Question

Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, new research suggests.

Cutting carbon dioxide emissions could save millions of lives, mostly by reducing preventable deaths from heart and lung diseases, according to studies released Wednesday and published in a special issue of The Lancet British medical journal.

“Relying on fossil fuels leads to unhealthy lifestyles, increasing our chances for getting sick and in some cases takes years from our lives,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a telecast (电视广播) briefing from her home state of Kansas. “As greenhouse gas emissions go down, so do deaths from cardiovascular (心血管的) and respiratory diseases (呼吸疾病). This is not a small effect.”

Instead of looking at the health ills caused by future global warming, as past studies have done, this research looks at the immediate benefits of doing something about the problem, said Linda Birnbaum, director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Some possible benefits seemed highly speculative (投机的，推测的), the researchers conceded (承认，给予), based on people driving less and walking and cycling more. Other proposals studied were more concrete and achievable, such as reducing cook stoves that burn dung (粪便), charcoal and other polluting fuels in the developing world.

And cutting carbon dioxide emissions also makes the air cleaner, reducing lung damage for millions of people, doctors said.

“Here are ways you can attack major health problems at the same time as dealing with climate change," said lead author Dr. Paul Wilkinson, an environmental epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Wilkinson said the individual studies came up with numbers of premature deaths prevented or extra years of life added for certain places.

For example, switching to low-polluting cars in London and Delhi, India, would save 160 lost years of life in London and nearly 1,700 in Delhi for every million residents, one study found. But if people also drove less and walked or biked more, those extra saved years would soar (高耸，高涨) to more than 7,300 years in London and 12,500 years in Delhi because of less heart disease.

1.What does the passage mainly about?

A. How can people live longer.

B. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions saves life.

C. Global warming threatens people’s lives

D. People should stop relying on fossil fuels

2.The new research differs from past studies in that ________.

A. it focuses on the immediate benefits of cutting carbon dioxide emissions

B. it studies the bad effects arising from future global warming

C. it is believed by most people

D. it mainly targets at developing countries

3.According to Kathleen Sebelius ________.

A. sometimes it takes years to see the bad effects caused by consuming fossil fuels

B. without greenhouse gas emissions, people would not die of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases

C. the main reason why people get sick is that they rely on fossil fuels

D. death from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are closely related to greenhouse gas emissions

4.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. London and Delhi have already benefited from reducing greenhouse gas emissions

B. switching to low-polluting cars would save 160 lives in London every year

C. walking and biking instead of driving will reduce the chance of heart disease

D. attacking health problems and dealing with climate change are contradictory

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：文章主要介绍的是环境污染和疾病之间的关系。新的研究表明，减少全球温室气体污染不仅将使地球更健康，也将使人们更健康。减少温室气体的排放，能够降低心脏病和肺病的发病率。

1.根据第二段“Cutting carbon dioxide emissions could save millions of lives, mostly by reducing preventable deaths from heart and lung diseases,”可知，减少二氧化碳排放将拯救成千上万的生命。故选B。

2.根据第四段“Instead of looking at the health ills caused by future global warming, as past studies have done, this research looks at the immediate benefits of doing something about the problem”可知，新的研究关注的是减少污染带来的立竿见影的效果。故选A。

3.根据第三段““Relying on fossil fuels leads to unhealthy lifestyles, increasing our chances for getting sick and in some cases takes years from our lives,” ”依靠化石燃料导致不健康的生活方式，增加我们得病的风险，甚至会夺走几年的生命。根据“As greenhouse gas emissions go down, so do deaths from cardiovascular (心血管的) and respiratory diseases (呼吸疾病). This is not a small effect.”可知，温室气体的排放与心血管疾病和呼吸疾病密切相关。故选D。

4.根据最后一段的“But if people also drove less and walked or biked more, those extra saved years would soar (高耸，高涨) to more than 7,300 years in London and 12,500 years in Delhi because of less heart disease.”步行或骑自行车代替开车，能减少心脏病的发生率。故选C。

考点：环境保护类短文阅读