver-higher seas，though，still require more ambitious planning．The necessary item will be raising building entrances or building up the land．Massive sea gates could block storm surges （大浪）from entering upper New York harbor．Other choices for protecting the city include building barrier islands and extending the shore where feasible，which will make a huge figure on our budget．
79．ABut in some ways New York's challenge is relatively simple．Unlike many other areas of the country that will have to adapt to the varied and unpredictable effects of climate change，the city can have confidence that it faces a well-defined danger 一 rising seas-with effects that are possible to tell．It's obvious that spending billions to protect this population center is a worthwhile investment．And，unlike other places，local officials have already started thinking seriously about engineering their way out of danger．
80．EIn the coming decades，areas up and down the Atlantic coast will have to argue about which coastal areas are worth protecting-by raising land，lengthening beaches，heightening homes or building sea walls to keep the water out--and which aren't．Sea walls won't make sense everywhere； they are expensive．Now，the first thing federal and local officials can do is to plan ahead to decide which lands will inevitably be given up to the ocean and which will be guarded with every effort within our ability．
