영어1 동아 박용예 3과 빈칸 변형

Over the past two centuries, human activities have generated a significant amount of carbon dioxide, ____ referred to as CO₂.

This gas itself is not dangerous ____ we encounter it in everyday situations.

However, excessive amounts of this gas in the atmosphere have contributed to the ____ effect, resulting in a gradual increase in the Earth’s surface temperature.

To make matters worse, this increase has ____ up in recent years and is seriously threatening life on our planet.

We ____ act immediately to stop any further climate change.

While many high-tech ____ such as carbon capture have been proposed, they are often too expensive to be used widely.

Fortunately, there are also low-tech, ____, and even long-lasting solutions available.

In this report, we will focus on one of the most powerful nature-based solutions to climate change: ____, the giant helpers living under the sea.

Whales are ____ creatures.

They are enormous and live incredibly ____ lives.

The largest blue whales can ____ as long as 30 meters and weigh over 200 tons, and some whales have been known to live for more than 100 years.

These giants do extremely beneficial things for the ____ throughout their long lives and even after death.

According to scientists, a single whale can absorb ____ 550 kilograms of CO₂ per year, while a tree can absorb only 22.

Moreover, after they ____, whales sink to the ocean floor with all the CO₂ they absorbed during their lives.

Their bodies then become food and habitats for deep-sea ____.

This process is called a ____ fall.

Whale falls permanently bury about 145,000 tons of CO₂ ____ the sea every year.

This achievement is basically what expensive carbon capture technologies aim to ____ carbon and then store it underground.

In addition to their direct absorption and burial of CO₂ through ____ falls, whales also make a significant indirect contribution to reducing CO₂ through an act called a whale pump.

This refers to the vertical movements of whales that ____ circulate nutrients across different depths of the ocean.

Whales dive deep ____ the ocean to feed on prey such as krill and small fish, and they occasionally swim up to the surface to breathe.

When they near the surface, they release an enormous ____ of waste.

This waste is rich in ____ that are essential for creatures living in that area.

Specifically, it ____ the perfect growing conditions for some microscopic creatures floating at the surface of the ocean.

These creatures, called phytoplankton, may look tiny and insignificant, but when taken together, they play a significant ____ in reducing CO₂.

They ____ about 40% of the carbon in the atmosphere and produce about 50% of the atmosphere’s oxygen.

They do this through photosynthesis, a process that ____ energy using carbon, water, and light.

It is estimated that increasing the world’s phytoplankton by 1% is ____ to planting 2 billion new trees.

Whale pumps deliver nutrients not only to the ocean surface but also to deeper ____ of the ocean.

As whales swim back down to feed at the ocean’s bottom, their ____ stir up the water and bring nutrients down to the creatures living below.

Whale pumps promote the growth of marine life at various depths throughout the ____.

Whales spread nutrients in the ocean not only vertically but also horizontally through a process called the great whale conveyor ____.

These giant mammals migrate over long distances at certain times of the ____.

For example, in the summer, humpback whales tend to stay near Alaska, where the water is cold but rich in nutrients and prey for ____ to feed on.

As winter approaches, they travel up to 4,800 kilometers to breed in the warm ____ near Hawaii.

Nutrients are ____ scarce in warm waters, which makes it difficult for phytoplankton to survive.

Fortunately, when the whales arrive in Hawaii ____ eating their fill in Alaska, they release a large amount of nutrient-rich waste.

This process ____ be thought of as a conveyor belt that moves nutrients from cold waters to warm waters.

These nutrients support the life of many marine animals and, importantly, encourage the growth of phytoplankton ____ in warm waters.

The spread of phytoplankton leads to increased ____ absorption throughout the entire ocean.

Whales circulate water and ____ to every corner of the ocean, helping to combat climate change.

Despite the ____ roles of whales in our environment, their lives are at serious risk.

The number of whales ____ dramatically dropped until killing them for commercial purposes was officially banned in 1986.

It is estimated that the global whale population fell ____ 4 to 5 million to just over 1 million during the decades before the ban.

Today, whales are still threatened by various man-made ____, such as fishing nets, ship strikes, and microplastic pollution in the ocean.

It is important to recognize that whales are valuable partners in our fight against the climate crisis and that protecting them is an effective and cost-efficient way to address this ____ challenge.

Let’s take action to help more whales live longer and ____ lives.