Much of Canada’s forestry production goes towards making pulp and paper. According to Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world’s wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. If these paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian forests could be preserved. Recently, a possible alternative way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp.
Hemp has been cultivated by many cultures for thousands of years. It produces fiber which can be made into paper, fuel, oils, textiles, food, and rope. For centuries, it was essential to the economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing ships; colonial expansion and the establishment of a world-wide trading network would not have been feasible without hemp. Nowadays, ships’ cables are usually made from wire or synthetic fibers, but scientists are now suggesting that the cultivation of hemp hold be revived for the production of paper and pulp. According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the large-scale cultivation of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada’s forests.
However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world. This plant, so useful for fiber, rope, oil, fuel and textiles, is a species of cannabis, related to the plant from which marijuana is produced. In the late 1930s, a movement to ban the drug marijuana began to gather force, resulting in the eventual banning of the cultivation not only of the plant used to produce the drug, but also of the commercial fiber-producing hemp plant. In fact, marijuana cannot be produced from the hemp plant, since it contains almost no THC (the active ingredient in the drug).
In recent years, a movement for legalization have been gathering strength. It is concerned only with the hemp plant used to produce fiber; this group wants to make it legal to cultivate the plant and sell the fiber foe paper and pulp production.
1. Why is pulp and paper production important to Canada?
2. Why was the plant hemp essential to world-wide trade in the past?
3. Why do agriculturalists think that hemp would be better for paper production than trees?
4. Why was hemp banned?
5. “According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees.” What does “proponents” mean?
问题1选项
A.Canada needs to find a way to use all its spare wood.
B.Canada publishes a lot of newspapers and books.
C.Pulp and paper export is a major source of income for Canada.
D.Hemp is a traditional plant of Canada.
问题2选项
A.Ship’s ropes were made from it.
B.Hemp was a very profitable export.
C.Hemp was used as fuel for ships.
D.Hemp was used as food for sailors.
问题3选项
A.It is cheaper to grow hemp than to cut down trees.
B.More paper can be produced from the same area of land.
C.Hemp produces higher quality paper.
D.It causes less pollution of the environment.
问题4选项
A.It is related to the marijuana plant.
B.It can be used to produce marijuana.
C.It was no longer a useful crop.
D.It was destructive to the land.
问题5选项
A.People who are against something.
B.People who support something.
C.People in charge of something.
D.People who do research on something.
第1题:C
第2题:A
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
Why is pulp and paper production important to Canada? 为什么纸浆和纸张生产对加拿大很重要?
A. Canada needs to find a way to use all its spare wood. A. 加拿大需要找到一种方法来利用其所有的备用木材。
B. Canada publishes a lot of newspapers and books. B. 加拿大出版许多报纸和书籍。
C. Pulp and paper export is a major source of income for Canada. C. 纸浆和纸张出口是加拿大的主要收入来源。
D. Hemp is a traditional plant of Canada. D. 大麻是加拿大的一种传统植物。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据文章第一段第二句“According to Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world’s wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper.（据加拿大纸浆和造纸协会称，加拿大供应全球34%的木浆和49%的新闻纸。）”可知，加拿大的纸浆和纸制品出口量大，是加拿大重要的收入来源，所以纸浆和纸张生产对加拿大很重要。因此C选项“纸浆和纸张出口是加拿大的主要收入来源。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“加拿大需要找到一种方法来利用其所有的备用木材”和B选项“加拿大出版许多报纸和书籍。”，文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“大麻是加拿大的一种传统植物。”，文中提到数千年来在许多国家都有种植大麻，但这并非是纸浆和纸张生产对加拿大很重要的原因，属于出处错误。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Why was the plant hemp essential to world-wide trade in the past? 为什么大麻在过去的世界贸易中是必不可少的?
A. Ship’s ropes were made from it. A. 船用绳索是由它制成的。
B. Hemp was a very profitable export. B. 大麻是一种利润丰厚的出口产品。
C. Hemp was used as fuel for ships. C. 大麻被用作船只的燃料。
D. Hemp was used as food for sailors. D. 大麻被用作水手的食物。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据文章第二段第三句“For centuries, it was essential to the economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing ships（几个世纪以来，它对许多国家的经济至关重要，因为它被用来制造帆船上使用的绳索和缆绳）”可知，大麻对许多国家的经济来说举足轻重是因为它可以用来制造缆绳。因此A选项“船用绳索是由它制成的。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“大麻是一种利润丰厚的出口产品。”、C选项“大麻被用作船只的燃料。”和D选项“大麻被用作水手的食物。”，文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Why do agriculturalists think that hemp would be better for paper production than trees? 为什么农学家认为大麻比树木更适合造纸?
A. It is cheaper to grow hemp than to cut down trees. A. 种植大麻比砍伐树木便宜。
B. More paper can be produced from the same area of land. B. 同样面积的土地可以生产更多的纸。
C. Hemp produces higher quality paper. C. 大麻生产的纸张质量更高。
D. It causes less pollution of the environment. D. 它对环境造成的污染更少。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据文章第二段最后一句“According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the large-scale cultivation of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada’s forests.（根据其支持者的说法，相比于种植树木，在土地上种植大麻可以生产的纸张数量是其四倍，许多环保主义者认为，大规模种植大麻可以减轻加拿大森林的压力。）”可知，大麻造纸的优势在于产纸量大，从而减少树木的砍伐量，保护环境。因此B选项“同样面积的土地可以生产更多的纸。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“种植大麻比砍伐树木便宜。”、C选项“大麻生产的纸张质量更高。”和D选项“它对环境造成的污染更少。”，文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Why was hemp banned? 为什么大麻被禁止?
A. It is related to the marijuana plant. A. 它与大麻毒品的植物有关。
B. It can be used to produce marijuana. B. 它可以用来生产大麻毒品。
C. It was no longer a useful crop. C. 它不再是一种有用的作物。
D. It was destructive to the land. D. 它对土地有破坏性。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据文章第三段第一、二句“However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world…related to the plant from which marijuana is produced.（然而，有一个问题：大麻在世界上许多国家都是非法的……与生产大麻毒品的植物有关。）”可知，大麻被禁是因为它和生产大麻毒品的植物有关。因此A选项“它与大麻毒品的植物有关。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“它可以用来生产大麻毒品。”，根据第三段最后一句“In fact, marijuana cannot be produced from the hemp plant, since it contains almost no THC（事实上，大麻毒品不能从大麻植物中提取出来，因为它几乎不含四氢大麻酚）”可知，大麻毒品不能从大麻植物中提取，属于曲解原文；
C选项“它不再是一种有用的作物。”，根据第三段第二句“This plant, so useful for fiber, rope, oil, fuel and textiles（这种植物对纤维、绳索、石油、燃料和纺织品非常有用）”可知，大麻有很多作用，属于曲解原文；
D选项“它对土地有破坏性。”，文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
“According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees.” What does “proponents” mean? “根据其支持者的说法，相比于种植树木，在土地上种植大麻可以生产的纸张数量是其四倍。”“proponents”是什么意思?
A. People who are against something. A. 反对某事的人。
B. People who support something. B. 支持某事的人。
C. People in charge of something. C. 负责某事的人。
D. People who do research on something. D. 对某事做研究的人。
【考查点】词义猜测题。
【解题思路】根据题干可以定位到文章第二段最后一句“According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees（根据其支持者的说法，相比于种植树木，在土地上种植大麻可以生产的纸张数量是其四倍）”，前文谈论了大麻的用处，前一句说到科学家们提议用大麻代替树木造纸，可以推断出“proponents”在文中是指“支持这一建议的人”。因此B选项“支持某事的人”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“反对某事的人。”、C选项“负责某事的人。”和D选项“对某事做研究的人。”，均不是该词的含义，属于曲解原文。
