throwaways actually depress prices for used materials.

　　Shrinking landfill space, and rising costs for burying and burning rubbish are forcing local governments to look more closely at recycling. In many areas, the East Coast especially, recycling is already the least expensive waste-management option. For every ton of waste recycled, a city avoids paying for its disposal, which, in parts of New York, amounts to saving of more than $100 per ton. Recycling also stimulates the local economy by creating jobs and trims the pollution control and energy costs of industries that make recycled products by giving them a more refined raw material.

　　配套練習：

　　1. What regulation was issued by New York State concerning beverage containers?

　　A) Beverage companies should be responsible for collecting and reusing discarded plastic soda bottles.

　　B) Throwaways should be collected by the state for recycling.

　　C) A fee should be charged on used containers for recycling.

　　D) Consumers had to pay for beverage containers and could get their money back on returning them.

　　2. The returned plastic bottles in New York used to ________.

　　A) end up somewhere underground

　　B) be turned into raw materials

　　C) have a second-life value

　　D) be separated from other rubbish

　　3. The key problem in dealing with returned plastic beverage containers is ________.

　　A) to sell them at a profitable price

　　B) how to turn them into useful things

　　C) how to reduce their recycling costs

　　D) to lower the prices for used materials

　　4. Recycling ahs become the first choice for the disposal of rubbish because ________.

　　A) local governments find it easy to manage

　　B) recycling ahs great appeal for the jobless

　　C) recycling causes little pollution

　　D) other methods are more expensive

　　5. It can be concluded from the passage that ________.

　　A) rubbish is a potential remedy for the shortage of raw materials

　　B) local governments in the U.S. can expect big profits from recycling

　　C) recycling is to be recommended both economically and environmentally

　　D) landfills will still be widely used for waste disposal

　　People living on parts of the south coast of England face a serious problem. In 1993, the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered, to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight. The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built. While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea.

　　Erosion (侵蝕) of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea.

　　Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases, this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast, shifting the problem from one area to another. The danger is likely to continue, they say, until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is. Meanwhile, if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future, apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

　　1. What is the cause of the problem that people living on parts of the south coast of England face?

　　A) The disappearance of hotels, houses and gardens.

　　B) The experts’ lack of knowledge.

　　C) The rising of the sea level.

　　D) The washing-away of limestone cliffs.

　　2. The erosion of the white cliffs in the south of England ________.

　　A) will soon become a problem for people living in central England

　　B) has now become a threat to the local residents

　　C) is quickly changing the map of England

　　D) can be stopped if proper measures are taken

　　3. The experts’study on the problem of erosion can ________.

　　A) lead to its eventual solution

　　B) provide an effective way to slow it down

　　C) help to prevent it from worsening

　　D) warn people whose homes are in danger

　　4. It is not feasible to build sea defenses to protect against erosion because ________.

　　A) it is too costly and will endanger neighbouring areas

　　B) the government is too slow in taking action

　　C) they will be easily knocked down by waves and currents

　　D) house agents along the coast do not support the idea

　　5. According to the author, when buying a house along the south coast of England, people should ________.

　　A) be aware of the potential danger involved

　　B) guard against being cheated by the house agent

　　C) take the quality of the house into consideration

　　D) examine the house carefully before making a decision

　　參考答案

　　1. C 2. B 3. A 4.B 5. D