Question

    Lego is considering a brick (积木) rental plan in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste. The Danish toymaker has promised to make all its bricks from sustainable (可持续的) sources by 2030 and is investing significant resources into finding alternatives.

Tim Brooks, vice-president responsible for sustainability, said the company was “totally open” to the idea of a product rental plan but admitted that lost pieces could produce a significant problem. “What are the chances of giving them to an eight-year-old child and getting them all back again?” Mr. Brooks added.

“There is a lot of technical thinking that needs to be done. We are right at beginning of that.” Mr. Brooks said Lego was exploring several ideas with a view to producing the highest value from products while consuming the least amount of resources. He said many would “probably never see the light of day” and there was no current plan to try out a rental plan.

Lego has come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint among growing international alarm about the impact of plastic waste on the environment. It produces 19 billion pieces per year—36, 000 a minute—that are made entirely of plastic while much of the inside packaging is also plastic.

So far, the only breakthrough has been the development of a line of bricks made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane. The green trees, plants and flowers were first included in Lego sets late last year but make up only 1%-2% of the total amount of plastic elements produced. Henrik Nielson, a production supervisor (主管) in Lego’s factory, said last year: “We need to learn again how to do this.”

Lego reportedly releases around a million tons of carbon dioxide each year, with about 75% coming from raw materials that go into factories. The company has invested more than 100, 000,000 euros and hired 100 people to research non-plastic alternatives. It is aiming to keep all of its packaging out of landfill by 2025.

1.Lego is making great efforts to ________.

A.promote its brick rental plan B.raise its production efficiency

C.explore ways to reduce plastic waste D.develop new products

2.According to Mr. Brooks, Lego’s brick rental plan ________.

A.is well under way B.has a long way to go

C.is totally useless D.goes against Lego’s interest

3.The writer tells of Lego’s stress of reducing plastic waste by means of ________.

A.figures B.examples

C.comparison D.classification

4.What is Lego’s attitude towards developing non-plastic alternatives?

A.Defensive. B.Determined.

C.Disapproving. D.Doubtful.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍乐高（Lego）公司致力于减少塑料污染所做出的努力。

1.细节理解题。由第一段中Lego is considering a brick (积木) rental plan in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste.可知，乐高公司正在考虑实施一项租赁计划，以减少塑料废物。因此乐高公司正致力于减少塑料废物的产生，故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中“There is a lot of technical thinking that needs to be done. We are right at beginning of that. there was no current plan to try out a rental plan.”，可知，实施这个租赁计划需要做很多技术思考，这只是一个开始而已，目前还没有试租的计划。因此在Mr. Brooks看来，该租赁计划还有很长的路要走，故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中Lego has come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint among growing international alarm about the impact of plastic waste on the environment. It produces 19 billion pieces per year—36, 000 a minute—that are made entirely of plastic while much of the inside packaging is also plastic.可知，国际社会越来越多地关注塑料废料对环境的影响，乐高公司面临的减少碳排放的压力越来越大。它每年生产190亿个零件（每分钟36，000件），全部由塑料制成，而许多内部包装也是塑料的。因此文章是通过使用数据来直观地表明公司减塑压力之大，故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中The company has invested more than e 100, 000,000 and hired 100 people to research non-plastic alternatives. It is aiming to keep all of its packaging out of landfill by 2025.可知，该公司已投资超过100,000,000欧元，并雇用了100人研究非塑料替代品。该公司的目标是到2025年将其所有包装材料排除在垃圾填埋场之外。因此乐高公司投入了大量的人力和物力去研究非塑料替代品，因此它对于开发非塑料替代品的态度是坚决的，故选B。