The destruction of our natural resources and contamination of our food supply continue to occur, largely because of the extreme difficulty in affixing(把……固定)legal responsibility on those who continue to treat our environment with reckless abandon. Attempts to prevent pollution by legislation, economic incentives and friendly persuasion have been met by lawsuits, personal and industrial denial and long delays—not only in accepting responsibility, but more importantly, in doing something about it. It seems that only when government decides it can afford tax incentives or production sacrifices is there any initiative for change. Where is industry's and our recognition that protecting mankind's great treasure is the single most important responsibility? If ever there will be time for environmental health professionals to come to the frontlines and provide leadership to solve environmental problems, that time is now. We are being asked, and, in fact, the public is demanding that we take positive action. It is our responsibility as professionals in environmental health to make the difference. Yes, the ecologists, the environmental activists and the conservationists serve to communicate, stimulate thinking and promote behavioral change. However, it is those of us who are paid to make the decisions to develop, improve and enforce environmental standards, I submit, who must lead the charge. We must recognize that environmental health issues do not stop at city limits, county lines, state or even federal boundaries. We can no longer afford to be tunnel-visioned in our approach. We must visualize issues from every perspective to make the objective decisions. We must express our views clearly to prevent media distortion and public confusion. I believe we have a three-part mission for the present. First, we must continue to press for improvements in the quality of life that people can make for themselves. Second, we must investigate and understand the link between environment and health. Third, we must be able to communicate technical information in a form that citizens can understand. If we can accomplish these three goals in this decade, maybe we can finally stop environmental degradation, and not merely hold it back. We will then be able to spend pollution dollars truly on prevention rather than on bandages.
单选题 We can infer from the first two paragraphs that the industrialists disregard environmental protection chiefly because _____.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:根据第1段末句“个人和企业拒绝和长期拖延在防治污染方面承担责任或采取行动”和第2段首句“似乎只有政府下决心提供税收优惠政策或牺牲生产,情况才会开始有所改变”,可知企业忽视环境保护主要出于经济效益的考虑,B正确。A、C与文中所陈述之意相悖;D文中没有提及。
单选题 The main task now facing ecologists, environmental activists and conservationists is _____.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析:第3段第3句提到:生态学者、环境保护积极分子和环境保护论者应积极与人们交流思想,激起人们思考环境问题,并促进人们的行为发生变化,由此可知B正确。A、C都不是他们的任务;D文中没有提及。
单选题 The word "tunnel-visioned"(Line 2, Para. 4)most probably means "_____".
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:考查的生词是tunnel“隧道”和vision“洞察力,视力”的合成词。结合文章第4段:在方法上,我们再也不能tunnel-visioned,我们必须从各个方面对待问题,并做出客观的决定。由此可知tunnel-visioned是“从各个方面看问题的”反义词,再结合字面意思,可猜测该词意为“片面地看问题”,D正确。
单选题 According to the author, what should play the leading role in the solution of environmental problems?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:第2段第3句提到:环保专业人员走在前头,在解决环境问题中起领导作用的时机已经到来。第3段最后一句又指出:我们这些拿薪水为环保工作的发展、提高出谋划策并执行环境标准的人必须承担起领头的责任。因此,C正确。其他三项均不是起关键作用的因素。
单选题 According to the last paragraph, we learn that _____.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析:文章最后一句提到:如果这10年我们能实现这三个目标,也许最终我们能阻止而不是暂时抑制环境的恶化。那么我们也就不用采取补救措施,而且能将治理污染的费用真正用于保护环境。bandage原义为“绷带”,这里取比喻义,意为“治疗,补救”。A正确;B文中没有提及;C、D与文意相悖。