Question

The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important- is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.

    The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency (效率)，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.

‘Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher，‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. ’In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.

Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information，it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.

Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted 一 whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example.

Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them.

1.As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of________.

A.zero-carbon homes       B. the behaviour of building users

C.sustainable building designD. the reduction of carbon emissions

2.The underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refers to”________.”

A. the waysB. their homes

C.developments       D. existing efforts

3.What are Katy Janda’s words mainly about?

A.The importance of changing building users, habits.

B.The necessity of making a careful building design.

C.The variety of consumption patterns of building users.

D.The role of technology in improving energy efficiency.

4.The information gap in energy use _______.

A.can be bridged by feedback facilities

B.affects the study on energy monitors

C.  brings about problems for smart meters

D.will be caused by building users’ old habits

5.What does the dimension added by social science research suggest?

A.The social science research is to be furthered.

B.The education programme is under discussion.

C.The behaviour of building users is unpredictable.

D.The behaviour preference of building users is similar.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.A

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章大意：本文讲述英国承诺，到2050年，英国的二氧化碳的排放减少80%。英国能源研究中心的研究发现，可持续发展建筑物的设计很重要，而改变其使用者的习惯也很重要。

1.细节理解。根据文章第一段首句The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).可知根据英国能源研究中心的研究，建筑物使用者的行为也许至少和它的设计一样重要。故B正确。

2.2】D考查词义推测。此题考查which引导的非限定性定语从句，which指代的是先行词existing efforts现有的努力。故D正确。

3.考查句意推测。根据文章第三段Katy Janda 的话consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. 及In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.可知建造使用者改变习惯的重要性。故A正确。

4.。考查细节考查。根据文章第四段Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use可知反馈设备能够缩短信息差距。故A正确。

5.考查细节考查。根据文章倒数第二段Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted可知建筑物使用者在家的行为是私人的并不可被预测的。故C正确。

考点：考查科普环保类阅读