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第34关
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The fifth largest city in the US passed a significant soda tax proposal that will levy (征税) 1.5 cents per liquid ounce on distributors.
Philadelphia’s new measure was approved by a 13 to 4 city council vote. It sets a new bar for similar initiatives across the country. It is proof that taxes on sugary drinks can win substantial support outside super-liberal areas. Until now, the only city to successfully pass and implement a soda taxwas Berkeley, California, in 2014.
The tax will apply to regular and diet sodas, as well as other drinks with added sugar, such as Gatorade and iced teas. It’s expected to raise $410 million over the next five years, most of which will go toward funding a universal prekindergarten program for the city.
While the city council vote was met with applause inside the council room, opponents to the measure, including soda lobbyists, made sharp criticisms and a promise to challenge the tax in court.
“The tax passed today unfairly singles out beverages—including low-and no-calorie choices,” said Lauren Kane, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association. “But most importantly , it is against the law. So we will side with the majority of the people of Philadelphia who oppose this tax and take legal action to stop it.”
An industry-backed anti-tax campaign has spent at least $4 million on advertisements. The ads criticized the measure, characterizing it as a “grocery tax.”
Public health groups applauded the approved tax as a step toward fixing certain lasting health issues that plague Americans. “The move to recapture a small part of the profits from an industry that pushes a product that contributes to diabetes, obesity and heart disease in poorer communities in order to reinvest in those communities will sure be inspirational to many other places,” said Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America. “Indeed, we are already hearing from some of them. It’s not ‘just Berkeley’ anymore.”
Similar measures in California’s Albany, Oakland, San Francisco and Colorado’s Boulder are becoming hotbutton issues. Health advocacy groups have hinted that even more might be coming.
1
What does the passage say about the newly-approved soda tax in Philadelphia?
A.
It will change the lifestyle of many consumers.
B.
It may encourage other US cities to follow suit.
C.
It will cut soda consumption among low-income communities.
D.
It may influence the marketing strategies of the soda business.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的the newly-approved soda tax in Philadelphia定位到第二段第一、二句。推理判断题。定位句指出，费城的新举措在市议会投票选举中以13:4的比例获得通过。它为全国范围内的类似举措设定了新的标准。由此可见，该举措不仅受到了市议会的批准，而且也鼓励其在全国范围内展开，使其他城市陆续效仿，故答案为B。
2
What will the opponents probably do to respond to the soda tax proposal?
A.
Bargain with the city council.
B.
Refuse to pay additional tax.
C.
Take legal action against it.
D.
Try to win public support.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
由题干中的opponents和respond to the soda tax proposal定位到第五段最后一句。细节辨认题。第五段提到美国饮料协会的发言人劳伦-凯恩的观点：今天通过的税收政策很不公平地挑出了一些饮料——包括低卡和无卡的饮料。但最重要的是，这是违法的。因此我们将支持费城中占绝大多数的反对此项税收的人，并采取法律措施来阻止这项税收。由此可知反对者会采取法律措施，故答案为C。
3
What did the industry-backed anti-tax campaign do about the soda tax proposal?
A.
It tried to arouse hostile feelings among consumers.
B.
It tried to win grocers’ support against the measure.
C.
It kept sending letters of protest to the media.
D.
It criticized the measure through advertising.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的industry-backed anti-tax campaign定位到第六段。细节辨认题。定位段指出，一项由业界支持的反税收运动已经在广告上花费了至少400万美元。这些广告批判了这一举措，将其描述为“食品杂货类税收”。由此可知答案为D “通过广告来批判这一举措”。
4
What did public health groups think the soda tax would do?
A.
Alert people to the risk of sugar induced diseases.
B.
Help people to fix certain long-time health issues.
C.
Add to the fund for their research on diseases.
D.
Benefit low-income people across the country.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的public health groups定位到第七段第一句。细节辨认题。定位句指出，公共卫生组织赞成这项获批的税收，将其称为解决某些长期困扰美国人的健康问题的重要一步。由此可知，这项税收会帮助解决健康问题，故答案为B。
5
What do we learn about similar measures concerning the soda tax in some other cities?
A.
They are becoming rather sensitive issues.
B.
They are spreading panic in the soda industry.
C.
They are reducing the incidence of sugar-induced diseases.
D.
They are taking away a lot of profit from the soda industry.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的similar measures和in some other cities定位到最后一段第一句。细节辨认题。定位句指出，类似的举措在加利福尼亚州的奥尔巴尼、奥克兰、旧金山和科罗拉多州的博尔德正在成为热点问题。定位句中的 hot-button issues 和选项A中的 sensitive issues 含义一致，故答案为A。
Popping food into the microwave for a couple of minutes may seem utterly harmless, but Europe’s stock of these quick-cooking ovens emit as much carbon as nearly 7 million cars, a new study has found. And the problem is growing. With costs falling and kitchen appliances becoming “status” items, owners are throwing away microwaves after an average of eight years. This is pushing sales of new microwaves which are expected to reach 135 million annually in the EU by the end of the decade.
A study by the University of Manchester calculated the emissions of CO2—the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change—at every stage of microwaves, from manufacture to waste disposal. “It is electricity consumption by microwaves that has the biggest impact on the environment,” say the authors. The authors also calculate that the emissions from using 19 microwaves over a year are the same as those from using a car. According to the same study, efforts to reduce consumption should focus on improving consumer awareness and behaviour. For example, consumers could use appliances in a more efficient way by adjusting the time of cooking to the type of food.
However, David Reay, professor of carbon management, argues that, although microwaves use a great deal of energy, their emissions are minor compared to those from cars. In the UK alone, there are around 30 million cars. These cars emit more than all the microwaves in the EU. Backing this up, recent data show that passenger cars in the UK emitted 69 million tons of CO2 in 2015. This is 10 times the amount this new microwave oven study estimates for annual emissions for all the microwave ovens in the EU. Further, the energy used by microwaves is lower than any other form of cooking. Among common kitchen appliances used for cooking, microwaves are the most energy efficient, followed by a stove and finally a standard oven. Thus, rising microwave sales could be seen as a positive thing.
6
What is the finding of the new study?
A.
Quick-cooking microwave ovens have become more popular.
B.
The frequent use of microwaves may do harm to our health.
C.
CO2 emissions constitute a major threat to the environment.
D.
The use of microwaves emits more CO2 than people think.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
D
系统解析：
由题干中的the new study定位到首段第一句。推理判断题。定位句指出，把食物放进微波炉加热几分钟可能看上去完全无害，但是一项新研究发现，欧洲的这些快速烹饪炉具释放的碳相当于近700万辆小轿车的碳排放量。该句中的转折连词but体现出前后分句的关系，前半句是对微波炉的积极评价，后半句则为消极评价，通过对比可以看出微波炉的碳排放量是高于人们想象的，故答案为D “微波炉的使用释放出比人们想象中更多的二氧化碳”。
7
Why are the sales of microwaves expected to rise?
A.
They are becoming more affordable.
B.
They have a shorter life cycle than other appliances.
C.
They are getting much easier to operate.
D.
They take less time to cook than other appliances.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的the sales of microwaves 和expected to rise定位到首段末句。细节辨认题。定位句指出，这推动了新型微波炉的销量，预计到本年代末（2020年），欧盟每年的新型微波炉的销售量能达到1.35亿。而上—句指出了推动销量的主要原因：成本的降低和厨房用具变成体现“社会地位”的物品，在平均使用8年后，使用者们会扔掉微波炉。由此可知，其中一个原因是成本的降低，即微波炉价格的降低，故答案为A “它们变得更容易让人们负担得起”。
8
What recommendation does the study by the University of Manchester make?
A.
Cooking food of different varieties.
B.
Improving microwave users’ habits.
C.
Eating less to cut energy consumption.
D.
Using microwave ovens less frequently.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
B
系统解析：
由题干中的 the study by the University of Manchester 定位到第二段最后两句。细节辨认题。定位句指出，降低消耗的努力应聚焦在改进消费者的意识和行为上。比如，消费者们可以根据食物种类调整烹饪时间，用一种更有效的方式来使用这些器具。由此可推断答案为B “改进微波炉使用者的习惯”。
9
What does Professor David Reay try to argue?
A.
There are far more emissions from cars than from microwaves.
B.
People should be persuaded into using passenger cars less often.
C.
The UK produces less CO2 than many other countries in the EU.
D.
More data are needed to show whether microwaves are harmful.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
A
系统解析：
由题干中的Professor David Reay 和argue定位到第三段第一句。细节辨认题。定位句提到，碳管理方面的教授大卫·雷伊认为，尽管微波炉使用大量能量，它们的排放量和汽车相比微乎其微。也就是说汽车的碳排放量要远大于微波炉，故答案为A。
10
What does Professor David Reay think of the use of microwaves?
A.
It will become less popular in the coming decades.
B.
It makes everyday cooking much more convenient.
C.
It plays a positive role in environmental protection.
D.
It consumes more power than conventional cooking.
本题答案：
A
B
C
D
参考答案：
C
系统解析：
由题干中的 Professor David Reay 和 the use of microwaves定位到最后一段最后两句。推理判断题。定位句指出，在所有常见的厨房烹饪用具中，微波炉是最节能的，其次是炉子，最后是标准的烤箱。这样一来，提高微波炉的销量可以被视为一种积极的举措。由定位句可知，微波炉是最节能的，也就是碳排放量最小，对环境危害最小，故答案为C “它在环保方面起到一个积极的作用”。
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