李风清
What does " possible exception" mean? "With the possible exception of another world war, giant asteroid, or an incurable plague, global warming may be the single largest treat to our planet." Why not just " with the possibilities of "? Do they equal? possible exception= possibilities? Thank you for your patience. :)
May 23, 2016 12:19 AM
Answers · 3
1
You can read it like this: "With the exception of... (list of disasters)" -- almost the same meaning. Alternatively, the text may be rephrased like this: "Global warming may be the single largest treat to our planet, if you exclude possibility of another world war, giant asteroid, or an incurable plague."
May 23, 2016
An exception is like a contradiction. It's saying that global warming is the largest threat, but it's also possible that a world war, asteroid or plague could be the largest threat, which would be an exception to the first statement. This "possible exception" phrasing is simply used as a way to compare the severity and danger of global warming to other obviously terrible things like plagues and World Wars.
May 23, 2016
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