The Specter of Biological Weapons

States and terrorists alike
have shown a growing interest in germ warfare.
More stringent arms-control efforts
are needed to discourage attacks
by Leonard A. Cole

In 1995, on a whim, I asked a friend: Which would worry you more, being attacked with a biological weapon or a chemical weapon? He looked quizzical. “Frankly, I’m afraid of Alzheimer’s,” he replied, and we shared a laugh. He had elegantly dismissed my question as an irrelevancy. In civilized society, people do not think about such things.

The next day, on March 20, the nerve agent sarin was unleashed in the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 people and injuring 5,500. In Japan, no less, one of the safest countries in the world. I called my friend, and we lingered over the coincidental timing of my question. A seemingly frivolous speculation one day, a deadly serious matter the next.

That thousands did not die from the Tokyo attack was attributed to an impure mixture of the agent. A tiny drop of sarin, which was originally developed in Germany in the 1930s, can kill within minutes after skin contact or inhalation of its vapor. Like all other nerve agents, sarin blocks the action of acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme necessary for the transmission of nerve impulses.

The cult responsible for the sarin attack, Aum Shinrikyo (“Supreme Truth”), was developing biological agents as well. If a chemical attack is frightening, a biological weapon poses a worse nightmare. Chemical agents are inanimate, but bacteria, viruses and other live agents may be contagious and reproductive. If they become established in the environment, they may multiply.

http://www.sciam.com/1296issue/1296cole.html - 2001

Responda em inglês.

Transcreva:

a) do 30 parágrafo, um conectivo que expresse uma relação de comparação;
b) do 40 parágrafo, um conectivo que expresse condição.