MBA考研英语词汇阅读（16）

Madrid was hailed as a public health beacon last November when it rolled out ambitious restrictions on the most polluting cars. Seven months and one election day later, a new conservative city council suspended enforcement of the clean air zone, a first step toward its possible demise. Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida made opposition to the zone a centrepiece of his election campaign, despite its success in improving air quality. A judge has now overruled the city’s decision to stop levying fines, ordering them reinstated. But with legal battles ahead, the zone’s future looks uncertain at best.

Madrid’s back and forth on clean air is a pointed reminder of the limits to the patchwork, city-by-city approach that characterizes efforts on air pollution across Europe, Britain very much included.

Among other weaknesses, the measures cities must employ when left to tackle dirty air on their own are politically contentious, and therefore vulnerable. That’s because they inevitably put the costs of cleaning the air on to individual drivers—who must pay fees or buy better vehicles—rather than on to the car manufacturers whose cheating is the real cause of our toxic pollution. It’s not hard to imagine a similar reversal happening in London. The new ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) is likely to be a big issue in next year’s mayoral election. And if Sadiq khan wins and extends it to the North and South Circular roads in 2021 as he intends, it is sure to spark intense opposition from the far larger number of motorists who will then be affected.

It’s not that measures such as London’s Ulez are useless. Far from it. Local officials are using the levers that are available to them to safeguard residents’ health in the face of a serious threat. The zones do deliver some improvements to air quality, and the science tells us that means real health benefits—fewer heart attacks, strokes and premature births, less cancer, dementia and asthma. Fewer untimely deaths.

But mayors and councilors can only do so much about a problem that is far bigger than any one city or town. They are acting because national governments—Britain’s and others across Europe—have failed to do so.

Restrictions that keep highly polluting cars out of certain areas—city centres, “school streets”, even individual roads—are a response to the absence of a larger effort to properly enforce existing regulations and require auto companies to bring their vehicles into compliance. Wales has introduced special low speed limits to minimise pollution. We’re doing everything but insist that manufacturers clean up their cars.

1.Which of the following is true about Madrid’s clean air zone?

A Its effects are questionable.

B It has been opposed by a judge.

C It needs tougher enforcement.

D Its fate is yet to be decided.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据Madrid’s clean air zone定位到第一段，根据第一段最后一句可知马德里空气清洁区的未来看起来不确定，故选D。

2.Which is considered a weakness of the city-level measures to tackle dirty air?

A They are biased against car manufacturers.

B They prove impractical for city councils.

C They are deemed too mild for politicians.

D They put too much burden on individual motorists.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据weakness定位到第三段，根据第二句可知是因为他们把清洁空气的成本转嫁到车主，而不是汽车制造商身上（制造商的欺骗才是造成有毒污染的根源）。故选D。

3.The author believes that the extension of London’s Ulez will _________.

A arouse strong resistance

B ensure Khan’s electoral success

C improve the city’s traffic

D discourage car manufacturing

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据extension和London’s Ulez定位到第三段，根据后半部分可知，如果Sadiq Khan在市长选举中胜出，并按计划将其延伸至南北环路，肯定会引发更多驾车者的强烈反对。故选A。

4.Who does the author think should have addressed the problem?

A Local residents

B Mayors.

C Councilors.

D National governments.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第五段可知，市长和议员们这样做是因为各国政府未能做到这一点，可见作者认为应该是各国政府来解决这些问题。故选D。

5.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that auto companies _________.

A will raise low-emission car production

B should be forced to follow regulations

C will upgrade the design of their vehicles

D should be put under public supervision

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据题目定位到最后一段，可知现有法规没有得到严格执行，以要求汽车公司生产符合规定的车辆；我们尽一切努力，就是不坚持要求汽车公司整改。可见汽车公司应该严格遵守法规生产汽车，故选B。