阅读攻略－2001年1月CET4阅读真题解读(三)

Passage Three

Priscilla Ouchida’s “energy-efficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned (双层玻璃的) windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.

Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde (甲醛) gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.

    The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “ The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas, a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate¹ the situation in some cases.”

    The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants² generated in most households seldom built up to dangerous levels.

31. It can be learned from the passage that the Ouchidas’ house ________.

    A) failed to meet energy conservation standards

    B) was designed and constructed in a scientific way

    C) is well worth the money spent on its construction

    D) is almost faultless from the point of energy conservation

 

32. What made the Ouchidas’ new house a horrible dream?

    A) Lack of fresh air         B) Gas leakage³ in the kitchen

    C) The newly painted walls   D) Poor quality of building materials

 

33. The word “accentuate” (Line5, Para. 3) most probably means “_________”.

    A) worsen      B) relieve   C) improve   D) accelerate

 

34. Why were cracks in old house not a big concern?

    A) Because environmental protection was given top priority

    B) Because indoor cleanliness was not emphasized

    C) Because they were technically⁴ unavoidable

    D) Because energy used to be inexpensive

 

35. This passage is most probably taken from an article entitled “_______”.

    A) Energy Conservation     B) Air Pollution Indoors

    C) House Building Crisis    D) Traps in Building Construction

 

试题分析：

本文是一篇科普说明文，以Priscilla Ouchida的节能房屋最终成为梦魇的事例，阐述了室内空气污染问题，并分析了原因。

31. D 推断题  解题的依据是文章第一段中“Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned (双层玻璃的) windows and several other energy-saving features.”。选项A、B、C文中都没提到。

32. A 推断题  根据文中第二段“The level of formaldehyde (甲醛) gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers.”，可以推断出室内空气甲醛含量超标，新鲜空气不足正是房屋主人患病的罪魁祸首。

33. A 词汇题  根据该词出现的上文语境“The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along”，可以推测出该词应是“恶化，加剧”之意。

34. D 细节题  文章最后一段中“Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks.”与选项D表达一致。

35. B 主旨题  全文主要围绕节能造成室内污染的问题展开论述，所以选项B最能概括主题。

1 accentuate   

v.着重，强调

参考例句：

• She has beautiful eyes, so we should accentuate them in the makeup.她眼睛很美丽，我们在化妆时应该突出她的眼睛。
• Mrs Obamas speeches rarely accentuate the positive.奥巴马夫人的演讲很少强调美国积极的一面。

2 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 leakage   

n.漏，泄漏；泄漏物；漏出量

参考例句：

• Large areas of land have been contaminated by the leakage from the nuclear reactor.大片地区都被核反应堆的泄漏物污染了。
• The continuing leakage is the result of the long crack in the pipe.这根管子上的那一条裂缝致使渗漏不断。

4 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。