Tough Laws on PaperAlarming new figures show that the destruction of the Amazon(亚马逊河) - 试题答案网问答

第1题

If it were simply a matter of passing strong laws to protect it, the Amazon rainforest—the

world's largest tropical forest, around the size of western Europe—would be safe. Brazil, whose territory includes about two-thirds of the forests has impressively tough laws that, on paper, set most of it aside as a nature reserve and impose stiff penalties for illegal logging. But the latest annual figures for deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, published by the government on Wednesday May 18th, have confirmed a disturbing recent trend: the destruction is accelerating despite all efforts to control it. In 2004 August, more than 26,000 square kilometres(10,000 square miles) of forest were chopped down, an area larger than the American state of New Jersey.

The area deforested in the past year was up 6% in 2003, far worse than the Brazilian government's predictions that it would rise by no more than about 2%. It was the second worst year for the destruction of the rainforest since satellite surveys began. It is reckoned that almost a fifth of the Brazilian part of the forest has now been wiped outs if it were to continue at this rate, it would all be flattened within the next two centuries. Things are hardly any better in those portions of Amazonia that lie in neighboring countries: Ecuador has lost about half of its forest, mainly due to illegal logging, in the past 30 years. Worse still, tropical forests have been disappearing at an even faster rate elsewhere in the world, such as in Africa. The world's greatest stores of biodiversity—and some of its main suppliers of the oxygen we breathe—are still being chewed up at an alarming rate, despite decades of talk among world leaders and environmentalists about the need to preserve them.

As has been seen before in Brazil, the surge in the rate of deforestation is a sign that the country's economy is booming—recently it bas been growing at an annual rate of around 5%. Most of the timber felled illegally in Amazonia is sold to domestic buyers, in particular to the construction industry in Brazil's richer southern states. But the forest is also threatened by the rapid expansion of farming and ranching. In the past year, almost half of the total deforestation was in the state of Mato Grosso on the forest's southern part, where huge areas have been flattened to grow soybeans. Last year Brazil earned about $10 billion from exporting soy products, exceeding its income from coffee' and sugar, the country's traditional export crops. Mato Grosso's governor, Blairo Maggi, is also its soybean king—his family's farms are' the world's largest single producer of the crop.

The rate at which the forest is being flattened could easily rise further. To boost the region's economic development and make attack on poverty, the government plans to asphalt(铺设沥青) and widen the BR-163 highway that slices the forest roughly in half, running from north to south. Though the government has been working with environmental groups and others to try to limit the scheme's impact, past experience has shown that improved road access invariably means more intrusion of the forest by loggers, ranchers, farmers, mineral prospectors and others.

For much of Brazil's recent history, in particular during the country's 1964-85 military dictatorship, successive governments were obsessed(困扰) with populating and "developing" Amazonia, convinced that otherwise a foreign power might seize it. Large sums were spent building highways to open up the forest and a lot of subsidies were offered to get people to resettle there. However, the huge area of abandoned former forest land alongside previous road schemes show that, in fact, much of the region lacks suitable soil and climate for agriculture.

More recent governments have taken the axe to the worse schemes that encouraged people to destroy the rainforest. Besides Brazil's tough conservation laws, there are now countl

A．Y

B．N

C．NG

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第2题

In rich countries, 'after years of advertising restrictions and campaigns warning of the h

ealth risks of smoking, consumers are starting to kick the habit. But consumption is still growing strongly in poorer countries. So, overall, cigarette sales have continued to rise. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons there are now 1.2 billion smokers worldwide, of whom three-quarters are in developing countries. A recent study by the organization found that 50,000 Asian teenagers take up the habit each day. In the Philippines, more than half of children aged 7 to 17 smoke. Almost 5 million people a year die from smoking-related diseases and the WHO says that, within 25 years, as today's teenage smokers become tomorrow's lung-cancer and emphysema (肺气肿) victims, the death rate could double unless tough action is taken now. Fearing that their health-care costs will rise sharply in future unless smoking is curbed, ten South-East Asian countries agreed last September to support the WHO's call for a global advertising ban.

Poorer countries could of course introduce domestic laws to curb the promotion of smoking. But such measures face tough opposition from the tobacco industry and those sectors funded by tobacco sponsorship, from sports to culture. A survey of 400 recent films released by India's "Bollywood" found that 320 had scenes involving smoking, usually presenting it in a positive way. If such countries had an international treaty obligation to control tobacco use, it might strengthen their health ministries' hands in overcoming the tobacco lobbyists'(说客) influence on domestic politics.

International agencies like the World Bank are convinced that higher taxes will curb tobacco use, though there is not much evidence to support this. Given their dependence on tobacco revenues, it is unlikely that finance ministers and state treasurers around the world would be so enthusiastic about increasing taxes if they really thought it would lead to smokers quitting en masse (全体地).

According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true？

A．In rich countries people are becoming more aware of the health risks of cigarettes and smokers are starting to quit.

B．More than half of the smokers in the world are in Asia.

C．More and more people in poorer countries are getting into the habit of smoking.

D．Despite years' cigarette advertising restrictions in rich countries, cigarette sales worldwide are ever increasing.

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第3题

Drunken driving, sometimes called America's socially accepted form. of murder, has become

a national epidemic (流行病). Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 350,000 over the past decade.

A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American alcohol image and judges were lenient (宽容的) in most courts, but the drunken slaughter has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.

Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend in the 1960's to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-to-20-year- old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.

Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop "responsible attitudes" about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.

Tough new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and in many areas already, to a marked decline in fatalities. Some states are also penalizing bars for serving customers too many drinks.

As the fatalities continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years' national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919, which President Hoover called the "noble experiment". They forget that legal prohibition didn't stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.

Which of the following best concludes the main idea of this passage？

A．Drunken driving has caused numerous fatalities in the United States.

B．It's recommendable to prohibit alcohol drinking around the United States.

C．The American society is trying hard to prevent drunken driving.

D．Drunken driving has become a national epidemic in the United States.

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第4题

Drunken driving—sometimes called America's socially accepted form. of murder—as become a n

ational epidemic. Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past decade. A drunken driver is usually defined as one with a 0.10 blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wine or several small glasses of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image mid judges were not severe in most courts, but the deaths caused by drunken driving have recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially involving young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant.

Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, changing a trend in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18,the number of people killed by 18-20 year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.

Reformers, however, fear that raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop" responsible attitudes" about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.

Tough new laws have led to increased arrests and tests and, in many areas already, to a marked decline in number of death. Some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar or pub in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more brandies to a customer who was" obviously drunk" and later drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.

As the deaths caused by accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years of national prohibition of alcohol that began in 1919, what President Hoover called the" noble experiment". They forget that legal prohibition didn't stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption and organized crime. As the drug trade is increasing generally, there is no easy solution.

Drunken driving has become a major problem in America because______.

A．most Americans are heavy drinkers

B．Americans are now less shocked by road accidents

C．accidents attract so much public attention

D．drinking is a socially accepted habit in America

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第5题

He seems()to handle the tough problems.

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第6题

A pessimist looks forward to change and solves tough problems with enthusiasm.A．YB．NC．NG

A pessimist looks forward to change and solves tough problems with enthusiasm.