Question

【题目】The behavior of a building's users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放)by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own—though extremely important—is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behavior of the people using the building has to change too.

The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency, which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.

“Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything，”explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher, “consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design.” In other words, old habits die hard, even in the best designed eco home.

Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill payers don't have the knowledge they need to change their energy use habits. Without specific information, it's hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback（反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors, could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behavior directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.

Social science research has added a further dimension, suggesting that individuals' behavior in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted—whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example.

Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused program to teach people about buildings and their own behavior in them.

【1】As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of ________.

A. zero carbon homes

B. the reduction of carbon emissions

C. sustainable building design

D. the behavior of building users

【2】The underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refers to“________”.

A. their homes B. existing efforts

C. developments D. the ways

【3】What are Katy Janda's words mainly about?

A. The importance of changing building users' habits.

B. The necessity of making a careful building design.

C. The variety of consumption patterns of building users.

D. The role of technology in improving energy efficiency.

【4】The information gap in energy use________.

A. affects the study on energy monitors

B. brings about problems for smart meters

C. can be bridged by feedback facilities

D. will be caused by building users' old habits

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】A

【4】C

【解析】

试题分析：在能源使用方面，居民也起着相当重要的作用。文章呼吁从教育抓起，改变不良的生活习惯提高全民节能环保意识。

【1】D细节推理题。根据第一段首句The behavior of a building's users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).和末句the behavior of the people using the building has to change too.可知调查强调人们行为的重要性，故选D.

【2】B猜测词意题。此处指人们在家使用和居住的方式已经被提高能源效益的现存努力忽略了，这些努力的重点在建筑和技术发展上。划线的which指现存的努力，故选B.

【3】A推理判断题。文中Janda的话“consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design.”指的是人们的消费模式能够打败最精心的设计，Janda在强调改变人们行为的重要性，故选A.

【4】C细节推理题。根据第三段Feedback（反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors, could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behavior directly affects their energy use可知那些反馈设施可以通过帮助人们看到改变行为直接影响着能源使用度过信息差距，故选C.