Question

    UW’s Jason Shogren and Linda Thunstrom, along with Jonas Nordstrom of the Lund University School of Economics and Management, have documented that two-adult households with children emit over 25 percent more carbon dioxide than two-adult households without children.

The study involved an analysis of expenditures on goods and services by households in Sweden. The researchers found that parents with children at home consume goods and services that emit CO2 in the areas of food, such as meat, and transportation, such as gasoline, at higher rates than childless households.

The economists note that time constraints (约束) become more demanding, and convenience may become more important, when people have children.

“Parents may need to be in more places in one day,” resulting in people driving themselves instead of using public transportation or bicycling, the researchers wrote. “They also need to feed more people. Eating more pre-prepared, red meat carbon-intensive meals may add convenience and save time.”

The distinction in the carbon footprints of Swedish households with and without children is particularly striking, as concerns about climate change are more pronounced in Sweden than most other developed counties. Most Swedes believe climate change is real and have accepted sizable CO2 taxes, and households with children are given financial aid, which helps to alleviate some of the time shortage for parents to a certain extent.

“If we’re finding these results in Sweden, it’s pretty safe to assume that the distinction in carbon footprints between parents and nonparents is even bigger in most other Western countries,” Thunstrom says.

“Becoming a parent can transform a person, he or she thinks more about the future and worries about future risks imposed on their children and of spring,” Shogren says. “But, while having children might be transformational, our results suggest that parents’ concerns about climate change do not cause them to be ‘greener’ than non-parent adults.”

1.According to the study, compared with the households without children, the households with children __________.

A.emit more carbon dioxide

B.consume more goods and services

C.attach more importance to the quality of goods and services

D.are less concerned about carbon footprints

2.Why do two-adult households with children have higher carbon footprints?

A.They prefer to eat red meat prepared in advance.

B.They aren’t concerned about climate change.

C.They drive cars more as a consequence of time pressure.

D.They need to purchase more goods and services.

3.The underlined word “alleviate” in paragraph 5 refers to __________.

A.solve B.heighten C.worsen D.ease

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.Being a parent will cause a person to be more concerned about carbon emission.

B.Carbon footprints grow with parenthood because of increased time constraints and the need for convenience.

C.The increasing expenditures on goods and services by households help raise the awareness of carbon footprints.

D.The difference in carbon footprints between parents and nonparents is much severer in other western countries than in Sweden.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章讲述了一项研究发现，研究表明两个有孩子的成年家庭比两个没有孩子的成年家庭排放的二氧化碳多25%。

1.细节理解题。由第一段中的“UW’s Jason Shogren and Linda Thunstrom, along with Jonas Nordstrom of the Lund University School of Economics and Management, have documented that two-adult households with children emit over 25 percent more carbon dioxide than two-adult households without children.”（华盛顿大学的Jason Shogren和Linda Thunstrom，以及Lund大学经济与管理学院的Jonas Nordstrom，已经证明两个有孩子的成年家庭比两个没有孩子的成年家庭排放的二氧化碳多25%。），可知有孩子的家庭比没孩子的家庭排放更多的碳。故选A项。

2.细节理解题。由第三段中的“The economists note that time constraints (约束) become more demanding, and convenience may become more important, when people have children.”（经济学家指出，当人们有孩子的时候，时间限制变得更加苛刻，便利性可能变得更加重要。）和第四段中的““Parents may need to be in more places in one day,” resulting in people driving themselves instead of using public transportation or bicycling, the researchers wrote.”（研究人员写道：“父母可能需要在一天内到更多的地方”，结果人们自己开车，而不是乘坐公共交通工具或骑自行车。），可知有孩子的成年家庭的碳足迹更高是因为时间压力，他们开车更多。故选C项。

3.词义猜测题。由第五段由“Most Swedes believe climate change is real and have accepted sizable CO2 taxes, and households with children are given financial aid, which helps to alleviate some of the time shortage for parents to a certain extent.”（大多数瑞典人认为气候变化是真实存在的，并且已经接受了相当大的二氧化碳税，并且给有孩子的家庭提供了财政援助，这在一定程度上有助于缓解父母的一些时间短缺。），从households with children are given financial aid可知，是一定程度上缓和了父母的时间短缺，此处alleviate意为“减轻、缓和”之意。故选D项。

4.主旨大意题。由第一段中的“UW’s Jason Shogren and Linda Thunstrom, along with Jonas Nordstrom of the Lund University School of Economics and Management, have documented that two-adult households with children emit over 25 percent more carbon dioxide than two-adult households without children.”（华盛顿大学的Jason Shogren和Linda Thunstrom，以及Lund大学经济与管理学院的Jonas Nordstrom，已经证明两个有孩子的成年家庭比两个没有孩子的成年家庭排放的二氧化碳多25%。），第二段中的“The researchers found that parents with children at home consume goods and services that emit CO2 in the areas of food, such as meat, and transportation, such as gasoline, at higher rates than childless households.”（研究人员发现，有孩子在家的父母消费的商品和服务在食物（如肉类）和交通工具（如汽油）等领域的二氧化碳排放率高于没有孩子的家庭。），第三段中的“The economists note that time constraints (约束) become more demanding, and convenience may become more important, when people have children.”（经济学家指出，当人们有孩子的时候，时间限制变得更加苛刻，便利性可能变得更加重要。）和第四段中的““Parents may need to be in more places in one day,” resulting in people driving themselves instead of using public transportation or bicycling, the researchers wrote.”（研究人员写道：“父母可能需要在一天内到更多的地方”，结果人们自己开车，而不是乘坐公共交通工具或骑自行车。），可知“由于时间的限制和对便利的需求，为人父母后的碳足迹会随之增加”，此为这篇文章的大意。故选B项。