Question

【題目】Is Your Diet Destroying the Environment?

A vegetarian diet is often praised for its health benefits. Studies have shown that vegetarians usually have lower levels of heart disease and a lower risk of diabetes than people who eat meat. What most people are less aware of, however, are the effects that a vegetarian diet can have on the environment.

Researchers from the Union of Concerned Scientists in the US recently studied how consumer behavior affects the environment. The study showed that meat consumption is one of the main ways that humans can damage the environment, second only to the use of motor vehicle.

Then, how can eating meat have a negative effect on the environment? For a start, all farm animals such as cows, pigs, and sheep give off methane (沼氣) gas by expelling (排出) wind from their bodies. One cow can produce up to 60 liters of methane each day. Methane gas is the second most common greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Many environmental experts now believe that it is more responsible for global warming than carbon dioxide. It is estimated that 25% of all methane released into the atmosphere comes from farm animals.

Another way that meat production affects the environment is through the use of water and land. 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of beef, whereas 20 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of wheat. One acre of farmland used for crop production can produce 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots, or 50,000 pounds of tomatoes.

Many people now see the benefits of switching to a vegetarian diet, not just for health reasons, but also because it plays a vital role in protecting the environment. However, some nutritionists advise against switching to a totally strict vegetarian, or vegan diet. They believe a vegan diet, which excludes all products from animal sources, such as cheese, eggs, and milk, can be short of many necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies need.

Today, many people know it’s important to take better care of their bodies and to use the earth’s resources more efficiently. As this understanding spreads, more people may realize that to help the environment and for the human race to survive, more of us will need to become vegetarians.

【1】The underlined word “it” in Para.3 refers to ___________.

A.methane gasB.carbon dioxide

C.expelling windD.greenhouse gas

【2】Many figures are used in Para.4 to show ___________.

A.growing tomatoes has the highest production

B.crop production is better than meat production

C.meat production consumes too much water and land

D.farm animals are the main producer of the methane gas

【3】What message does the passage want to convey?

A.Our diet is destroying the surroundings.

B.Raising farm animals affects the environment.

C.A vegetarian diet helps to protect the environment.

D.More and more people are becoming strict vegetarians.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】C

【解析】

本文是一篇說明文。文章介紹了素食不僅有益于健康，而且還會對環(huán)境產生積極的影響。

【1】詞義猜測題。根據(jù)畫線詞前的“Methane gas is the second most common greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide.”可知，甲烷氣體是僅次于二氧化碳的第二大溫室氣體，此處是甲烷氣體和二氧化碳的對比，即：許多環(huán)境專家現(xiàn)在認為甲烷氣體比二氧化碳更能導致全球變暖。由此可知，it指代的就是前面提到的甲烷氣體，故A項正確。

【2】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第四段中的“Another way that meat production affects the environment is through the use of water and land.”可知，肉類生產影響環(huán)境的另一種方式是利用水和土地，緊接著通過具體數(shù)據(jù)對肉類生產和蔬菜種植所需的土地和水進行對比——生產一磅牛肉需要2500加侖水，而生產一磅小麥需要20加侖水；一英畝的農田可以生產4萬磅土豆、3萬磅胡蘿卜或5萬磅西紅柿。由此可知，這些數(shù)據(jù)就是為了證明肉類生產消耗了太多的水和土地，故C項正確。

【3】主旨大意題。通讀全文，特別是根據(jù)第一段中的“What most people are less aware of, however, are the effects that a vegetarian diet can have on the environment.”可知，然而，大多數(shù)人不太清楚的是素食對環(huán)境的影響，因此文章主要講的是素食有助于保護環(huán)境，故C項正確。

代詞指代形式的詞義猜測題難度較大，因為代詞指代的都是上文出現(xiàn)的某個（些）名詞或名詞性短語，因此抓住畫線詞上文出現(xiàn)過的名詞或名詞性短語是關鍵，例如本篇第1題，根據(jù)畫線詞前的“Methane gas is the second most common greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide.”可知，甲烷氣體是僅次于二氧化碳的第二大溫室氣體，此處是甲烷氣體和二氧化碳在影響環(huán)境方面的對比，即：許多環(huán)境專家現(xiàn)在認為甲烷氣體比二氧化碳更能導致全球變暖，由此可知it指代的就是前面提到的甲烷氣體。