Question

In Greek mythology(神話), fire is a gift form God, stolen from Zeus(宙斯) by Prometheus and handed over to humans suffering from cold. What could be more natural than sitting around a beautiful fire on a winter night, at a campsite in the Berkshires?

Hard as it may be to believe, the fireplace—long considered a trophy(獎杯), particularly in a city like New York—is acquiring a social shame. Among those who desire to be environmentally responsible, it is joining the ranks of bottled water and big houses.

Sally Treadwell, a 51-year-old public relations executive in Boone, N.C., said nothing makes her happier than building a fire on a cold winter night. But most of the time she doesn’t, because she feels too guilty about the damage it may do to the environment. Every time she builds a fire, it causes “inner conflict,” she said. “It’s a guilty pleasure”.

“The smoke from a fire smells very nice,” said Diane Bailey, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. “But it can cause a lot of harm. The tiny particles(顆粒) can cause illness, and can cross into the bloodstream, causing heart attacks as well as worsening other conditions.”

Growing concerns about the air pollution and health problems caused by smoke from wood fires are urging a number of areas across the country to pass laws regulating them. Idaho offers a tax cut to people who replace uncertified(不合格的)wood stoves with “greener” ones; San Joaquin County in California forbids selling a home unless its wood stove is replaced with an E.P.A. certified one；and Palo Alto and other governments in California forbid wood-burning fireplaces in new construction.

Certainly, many think otherwise. In any case, most fireplaces are used far too infrequently to cause any real damage to the environment, said Stephen Sears, the vice president of the Brick Industry Association, voicing an opinion shared by some.

Perhaps not coincidentally, sales of wood-burning equipment dropped to 235,000 in 2009 from 800,000 in 1999, according to the Brick Industry Association. It also reports that approximately 35,000 fireplaces were installed in the United States in 2009, compared to 80,000 in 2005. Certainly those numbers reflect the economic slowdown, but the may also be affected by growing mixed feelings to wood fries.

1.We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that ________.

A. big houses are not considered environmentally friendly

B. bottle water is a good companion for a fire place

C. a fireplace is viewed as a sign of success

D. people in New York are laughed at for their tradition

2.Sally’s “inner conflict” in the 3rd paragraph resulted from ________.

A. her love for the fireplace

B. the damage to the environment

C. the concern about her health

D. her mixed emotion fro the fireplace

3. In terms of the regulations about wood fires we can learn from the passage that_______.

A. uncertified fireplaces are forbidden in Idaho

B. some people are against the woodfire controlling regulations 

C. only energy-efficient wood stoves can be used in the US

D. all the people support measures taken to control the use of fireplaces

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A. To urge people to burn less wood

B. To discuss wood-burning’s impact

C. To throw light on the causes of the fireplace’s decline

D. To indicate the cooling love for the fireplace

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：在寒冷的冬天，壁爐一直是人們的至愛。可是現在越來越多的人開始意識到燃燒木柴的壁爐對環境的破壞， 很多地方開始出臺相關規定， 以降低壁爐對環境和健康的影響。美國人對壁爐的熱情開始降溫。

1.考查推理判斷。第二段說，一直以來，特別是在紐約這樣的城市，壁爐被人們看得像獎杯一樣珍貴， 如今卻被視為社會的羞辱， 它加入到瓶裝水和大房子的行列，要承擔起對環境的責任。故可推知瓶裝水、大房子、壁爐都.是對環境不利的，選A

2.推理題;從第三段的內容可知Sally喜歡壁爐帶來的快樂，但是也擔心壁爐給環境帶來的破壞，選D

3.推理題：文章第五段提到針對燃燒木材的壁爐的有關規定，而第六段提到很多人認為燃燒壁爐不會給環境帶來危害，選B

4.考查寫作意圖題：文章說到壁爐曾經 是美國人的摯愛，但是現在人們懷疑壁爐給環境帶來的破壞，有的地方對燃燒壁爐設置了規定，規范壁爐的使用，由此可知美國人對壁爐的鐘愛在下降，這也是作者的意圖，選D

考點：考查環保類短文