Question

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. This familiar environmentalist slogan tells us how to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills and waterways. The concept is being used to deal with one possibly dangerous form of waste — electronic junk (电子垃圾), such as old computers, cell phones, and televisions. But this process for managing e-waste may be used in an unscrupulous way more often than not used, a recent report suggests.

“A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the excuse of reuse — to bridge the digital divide,” said Richard Gutierrez, a policy researcher.

One of the problems is that no one proves whether these old machines work before they hit the seaways. Because of this, the report says, e-waste is a growing problem in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in the developing world. Much of the waste ends up being thrown away along rivers and roads. Often it’s picked apart by poor people, who may face dangerous exposure to poisonous chemicals in the equipment.

Businessmen also pay workers a little money to get back materials such as gold and copper. This low-tech recovery process could expose workers and the local environment to many dangerous materials used to build electronics. According to Gutierrez, this shadow economy exists because the excuse of recycling and reusing electronics gives businessmen “a green passport” to ship waste around the globe. “Developing nations must take upon some of the responsibility themselves,” Gutierrez said. But, he added, “A greater portion of this responsibility should fall on the exporting state.”

China, for example, has become a dumping place for large amounts of e-waste. The nation is beginning to take action to stop the flow of dangerous materials across its borders. The Chinese government, after many years of denial is finally beginning to take the lead.

The passage mainly tells us that _______.

A. developing countries are facing serious environmental problems

B. e-waste is sent to developing countries under the excuse of reuse

C. developing countries are making full use of e-waste

D. e-waste is a growing problem in developed countries

What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?

A. A lot of e-waste is dumped in developing countries.

B. Poor people break up e-waste to collect some valuable materials.

C. The problem of e-waste is growing in developing countries.

D. Old computers and TVs still work before they are sent abroad.

The underlined word “unscrupulous” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.

A. immoral      B. wrong      C. proud      D. unsafe

From what Gutierrez said we can learn that ________.

A. developing countries should be responsible for this problem

B. exporting countries should be mainly responsible for this problem

C. neither rich nor poor countries should be blamed for this problem

D. poor countries should be blamed for this problem

Answer 1

【小题1】B

【小题2】C

【小题3】A

【小题4】B

解析:

【小题1】根据文章第二段可知，发达国家已再利用为借口把电子污染抛向发展中国家。所以选择B。

【小题2】第二段提出问题，第三段就这个话题“电子垃圾仔发展中国家不断增长的问题”展开讨论。

【小题3】发达国家把电子垃圾带到发达国家是一种不道德的行为，所以选A。

【小题4】根据第四段最后一句可知B项正确。出口国家应该对电子垃圾负有直接责任。