The Government should raise taxes on air travel and high-polluting cars in order to help the environment, an important committee of MPs has said．It also said that the 70 mph speed limit on motorways should be reduced or enforced to bring down the amount of carbon dioxide given off by cars The House of Common Enviromental Audit committee’s latest report said that transport was the only sector(部门)of the UK where carbon emissions have continued to rise since 1990．
It said it was time for the Government to make demand for cheap air impossible by raising air passenger tax．Emissions from air traffic have risen by 5 times as much since 1900 and are continuing to rise．
The committee welcomed the recent introduction of changed car tax, which means that the lowest-carbon cars pay no road tax, while gas-guzzling(耗油的)4×4s pay an increased rate of ￡210．However, the MPs say it doesn’t go far enough and are calling for a top limit of ￡1,800 with lower limit of ￡200．
Committee chairman Tim Yeo said：“Air travel in particular is the fastest growing source of CO2, with emissions more than five times since 1900．The Government should take much more decisive action to reduce the difference of income favor of trains, buses, and lower carbon cars and lorries．”
Friends of the Earth’s senior organizer Tony Bosworth said：“Emissions from transport are still rising and forecasts suggest they will carry on rising for years to come．”
“Tinkering(随意或部分修补)around the edges is no longer enough to deal with the greatest threat the world faces．” A spokesman for the Department for Transport said：“Dealing with carbon emissions in transport is a key problem．”
(1)
What is the purpose of Government’s raising taxes on air travel and high-polluting cars?
[ ]
A．
To reduce the number of the planes and cars
B．
To make more money
C．
To encourage people to travel by bus or by rail．
D．
To help the environment．
(2)
The underlined word “emissions” in this passage probably means “________”．
[ ]
A．
having a bad effect
B．
producing or raising
C．
sending out(gas or heat etc．)
D．
doing a lot of harm
(3)
According to the changed car tax, if you have a lower-carbon car, you will pay ________．
[ ]
A．
no road tax
B．
less road tax
C．
more road tax
D．
a little road tax
(4)
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
[ ]
A．
Transport is the biggest polluter
B．
Raise taxes on air travel and high-polluting cars
C．
Deal with greatest threat the world faces
D．
Air travel in particular is the fastest growing sources of CO2
Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middleclass peers(同龄人), the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today．The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers'annual conference．
Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons．
He told delegates(代表)in Manchester：“For children who come from homes where parents don't have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer．”
“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives,”he said．He held up the example of Kipp(Knowledge is Power Program)schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7∶30 a. m to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays．
But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added．
Parents said Saturday classes could become a“badge of dishonor”if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload．
Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said：“I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children's performance．I'm just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week．”
The ATL's general secretary, Mary Bousted, said：“If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer．”
(1)
The program is intended for children ________．
[ ]
A．
who are from middle-class families
B．
whose parents can't afford extra help
C．
who perform poorly academically
D．
whose weekends are mostly unoccupied
(2)
“Additional stretch”in Paragraph 4 probably refers to ________．
[ ]
A．
music lessons
B．
physical relaxation
C．
entertainment activities
D．
out-of-school improvement
(3)
Why did Gove mention Kipp schools in the US?
[ ]
A．
To make a comparison．
B．
To introduce a new program．
C．
To seek supportive evidence．
D．
To prove his program is better．
(4)
What is Margaret Morrissey's opinion about the new program?
[ ]
A．
Favourable．
B．
Doubtful．
C．
Optimistic．
D．
Acceptable．
(5)
Which of the following is true?
[ ]
A．
Teachers may not like the program．
B．
Schools are trying to make profits．
C．
The program is already under way．
D．
The program is popular with children．
阅读理解
Poorer children would be offered the chance to attend lessons on Saturday to help catch up with their middle class peers(同龄人)，the shadow schools secretary, Michael Gove, said today, The Conservatives would give English state schools the freedom to choose to have longer teaching hours and extra classes at the weekend, he told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’annual conference．
Gove said the move would help to close the achievement gap with richer children whose parents could afford extras such as tutoring and music lessons．
He told delegates(代表)in Manchester：“For children who come from homes where parents don’t have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer．”
“Parents would love to have schools starting earlier in some circumstances, and certainly going on later in the afternoon, given the reality of their working lives, ”he said．He held up the example of Kipp(Knowledge is Power Program)schools in the US, which are often based in the poorest communities and open from 7∶30 am to 5pm on weekdays, plus Saturdays．
But it would be up to schools to decide to offer longer hours, Gove added．
Parents said Saturday classes could become a“badge of dishonor”if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload．
Margaret Morrissey, of Parents Outloud, said：“I think the suggestion the government made about one-to-one teaching for these kids would be a more preferable way of improving these children’s performance．I’m just not sure whether taking away a child at weekends is actually going to make them cleverer in the week．”
The ATL’s general secretary, Mary Bousted, said：“If we want Saturday schools, then we need more teachers doing the extra hours, not the same teachers working longer．”
(1)
The program is intended for children _________．
[ ]
A．
who are from middle-class families
B．
whose parents can’t afford extra help
C．
who perform poorly academically
D．
whose weekends are mostly unoccupied
(2)
Additional stretch”in Paragraph 4 probably refers to _________．
[ ]
A．
music lessons
B．
physical relaxation
C．
entertainment activities
D．
out-of-school improvement
(3)
Why did Gove mention Kipp schools in the US?
[ ]
A．
To make a comparison．
B．
To introduce a new program．
C．
To seek supportive evidence．
D．
To prove his program is better．
(4)
What is Margaret Morrissey’s opinion about the new program?
