1. In November 2012, Superstorm Sandy left hundreds of thousands of New York and New Jersey utility customers without power for ten days or more. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo suggested that “part of the learning from [Sandy] is the recognition that climate change is a reality.”
An article in the Greenpoint Star noted, however, that when New Yorkers faced a gas shortage in the wake of the storm, Cuomo “relaxed a number of restrictions to make it easier to drive our polluting automobiles.” The Star also pointed out the alarm residents of the area experienced at the thought of going without their cars for a few days, the long lines at gas stations, and the “fist fights over fuel.”
The Star proposed the name “Hurricane Irony” for “the next catastrophic storm that hits New York City” in honor of the drivers who waited in line for hours to gas up their vehicles.
The writer suggests that the next catastrophic storm should be named “Hurricane Irony” because—
a. residents of New York and New Jersey had to waste precious time waiting in line due to a shortage of gasoline in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy
b. the panic over fuel after Superstorm Sandy makes it clear that Americans may talk about the causes of climate change, but they are unwilling to make the sacrifices required to help reverse it
c. the residents of New York and New Jersey remained without power many days after Superstorm Sandy when the power should have been restored more promptly
2. Mehmet Oz is a Columbia University surgery professor, best-selling author, and host of The Dr. Oz Show. In an article in Time magazine entitled “Irony in Progress,” Dr. Oz comments that “people marvel that the developing world still suffers from infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria and cholera” since those diseases have been virtually eliminated in the United States.
More distressing to Dr. Oz, however, is the fact that noninfectious conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are now beginning to kill more people in these parts of the world even as progress is being made in reducing deaths from the infectious diseases.
Dr. Oz believes that heart disease, cancer, and diabetes can be attributed to “the terrible triad of poor diet, too little exercise and tobacco use” in Western culture, and he regrets seeing these “culprits” spread to less-industrialized societies. He is disappointed that “while the good parts of Western culture, like its life-saving antibiotics, seep into the farthest reaches of the rainforests and savannas, so do its cigarettes, video games and fast food.”
The “irony in progress” that Dr. Oz describes is that—
a. in some parts of the world, people still die of malaria and tuberculosis on a regular basis
b. in the Western world, people are afflicted by cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, and cures cannot be found for these deadly illnesses
c. despite progress in defeating infectious diseases around the world, people are now dying from other serious illnesses caused by lifestyle choices imported from the West
All complete. Great job!
