Question

The economic growth that many nations in Asia and increasingly Africa have experienced over the past couple of decades has transformed hundreds of millions of lives – almost entirely for the better. But there’s a byproduct to that growth, one that’s evident – or sometimes less than evident – in the smoggy, smelly skies above cities like Beijing, New Delhi and Jakarta. Thanks to new cars and power plants, air pollution is bad and getting worse in much of the world, and it’s taking a major toll (傷亡人數(shù)，代價) on global health.

How big? According to a new analysis published in the Lancet, more than 3.2 million people suffered deaths from air pollution in 2010, the largest number on record. That’s up from 800,000 in 2000. And it’s a regional problem: 65% of those deaths occurred in Asia, where the air is choked by diesel soot (內燃發(fā)動機煙霧) from cars and trucks, as well as the song from power plants and the dust from endless urban construction. In East Asia and China, 1.2 million people died, as well as another 712,000 in South Asia, including India. For the first time ever, air pollution is on the world’s top – 10 list of killers, and it’s moving up the ranks faster than any other factor.

So how can air pollution be so damaging? It is the very finest soot – so small that it roots deep within the lungs and then enters the bloodstream – that contributes to most of the public – health toll of air pollution including death. Diesel soot, which can also cause cancer, is a major problem because it is concentrated in cities along transportation zones affecting overpopulated areas. It is thought to contribute to half the deaths from air pollution in urban centers. Fro example, 1 in 6 people in the U.S. live near a diesel – pollution hot spot like a rail yard, port terminal or freeway.

We also know that air pollution may be linked to other non – deadly diseases. Fortunately in the U.S. and other developed nations, urban air is for the most part cleaner than it was 30 or 40 years ago, thanks to regulations and new technologies like the catalytic converters (催化式排氣凈化器) that reduce automobile emissions. Govemments are also pushing to make air cleaner – see the White House’s move last week to further tighten soot standards. It’s not perfect, but we’ve had much more success dealing with air pollution than climate change.

Will developing nations like India eventually catch up? Hopefully – though the problem may get worse before it gets better. The good news is that it doesn’t take a major technological advance to improve urban air. Switching from diesel fuel to unleaded (無鉛燃油) helps, as do newer and cleaner cars which are less likely to send out pollutants. Power plants – even ones that burn mineral fuels like coal – can be fitted with pollution – control equipment that, at a price, will greatly reduce smog and other pollutants.

But the best solutions may involve urban design. In the Guardian, John Vidal notes that Delhi now has 200 cars per 1,000 people, far more than much richer Asian cities like Hong Kong and Singapore. Developing cities will almost certainly see an increase in car ownership as residents become wealthier – and that doesn’t have to mean deadly air pollution. Higher incomes should also lead to tougher environmental regulations, which is exactly what happened in the West. We can only hope it happens before the death toll from bad air gets even higher.

1.What tends to give rise to the highest death toll according to the passage?

A．The lack of tight environmental protection standards.

B．The increasing numbers of the diesel cars and trucks.

C．The frighteningly high death rate from deadly cancer.

D．The world’s serious air pollution such as soot and dust.

2.The “byproduct” (Paragraph 1) most probably refers to     .

A．consequence      B．solution       C．reform         D．design

3.The basic reason why so many people die from air pollution is that       .

A．the diesel soot is too small to be seen

B．the diesel soot is much too poisonous to breathe

C．the diesel soot roots in lungs and gets into blood

D．the diesel soot can also contribute to deadly cancer

4.According to the passage, the writer actually wants to convince the readers that        .

A．the global economic growth is mainly to blame for air pollution and climate change

B．the developing countries are repeating the same mistakes as the developed ones made

C．the ecological situation and air pollution in India are becoming worse and worse

D．the unbeatable air is increasingly becoming a major killer throughout the world

5.By describing urban design as “the best solution” in the last paragraph, the writer means that        .

A．the making of tougher environmental regulations alone is of little use

B．more sever regulations should be made to handle air pollution

C．the urban construction in western developed countries is the best choice

D．the pace of development has to be slowed down to reduce air pollution

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

5.B

【解析】

試題分析：亞洲和日益增長的非洲經濟使人們的生活更好了，但是經濟發(fā)展導致了嚴重的空氣污染，最終導致越來越多的人死于和空氣污染有關的疾病。究其原因是極細小的顆粒進入人的肺里和血液中，最終導致致命的疾病。人民的生活水平提高了，車也多了，但是相應的更嚴厲的治理空氣污染的法規(guī)政策也應該跟上，這樣才不會使由于空氣污染導致的死亡率更高。

1.細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段的Thanks to new cars and power plants, air pollution is bad and getting worse in much of the world, and it’s taking a major toll on global health.（由于新車和發(fā)電廠，空氣污染變得更糟了在世界許多的地方，正占據(jù)全球健康傷亡人數(shù)的主要原因。）和第二段的For the first time ever, air pollution is on the world’s top – 10 list of killers, and it’s moving up the ranks faster than any other factor. （歷史上第一次，空氣污染高居世界最高峰—10大殺手名單，比其他因素攀升的都快。）判斷，選D。

2.詞意猜測題。byproduct 意為副產品，根據(jù)本句句意：但是經濟的增長帶來了一個“副產品”，一個明顯或者有時不太明顯的副產品，在像北京、新德里和雅加達這樣的城市上空彌漫著霧蒙蒙、難聞的氣味。）所以在這里byproduct 就是經濟的后果，發(fā)展經濟以犧牲環(huán)境為代價。故選A。

3.細節(jié)理解題。第三段第一、二句的意思是： 那么空氣污染怎么會如此傷人？是那些非常細小的煙霧—如此細小以至于它深深植根于在肺里然后進入到血液里—導致大多數(shù)公眾由于空氣污染患上的健康問題包括死亡。由此判斷空氣污染導致死亡的基本原因是C。

4.主題歸納題。本文主要講述的是經濟的發(fā)展帶來的空氣污染進而致人死亡的問題。其他為次要問題。故選D。

5.推理判斷題。最后一段的意思是：但是解決空氣污染的最好的辦法可能還涉及到城市規(guī)劃設計。發(fā)展中城市的人有車的多了因為有錢了，但是不能意味著更致命的空氣污染。更高的收入意味著更有利的環(huán)保措施，正如西方國家一樣。所以富了更應該有更嚴厲的規(guī)章制度來應對空氣污染。故選B。

考點：科普環(huán)保類閱讀。