第1408阅读理解 附答案

Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions on Answer Sheet 1. For questions 1-7, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information given in the passage. Gulf Wracked By Katrina’s Latest Legacy-Disease, Poisons, Mold A month after Hurricane Katrina tore through the U.S. Gulf Coast, medical experts are now struggling with the latest crisis in the region; contamination(污染). Katrina left New Orleans and other communities tainted with oil, sewage, and possibly poisons leached from federal toxic waste sites, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says. The pollution, combined with the lack of regular medical services in the region, has raised serious questions about the safety of New Orleans and other coastal towns as people longing for home begin to go back. "I don’t think New Orleans is safe for people to return to, from a public health and environmental health standpoint," said Miriam Aschkenasy, an environmental health expert working with Oxfam America in the region. Much of the contamination rests in the brown, filmy sediment(沉淀物) left behind by Katrina’s polluted floodwaters. Recent EPA tests of the sediment confirmed high levels of E. coli bacteria, oil and gas chemicals, and lead, as well as varying quantities of arsenic. The health risks posed by the sediment are immediate, experts say, because the sludge(淤泥) is nearly impossible for returning residents to avoid. In New Orleans, it covers every surface that was flooded, from cars and now-dead lawns to the entire contents of flooded homes, stores, hospitals, and schools. "When people come back, they are exposed to the sediment," said Wilma Subra, a chemist from New Iberia, Louisiana, who is analyzing the sediment. "It’s in their yards and houses." Old Pollution Resurfacing Plaquemines Parish, a rural county on the peninsula south of New Orleans, is now covered with even more toxic sediment than it was two weeks ago, thanks to Hurricane Rita. "Six inches up to one foot (15 to 30 centimeters) of sludge," Subra reported. Much of the sludge in Plaquemines is the product of nearby bayous and bay bottoms, where sediment was lifted up by Katrina’s and Rita’s storm surges. The sediment has been polluted over the years with industrial chemicals and heavy metals, said Subra, who tested the sediment for the Southern Mutual Help Association, a nonprofit organization in New Iberia, Louisiana. "These water bodies have received industrial wastes for decades," she said. "This material has toxic chemicals, metals, and organic petrochemicals(石化产品)." Matters have only been made worse by multiple oil spills caused by Katrina and Rita. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, 11 oil spills have occurred in southern Louisiana, totaling 7.4 million gallons (28 million liters) of oil, most of which has been contained. Bacteria levels are also especially high in the Plaquemines sludge, said Rodney Mallett, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. "The sewage treatment plants were underwater," he explained. "Between the animal waste and the human waste, you’ve got a lot of bacteria." Protection Kits Health and environmental agencies are advising people to avoid contact with the sludge. They recommend that people wear gloves, goggles, and dust masks, and that they wash promptly if exposure occurs. EPA officials are directing people to its Web site (www.epa.gov) to inform themselves of the contamination risks. But most people returning to the area don’t have computers to get that information, said Erik Olson, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. "If you [do] read the Web site," he added, "you practically have to have a degree in chemistry to understand it." To better inform people of health risks, the Southern Mutual Help Association and Oxfam America are developing a program to give every returning resident a protective kit. Each kit would contain waterproof suits, goggles(风镜), shoe covers, and masks, along with information about potential hazards, Volunteers would give out the kits at the security checkpoints that now stand at the major entrances to affected cities. The groups have made a hundred demonstration kits, which cost about $100 (U.S.) each to produce, and have shown them to state leaders in Louisiana. "The governor is really in favor of this," Subra said. "We just have to determine how we’re going to fund them." Toxic Mold Blooms In addition to the toxic sediment, sprawling blooms of mold have now taken hold in many flooded homes. "The mold is growing everywhere-homes are just coated with it," Subra said. The problem has become so widespread that federal health officials warned Wednesday of allergic reactions and toxic responses to the mold. Professionals should be hired to clean mold that covers more than ten square feet (one square meter), they urged. "Those [surfaces] that can’t be cleaned need to be removed," said Steven Redd, chief of the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The effects of the mold are already surfacing in Mississippi, where respiratory(呼吸的) problems are among the illnesses doctors there are reporting. "We’re seeing a lot of asthma from inhaling the mold," said Richard Paat, team leader of a temporary East Biloxi clinic. "And mouth sores from the bad water." Due to contact with unclean water, 33 people in the flood zone have contracted Vibrio infections, according to the CDC. The infections are caused by a family of bacteria that live in contaminated salt water. They can cause serious illness, especially in people with compromised immune systems. To date, six people have died from Vibrio infections. "People had open wound and walked through floodwater with sewage in it," CDC spokesperson Von Roebuck said. "And these folks were having these wounds infected with Vibrio." Disaster Response Care "This is a highly contaminated area," said Susan Briggs, the physician overseeing FEMA’s disaster-response medical teams in Louisiana and Alabama. Her teams have been inoculating residents for tetanus and Hepatitis A and B. Hepatitis is a danger when people are exposed to sewage, through water or food, Briggs explained. Tetanus can occur when people cut themselves on unclean materials, as may happen when cleaning debris. The rudimentary(根本的) living conditions in many Katrina-struck areas make it more likely that people will get sick and injured, Briggs said. "They have no electricity, no clean water, no air conditioning," she said. "There are collapsed structures and stray animals. There are huge amounts of stray dogs, and people have been bitten." Briggs and other doctors in the area have been treating many cases of diarrhea, rashes, and upper-respiratory illnesses. All of these conditions are to be expected after natural disasters, according to the CDC. But it’s too soon to know if these ailments are related to contamination, the CDC’s Roebuck said. "We’re looking at that question," he said. "We’d like to know the answer." 1. The passage gives a descriiption of the contamination in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. 2. Katrina left New Orleans and other communities tainted with oil and sewage. 3. Plaquemines Parish is now covered with even more toxic sediment that it was two weeks ago. 4. People are being advised to avoid contact with the sludge by health and environmental agencies. 5. The Southern Mutual Help Association and Oxfam America are developing a program to sell every returning resident a protective kit. 6. The conditions in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is special. 7. In addition to the toxic sediment, sprawling blooms of mold have now taken hold in many flooded homes, and it is growing everywhere. 8. To date, six people have died from¬________. 9. The rudimentary living conditions in many Katrina-struck areas make it more likely that people will get________. 10. All of these conditions are to be expected after________. 1. Y 通读全文后，即可发现本文描写了新奥尔良被“卡特利娜”飓风袭击后的景象，可知题干表述正确。 2. N 通读全文可知，开头几段(即小标题上的段落)都是总体讲新奥尔良受灾后的景象。本题题干信息讲了“卡特利娜”飓风带来的污染，属于此部分内容，定位后在第二段首句发现，飓风带来的污染不仅有石油、污水，还有有毒废弃物滤出的有害物质，题干信息不完整。 3. Y 根据题干中的信息词Plaquemines Parish定位原文，在小标题Old Pollution Resurfacing下首段可找到答案，可知题干表述正确。 4. Y 题干内容提到“不要接触污泥”，是讲自我保护的，推知答案在标题Protection Kits下。再根据题干中的信息词health and environmental agencies定位，在首段首句可找到答案，可知题干表述正确。 5. N 题干中的protective kit提示答案在Protection Kits下。根据题干中的信息词The Southern Mutual Help Association和Oxfam America定位原文在第五段找到答案，原文用的give而非题干中的sell，可知题干表述错误。 6. NG扫读文章可知，本文主要谈到受灾地区污染状况，并未提及新奥尔良地区的状况比较特殊。 7. Y 根据题干中的信息词blooms of mold可知，此答案在标题Toxic Mold Blooms下，再用sprawling blooms of mold定位原文，在首段找到答案，可知题干表述正确。 8. Vibrio infections。由题干的died from可知填空处可能要填某种真菌，因而推知答案在Toxic Mode Blooms下。在倒数第二段可找到答案。 9. sick and injured。题干讲到受灾区的基本生活条件，已不涉及mold的内容，估计答案在Disaster Response Care下，用Katrina-struck定位原文，答案在第三段。 10. natural disasters。最后一题一般涉及最后一个标题下的内容。根据题干中的信息词All of these conditions定位原文，在倒数第二段首句可找到答案。

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