Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the option that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 18 to 22.
The Hidden Connection: How AI Use Affects Polar Bears
Every time we use artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT or generate AI images, (18) __________. The connection lies in the energy-intensive data centers required to train and run AI systems around the world. These massive facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity to power the servers that run AI models, and this energy demand (19) __________, particularly polar bears.
The numbers are alarming. According to research from MIT and Cornell University, AI data centers could produce between 24 and 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2030, (20) __________. Furthermore, a Goldman Sachs analysis forecasts that data centers will drive a sharp rise in electricity demand, (21) __________. Currently, data centers account for 4.4% of all energy consumption in the United States, and the carbon intensity of electricity used by these facilities is 48% higher than the national average because they require constant power around the clock and cannot rely solely on renewable sources like solar or wind.
This massive carbon footprint from AI infrastructure creates a direct link between our digital activities and Arctic climate change. As global temperatures rise due to increased greenhouse gas emissions from sources including AI data centers, Arctic sea ice continues to shrink at an unprecedented rate. Polar bears depend entirely on sea ice for hunting seals, their primary food source. Studies show that ice-free periods in regions like Hudson Bay now last three to four weeks longer than in the 1980s, pushing polar bears beyond their survival limits. (22) __________.
[Adapted from MIT Technology Review]
Question 18:
A. then our computer screens are affected by growing environmental problems that we must contribute to
B. the fact that this environmental problem is growing reaches far beyond our computer screens
C. which further exacerbate a broad ecological crisis extending well past the confines of computer screens
D. we contribute to a growing environmental problem that reaches far beyond our computer screens
