C
The fight is on to get rid of air pollution in our cities. While the best solution in the long-term would be to ban fossil-fueled cars, that won’t help the millions who are dying in the meantime, and so some high-tech solutions are now on the cards.
London’s air pollution problem has been getting worse for years. In March 2016, ten London pigeons became famous. These pigeons took to the sky, wearing backpacks monitoring air pollution. Once in the air, the backpacks sent live air-quality updates to the smartphones of the Londoners below.
Another promising approach can be found in Beijing. A seven-metre-high “Smog Free Tower”, designed by a Dutch scientist, Daan Roosegaarde, opened in Beijing’s 751 D Park in September 2016. It is a huge, outdoor air purifier. Airborne particles (颗粒) are sucked into the tower and caught by a dust-removal plate. Finally, clean air is blown out of the other end. “Changing smog particles does not take much power.” Roosegaarde said.
As for what to do with the collected PM waste, he has currently set up a business making jewellery out of the waste. Prince Charles owns a set of “smog free” cufflinks (袖扣). If collected on at a big scale, Roosegaarde believes it could even be used as a building material.
Mexico City has an alternative solution. Looking to Nature to maximize the surface area of a building, Allison Dring, a Berlin-based architect, managed to catch light and wind from all sides. She is now making a building material by burning agricultural crop by-products in the absence of oxygen. “It means that you are actually taking carbon (碳) out of the sky, transforming it into a material, and then using it to build,” says Dring.
The fight against outdoor air pollution is really just starting. Even if none of the ideas take off, at least Prince Charles’ cufflinks, the special building surface and pigeons wearing back-packs will have brought the issue more to the public’s attention.
35. The underlined words “on the cards” in Para.1 probably mean ________.
A. hardly to achieve
B. widely questioned
C. very likely to happen
D. publicly welcomed
36. The ten pigeons in London were used to ________.
A. monitor air pollution
B. warn Londoners
C. update weather forecast
D. promote backpacks
37. What can we learn about the Smog Free Tower?
A. It can catch light and wind.
B. Its power consumption is high.
C. PM waste from it can be reused.
D. It is the first air purifier in the world.
38. What’s the best title for the passage?
A. When can humans get rid of smog?
B. Why is technology used to fight smog?
C. How are the world’s cities fighting smog?
D. What makes smog a worldwide problem?
【答案】35. C 36. A 37. C 38. C
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。短文介绍了世界各地的一些解决城市空气污染的高科技解决方案。
【35题详解】
词句猜测题。由第一段中的“While the best solution in the long-term would be to ban fossil-fueled cars, that won’t help the millions who are dying in the meantime, and so some high-tech solutions are now on the cards.”（虽然从长远来看，最好的解决方案是禁止使用化石燃料的汽车，但这无助于数百万人同时死亡，因此一些高科技的解决方案现在已经出现。）和下文介绍的几个高科技解决方案，可知最好的解决方案有所限制，因此高科技解决方案现在很可能出现了，on the cards在此处意为“很可能发生”。故选C项。
【36题详解】
细节理解题。由第二段中的“These pigeons took to the sky, wearing backpacks monitoring air pollution. Once in the air, the backpacks sent live air-quality updates to the smartphones of the Londoners below.”（这些鸽子带着监测空气污染的背包飞向天空。它们一到空中，背包就向下面的伦敦人的智能手机上发送实时空气质量更新。），可知伦敦的十只鸽子是用来监测空气污染的。故选A项。
【37题详解】
推理判断题。由第四段中的“As for what to do with the collected PM waste, he has currently set up a business making jewellery out of the waste.”（至于如何处理收集到的PM废料，他目前已成立了一家利用废料制造珠宝的企业。）和“If collected on at a big scale, Roosegaarde believes it could even be used as a building material.”（如果大规模收集，Roosegarde认为它甚至可以用作建筑材料。），可推断出从Smog Free Tower收集到的PM废料是可以被用在珠宝行业和其它地方的，说明PM废料可以被重新利用。故选C项。
【38题详解】
主旨大意题。第一段讲“一些已经可能出现的高科技城市空气污染解决方案”，第二段讲“高科技空气污染解决方案之一：鸽子带着监测空气污染的背包飞向天空”，第三四段讲“高科技空气污染解决方案之二：Smog Free Tower吸收空气中的PM废料”，第五段讲“高科技空气污染解决方案之三：用无氧燃烧农作物副产品来制造建筑材料”，第六段讲“这些高科技城市空气污染解决方案让公众更加关注空气污染这个问题”，文章讲的是世界各地用高科技应对空气污染问题，C项“世界上的城市如何与烟雾作斗争？”为短文最佳标题。故选C项。
The fight is on to get rid of air pollution in our cities. While the best solution in the long-term would be to ban fossil-fueled cars, that won’t help the millions who are dying in the meantime, and so some high-tech solutions are now on the cards.
London’s air pollution problem has been getting worse for years. In March 2016, ten London pigeons became famous. These pigeons took to the sky, wearing backpacks monitoring air pollution. Once in the air, the backpacks sent live air-quality updates to the smartphones of the Londoners below.
Another promising approach can be found in Beijing. A seven-metre-high “Smog Free Tower”, designed by a Dutch scientist, Daan Roosegaarde, opened in Beijing’s 751 D Park in September 2016. It is a huge, outdoor air purifier. Airborne particles (颗粒) are sucked into the tower and caught by a dust-removal plate. Finally, clean air is blown out of the other end. “Changing smog particles does not take much power.” Roosegaarde said.
As for what to do with the collected PM waste, he has currently set up a business making jewellery out of the waste. Prince Charles owns a set of “smog free” cufflinks (袖扣). If collected on at a big scale, Roosegaarde believes it could even be used as a building material.
Mexico City has an alternative solution. Looking to Nature to maximize the surface area of a building, Allison Dring, a Berlin-based architect, managed to catch light and wind from all sides. She is now making a building material by burning agricultural crop by-products in the absence of oxygen. “It means that you are actually taking carbon (碳) out of the sky, transforming it into a material, and then using it to build,” says Dring.
The fight against outdoor air pollution is really just starting. Even if none of the ideas take off, at least Prince Charles’ cufflinks, the special building surface and pigeons wearing back-packs will have brought the issue more to the public’s attention.
35. The underlined words “on the cards” in Para.1 probably mean ________.
A. hardly to achieve
B. widely questioned
C. very likely to happen
D. publicly welcomed
36. The ten pigeons in London were used to ________.
A. monitor air pollution
B. warn Londoners
C. update weather forecast
D. promote backpacks
37. What can we learn about the Smog Free Tower?
A. It can catch light and wind.
B. Its power consumption is high.
C. PM waste from it can be reused.
D. It is the first air purifier in the world.
38. What’s the best title for the passage?
A. When can humans get rid of smog?
B. Why is technology used to fight smog?
C. How are the world’s cities fighting smog?
D. What makes smog a worldwide problem?
【答案】35. C 36. A 37. C 38. C
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。短文介绍了世界各地的一些解决城市空气污染的高科技解决方案。
【35题详解】
词句猜测题。由第一段中的“While the best solution in the long-term would be to ban fossil-fueled cars, that won’t help the millions who are dying in the meantime, and so some high-tech solutions are now on the cards.”（虽然从长远来看，最好的解决方案是禁止使用化石燃料的汽车，但这无助于数百万人同时死亡，因此一些高科技的解决方案现在已经出现。）和下文介绍的几个高科技解决方案，可知最好的解决方案有所限制，因此高科技解决方案现在很可能出现了，on the cards在此处意为“很可能发生”。故选C项。
【36题详解】
细节理解题。由第二段中的“These pigeons took to the sky, wearing backpacks monitoring air pollution. Once in the air, the backpacks sent live air-quality updates to the smartphones of the Londoners below.”（这些鸽子带着监测空气污染的背包飞向天空。它们一到空中，背包就向下面的伦敦人的智能手机上发送实时空气质量更新。），可知伦敦的十只鸽子是用来监测空气污染的。故选A项。
【37题详解】
推理判断题。由第四段中的“As for what to do with the collected PM waste, he has currently set up a business making jewellery out of the waste.”（至于如何处理收集到的PM废料，他目前已成立了一家利用废料制造珠宝的企业。）和“If collected on at a big scale, Roosegaarde believes it could even be used as a building material.”（如果大规模收集，Roosegarde认为它甚至可以用作建筑材料。），可推断出从Smog Free Tower收集到的PM废料是可以被用在珠宝行业和其它地方的，说明PM废料可以被重新利用。故选C项。
【38题详解】
主旨大意题。第一段讲“一些已经可能出现的高科技城市空气污染解决方案”，第二段讲“高科技空气污染解决方案之一：鸽子带着监测空气污染的背包飞向天空”，第三四段讲“高科技空气污染解决方案之二：Smog Free Tower吸收空气中的PM废料”，第五段讲“高科技空气污染解决方案之三：用无氧燃烧农作物副产品来制造建筑材料”，第六段讲“这些高科技城市空气污染解决方案让公众更加关注空气污染这个问题”，文章讲的是世界各地用高科技应对空气污染问题，C项“世界上的城市如何与烟雾作斗争？”为短文最佳标题。故选C项。
