Question

    The second little pig was unlucky. He built his house from sticks. It was blown away by a wolf. His brother, by contrast, built a strong house from bricks to prevent the wolf’s attack. However, in the real world it would help reduce pollution and slow global warming if more builders copied the wood-loving second pig.

Governments in the rich world are now trying to promote greener behavior by forcing developers to build new projects to “zero carbon” standards. These standards are less green than they seem. Wind turbines (涡轮) and solar panels on top of buildings look good but are much less productive than wind and solar farms. And the standards only count the emissions from running a building, not those given out when it was made. Those are thought to account for between 30% and 60% of the total over a structure’s lifetime.

Buildings can become greener. They can be made of more recycled wood and parts of them can be prefabricated in off-site factories, greatly reducing truck journeys. But no other building material has environmental certificates as exciting and overlooked as wood. The energy required to produce a wooden beam is one-sixth of that required for a steel one of comparable strength. When a mature tree is cut down, a new one can be planted to replace it, capturing more carbon. After buildings are pulled down, old wooden beams and boards are easy to recycle into new structures. Wood is also a good insulator (隔热材料). A softwood window frame provides nearly 400 times as much insulation as a plain steel and over a thousand times as much as an aluminium (铝) frame.

Carpenters’ efforts alone will not bring the environmental cost of the world’s buildings into line. But using wood can do much more than what is appreciated. Thus, the second little pig was not wrong, just before his time.

1.Why is the story about the pigs mentioned?

A.To bring up the topic of the text.

B.To prove the author’s argument.

C.To offer background information.

D.To inspire the readers’ imagination.

2.What can we know about the “zero carbon” standards?

A.It’s impossible to make them come true.

B.They don’t mean no carbon is given out.

C.They are only fit for developed countries.

D.It’s easy for them to meet today’s needs.

3.What is paragraph 3 mainly about?

A.The ways of making buildings greener.

B.The usage of recycled steel in buildings.

C.The findings of new research about wood.

D.The advantages of wood as building materials.

4.Which can replace the underlined word “prefabricated” in paragraph 3?

A.Registered. B.Recycled.

C.Constructed. D.Compared.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。短文介绍了建筑物造成了大量碳排放，多用木材会更环保。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段“The second little pig was unlucky. He built his house from sticks. It was blown away by a wolf. His brother, by contrast, built a strong house from bricks to prevent the wolf’s attack. However, in the real world it would help reduce pollution and slow global warming if more builders copied the wood-loving second pig.”第二只小猪不走运。他用棍子盖房子。它被狼吹走了。相比之下，他的兄弟则用砖头建造了一座坚固的房子，以防狼的袭击。然而，在现实世界中，如果更多的建筑商仿造第二头猪的做法，将有助于减少污染和减缓全球变暖。作者开段以比较写作手法介绍了两只小猪采用不同的建筑材料建造房子，从而导致不同的结果来开篇。其目的是引出“材料选材与低碳环保的关系”，即该文章的话题。故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据后文的“These standards are less green”（这些标准并没有那么环保）。其中these standards指代的是前文“zero carbon”，意在说明“零碳排”并非严格意义的无污染。故选B项。

3.主旨大意题。通过该段主题句和辅助句，即“Buildings can become greener. They can be made of more recycled wood”（建筑物也可以变得更环保，可使用循坏利用次数更多的材木）。所以本段主要在讲环保材料的优势。故选D项。

4.词句猜测题。通过该词所在句，即“They can be made of more recycled wood and parts of them can be prefabricated in off-site factories, greatly reducing truck journeys.”（它们可以增加再生木材的使用，还可以在工地外的工厂中prefabricated ，大大减少对货运的需求）所以，组件可以在厂区外建造出来，这样就可以减少加工链运输频次问题，故划线词的意思是“建造”的意思。故选C项。