Question

look at this sentence:

many scientists believe that human consumption of earths natural resources is dangerously outpacing the ability of those resources to be replenished.

select the definition of consumption that the sentence uses.

consumption \kuhn - suhmp - shuhn\\ noun 1. the act of eating or drinking; around the holidays, my consumption of sweets definitely increases. 2. the rate or amount at which something is used up: older vehicles generally have higher fuel consumption than newer ones. 3. the use of commercial goods or services: television consumption is higher today than in the 1960s. 4. tuberculosis; a bacterial infection that affects the lungs and other parts of the body: in 1865, jean - antoine villemin discovered that consumption could be passed from humans to cattle. — from latin (consumere)

Explanation:

We analyze the context of the sentence "human consumption of Earth's natural resources is dangerously outpacing the ability of those resources to be replenished". The key here is the use of natural resources, so we need to find the definition of "consumption" related to using up resources.

• Definition 1 is about eating/drinking, which doesn't fit natural resources.
• Definition 2 is "the rate or amount at which something is used up", which matches the idea of using Earth's natural resources (using them up faster than they can be replenished).
• Definition 3 is about commercial goods/services, not natural resources.
• Definition 4 is about tuberculosis, irrelevant here.

Answer:

1. the rate or amount at which something is used up