2011年秋季MBA跟我学专栏—英语（第二周）

Passage 1

Lead depoits,which accumulated in soil and snow during the 1960’s and 70’s, were primarily the result of leaded gasoline emissions originating in the United States. In the twenty years that the Clean Air Act has mandated significantly unleaded gas use in the United States,the lead accumulation worldwide has decreased significantly.

A study published recently in the journal Nature shows that air-borne leaded gas emissions from the United States were the leading contributor to the high concentration of lead in the snow in Greenland. The new study is a result of the continued research led by Dr. Charles Boutron,an expert on the impact of heavy metals on the environment at the National Center for Scientific Research in France.A study by Dr. Boutron published in 1992 showed that lead levels in arctic(北极的)snow were declining.

In his new study, Dr. Boutron found the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasolinge used in the United States were different from the ratios of European, Asian and Canadian gasolines and thus enabled scientists to differentiate the lead sources. The dominant lead ratio found in Greenland snow matched that found in gasoline from the United States.

In a study published in the journal Ambio, scientists found that levels in soil in the Northeastern United States had decreased markedly since the introduction of unleaded gasoline.

Many scientists had believed that the lead would stay in soil and snow for a longer period.

The authors of the Ambio study examined samples of the upper layers of soil taken from the same sites of 30 forest floors in New England, New York and Pennsylvania in 1980 and 1990. The forest environment processed and reistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expected.

Scientists say both studies demonstrate that certain parts of the ecosystem respond rapidly to license to pollute.

1.  The study published in the journal Nature indicates that______

A. the Clean Air Act has not produced the desired results.

B. lead deposits in arctic snow on the increase.

C. lead will stay in soil and snow longer than expected.

D. the U.S. is the major source of lead pollution in arctic snow.

2.  Lead accumulation worldwide decreased significantly after the use of unleaded gas in the U.S.______.

A. was discouraged.          B. was enforced by law.

C. was prohibited by law.      D. was introduced.

3.  How did scientists discover the source of lead pollution in Greenland?

A. By analyzing the data published in journals like Nature and Ambio.

B. By observing the lead accumulations in different parts of the arctic area.

C. By studying the chemical elements soil and snow in Northeastern America.

D. By comparing the chemical compositions of leaded gasoline used in various countries.

4.  The authors of the Ambio study have found that______.

A. forests get rid of lead pollution faster than expected.

B. lead accumulations in forests are easily polluted by lead emissions.

C. lead deposits are widely distributed in the forests of the U.S.

D. the upper layers of soil in forests are easily polluted by lead emissions.

5.  It can be inferred from the last paragraph in that scientists______.

A. are puzzled by the mystery of forest pollution.

B. feel relieved by the use of unleaded gasoline.

C. still consider lead pollution a problem.

D. lack sufficient means to combat lead pollution.

Passage 2

It came as something of a surprise when Diana,Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997,to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines.Within hours of arriving in Angola television screens around the world were filled with images of her comporting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,”she said, “But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra,a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg,and people like her.”

The Princess concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines”. And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.

But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government,which refused to support a ban on these weapons.Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press.They described her as “very ill-informed” and a “loose cannon(乱放炮的人)。”

The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: “This is a distraction we do not need. All I’m trying to do is help.”

Opposition parties ,the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess.To make matters worse for the government ,it soon emerged that the Princess’s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office,and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government’s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government .

To try and limit the damage ,the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind , claimed that the Princess’s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards”a worldwide ban. The Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo,claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding”.

For the Princess ,the trip to this war-torn country was an cxcellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause .She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems.

6.  Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997______.

A. to voice her support for a total ban of landmines.

B. to clarify the British government’s stand on landmines.

C. to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims.

D. to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims.

7.  What did Diana mean when she said“…putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me”(Para.1)?

A. She just couldn’t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face.

B. The actual situation in Agola made her feel like going back home.

C. Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics.

D. Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation.

8.  Some members of the British government criticized Diana because______.

A. she was ill-informed of the government’s policy.

B. they were actually opposed to banning landmines.

C. she had not consulted the government before the visit.

D. they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola.

9.  How did Diana respond to the criticisms?

A. She paid no attention to them.

B. She made more appearances on TV.

C. She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.

D. She rose to argue with her opponents.

10.  What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?

A. It had caused embarrassment to the British government.

B. It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.

C. It had greatly promoted her popularity.

D. It had affected her relations with the British government.

Passage1

1.答案为D。细节题。根据原文第二段第一句：最近，科学期刊《自然》杂志上发表的一篇研究文章指出，空气中的含铅废弃的排放是创造格林兰岛的雪中含铅量高的主要原因，这些废气都来自美国。“leadingcontributor”所指的就是来自美国的废气，因此美国便是格林兰岛污染的“罪魁祸首”，可以得出D项答案。从后文可知，洁净条例对抑制、降低铅污染起到了至关重要的作用，所以A违背原意；CharlesBoutron博士1991年发布的一项研究显示，北极雪中的铅含量正在逐年减少，所以B违背原意；从文中第五段可知，科学家们曾经以为，铅会在soil和snow中长时间滞留，文中还指出，关于铅在土壤中滞留的研究是发表在期刊Ambio上的，所以C违背原意。

2.答案为B。细节题。根据第一段末句：自从美国实行空气洁净条例后，20年间，全世界的沉积都大大降低。理解mandate的意思，强制执行，同义转述，实行空气洁净条例便是立法通过，所以B正确。无铅汽油的使用是被提倡的，所以A违背原意；无铅汽油的使用是被立法通过，而不是禁止使用，所以C违背原意，D不够具体明确，应该是通过立法的途径，而不是简单的引入。

3.答案为D。细节题。根据原文第三段第一句“…theratiosofthedifferentformsofleadintheleadedgasolines…”可知，不同国家和地区的汽油中含铅量不同；根据“thusenabledscientiststodifferentiatetheleadsources.”可知，专家可以通过汽油中的铅含量来判断此种铅来自于何地。显然，就是利用判断汽油中铅含量的方法得出格林兰岛的铅污染主要来自美国的结论。所以D正确。原文中没有提到要分析Nature和Ambio报告给出的数据，所以A不对；原文没有提及观察北极不同区域铅的积累情况，所以B不对；对东北美土质进行监测的目的是测量土壤中铅的含量，见第四段“…thatleadlevelsinsoil…decreasedmarkedlysince…”,说明C也不对。

4.答案为A。细节题根据原文倒数第二段“Theforestenvironmentprocessedandredistributedtheleadfasterthanthescientistshadexpected.”森林处理和重新分配铅污染的能力超出科学的预料，同义转述是森林去除、净化铅污染的能力比科学家预计的要强，可知A正确。森林中的铅积累好处理，说明B与文中所述相反。原文没有提及铅沉积在美国的森林中广泛分布，所以不对；文中没有提到哪层土容易被污染，所以D也不对。

5.答案为C。推论题。根据最后一段：尽管生态系统的某些环节对空气污染的改善反应迅速(respondrapidlytoreductionsinatmospherticpollution,…)但这些研究成果不应该被当作对环境污染的许可。这说明。铅污染仍然应被重视，所以C正确。文中没有提到科学家们被森林污染所困扰，所以A不对；文中虽然举出了使用无铅汽油后铅污染减少，但并没有说铅污染已经解决，而且，“thesefindingsshouldnotbeusedasalicensetopollute”,即暗指铅污染仍然应被重视，科学家们还能“feelrelieved”,所以B不对；文中没有提到和污染斗争的方法手段问题，所以也不对。

Passage2

6.答案为A。细节题。文章第一段提到，戴安娜王妃访问安哥拉，“tosupporttheRedCross’scampaignforatotalbanonallanti-personnellandmines.”表明王妃的态度和目的是要声明，她对全面禁止使用地雷的支持。这说明A正确。王妃并不是要阐明英国政府在地雷方面的立场，相反她受到了政府成员的攻击，所以B不对；王妃慰问了那些在地雷爆炸中受伤的人员，但其访问的目的也不是去树立亲近地雷受害者的形象，所以D也不对。

7.答案为D。词义题。根据第一段最后一句话：王妃只有真正看到那些受害者所经受的痛苦，才能体会到现实是非常严重的。这说明D正确。王妃慰问了那些受害者，而不是无法容忍面对与受害者的接触，说明A颠倒了王妃并的态度；在安哥拉的境遇根本不可能让王妃感觉像是回到了家，所以B不对；王妃并非不相信统计数据，而是亲自看到现实的时候有更真实的体会，说明C也不对。

8.答案为B。细节题。文章第三段第一句话指出：那些不同意王妃观点的人拒绝支持对这些武器的禁用。这也正是他们批评王妃的原因，所以B正确。A是批评王妃的内容，并不是批评的原因，更何况他们的指责并非事实；文中并没有提到他们是因为王妃访问前未与政府协商而指责她的，事实后来也证明王妃得到了外交部批准，所以C不对。文中提到的“misinterpretation”的概念是说政府与王妃之间的一些误解，而不是说王妃歪曲了安哥拉的境况，这也不是他们指责的缘由，所以D也不对。

9.答案为A。细节题。文章第四段：“ThePrincessrespondedbybrushingasidethecriticisms:‘Thisisadistractionwedonotneed.AllI’mtryingtodoishelp.’”说明王妃对那些批评置若罔闻，所以A正确。文中没有提及她通过多上电视来回应那些批评，所以B不对；她会见那个13岁的女孩是在访问过程中的行为，并不是她访问回来后针对批评而回应的办法，所以C不对；文中明确说她不予理睬，根本没有与反对者争论，所以D也不对。

10.答案为B。细节题。文章最后一段最后一句话指出：她说，这次访问使她有机会亲近人民。这说明B正确。虽然确实使政府陷入了尴尬，但这不是王妃对这次访问的看法，所以A不对；王妃是利用她已有的知名度进行访问，以声明对禁用地雷的支持，而不是借访问提升知名度，这并不是她对这次访问的态度，所以C不对；访问确实影响了她与政府的关系，但是文中没有表明这是王妃对这次访问的看法，所以D不对。