The second little pig was unlucky. He built his house from sticks. It was blown away by a wolf. His brother, by contrast, built a strong house from bricks to prevent the wolf’s attack. However, in the real world it would help reduce pollution and slow global warming if more builders copied the wood-loving second pig.
Governments in the rich world are now trying to promote greener behavior by forcing developers to build new projects to “zero carbon” standards. These standards are less green than they seem. Wind turbines (涡轮) and solar panels on top of buildings look good but are much less productive than wind and solar farms. And the standards only count the emissions from running a building, not those given out when it was made. Those are thought to account for between 30% and 60% of the total over a structure’s lifetime.
Buildings can become greener. They can be made of more recycled wood and parts of them can be prefabricated in off-site factories, greatly reducing truck journeys. But no other building material has environmental certificates as exciting and overlooked as wood. The energy required to produce a wooden beam is one-sixth of that required for a steel one of comparable strength. When a mature tree is cut down, a new one can be planted to replace it, capturing more carbon. After buildings are pulled down, old wooden beams and boards are easy to recycle into new structures. Wood is also a good insulator (隔热材料). A softwood window frame provides nearly 400 times as much insulation as a plain steel and over a thousand times as much as an aluminium (铝) frame.
Carpenters’ efforts alone will not bring the environmental cost of the world’s buildings into line. But using wood can do much more than what is appreciated. Thus, the second little pig was not wrong, just before his time.
1.Why is the story about the pigs mentioned?
A.To bring up the topic of the text.
B.To prove the author’s argument.
C.To offer background information.
D.To inspire the readers’ imagination.
2.What can we know about the “zero carbon” standards?
A.It’s impossible to make them come true.
B.They don’t mean no carbon is given out.
C.They are only fit for developed countries.
D.It’s easy for them to meet today’s needs.
3.What is paragraph 3 mainly about?
A.The ways of making buildings greener.
B.The usage of recycled steel in buildings.
C.The findings of new research about wood.
D.The advantages of wood as building materials.
4.Which can replace the underlined word “prefabricated” in paragraph 3?
A.Registered. B.Recycled.
C.Constructed. D.Compared.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Shortage of Primary Care Threatens Health Care System
Increasing health care bills, long emergency-room waits and the inability to find a primary care physician just scratch the surface of the problems that patients face daily.
Primary care should be the support of any health care system. Countries with appropriate primary care resources score highly when it comes to health outcomes and cost. The U.S. takes the opposite approach by emphasizing the specialist rather than the primary care physician.
A recent study analyzed the providers who treat Medicare beneficiaries. The surprising finding was that the average Medicate patient saw a total of seven doctors - two primary care physicians and five specialists - in a given year.
Contrary to popular belief, the more physicians taking care of you doesn't guarantee better care. Actually, increasing fragmentation of care results in a corresponding rise in cost and medical errors.
How did we take little care of primary care? The key is how doctors are paid. Most physicians are paid whenever they perform a medical service. The more a physician does, regardless of quality or outcome, the better he's reimbursed. Moreover, the amount a physician receives leans heavily toward medical or surgical procedures.
A specialist who performs a procedure in a 30-minute visit can be paid three times more than a primary care physician using that same 30 minutes to discuss a patient's disease. Combine this fact with annual government threats to randomly cut reimbursements, physicians are faced with no choice but to increase quantity to boost income.
Primary care physicians who refuse to compromise quality are either driven out of business or to cash-only practices, further contributing to the decline of primary care.
Medical students aren't blind to this action. They know how heavily the reimbursement is against primary care. The recent numbers show that since 1997, newly graduated U.S. medical students who choose primary care as a career have declined by 50%. This trend results in emergency rooms being overwhelmed with patients without regular doctors.
How do we fix this problem?
It starts with reforming the physician reimbursement system. Remove the pressure for primary care physicians to squeeze in more patients per hour, and reward them for optimally managing their diseases and practicing evidence-based medicine. Make primary care more attractive to medical students by forgiving student loans for those who choose primary care as a career and reconciling the marked difference between specialist and primary care physician salaries.
We’re at a point where primary care is needed more than ever. Within a few years, the first wave of the 76 million Baby Boomers will become eligible for Medicare. Patients older than 85, who need chronic care most, will rise by 50% this decade.
Who will be there to treat them?
1.The author’s chief concern about the current U.S. health care system is _________.
A.the ever-rising health care costs B.the declining number of doctors
C.the inadequate training of physicians D.the shrinking primary care resources
2.We learn from the passage that people tend to believe that _________.
A.the more doctors taking care of a patient, the better
B.visiting doctors on a regular basis ensures good health
C.seeing more doctors may result in more diagnostic errors
D.the more costly the medicine, the more effective the cure.
3.Faced with the government threats to cut reimbursements randomly, primary care physicians have to __________.
A.make various deals with specialists B.improve their expertise and service
C.see more patients at the expense of quality D.increase their income by working overtime
4.What suggestion does the author give in order to provide better health care?
A.Extend primary care to patients with chronic diseases.
B.Recruit more medical students by offering them loans.
C.Reduce the tuition of students who choose primary care as their major.
D.Bridge the salary gap between specialists and primary care physicians.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Compared with solar and wind energy, which are booming, tidal (潮汐的) power is a loser in the clean-energy competition. But if you did want to build a tidal power station, there are few better sites than the mouth of the River Severn, in Britain. Its tidal range, the difference in depth between high and low tides, of around 15 metres is among the largest in the world.
Engineers and governments have been toying with the idea since at least 1925. But none of the suggested projects has materialised. Price is one objection. A study thought that tidal energy might cost between £216 and £368 ($306-521) per MWh of electricity by 2025, compared with £58-75 for seagoing wind turbines (轮机) and £55-76 for solar panels. Environmentalists also worry that any plant would change the tides, making life harder for wildlife.
An engineer called Rod Rainey thinks he has a way around both problems. He plans to replace the conventional turbines of previous plans with a much older technology. Specifically, he plans to span (横跨) the river mouth with a line of water wheels. This is a design that dates back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Examples can be found fixed to the sides of old watermills (水磨).
But there would be nothing old-fashioned about Mr Rainey’s wheels. Thirty metres high and sixty wide, they would be made from ordinary steel. Two hundred and fifty of them, along with the supporting structures, would be floated into place and secured to the seabed, creating a line 15km long. Together, they could supply power at an avenge ate of 4GW. That is about as much as two biggish nuclear power stations would manage. Substituting one of the wheels with a set of locks would provide a shipping channel about twice the width of Panama Canal, permitting upstream ports such as Avonmouth and Cardiff to continue operating.
1.What is special about the mouth of the River Seven?
A.The tidal range there is about 15 meters.
B.It has the largest tidal range in the world.
C.The tidal power station has been built there.
D.Its power plant makes life harder for wildlife.
2.What was people’s initial attitude towards tidal power?
A.Opposed. B.Supportive.
C.Controversial. D.Doubtful.
3.What are the locks used for?
A.Support. B.Transportation.
C.Securing wheels. D.Producing electricity.
4.What’s the best tittle for the text?
A.Rainey invented turbines.
B.Rainey’s tidal power station.
C.Tidal power in the River Seven.
D.An old idea might be made practical.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Many people criticize today’s newspapers as sensationalist, satisfying the public’s abnormal curiosity. But journalism a century ago was just as notorious (臭名昭著). Publishers at that time routinely competed with each other for wild stories that could draw in the most readers. Meanwhile, it was an ideal atmosphere for a courageous reporter like Nellie Bly to spring into fame.
Bly, whose name was Elizabeth Corcoran, had to work to make her way in the world. Different from many women of the time, however, she refused to let the working world scare her away. Her first big opportunity as a reporter came in 1885 after she wrote an angry letter denouncing the Pittsburgh Dispatch for an article it had run criticizing women forced to work outside the home. The interested and excited editor hired Bly for her “spirit,” and soon she was investigating the situations of female factory workers. Bly cared less about their jobs than their lives after work -their amusements, their motivations, their fears and ambitions. She produced an article totally different from what other reporters of the time were writing: personal, thoughtful, meaningful.
By 1887 Bly had a job with the New York World, one of the leader papers of the day. She quickly became famous for undercover stories about women in a mental hospital. Soon she had investigated life as a maid, a chorus girl, and even a street girl. In her best-known brave deeds, in 1890, Bly beat the famous “around the world in 80 days” trip Jules Verne had described in his novel. Traveling by steamship, train, even ricksha, Bly reported from each stop. A spellbound nation hung on every word. Only 25, Bly had become internationally famous.
1.Bly’s first newspaper job was ________.
A.with the New York World
B.with the Pittsburgh Dispatch
C.to interview mental patients
D.to experience life of chorus girls
2.What does the underlined word “denouncing” in Para. 2 probably mean?
A.Praising. B.Questioning.
C.Informing. D.Condemning.
3.How did Nellie Bly gain world-wide fame?
A.By criticizing Jules Verne.
B.By competing with other reporters.
C.By writing stories through investigation.
D.By caring about women from different classes.
4.Which of the following best describes Nellie Bly?
A.Daring and practical. B.Acute and confident.
C.Critical and dependent. D.Calm and enthusiastic.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Here are four pieces of news from China Daily.
SHANGHAI — The Huachen Group recently held a meeting in Shanghai to show the use of its newly opened tourism business payment network. The network aims to serve tourists from all over the world, but especially from Europe and the United States where credit cards are popularly used. After opening the www.chinaecnet.com website, netizens can get information about hotels and tourism services on tourism page. Hotels and services can be reserved and payments made through credit cards. The network opened in February in Beijing.
SYDNEY — The Sydney Olympic flame will travel underwater on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef during the torch relay following a successful test. Scuba diver Wendy Craig, a marine biologist, will carry the torch on a three-to-four-minute underwater journey at Agincourt Reef on June 27, creating Olympic history, organizers said yesterday. Burning at 2000 degrees, the torch is expected to remain a light three meters underwater because of the special technology which creates a fierce flame that can not be drowned out by water.
Charles Tegner, managing director of torch creator, said the flame would burn like a flare (照明弹) from oxygen-producing chemicals.
BEIJING — The election of a new leader in Taiwan can not change the fact that Taiwan is a part of Chinese territory. “Taiwan Independence” in whatever form will never be allowed, according to a statesman of China’s central government.
“We should listen to what the new leader in Taiwan says and watch what he does. We will observe where he will lead cross-Straits (海峡两岸) relations. We are willing to exchange views on cross-Straits relations and peaceful reunification with all parties, organizations and personages in Taiwan who favor the one China principle,” says the statesman, which was released by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee.
HAIKOU — Customs officers in Haikou recently stopped a boat loaded with 781 cases of foreign-brand cigarettes being smuggled (走私) into China. The smuggled cigarettes cases, packed into two containers, were disguised to avoid being examined. The boat was registered in the coastal city of Xiamen in East China’s Fujian Province. All eight suspects aboard the boat were kept by the police in Haikou.
1.Why does the network aim to serve tourists especially from Europe and the USA?
A.Because they are from developed countries.
B.Because the payments of hotels and services should be made through credit cards.
C.Because people in these countries travel much more than other countries.
D.Because it is more convenient for them to surf the Internet.
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the second piece of news?
A.The whole torch relay will be held three-four metres underwater.
B.The underwater journey of the torch will play an important part in Olympic history.
C.A test has been made before this activity.
D.Some chemicals will help the flame burn by producing oxygen.
3.Which is the best title for the third piece of news?
A.Ready to Fight
B.No Good End
C.Wait and See
D.Peace Comes First
4.Which of the following best explains the underlined word disguised in the last piece of news?
A.made different from normal
B.designed for a good purpose
C.divided
D.pretended
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Girls continue to outperform boys in all subjects by the end of primary school in England, according to the latest key stage 2 test results published by the Department for Education.
Across England, 65% of pupils in state schools achieved the government’s expected standards in the three subjects, a 1% improvement on 2018. The widening of the gender gap was caused mainly by a dip in the proportion of boys reaching the expected standard in reading, which fell from 72% in 2018 to 69%. In maths, boys and girls improved by 3% but girls remained slightly ahead at 79% to 78%.
The latest Sats results are the continuation of trends seen for many years. In Britain, girls consistently outperform boys, with the exception of advanced maths-based subjects. In the most recent GCSE results girls showed improved performances, despite the introduction of more difficult exams.
There were substantial regional variations in the results, with pupils in London generally doing better than in other parts of England. Only 53% of boys in Dudley, in the Midlands, reached the expected standards in the three key subjects, compared with 83% of girls in the wealthy borough of Richmond-upon-Thames.
Also, the gap in performance between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates remains stubbornly wide, suggesting efforts to close it have slowed or been ineffective.
About 51% of children from disadvantaged backgrounds achieved the expected standards in maths, reading and writing, the same as in 2018, while the proportion of non-disadvantaged pupils hitting the standard rose to 71%. That leaves the gap between the two groups little changed for the last three years, with the DfE’s statisticians warning that it might widen slightly when the final figures for 2019 are published.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said children from disadvantaged families were the victims of austerity (经济紧缩). “Successive governments have failed to invest in those who need it the most, and now we see the result - a sustained long-term gap over many years between disadvantaged pupils and pupils from more affluent families.” In 2019 30% of pupils at the end of key stage 2 were classed as being disadvantaged. Nick Gibb, the minister for school standards, said the gap had noticeably decreased over the last eight years and that government reforms since 2010 have helped “ level the playing field”.
1.What percentage of boys achieved the government’s standard in Math in 2018?
A.64%. B.72%. C.75%. D.78%.
2.What do we know about the gap in performance between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates?
A.Efforts to narrow it have paid off.
B.It is identified as a recent trend.
C.It has widened a lot in the past three years.
D.Tightened economy is held partly responsible for it.
3.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?
A.Education. B.Politics.
C.Culture. D.Finance.
4.What is mainly talked about in the passage?
A.Girls’ improved performance in all subjects.
B.Gaps in academic performance found in England.
C.Tests conducted by the Department for Education.
D.Continuing efforts to improve the UK,s education quality.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
As John George remembers it, the Detroit neighborhood he grew up in was straight out of Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. ''We knew all our neighbors,'' George, 60, told Detroit's Metro Times. ''On Christmas Eve, we'd all go to midnight Mass, and there would be 300 people in our house at one o'clock to about five in the morning. The folks were just really good, hardworking people. ''
By the 80s, however, the old neighborhood was more Pottersville than Bedford Falls. Due in part to economic downturns and a nationwide drug epidemic (泛滥), well-kept homes had been abandoned and kindly neighbors had fled to the suburbs. But not George. ''Living in any city, it's like being in a relationship,'' he told Reader's Digest. ''Some days are better than others. But it was my home. And when I saw it deteriorating, I had two choices: I could leave, or I could stay and fight. I decided to stay and fight. ''
When the abandoned home behind his turned into a crack den, the father of two grabbed some plywood and nails and began boarding up the house. After two neighbors stopped to ask what he was doing, they decided to help, with great results. ''When the drug dealers came back, they turned around and went home,'' says George. ''That's how it all got started. ''
''It'' is Detroit Blight Busters, or DBB, an organization of civic-minded volunteers devoted to reviving the city they love, one abandoned house, one vacant lot, and one garbage-strewn park at a time.
In the 30 years since that first home rescue, an army of approximately 182,000 volunteers, along with corporate and private donors, has helped George destroy around 300 abandoned homes, mostly in the poorer Northwest area of Detroit. They've also secured 400-some homes by boarding them up, thus keeping bad actors out. They've painted and renovated nearly 900 homes and built over 100 from scratch. According to Forbes, more than 1,000 Detroiters have been housed as a result of DBB's work.
''I'm half Lebanese, half Italian, and 100 percent Detroit stubborn, '' George told nationswell.com. ''Once we get something in our heart and in our head, it's almost autopilot. ''
But that was only the beginning. In 2003, George also breathed life into a dilapidated (破旧的) square mile of Detroit by turning it into Artist Village, an area now filled with galleries, a performance space, community gardens, a coffee shop, and outdoor courtyards. Because this region of North Detroit was a food desert, George also persuaded a supermarket chain to move into the neighborhood.
''Blight is like a cancer: If you don't set upon it, it will spread,'' George told thehubdetroit.com. And then there's Halloween. In Detroit, October 30 was ruefully known as Devil's Night, a period when all hell would break loose in the form of crime and vandalism. In response, George created a citizens' patrol (巡逻队) that would take to the streets, keeping an eye on suspicious behavior. He called it Angels’ Night. What began with 12 neighbors on patrol in 1990 has grown to more than 60,000 citywide.
George's inspired ideas have not gone unnoticed by the city he loves.''John wants to show that there is still something to Detroit. That it's still worth it,'' says real estate agent Robert LaBute. And others are buying into it.''We're seeing the trend of younger homeowners coming in.''
Is George proud of having boosted his once-ailing hometown? You'd better believe he is. As he puts it: ''We are on the front porch of the greatest urban comeback story in this nation’s history. ''
1.Why was John George reluctant to leave Detroit?
A.He wanted to save his city.
B.He enjoyed a wonderful life.
C.He stayed to fight against drugs.
D.He got along with his neighbors.
2.What was the result of the first home rescue?
A.An official organization was founded.
B.A voluntary movement began with it.
C.A better neighbor relationship was formed.
D.The drug dealers mended their ways at last.
3.The data provided in Paragraph 5 suggest that ______.
A.many people have been lifted out of poverty
B.many abandoned homes have been destroyed
C.DBB has done a lot to bring the city back to life
D.the number of the volunteers has been increasing
4.What did John George do to revive the city of Detroit ?
A.He transformed the city into an industrial area.
B.He created a citizen's patrol to prevent crimes.
C.He expanded investment in real estate business.
D.He built a supermarket chain in the neighborhood.
5.According to the passage, John George can be described as ______.
A.cautious and creative
B.stubborn and ambitious
C.proud and self-centered
D.strong-willed and inspiring
6.What's the best title for the passage?
A.The Life of a Hero
B.Detroit's Proud Tiger
C.The Power of Devotion
D.The Blooming of Detroit
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
For many, scientific innovations tend to be welcome advancements that improve our lives. For some, however, new technologies bring risk of uselessness, in turn leading to great resistance.
With the climate crisis unfolding before our eyes, the race is on to find alternatives that will help humanity leave a smaller footprint on our planet. Because of animal agriculture's leading role as a greenhouse gas emitter, the search for more sustainable protein sources could be one such alternative.
As food tech companies use science to unlock the potential of plant proteins, they're producing increasingly better plant-based meats and milks that look and taste like the real thing, but with a much lower carbon footprint. Some in the meat industry are supporting the new and investing in these alt-protein companies.
For some lawmakers, however, these innovative products don't deserve support; they deserve restriction. Missouri State, for example, recently passed a bill making it a crime punishable by imprisonment for companies to call their products ''meat'' if they don’t come from an animal.
So why the mania (狂热) over meat and milk all of a sudden? Was there a consumer who brought home some pies labeled ''plant-based meat'' only to realize he was tricked? Did confused milk-drinkers file complaints with the Department of Agriculture when they found out their soymilk didn't contain actual milk?
There really are some consumers who are truly confused. Surveys show, however, that number is remarkably small. If anything, consumers are choosing these plant-based products specifically because they think they're better for them than the original products. And they have good reason to believe that plant-based milks and meats usually have less fat and more fiber than comparable animal-based foods.
So, consumers aren't confusing ''veggie bacon'' for real bacon; and if they don't think chicken nuggets have the same nutritional value as ''chicken-free nuggets'', then why do some meat and milk groups want a monopoly (垄断) over the M-words? Could it have to do with the fact that the increasing popularity of these foods, which are more sustainable and better for you, is threatening the profits of their constituents?
And with the future of our civilization hanging in the balance as climate change becomes more severe, it's time for policy makers to stop trying to prevent innovation, and instead to celebrate all the ways science can save us, including with sustainable proteins that can and do produce new kinds of meat.
1.What can be learned about the M-word applied to plant-based substitutes?
A.They are environmentally friendly.
B.They are innovative and widely accepted.
C.They have been restricted across America.
D.They have been produced in large quantities.
2.From the passage we can learn that consumers ______.
A.have sufficient faith in new science and technology
B.prefer the original products to the plant-based products
C.buy the plant-based products for their great benefit to health
D.often get confused by the composition of the new kind of meat
3.According to the author, some people resist the new kind of food probably because _____.
A.it contains no real meat
B.it brings risks to society
C.it plays a trick on customers
D.it poses a threat to their profits
4.What's the author's attitude towards the plant-based products?
A.Supportive. B.Cautious.
C.Ambiguous. D.Disapproving
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
The recent world chess championship saw Magnus Carlsen defend his title against Fabiano Caruana. But it was not a contest between the two strongest chess players on the planet, only the strongest humans. Soon after Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, lost his re-match against IBM’s Deep Blue in 1997, the short window of human-machine chess competition was shut forever. Unlike humans, machines keep getting faster, and today a smartphone chess app can be stronger than Deep Blue.
In the late 19th century, Alfred Binet hoped that understanding why certain people stood out at chess would unlock secrets of human thought. Sixty years later, Alan Turing wondered whether this sort of ability represents an essential difference between the potentialities of the machine and the mind. Much as airplanes don’t flap their wings like birds, machines don’t generate chess moves like humans do. Early programs that attempted it were weak.
But now things are different. Based on a common game-playing algorithm(算法), AlphaZero incorporates deep learning and other AI techniques to play against itself to generate its own chess knowledge. AlphaZerostarts out knowing only the rules of chess, with no inserted human strategies(策略). In just a few hours, it plays more games against itself than have been recorded in human chess history. It teaches itself the best way to play, reevaluating such fundamental concepts as the relative values of the pieces.It quickly becomes strong enough to defeat the best chess-players in the world, winning 28, drawing 72, and losing none in a victory over Stockfish, one of the strongest chess engines.
The conventional wisdom is that machines would approach perfection with endlessstrategies, usually leading to drawn games. But AlphaZero prefers positions that look risky and aggressive, and it programs itself, which allows it to outclass the world’s top traditional program despite calculating far fewer positions per second. It’s the example of the cliché, “work smarter, not harder.”
AlphaZero shows us that machines can be the experts, not merely expert tools. It’s not going to put chess coaches out of business just yet. But the knowledge it generates is information we can all learn from. AlphaZero is surpassing us in a profound and useful way.
Machine learning systems aren’t perfect, even at a closed system like chess. There will be cases where an AI will fail to detect exceptions to their rules. Therefore, we must work together, to combine our strengths. Instead of being angry against them, it’s better if we’re all on the same side.
1.According to the passage, Alan Turing might agree that .
A.airplanes can be as good as birds.
B.the unlocked secrets of human thought are powerful.
C.machines are better than human in generating chess moves.
D.the potentialities of the human mind are better than that of the machine.
2.How is AlphaZero different from other machines?
A.AlphaZero have AI techniques.
B.AlphaZero can defeat the best chess players.
C.AlphaZero can play more games more quickly.
D.AlphaZero can generate its own chess knowledge.
3.What does the underlined word “outclass” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A.Become B.Beat C.Leave D.Distinguish
4.The author argues in the last two paragraphs that .
A.machine learning in chess is perfect.
B.human chess coaches are not needed yet.
C.AI will be learning to challenge their rules.
D.humans and AI can work together to advance.
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
The second little pig was unlucky. He built his house from sticks, which was blown away by a wolf. His brother, by contrast, built a wolf-proof house from bricks. The fairy tale could have been written by an agent for the construction industry, strongly favoring brick, concrete and steel. However, in the real world it would help reduce pollution and slow global warming if more builders copied the wood-loving second pig.
No other building material has environmental credentials (认证信息) as exciting and overlooked as wood. The energy required to produce a laminated wooden beam (层压木梁) is one-sixth of that required for a steel one of comparable strength. As trees take carbon out of the atmosphere when growing, wooden buildings contribute to negative emissions by storing the stuff. And for refitting older buildings to be more energy efficient, wood is a good insulator (绝缘体). A softwood window frame provides nearly 400 times as much insulation as a plain steel one of the same thickness and over a thousand times as much as an aluminium (铝) equivalent.
But such bigger stories are still uncommon. Governments can help push the industry to use more wood, particularly in the public sector — the construction industry’s biggest client. That would help wood-building specialists achieve greater scale and lower costs. Zero-carbon building regulations should be altered to take account of the emissions that are presented in materials.
Construction codes could be regulated to make building with wood easier. Here the direction of travel is wrong. Britain, for instance, is banning the use of timber on the outside of tall buildings after 72 people died in a tower fire in London in 2017. That is a nonsense. Grenfell Tower was covered in aluminium and plastic, not wood. Modern cross-laminated timber (交叉层叠木板) panels perform better in fire tests than steel ones do.
Carpentry alone will not bring the environmental cost of the world’s buildings into line. But using wood can do much more than is appreciated. The second little pig was not wrong, just before his time.
1.The purpose of the writer telling the story in the first paragraph is to _______.
A.attract the readers’ attention B.make the argument more convincing
C.criticize the author of the tale D.lead in the topic of the text
2.Paragraph 2 is intended to inform us _______.
A.wood is a good insulator
B.such skyscrapers with wood are uncommon currently
C.the unique advantages of wood material being friendly environmental
D.how wood reduces the emission of carbon dioxide
3.Which of the following does NOT belong to the governments’ measures to help the scheme?
A.To encourage the construction industry’s biggest client to use more wood.
B.To transform Zero-carbon building regulations.
C.To arouse the public’s awareness of protecting the woods.
D.To regulate the Construction codes.
4.The author may imply that _______.
A.the second pig in the tale was unlucky
B.the outside of tall buildings Grenfell Tower could have been constructed in wood
C.we haven’t appreciated the characteristics of using wood at all
D.wood-building specialists will achieve greater profits
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析