Question

All too often, a choice that seems sustainable(可持續(xù)的)turns out on closer examination to be problematic. Probably the best example is the rush to produce ethanol(乙醇) for fuel from corn. Corn is a renewable resource —you can harvest it and grow more, almost limitlessly. So replacing gas with corn ethanol seems like a great idea. 

   One might get a bit more energy out of the ethanol than that used to make it, which could still make ethanol more sustainable than gas generally, but that’s not the end of the problem. Using corn to make ethanol means less corn is left to feed animals and people, which drives up the cost of food. That result leads to turning the fallow land –including, in some cases, rain forest in places such as Brazil—into farmland, which in turn gives off lots of carbon dioxide (CO) into the air. Finally, over many years, the energy benefit from burning ethanol would make up for the forest loss. But by then, climate change would have progressed so far that it might not help.

   You cannot really declare any practice “sustainable” until you have done a complete life-cycle analysis of its environmental(環(huán)境的) costs. Even then, technology and public keep developing, and that development can lead to unforeseen and undesired results. The admirable goal of living sustainably requires plenty of thought on an ongoing basis.

1.What might directly cause the loss of the forest according to the text?

A. The growing demand for energy to make ethanol

B. The increasing carbon dioxide in the air

C. The greater need for farmland

D. The big change in weather.

2.The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “           ” 

A. the energy benefit                                              B. the forest loss 

C. climate change                                           D. burning ethanol 

3.The author thinks that replacing gas with corn ethanol is           . 

A. impractical                    B. acceptable               C. admirable         D. useless 

4.What does the author mainly discuss in the text? 

A. Technology                          B. Sustainability

C. Ethanol energy            D. Environmental protection 

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.A

3.A

4.B

【解析】

試題分析：作者主要談?wù)摰氖强沙掷m(xù)性發(fā)展的判斷依據(jù)以及用相關(guān)一些事實來進(jìn)行佐證其論點。

1.C推理判斷題。注意問的是直接原因。That result leads to turning the fallow land — including, in some

cases, rain forest in places such as Brazil — into farmland(這個結(jié)果會導(dǎo)致一些休閑地<在一些情況下，包括位于巴西等地的熱帶雨林>被轉(zhuǎn)化為農(nóng)場)。

2.A詞義猜測題。根據(jù)上下文可知是指能源優(yōu)勢。

3.A推理判斷題。根據(jù)全文可知作者認(rèn)為用corn代替gas是不符合實際的，會帶來很多意想不到的問題。

4.B主旨大意題。讀完全文我們可以知道，作者主要談?wù)摰氖强沙掷m(xù)性發(fā)展的判斷依據(jù)以及用相關(guān)一些事實來進(jìn)行佐證其論點。該題容易誤選D。

考點：議論文類閱讀理解