問題詳情：
Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks. His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he’s an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter, including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road. What is even more interesting is that one of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bags.
Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year. So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts(收銀臺). The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California, including Los Angeles. Eyeing these headwinds, plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.
Among the bag makers’ argument: many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags, which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport. And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at, they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today.
The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement: reusable shopping bags. The stronger a reusable bag is, the longer its life and the more plastic-bag use it cancels out. However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make. One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic.
Environmentalists don’t dispute(質疑) these points. They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags for years.
109．What has Steven Stein been hired to do?
A．Help increase grocery sales.
B．Recycle the waste material.
C．Stop things falling off trucks.
D．Argue for the use of plastic bags.
110．What does the word “headwinds” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A．Bans on plastic bags.
B．Effects of city development.
C．Headaches caused by garbage.
D．Plastic bags hung in trees.
111．What is a disadvantage of reusable bags according to plastic-bag makers?
A．They are quite expensive.
B．Replacing them can be difficult.
C．They are less strong than plastic bags.
D．Producing them requires more energy.
112．What is the best title for the text?
A．Plastic, Paper or Neither
B．Industry, Pollution and Environment
C．Recycle or Throw Away
D．Garbage Collection and Waste Control
【回答】
109．D
110．A
111．D
112．A
【分析】
這是一篇說明文。文章分析了幾種購物袋的使用情況，塑料袋會造成環境問題，紙袋儘管容易回收，但生產和運輸需要更多的能源，環保主義者希望消費者使用耐用可重複使用的袋子。
109．細節理解題。根據第一段中one of Stein’s jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bags.和第二段中plastic-bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume.可知，塑料袋生產商僱用Steven Stein是爲了*他們的產品並不像大多數人想象的那樣對地球有害，爲使用塑料袋進行辯護。故選D。
110．詞義猜測題。上文介紹在許多美國大城市塑料袋被禁用，看到這種現狀，塑料袋生產商僱用Steven Stein等科學家是爲了*他們的產品並不像大多數人想象的那樣對地球有害。headwinds意爲“逆風”，此處指塑料袋被禁用的現狀，即Bans on plastic bags，故選A。
111．細節理解題。根據第四段中However, longer-lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make.可知，生產耐用且能重複使用的袋子需要更多的能源，故選D。
112．主旨大意題。文章講述了使用塑料袋會造成環境問題，紙袋容易回收，但生產和運輸需要更多的能源，環保主義者希望消費者使用耐用可重複使用的袋子。對這三種方式進行了對比，Plastic, Paper or Neither既能概括全文，又能吸引讀者，最適合作爲標題。故選A。
【點睛】
概括主旨的方法是：先看首尾或各段開頭再看全文找主題句，若無明顯主題句，就透過關鍵詞句來概括(如議論文中尋找表達作者觀點態度的詞句，要看懂全文的主要內容，明白了主要內容就能準確概括文章標題)。小題4要求概括標題，本文講述了使用塑料袋造成的環境問題，紙袋容易回收，但生產和運輸需要更多的能源，希望消費者使用耐用可重複使用的袋子。對這三種方式進行了對比，Plastic, Paper or Neither既能概括全文，又能吸引讀者，適合作爲標題。
知識點：熱點話題
題型：閱讀理解
