单选题
Passage 2 Every year, the American Lung
Association (ALA) releases its annual report card on smog, and every year it
gives an "F" to over half the nation's counties and cities. When ALA's "State of
the Air 2002" recently came out, dozens of credulous local journalists once
again took the bait, ominously reporting that their corner of the nation
received a failing grade. The national coverage was no better, repeating as fact
ALA's statement that it is "gravely concerned" about air quality, and neglecting
to solicit the views of even one scientist with a differing view. Too bad,
because this report card says a lot less about actual air quality than it does
about the tactics and motives of the ALA. The very fact that 60
percent of counties were given an 'F' seems to be alarmist. This is particularly
true given that smog levels have been trending downward for several decades.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) statistics, ozone, the
primary constituent of smog, has declined by approximately 30 percent since the
1970s. And recent gains indicate that the progress will likely continue, even
without the wave of new regulations ALA is now demanding. ALA
is correct that some areas still occasionally exceed the federal standard for
ozone, but such spikes are far less frequent than in the past. Even Los Angeles,
the undisputed smog capital of America, has cleaned up its act considerably. Los
Angeles, which exceeded federal smog standards for 154 days in 1989, has had 75
percent fewer such spikes in recent years. But an ALA-assigned "F" misleadingly
implies that air quality has not improved at all. Most of the
nation is currently in attainment with the current smog standard, and much of
the rest is getting close. Nonetheless, ALA chose to assign an "F" to an entire
county based on just a few readings above a strict new EPA standard enacted in
1997 but not yet in force. In effect, ALA demanded a standard even more
stringent than the federal government's, which allows some leeway for a few
anomalously high readings in otherwise clean areas. ALA further exaggerated the
public-health hazard by grossly overstating the risks of these relatively minor
and sporadic increases above the standard.
单选题
The media's response to ALA's "State of the Air 2002" can best be
described as ______.
A. trusting
B. suspicious
C. critical
D. hesitant
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
By citing figures from the EPA, the author seems to contend that
______.
A. the regulations about smog have proved effective
B. new regulations are necessary to deal with smog
C. smog problems have actually become less serious
D. the federal smog standard has been rather low
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
In Paragraph 3, the word "spikes" (in boldface) probably refers to
______.
A. the increases above the smog standard
B. the irregular readings about air quality in some areas
C. the occurrences of smog in Los Angeles
D. the current standards demanded by ALA
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
The author draws on Los Angeles to prove that the ALA ______.
A. is right to assign an "F" to that area
B. often bases its report on the past events
C. has a good reason to stress smog risks
D. has overstated smog problems
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】
单选题
The author agrees with the ALA that ______.
A. present smog standards should be made stricter
B. the standard established by the EPA is effective
C. some areas fail to meet the federal standard at times
D. poor air quality is a major problem nationwide
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
One of the problems with the ALA seems to be ______.