Question

    Walls blanketed in moss(苔鲜)are popping up in major cities, along with promises that they can reduce air pollution—but can a few square metres of plant matter really deal with the smog?

A Berlin-based firm, Green City Solutions, believes so. Its moss walls, called the CityTree, are roughly 4 square metres in size. Armed with Wi-Fi sensors to monitor the health of moss, a City Tree functions autonomously and requires very little maintenance(维护). The wall collects rainwater, which is pumped through a built-in irrigation system to the plants, powered by solar energy. As a result, the firm says each CityTree is able to “eat” around 250 grams of particulate(颗粒) matter a day (nearly 90 kgs a year) and removes about 240 metric tons of CO2 annually. It also cools the surrounding air.

Aware that getting the surrounding air in contact with the moss wall is crucial for the CityTree to be effective, the inventors ensure that the location of each installation (安装) is chosen carefully. Spots where pollution is heavy due to traffic and where air flow is limited are picked. The importance of this step is explained by the fact that the waste gas from a car generally goes vertically a few kilometres into the air.

But this doesn’t mean moss walls will necessarily protect people from pollution. In the Netherlands, researchers found that eight walls installed in Amsterdam failed to reduce the concentration of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (N02). Their report concluded that even doubling the number of moss walls would do little to improve their effectiveness.

The CityTree is not meant for parks or to substitute for street trees, but to add greenery to concrete-heavy spaces where planting is not an option. It’s important to remember that street trees provide a whole host of other benefits, including shelter and habitat for urban wildlife, shade and cooling for people on the street, and reduction of urban heat islands.

1.What do we know about the CityTree?

A.It can absorb some air pollutants. B.It can irrigate other street plants.

C.It produces electricity to cool water. D.It is aimed at saving water in cities.

2.What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A.The importance of CityTree.

B.The function of CityTree.

C.How to operate CityTree.

D.Where to place CityTree.

3.Why is the example of Amsterdam mentioned in Paragraph 4?

A.To show that CityTree can’t always work well.

B.To prove that CityTree can reduce air pollutants.

C.To emphasize the necessity of building moss walls.

D.To analyze the reasons for the failure of the program.

4.What is the author’s attitude towards replacing street trees with moss walls?

A.Ambiguous. B.Disapproving.

C.Supportive. D.Cautious.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.A

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章主要以号称能够减少空气污染的，在大城市如雨后春笋般出现的CityTree—苔藓墙是否真的能对付雾霾展开了讨论，分别从其功能，严格选址，以及是否有效发挥作用方面进行了讲述。作者在文末提出个人观点：苔藓墙并不能够取代公园和街道树木。

1.

细节理解题。根据文章第二段内容：As a result, the firm says each CityTree is able to “eat” around 250 grams of particulate matter a day (nearly 90 kgs a year) and removes about 240 metric tons of CO2 annually.可知每棵“城市树”每天可以“吃”大约250克的颗粒物（每年近90公斤），每年可以消除约240吨的二氧化碳。因此它有吸收一些空气污染物的功能。故选A项。

2.

主旨大意题。通过阅读可知，该段首句内容为本段中心主旨句，“Aware that getting the surrounding air in contact with the moss wall is crucial for the CityTree to be effective, the inventors ensure that the location of each installation is chosen carefully.( 考虑到让周围的空气与苔藓墙接触对城市树的有效性至关重要，发明者确保每个装置的位置都是精心选择的。)”可知，本段主要在讲述苔藓墙的安装位置。故选D项。

3.

推理判断题。根据英文文章的写作特点可知，举例内容应是对本段主旨要点的支持或例证，题干中提及举例内容“Amsterdam”紧跟于本段主旨要点之后，是为了给与主旨句例证。结合主旨内容“But this doesn’t mean moss walls will necessarily protect people from pollution.( 但这并不意味着苔藓墙一定会保护人们免受污染。)”由此判断出，该例子是为了证明苔藓墙并不一定会发挥作用。故选A项。

4.

推理判断题。根据文章末尾段内容“The CityTree is not meant for parks or to substitute for street trees, but to add greenery to concrete-heavy spaces where planting is not an option.( “城市树”并不是为公园设计的，也不是用来替代街道上的树，而是为混凝土密集的空间增加绿色植物，在这些空间里不可以种植植物。)”可推知，对于用苔藓墙取代街道上树这种做法，作者是反对的。故选B项。