阅读攻略－2001年1月CET4阅读真题解读(三)

Passage Three

Priscilla Ouchida’s “energy-efficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned (双层玻璃的) windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.

Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde (甲醛) gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.

    The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “ The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas, a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate 1 the situation in some cases.”

    The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants 2 generated in most households seldom built up to dangerous levels.

31. It can be learned from the passage that the Ouchidas’ house ________.

    A) failed to meet energy conservation standards

    B) was designed and constructed in a scientific way

    C) is well worth the money spent on its construction

    D) is almost faultless from the point of energy conservation

32. What made the Ouchidas’ new house a horrible dream?

    A) Lack of fresh air         B) Gas leakage 3 in the kitchen

    C) The newly painted walls   D) Poor quality of building materials

33. The word “accentuate” (Line5, Para. 3) most probably means “_________”.

    A) worsen      B) relieve   C) improve   D) accelerate

34. Why were cracks in old house not a big concern?

    A) Because environmental protection was given top priority

    B) Because indoor cleanliness was not emphasized

    C) Because they were technically 4 unavoidable

    D) Because energy used to be inexpensive

35. This passage is most probably taken from an article entitled “_______”.

    A) Energy Conservation     B) Air Pollution Indoors

    C) House Building Crisis    D) Traps in Building Construction

试题分析：

本文是一篇科普说明文，以Priscilla Ouchida的节能房屋最终成为梦魇的事例，阐述了室内空气污染问题，并分析了原因。

31. D 推断题  解题的依据是文章第一段中“Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned (双层玻璃的) windows and several other energy-saving features.”。选项A、B、C文中都没提到。

32. A 推断题  根据文中第二段“The level of formaldehyde (甲醛) gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers.”，可以推断出室内空气甲醛含量超标，新鲜空气不足正是房屋主人患病的罪魁祸首。

33. A 词汇题  根据该词出现的上文语境“The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along”，可以推测出该词应是“恶化，加剧”之意。

34. D 细节题  文章最后一段中“Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks.”与选项D表达一致。

35. B 主旨题  全文主要围绕节能造成室内污染的问题展开论述，所以选项B最能概括主题。