Question

Humankind has tried to improve its standard of living since the very beginning of civilization. Back then, as well as today, providing food and security was the basic task for a person. However, nowadays the range of required goods has expanded significantly. People feel the need for not only some primary things, such as a piece of bread and a roof over their heads, but also for various facilities and luxuries. Providing humanity with these things is connected to the use of natural resources, which requires energy. In turn, the common sources of energy we use today cause pollution, so economic growth is almost inevitably associated with environmental damage.

Economic growth is the increase in numbers of goods and services produced over time by an economy, and it's calculated in terms of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Before growth is calculated, inflation(通货膨胀) is adjusted in order to take into account its misleading effect on the price of goods and services. Economic growth can also be explained as the increase in expected output, which results from an increase in actual output, or total demand.

There are certain aspects of economic growth which affect the environment. The first of these is the fact that in order to produce more goods and products, at a faster rate, the construction of large industrial plants is required. These plants produce a lot of waste, leading to the pollution of water and the atmosphere, which may cause negative long- term health effects to nearby populations of animals, or people. They also lead to global warming.

Industrial manufacturing leads to the constantly increasing energy consumption. The traditional energy sources, which are commonly used nowadays, are considered to be the greatest polluters to the environment. There also exist so-called eco-friendly sources of energy. They are sometimes preferred but replacing the traditional sources with them also requires time, during which people have to make some sacrifices to support these undertakings.

In order to produce economically practical energy, a sometimes significant transformation of the natural site is often inevitable. This is expensive and, has harmful effects on the environment. Application of wind energy would Block airflows' natural speed, which is the reason for their decrease in strength, after crossing the windmill. Consequently, the pressure balance that is brought about by this current will be affected, and it is important to remember that the environment and weather conditions are directly affected by atmospheric pressure.

For these reasons, bringing about economic growth without resulting in any environmental damage is impossible.

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Pollution caused by plant construction

B．Effects of windmills on the environment

C．Economic growth and human civilization

D．Economic growth and environmental damage

2.According to the passage, the author holds the opinion that ____.

A．economic growth should be calculated in terms of GDP

B．use of natural resources causes no damage to the environment

C．industrial manufacturing may cause damage to the environment

D．a windmill is a perfect way to produce economically practical energy

3.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

CP (Central Point)     P (Point)      Sp (Sub-point次要点)    C (Conclusion)

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文论述了开始时人们觉得需要一些初级的东西,如一片面包和一个栖身之所,但随着时间的推移人们也有要各种设施和奢侈品的愿望。提供人类这些东西就关系到使用自然资源,这就需要能量。反过来,人们开发了常能源，发展了经济却造成了污染,所以经济增长几乎是不可避免地与环境破坏有关。

1.主旨大意题。根据全文的内容来看主要是论述的经济的增长和环境的破坏之间的关系，故选D。

2.作者观点题。根据These plants produce a lot of waste, leading to the pollution of water and the atmosphere, which may cause negative long- term health effects to nearby populations of animals, or people. They also lead to global warming. 工业生产可能会导致对环境的破坏，故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据全文的结构总说—两个分论点—其中的一个有阐述了三个方面---结论，故选B。

考点：经济类短文阅读。