A
(2018·全国卷Ⅰ)We may think we’re a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices(装置) well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment—and our wallets—as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.
To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life—from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s. Devices were grouped by generation. Desktop computers, basic mobile phones, and boxset TVs defined 1992. Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997. And MP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002, before tablets and ereaders showed up in 2007.
As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn’t throw out our old ones. “The livingroom television is replaced and gets planted in the kids’ room, and suddenly one day, you have a TV in every room of the house，” said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007. We’re not just keeping these old devices—we continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt’s team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions(排放) more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.
So what’s the solution(解决方案)? The team’s data only went up to 2007, but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more ondemand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.
【解题导语】 该文指出生活中常见的过时电子设备其实作用小、耗能高，并提出了解决方案。
1．What does the author think of new devices?
A．They are environmentfriendly.
B．They are no better than the old.
C．They cost more to use at home.
D．They go out of style quickly.
A 解析：推理判断题。根据对第一段的整体理解可知，与新的电子设备相比，过时电子设备不仅耗能高，而且危害环境，所以可推断出，新的电子设备是环保的，故选A项。
2．Why did Babbitt’s team conduct the research?
A．To reduce the cost of minerals.
B．To test the life cycle of a product.
C．To update consumers on new technology.
D．To find out electricity consumption of the devices.
D 解析：细节理解题。根据文章第二段第一句中的“To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life”可知，Babbitt的团队做这项研究的目的是计算电子设备的耗电情况，故选D项。
3．Which of the following uses the least energy?
A．The boxset TV. B．The tablet.
C．The LCD TV. D．The desktop computer.
B 解析：细节理解题。根据文章最后一段最后一句“They found that more ondemand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%”可知，用平板电脑替换电视机和台式电脑会节省44%的能耗，根据第二段中的“LCD TVs entered...showed up in 2007”可知，平板电脑应比液晶电视耗能低，故选B项。
4．What does the text suggest people do about old electronic devices?
A．Stop using them. B．Take them apart.
C．Upgrade them. D．Recycle them.
A 解析：推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第二句中的“the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function”可推断出，文章建议用多功能的新设备来替换过时设备，即停止使用过时设备，故选A项。take apart“拆卸”；upgrade“使升级”；recycle“回收利用”。
