阅读理解 Frustrated with delays in Sacramento, Bay Area officials said Thursday they planned to take matters into their own hands to regulate the region''s growing pile of electronic trash. A San Jose councilwoman and a San Francisco supervisor said they would propose local initiatives aimed at controlling electronic waste if the California law-making body fails to act on two bills stalled in the Assembly. They are among a growing number of California cities and counties that have expressed the same intention. Environmentalists and local governments are increasingly concerned about the toxic hazard posed by old electronic devices and the cost of safely recycling those products. An estimated 6 million televisions and computers are stocked in California homes, and an additional 6,000 to 7,000 computers become outdated every day. The machines contain high levels of lead and other hazardous substances, and are already banned from California landfills (垃圾填埋场). Legislation by Senator Byron Sher would require consumers to pay a recycling fee of up to $30 on every new machine containing a cathode (阴极) ray tube. Used in almost all video monitors and televisions, those devices contain four to eight pounds of lead each. The fees would go toward setting up recycling programs, providing grants to non-profit agencies that reuse the tubes and rewarding manufacturers that encourage recycling. A separate bill by Los Angeles-area Senator Gloria Romero would require high-tech manufacturers to develop programs to recycle so-called e-waste. If passed, the measures would put California at the forefront of national efforts to manage the refuse of the electronic age. But high-tech groups, including the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and the American Electronics Association, oppose the measures, arguing that fees of up to $30 will drive consumers to online, out-of-state retailers. "What really needs to occur is consumer education. Most consumers are unaware they''re not supposed to throw computers in the trash," said Roxanne Gould, vice president of government relations for the electronics association. Computer recycling should be a local effort and part of residential waste collection programs, she added. Recycling electronic waste is a dangerous and specialized matter, and environmentalists maintain the state must support recycling efforts and ensure that the job isn''t contracted to unscrupulous (毫无顾忌的) junk dealers who send the toxic parts overseas. "The graveyard of the high-tech revolution is ending up in rural China," said Ted Smith, director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. His group is pushing for an amendment to Sher''s bill that would prevent the export of e-waste.
单选题 What step were Bay Area officials going to take regarding e-waste disposal?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】事实细节题。题目问:湾区的官员将在电子垃圾处理计划中采取什么措施。文章第1段第1句话:“Thursday they planned to take matters into their own hands to regulate the region''s growing pile of electronic trash (周四他们说计划自行采取行动以控制本地区日益堆积的电子垃圾)”第2段第1句又说“... they would propose local initiatives aimed at controlling electronic waste if the California law-making body fails to act on two bills stalled in the Assembly. (如果加州的立法机关不能执行搁置在下议院的两项议案,他们将提议地方政府主动采取措施,控制电子垃圾。)”因此,答案是B项文中没有提及A项“向厂家施压”、B项进行院外游说”以及D项“举行集会声援搁浅议案”等内容。
单选题 The two bills stalled in the California Assembly both concern ________.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】事实细节或推断题。题目问:搁置在加州议会中的两个议案都涉及________。第2段第1句首次提到这样两个议案;第4段、第5段则分别说明这两个议案的内容。第4段说,Byron议员的议案是,消费者使用含阴极射线管的产品时应缴纳30美元回收费。第5段说,Gloria议员另有一个议案,要求高科技产品生产商想办法回收电子废品。因此答案为D项“该州大量电子废品的再处理问题”。reprocessing 即 recycling 的改写。A项的中心词landfills出现在文中第3段末句,可知相关禁令已经实施,而不是搁置的(stalled)。B项的相关内容见文章末段,是作为Byron议员的提案的修正案提出的禁令。C项在文中未提及。
单选题 Consumers are not supposed to throw used computers in the trash because ________.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推理题。题目问:因为________,所以消费者不应当把旧电脑随意扔到垃圾堆中。第8段第2句话说,“大多数消费者并没有意识到,他们不应该把计算机扔进垃圾堆”。可是相关的理由都是第3段和第4段提到的。查中心词computer,monitor可知,第3段最后两句说明了原因:“这些机器中含大量的铅以及其他危险物质,加州的垃圾填埋场已禁止把它们填埋处理。”故答案是A项“它们含有大量有害物质”。加州政府禁止将其填埋,但并未禁止人们丢弃,B项错。C项不是理由;文中主张,电子废品的回收是危险而专业的工作,应专门回收而不宜随意丢弃,C项的侧重点不对。D项说“毫无顾忌的商人将从中牟利”,这与废计算机是从垃圾堆捡来还是分类收集而来无关。文章相关内容只不过是强调说,不能把电子废品流入这类商人之手,坑害中国的环境。
单选题 High-tech groups believe that if an extra $ 30 is charged on every TV or computer purchased in California, consumers will________.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】事实细节题。题目问:高科技集团认为,如果在加州对每一台卖出的电视机或电脑征收额外的30美元的收费,消费者们将会________。第7段后半句说:“... arguing that fees of up to $30 will drive consumers to online,out-of-state retailers. (……他们认为高达30美元的费用会使消费者转向在网上与其他州的零售商进行交易。)”所以B项正确。A项放弃网上交易”与文章意思相反。C项“强烈反对这项收费”;D项“不愿升级他们的电脑”在文中都没有体现。
单选题 We learn from the passage that much of California''s electronic waste has been ________.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推断题。题目问:我们在文中得知,加州的大部分电子垃圾已经________。根据对最后一段“The graveyard of the high-tech revolution is ending up in rural China(高科技革命的墓地最终落在了中国的乡村地区)”这句话的理解,可以推断出正确答案是C项“出口到国外”。第3段第3句说:“The machines... are already banned from California landfills. (这些机器……垃圾填埋场已经禁止填埋此类垃圾。)”B项“倾倒入垃圾场”不正确。根据第4段第3句“The fees would go toward setting up recycling programs,providing grants to non-profit agencies that reuse the tubes and rewarding manufacturers that encourage recycling. (这项费用将用于设立再循环利用工程,为致力于再循环利用阴极射线管的非赢利组织提供资助,并奖励推动再循环利用的制造厂商。)”,说明A项“被非盈利组织收集”以及D项被电脑生产厂家再循环利用”,还只是在计划中,并没有得到实施。