Answer:
14. A.) “Americans have a special responsibility here. The United States is the mightiest nation on the planet and the greatest contributor to the industrial component of global warming.”
15. C.) Statistics of changes in nature
16. C). Quotations from a panel of experts
17. B). Serious
18. D.) Polar bears are dying.
19. B.) Ignore the problem or make an effort to change the problem.
20. C.) He believes we have a responsibility to reduce global warming.
21. A.) It shows how dangerous global warming can be for society.
Explanation:
The article, 'Rising Tides', is a lamentation of the writer, Bob Herbert of the disastrous effect of global warming and its effects on the future condition of the world. It ends with a call to action from the American government, which it believes has the capacity to curb global warming.
14. Even though, the writer spent much of the article lamenting about the effect of global warming, his main aim was to make America realize that they have a huge role to play in managing the situation.
15. The writer references disappearance of the snow in Kilimanjaro, as well as the shattering of a rock, quoting its dimensions.
16. The quote from <em>The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, </em>a writing of scientific experts was used to justify the claim that developing nations will be worst hit from global warming.
17. His last paragraph had a serious tone to either solve the problem or pretend that it does not exist.
18. There was no mention of polar bears dying.
19. Herbert mentioned that we could ignore the problem or pretend that it does not exist.
20. Herbert already believed that we have a responsibility to reduce global warming hence his call to action.
21. Treacherous means deceptive. Situations that are deceptive in nature are dangerous and difficult to tackle.