单选题     There are many interesting news items in BP's (英国石油公司) annual Energy Outlook just published. But perhaps the most astonishing suggestion in the report is the idea that cutting back on plastic use could make matters worse. This might be what you would expect BP to say. After all, as one of the world's biggest oil companies, it makes a lot of money from selling products in plastic. But let's look at the thinking behind BP's argument.
    If the current opposing idea about the use of plastic continues, there could be a worldwide ban on single-use plastics by 2040. But the document argues that switching plastic for other materials will have a bigger cost in terms of energy and carbon emissions (排放). That sounds like the law of unintended (非故意的) consequences in action. When plastic bags are measured against paper or cotton substitutes, a BBC analysis found there wasn't a great deal of difference in their environmental impact. Paper bags require fewer reuses to make them more environmentally friendly than single-use plastic bags, which means customers have to replace paper bags more frequently.
    Environmentalists, though, are not entirely convinced. They think that BP is stressing the problem of banning plastic for its own interest. 'While it's true that it takes less energy to produce and transport plastic than glass, a glass bottle can be reused dozens of times and is recyclable. Plus, materials like glass when they escape collection don't go on polluting our oceans and rivers for hundreds of years,' said Louise Edge, from Greenpeace UK.
    Steps to encourage recycling are being taken. The UK, for example, will introduce a new tax on the manufacture and import of plastic packaging in 2022. There are also lots of developments taking place with alternative materials. These may be the final defense against the unintended consequences of plastic bans.
单选题     What is astonishing about BP's annual report? ______
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节题。 文章第一段第一、二句提到,英国石油公司刚刚发布的年度《能源展望》中有许多有趣的新闻,但报告中最令人吃惊的建议可能是,减少塑料的使用可能会使事情变得更糟。
单选题     Which of the following could be banned worldwide by 2040? ______
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节题。 文章第二段第一句提到,如果继续反对使用塑料,到2040年可能会在全球范围内禁止使用一次性塑料制品。
单选题     According to environmentalists, what causes BP to oppose banning plastics? ______
 
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节题。 文章第三段第一、二句提到,环保主义者认为,英国石油公司是为了自己的利益而突出禁用塑料会带来的问题。
单选题     What measure is being taken by the UK to cut back on the use of plastics? ______
 
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节题。 文章最后一段第二句提到,英国将在2022年对塑料包装的生产和进口征收新税,以此来缩减塑料的使用,并不是禁止进口或生产塑料袋,也没有提到要对使用塑料袋征税。第三句提到同时也在发展它的代替品。