Question

    These days everyone is worried about the size of their carbon footprint. In order to reduce global warming, we need to make our carbon footprints smaller. But how much CO are we responsible for?

A new book by Mike Berners-Lee (a leading expert in carbon foot-printing) might be able to help. The Carbon Foot print of Everything looks at the different things we do and buy, and calculates the amount of CO₂ they produce, including the ingredients, the electricity, the equipment, the transport and the packaging. And it’s frightening how much carbon dioxide everything produces.

But all of this can help us decide which beer to drink. From Berners-Lee’s calculations, it’s clear that a pint (568 ml) of locally-brewed (酿制的) beer has a smaller carbon footprint than a bottle of imported beer. This is because the imported beer has been transported from far away, and it uses more packaging. The local beer only produces 300 g of CO₂-but the imported beer produces 900 g! So, one pint of local beer is better for the environment than three cans of cheap foreign beer from the supermarket.

Berners-Lee has even calculated the carbon footprint of cycling to work. Nothing is more environmentally - friendly than riding a bike, surely? Well, it depends on what you’ve had to eat before. To ride a bike we need energy and for energy we need food. So, if we eat a banana and then ride a kilometer and a half, our footprint is 65 g of CO₂. However, if we eat bacon before the bike ride, it’s 200 g. In fact, bananas are good in general because they don’t need packaging. They can be transported by boat and they grow in natural sunlight.

So, does this mean that cycling is bad for the environment? Absolutely not. If you cycle, you don t use your car; and the fewer cars on the road, the fewer traffic jams. And cars in traffic jams produce three times more CO₂ than cars travelling at speed. Cycling also makes you healthy and less likely to go to a hospital. And hospitals have very big carbon footprints!

So, maybe it’s time for us all to start making some changes. Pass me a banana and a pint of local beer, please.

1.Which of the followings produces the smallest carbon footprints?

A. A pint of local beer.

B. A bottle of imported beer.

C. A banana before a 1.5 km bike ride.

D. Bacon before a 1.5 km bike ride.

2.According to the article, the author suggests choosing the local food because it is ________.

A. more tasty B. easier to buy

C. better packaged D. more energy-saving

3.The purpose of writing this article is to ________.

A. promote a new book

B. advertise the imported beer

C. instruct how to measure the carbon footprint

D. encourage people to reduce the production of CO₂

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.D

【解析】

这是一篇议论文阅读。文章作者鼓励大家采取行动，减少温室气体的排放，并说明了一些具体的做法。

1.推理判断题。答案定位在第四段So, if we eat a banana and then ride a kilometer and a half, our footprint is 65 g of CO2. However, if we eat bacon before the bike ride, it’s 200 g. In fact, bananas are good in general because they don’t need packaging. They can be transported by boat and they grow in natural sunlight.（所以，如果我们吃一根香蕉，然后骑一公里半，我们的足迹是65克二氧化碳。然而，如果我们在骑车之前吃培根，那就是200克。事实上，香蕉一般来说是好的，因为它们不需要包装。它们可以乘船运输，生长在自然阳光下。）和第五段So, does this mean that cycling is bad for the environment? Absolutely not.（那么，这是否意味着骑车对环境有害呢?绝对不是。）由此推断出一根香蕉前骑1.5公里自行车，产生的碳足迹最小，故选C。

2.推理判断题。答案定位在第三段This is because the imported beer has been transported from far away, and it uses more packaging. The local beer only produces 300 g of CO2-but the imported beer produces 900 g! So, one pint of local beer is better for the environment than three cans of cheap foreign beer from the supermarket.（这是因为进口的啤酒是从很远的地方运来的，所以需要更多的包装。当地的啤酒只生产300克二氧化碳，而进口的啤酒却生产900克!所以，一品脱本地啤酒比超市里三罐便宜的外国啤酒更环保。）由此推断出，作者建议选择当地的食物，因为它更节能，故选D。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段So, maybe it’s time for us all to start making some changes. Pass me a banana and a pint of local beer, please.（所以，也许是时候让我们所有人开始做出一些改变了。请递给我一根香蕉和一品脱当地啤酒。）可知文章是鼓励大家采取行动，减少温室气体的排放，故选D。