第21题:
问答题
Passage 3Cleaning up the Thames A The River Thames, which was biologically “dead” as recently as the 1960s, is now the cleanest metropolitan river in the world, according to the Thames Water Company. The company says that thanks to major investment in better sewage treatment in London and the Thames Valley, the river that flows through the United Kingdom capital and the Thames Estuary into the North Sea is cleaner now than it has been for 130 years. The Fisheries Department, who are responsible for monitoring fish levels in the River Thames, has reported that the river has again become the home to 115 species of fish including sea bass, flounder, salmon, smelt, and shad. Recently, a porpoise was spotted cavorting in the river near central London. B But things were not always so rosy. In the 1950s, sewer outflows and industrial effluent had killed the river. It was starved of oxygen and could no longer support aquatic life. Until the early 1970s, if you fell into the Thames you would have had to be rushed to hospital to get your stomach pumped. A clean-up operation began in the 1960s. Several Parliamentary Committees and Royal Commissions were set up, and, over time, legislation has been introduced that put the onus on polluters-effluent-producing premises and businesses-to dispose of waste responsibly. In 1964 the Greater London Council (GLC) began work on greatly enlarged sewage works, which were completed in 1974. C The Thames clean up is not over though. It is still going on, and it involves many disparate arms of government and a wide range of non-government stakeholder groups, all representing a necessary aspect of the task. In London’s case, the urban and non-urban London boroughs that flank the river’s course each has its own reasons for keeping “their” river nice. And if their own reasons do not hold out a sufficiently attractive carrot, the government also wields a compelling stick. The 2,000 Local Government Act requires each local borough to “prepare a community strategy for promoting or improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area”. And if your area includes a stretch of river, that means a sustainable river development strategy. D Further legislation aimed at improving and sustaining the river’s viability has been proposed. There is now legislation that protects the River Thames, either specifically or as part of a general environmental clause, in the Local Government Act, the London Acts, and the law that created the post of the mayor of London. And these are only the tip of an iceberg that includes industrial, public health and environmental protection regulations. The result is a wide range of bodies officially charged, in one way or another, with maintaining the Thames as a public amenity. For example, Transport for London—the agency responsible for transport in the capital—plays a role in regulating river use and river users. They now are responsible for controlling the effluents and rubbish coming from craft using the Thames. This is done by officers on official vessels regularly inspect fling craft and doing spot checks. Another example is how Thames Water (TW) has now been charged to reduce the amount of litter that finds its way into the tidal river and its tributaries. TW’s environment and quality manager, Dr. Peter Spillett, said: “This project will build on our investment which has dramatically improved the water quality of the river. London should not be spoiled by litter which belongs in the bin not the river.” Thousands of tons of rubbish end up in the river each year, from badly stored waste, people throwing litter off boats, and rubbish in the street being blown or washed into the river. Once litter hits the water it becomes too heavy to be blown away again and therefore the rivers act as a sink in the system. While the Port of London already collects up to 3,000 tons of solid waste from the tideway every year, Thames Water now plans to introduce a new device to capture more rubbish floating down the river. It consists of a huge cage that sits in the flow of water and gathers the passing rubbish. Moored just offshore in front of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, south-east London, the device is expected to capture up to 20 tons of floating litter each year. If washed out to sea, this rubbish can kill marine mammals, fish and birds. This machine, known as the Rubbish Muncher, is hoped to be the first of many, as the TW is now looking for sponsors to pay for more cages elsewhere along the Thames. E Monitoring of the cleanliness of the River Thames in the past was the responsibility of a welter of agencies-British Waterways, Port of London Authority, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Commission, Thames Water—as well as academic departments and national and local environment groups. If something was not right, someone was bound to call foul and hold somebody to account, whether it was the local authority, an individual polluter or any of the many public and private sector bodies that bore a share of the responsibility for maintaining the River Thames as a public amenity. Although they will all still have their part to play, there is now a central department in the Environment Agency, which has the remit of monitoring the Thames. This centralization of accountability will, it is hoped, lead to more efficient control and enforcement. Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet, write YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 1. The Thames is now cleaner than it was in 1900. 2. Swimming in the Thames now poses no health hazards. 3. It is now mainly the responsibility of those who pollute the Thames to clean their waste up. 4. All local London boroughs are now partly responsible for keeping the Thames clean. 5. Transport for London now employs a type of River Police to enforce control of their regulations. 6. Rubbish Munchers are now situated at various locations on the Thames. 7. Previously no one department had overall responsibility or control for monitoring the cleanliness of the Thames. 8. British Waterways will no longer have any part in keeping the Thames clean.
正确答案:
1. YES
(根据题干关键词cleaner和 1900可定位到原文A段第二句“…the Thames Estuary into the North Sea is cleaner now than it has been for l30 years”,由此可知, 泰晤士河北海入海口现在是130年来最干净的,由时间推断知,130年包括1900年,因此题干说法是合理的。故答案为YES。)
2. NOT GIVEN
(根据题干关键词Swimming和health hazards可定位到原文B段第四句“Until the early l970s, if you fell into the Thames you would have had to be rushed to hospital to get your stomach pumped”,意思是说在70年代以前如果掉进泰晤士河,就必须尽快进医院将腹中的水挤压出来,但是原文中没有提及现在在泰晤士河中游泳是否对健康有害,因此,答案为NOT GIVEN。)
3. NOT GIVEN
(根据题干关键词responsibility, pollute可定位到原文B段倒数第二句“…legislation has been introduced that put the onus on polluters—effluent-producing premises and businesses—to dispose of waste responsibly”,可知通过立法让污染者承担责任,但是文中并没有明确地指明现在污染者承担最主要的责任,故答案为NOT GIVEN。)
4. YES
(根据题干关键词London, boroughs, keeping, clean可定位到原文C段“The 2,000 Local Government Act requires each local borough to “prepare a community strategy for promoting or improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of their area”. And if your area includes a stretch of river, that means a sustainable river development strategy”,由此可知所有的boroughs都必须保持河水的清洁,因此题干表述是正确的,故答案为YES。)
5. YES
(根据题干关键词Transport for London,River Police可定位到原文D段“Transport for London—the agency responsible for transport in the capital—plays a role in regulating river use and river users. They now are responsible for controlling the effluents and rubbish coming from craft using the Thames. This is done by officers on official vessels regularly inspect fling craft and doing spot checks”,其中officers on official vessels与题干中的type of River Police对应,这段话就是讲警察协助实施管理规定,与题干表达一样,故答案为YES。)
6. NO
(根据题干关键词Rubbish Munchers可定位到原文D段最后一句“This machine, known as the Rubbish Muncher, is hoped to be the first of many, as the TW is now looking for sponsors to pay for more cages elsewhere along the Thames”,可知目前TW正在寻找投资人希望将这台机器投入到更多的地方,因此可以推断出并不是很多地方都安装了这种机器,所以题干的表述是不正确的,故答案为N0。)
7. YES
(根据题干关键词previously,overall responsibility可定位到原文E段第一句“Monitoring of the cleanliness of the River Thames in the past was the responsibility of a welter of agencies-British Waterways, Port of London Authority, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Commission…”,此句列举了几个管理部门,由此可知,并不是某一个部门全权管理,因此题干中“没有哪个部门全部负责或管控”的说法是正确的,故答案为YES。)
8. NO
(根据题干关键词British Waterways 可定位到原文E段的倒数第二句“Although they will all still have their part to play, there is now a central department in the Environment Agency, which has the remit of monitoring the Thames”,从前半句中的although一词就可知这些部门仍然有清洁的责任,因此,题干表达是错误的。故答案为NO。)
解析:
暂无解析