Question

The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important- is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.
The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency (效率)，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.
‘Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher，‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. ’In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.
Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information，it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反饋） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.
Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted 一 whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒溫器) , for example.
Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them.
小題1:As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of________.

A． zero-carbon homes	B．the behaviour of building users
C． sustainable building design	D．the reduction of carbon emissions

小題2:The underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refers to”________.”

A．the ways	B．their homes
C． developments	D．existing efforts

小題3:What are Katy Janda’s words mainly about?

A． The importance of changing building users, habits.

B． The necessity of making a careful building design.

C． The variety of consumption patterns of building users.

D． The role of technology in improving energy efficiency.

小題4:The information gap in energy use _______.

A． can be bridged by feedback facilities

B． affects the study on energy monitors

C． brings about problems for smart meters

D． will be caused by building users’ old habits

小題5:What does the dimension added by social science research suggest?

A． The social science research is to be furthered.

B． The education programme is under discussion.

C． The behaviour of building users is unpredictable.

D． The behaviour preference of building users is similar.

Answer 1

小題1:B
小題2:D
小題3:A
小題4:A
小題5:C

試題分析：文章大意：本文講述英國承諾，到2050年，英國的二氧化碳的排放減少80%。英國能源研究中心的研究發現，可持續發展建筑物的設計很重要，而改變其使用者的習慣也很重要。
小題1:B考查細節理解。根據文章第一段首句The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).可知根據英國能源研究中心的研究，建筑物使用者的行為也許至少和它的設計一樣重要。故B正確。
小題2:D考查詞義推測。此題考查which引導的非限定性定語從句，which指代的是先行詞existing efforts現有的努力。故D正確。
小題3:A考查句意推測。根據文章第三段Katy Janda 的話consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. 及In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.可知建造使用者改變習慣的重要性。故A正確。
小題4:A。考查細節考查。根據文章第四段Feedback (反饋） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use可知反饋設備能夠縮短信息差距。故A正確。
小題5:C考查細節考查。根據文章倒數第二段Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted可知建筑物使用者在家的行為是私人的并不可被預測的。故C正確。