Question

    Traditionally, the more people in a city, the fewer trees there are. To create space for houses, offices and other buildings, nature takes second place. But, if the architect Stefano Boeri has anything to do with it, this will soon be changing.

Boeri has designed a forest city, to be created in the north of Liuzhou in  Guangxi region in southern China. This mountainous area was chosen to be “a city where living nature is totally intertwined with architecture.” According to Boeri, instead of completely getting rid of the trees to build houses, the city’s design considers the surrounding greenery. Homes and commercial buildings will be covered with trees, with gardens on the balconies (阳台) of every floor, and rooftops that are home to miniature forests.

“I have been working on the idea of urban forestation for years,” says Boeri. “In those areas of the planet where it is still necessary to build new cities, we are planning real forest cities for a maximum of 150,000 citizens.”

The Liuzhou Forest City will be connected to central Liuzhou via a railway line and a road. It will be home to 30,000 people, and include commercial and recreational spaces, two schools and a hospital. On top of this, the vegetation will absorb carbon dioxide and pollutants, as well as releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

Development is well underway for the forest city. “Our masterpiece for a forest city in Liuzhou has been approved by the local government,” says Boeri. Now, the government is starting the process of selling land to interested developers. “The current phase is still ongoing for land selling,” says Boeri. Building is expected to begin in 2020. At the same time, the firm has copied the concept in Lishui, a city in the southeast of China. The masterpiece has also been given the thumbs-up by local governments here, and the developer is collecting funds to launch the project.

If the Chinese cities prove successful, Boeri hopes that the idea will take hold across the world. “We are developing the same concept in other places with different climate conditions, such as Mexico and north Africa,” he says.

And there is science behind the idea of planting trees to halt climate change. A study earlier this year by scientists at ETH Zurich found that planting at least a trillion trees around the world could lock up 205 billion tonnes of carbon, once the trees are mature, helping to offset the effects of releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

1.According to the passage, Boeri holds the belief that ______.

A.a city can be built in harmony with nature

B.climate change results from the city development

C.the building of a city may cost the damage of nature

D.we should stop building new cities to protect nature

2.What can we infer from the cities designed by Boeri?

A.Houses would be built in a huge forest.

B.Citizens will live in inconvenient areas.

C.Cities can be transformed to forest cities.

D.The idea will be tried out soon worldwide.

3.What is the attitude of the Lishui government on Boeri’s concept?

A.Supportive. B.Neutral.

C.Unclear. D.Critical.

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？

A.Where the Problem of Pollution Is Rooted

B.How Forest Cities Are Affecting the World

C.Can Forest Cities Help to Clean Up Pollution

D.Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Pollution

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.A

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇新闻报道。文章讲述了通过建筑师Stefano的设计理念，传统意义上的城市建设可以与自然保持和谐，使其成为森林城市，其中的树木可以有助于抵消温室气体的影响。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的“Traditionally, the more people in a city, the fewer trees there are. To create space for houses, offices and other buildings, nature takes second place. But, if the architect Stefano Boeri has anything to do with it, this will soon be changing.”可知，传统上城市中的人口越多，树木越少。为了给房屋，办公室和其他建筑物创造空间，大自然占据了第二位。但是建筑师Stefano Boeri可以做一些事情，将很快改变这一点。即 Boeri坚信城市可以与自然和谐地建立起来。故选A。

2.推理判断题。根据第二段中的“According to Boeri, instead of completely getting rid of the trees to build houses, the city’s design considers the surrounding greenery. Homes and commercial buildings will be covered with trees, with gardens on the balconies (阳台) of every floor, and rooftops that are home to miniature forests.”可知，根据Boeri的说法，城市的设计并未完全摆脱使用树木的想法，而是考虑到周围的绿地。住宅和商业建筑将被树木覆盖，每层阳台上都将有花园，屋顶上则是微型森林。因此我们可以推断出在Boeri的设计理念下，城市可以转变为森林城市。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段中的“At the same time, the firm has copied the concept in Lishui, a city in the southeast of China. The masterpiece has also been given the thumbs-up by local governments here, and the developer is collecting funds to launch the project.”可知，这个理念在丽水得到了认可，这个杰作得到了地方政府的赞许，开发商正在筹集资金以启动该项目。因此丽水政府对Boeri的森林城市概念持支持态度。故选A。

4.主旨大意题。由上一小题的分析可知，森林城市的想法还未正式实施，正在准备阶段。由最后一段中的“A study earlier this year by scientists at ETH Zurich found that planting at least a trillion trees around the world could lock up 205 billion tonnes of carbon, once the trees are mature, helping to offset the effects of releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.”可知，今年早些时候，苏黎世联邦理工学院的科学家进行的一项研究发现，一旦树木长大，在世界范围内种植的至少一万亿棵树可以吸收2050亿吨碳，这有助于抵消向大气释放温室气体的影响。综上可知，文章主要讲述的是森林城市的想法完成了设计准备过程，等待正式实施，这可能会为城市带来一定的环境方面的好处，例如解决一定的空气污染问题。因此C项（森林城市能否帮助清理污染）符合文章内容，可以作为最佳标题。故选C。