Ⅰ. 阅读理解
Would you drink water that had once been washed down a toilet after it’s been cleaned? Think about it! The climate is warming and fresh water is falling short. So recycling waste water into drinking water may become a necessity.
However, “People are disgusted by recycled water, because it was once waste water, the water that goes down your showers or your toilets. And even though it’s cleaned up to a standard that is the same if not better than commercially bottled water, the key barrier to accept it is people’s disgust regarding it. ” Riverside psychologist Daniel Harmon said.
In a recent set of experiments, Harmon and his colleague Mary Gauvain learned how difficult it can be for people to get over their disgust at the thought of drinking recycled water. Harmon said, “Our study was aimed at investigating whether commercials, or these pro-environmental messages actually work. That is, whether they can get people to accept recycled water and consume recycled water. ”
In one experiment, the researchers had some participants watch a short video promoting water conservation. And in another experiment, they added a video explaining why recycled water might result in disgust, even though all pollutants have been cleared away. And neither video had a strong effect on people’s willingness to drink recycled water or to sign a document supporting the practice. In fact, watching the video that directly explained recycled water’s disgusting factor was no more persuasive than the water conservation video alone. Perhaps because reason or logic doesn’t work at all. Harmon thought, “Disgust is such a powerful reaction that simply giving more information is not going to be effective because disgust is not really a reasonable response. ”
Harmon said it’s probably going to take a lot more to get people to accept recycled water. For example, it might help to see members of their community drinking water that’s gone, as it’s called, from “toilet to tap”, with no ill effects.
【文章大意】本文是说明文。主要介绍了人们对于是否可以饮用循环水的态度。
1. What does waste water refer to in Paragraph 2?
A. Water once used in showers.
B. Water polluted by industrial waste.
C. Water used to wash down streets.
D. Water causing diseases to spread widely.
【解析】选A。词义猜测题。根据第二段“However, ’People are disgusted by recycled water, because it was once waste water, the water that goes down your showers or your toilets’”可知, 然而, 人们厌恶循环水, 因为这些水曾经是废水, 来自于洗澡水或者冲厕所的水。所以waste water指代的是曾经在洗澡中用的水。
2. What’s the purpose of Harmon’s survey?
A. To check if commercials are reliable.
B. To prove pro-environmental messages do matter.
C. To investigate if people know about waste water.
D. To see whether recycled water will be accepted.
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第三段“Our study was aimed at investigating whether commercials, or these pro-environmental messages actually work. That is, whether they can get people to accept recycled water and consume recycled water. ” 我们的研究旨在调查是否商业广告, 或这些有利于环境的信息真的起作用。也就是说, 他们是否能让人们接受循环水并消费循环水。所以Harmon做这个调查的目的是看人们是否接受循环水。
3. What can we know about “disgust” according to Harmon?
A. It is an unreasonable reaction.
B. There is no persuasive evidence about it.
C. It needs more logic and reasons to overcome it.
D. It is caused by pollutants in recycled water.
【解析】选A。细节理解题。根据第四段“Disgust is such a powerful reaction that simply giving more information is not going to be effective because disgust is not really a reasonable response. ” 厌恶是一种非常强烈的反应, 简单地提供更多的信息是不会有效的, 因为厌恶并不是一种合理的反应。可知Harmon认为厌恶并不是一种合理的反应。
4. Where is the text probably from?
A. A biology textbook.
B. A travel brochure.
C. A scientific magazine.
D. A medicine magazine.
【解析】选C。推理判断题。本文主要介绍了人们对于饮用循环水的态度, 且文章反复提到了“experiment”所以是和科学实验有关系。所以文章可能来源于科学杂志。
