Question

Forests are always losers at the Olympics, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

For the winter games in PyeongChang, South Korea, virgin forest was destroyed on Mount Gariwang to accommodate ski runs. For the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, a ski run is set to wipe out part of the Songshan National Nature Reserve. And let’s not forget the 240 acres of Atlantic Forest that were leveled for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro to make way for a golf course.

For the upcoming Tokyo games, environmental and human rights advocates have been raising alarms about the use of tropical (热带的) wood to build the New National stadium. Activists have fought against such environmental destruction. The damage is often permanent, threatens endangered plants and animals and in some cases, causes conflicts with native people. But frequently the country’s organizing committee, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have found ways to make it reasonable — despite a paragraph in the Olympic Charter (宪章) that states that the IOC’s role is to “encourage and support a responsible concern for environmental issues”.

“As it stands now, the IOC has little authority over a city’s local organizing committee, which finally plans the event, ” Chappelet, professor of public management at the University of Lausanne, told Earther. “Even if the IOC is dissatisfied with the way host cities have prepared for the games, they have no built-in systems to watch them so that they strictly follow the Olympic Charter.” The only thing they can do if they’re not happy is to withdraw (= take back) the right to organize the game. “But the IOC could include more enforcement (执行) systems into the contract they make with the host city,” he added. That contract must be signed and obeyed by everyone and those who break it must be fined.

Boykoff, the author of several books on the Olympics, suggested a similar solution. “The IOC could insist that host cities take their ecological (生态的) promises into account first, but instead they look the other way, time and time again,” he said.

1.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A. Popularity of the Olympics.    B. Different needs of the Olympics.

C. Importance of protecting forests.    D. Problems caused by the Olympics.

2.The IOC is expected to ______ according to the Olympic Charter.

A. lead the fight against destruction

B. withdraw the rights of host cities

C. ban the destruction of the environment

D. promote a responsible concern for the environment

3.The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 4 refers to ______.

A. the IOC    B. built-in systems

C. host cities    D. the games

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A. IOC Stresses Its Active Role    B. Prized Forests Lost Big

C. Perfect Solutions are found    D. Conflicts Arise at the Olympics

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，在举办奥运会的时候，森林经常被破坏，而且这种情况短期里难以改变。国际奥委会也难以限制主办城市破坏森林的行为。

1.段落大意题。在本段里作者列举了平昌冬奥会、北京冬奥会以及里约奥运会为了修建奥运场馆，都对森林资源的有了很大破坏。所以本段主要讲述的是奥运会带来的问题。故D项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句“the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have found ways to make it reasonable — despite a paragraph in the Olympic Charter (宪章) that states that the IOC’s role is to “encourage and support a responsible concern for environmental issues”.可知奥林匹克宪章里说明了奥运会的作用之一就是鼓励和支持处理好环境问题。故D项正确。

3.代词指代题。本句“Even if the IOC is dissatisfied with the way host cities have prepared for the games, they have no built-in systems to watch them so that they strictly follow the Olympic Charter.”告诉我们即使奥委会对于主办城市准备奥运会的方法不满，奥委会也没有方法监视他们，让这些主办城市遵守奥运会宪章。所以句中的they指奥运会的举办城市。故C项正确。

4.主旨大意题。根据本文第一段“Forests are always losers at the Olympics, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.”可知在举办奥运会的时候，森林经常被破坏，而且这种情况短期里难以改变。第二段里举例说明具体情况，后三段告诉我们国际奥委会对于主办城市破坏森林的行为难以限制。ACD三项与文章内容联系不紧，B项与主旨一致。