Visiting Oxford Street, a road filling with tatty shops and overcrowded with people, is plainly a trial. Less plainly, levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO ₂ ) , a noxious gas, have been found to be around three times higher there than the legal limit. In 2013 the annual mean concentration of NO ₂ on the street was one of the highest levels found anywhere in Europe. British air is far cleaner than it was a few decades ago. Fewer people use coal-burning stoves; old industrial plants have been decommissioned. But since 2009 levels of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, coarse or fine particles that are linked to lung cancer and asthma, have fallen more slowly. The exact number of deaths caused by dirty air is unknown. But in 2010 a government advisory group estimated that removing man-made fine particulate matter from the atmosphere would increase life expectancy for those born in 2008 by an average of six months. Much of the slowdown is the result of fumes from diesel cars, which were championed by successive governments because they use less fuel and thus produce less carbon dioxide than petrol cars. In 2001 only 14% of all cars ran on diesel; by 2013 the proportion had increased to 35%. (Greener "hybrid" and electric cars have increased nine fold since 2006, but account for just 0. 5% of the entire fleet.) Second-hand cars are particularly noxious, but even newer ones have not been as clean as hoped. Many cars that let out few pollutants in tests produced more on the roads. Government's hesitation has not helped. Part of the problem is that several departments are responsible for air pollution. This means nobody has taken a lead on it, complains Joan Walley, a Labour MP who chairs an environmental committee that has released a series of damning reports. And few politicians are keen to fire drivers. However, some improvements have been made. In 2008 a "low-emission zone" was created in London, which targets large vans and coaches. A smaller "ultra low-emission zone" has been proposed for 2020, which would charge all vehicles that are not of a certain standard 12. 50 pounds a day. European Commission fines for breaching limits may encourage cities to do more. But other countries are more ambitious; 60 such zones exist in Germany, targeting private cars as well as vans. In December Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, announced that she wanted to ban diesel cars by 2020.

单选题 Oxford Street is mentioned in the opening paragraph to______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：例证题。根据Oxford Street定位到首段首句。首段举例一般是为了引出主题，该句提到Oxford Street，紧接着下文开始讨论nitrogen dioxide“二氧化氮”的问题，故而可以判断提到Oxford Street是为了引出空气污染方面的话题。选项[A]describe the busy streets in Britain“描述英国热闹的街道”；该项显然过于表面，容易排除。[B]discuss the problem of air pollution“讨论空气污染的问题”；该项符合答案要求。[C]stress the improvement of air quality“强调空气质量的提高”；文章讨论的是空气污染，而不是空气质量的提高，故该项错误。[D]show the link between car and pollution“显示汽车与污染的联系”；该项内容在下文提到，但并非全文主题，故也可以排除。综上，本题选[B]。

单选题 According to Paragraph 2, life span may be related to______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到第二段。题干life span=最后一行的life expectancy，故本题答案句为：But in 2010 a government advisory group estimated that removing man-made fine particulate matter from the atmosphere would increase life expectancy for those born in 2008 by an average of six months．“但2010年，一个政府顾问组估计，如果将大气中人为造成的微粒物质除去的话，2008年出生的人人均寿命将增加6个月。”而该段倒数第二句还提到：The exact number of deaths caused by dirty air is unknown．“因污浊空气所引发的确切的死亡人数是未知的。”由此可以判断，寿命长短与空气质量相关。选项[A]air quality“空气质量”；[B]eating habit“饮食习惯”；[C]living standard“生活标准”；[D]medical condition“医疗条件”。很明显，本题答案为[A]。

单选题 Successive governments have advocated diesel cars because______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到第三段。根据successive governments，diesel cars等关键词定位到该段首句：Much of the slowdown is the result of fumes from diesel cars，which were championed by successive governments because they use less fuel and thus produce less carbon dioxide than petrol cars．其中，champion表示“拥护，支持”，等于题干的advocate“主张，拥护”。而答案句来自because一句。选项[A]they are much cheaper than petrol cars“柴油汽车比汽油汽车更便宜”；其中much cheaper纯属无中生有，故排除。[B]they use less fuel and save more money“柴油汽车耗用燃料更少且更省钱”；后半句的save more money也是无中生有。[C]they are more environmentally friendly“柴油汽车更加环保”：该项与原文produce less carbon dioxide“产生更少二氧化碳”是同义替换。[D]they produce less carbon dioxide than all cars“柴油汽车比所有汽车产生更少的二氧化碳”；其中all一词过于绝对，下文明确提到greener hybrid and electric cars“更加绿色环保的混动汽车和电动汽车”，可见该项表达是错误的。综上，本题答案为[C]。

单选题 Governments try to reduce air pollution by______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：细节题。定位到最后一段。governments一词出现在第四段首句，而答案却来自第五段。第五段虽然没有提到“政府”一词，但都在讨论政府所做的一些举措，其中第二句就有答案提示In 2008 a“low-emission zone”was created in London，which targets large vans and coaches．选项[A]imposing extra taxes on vehicles“对汽车征收额外税收”；该项在整段都无体现，属于无中生有，故可以排除。[B]setting“no-emission zone”for cars“设立汽车无排放区”；原文说的是low-emission zone“低排放区”，而不是no-emission zone“无排放区”，显然，该项属于偷换概念。[C]cutting tail gas emission of vehicles“减少汽车尾气排放”；该项的cutting tail gas emission=原文low-emission；vehicle=vans and coaches；故该项正确。[D]encouraging people not to drive cars“鼓励人们不开车”；该项属于无中生有。综上，本题答案为[C]。

单选题 Considering the role that government plays, the author seems to be______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：态度题。定位到最后两段。第四段首句提到Government’s hesitation has not helped．其中not helped明显是否定、负面的表达。第五段首句提到：However，some improvements have been made．其中，However突出作者的观点态度，该句明显是正面、肯定的表达，故作者对于政府举措的描述有正有负，属于客观态度。选项[A]sympathetic“同情的”；[B]pessimistic“悲观的”；[C]concerned“担心的”；[D]objective“客观的”。综上分析，本题选[D]。