Frustrated with delays in Sacramento, Bay Area officials said Thursday they planned to take matters into their own hands to regulate the region’s growing pile of electronic trash.
A San Jose councilwoman and a San Francisco supervisor said they would propose local initiatives aimed at controlling electronic waste if the California law-making body fails to act on two bills stalled in the Assembly. They are among a growing number of California cities and counties that have expressed the same intention.
Environmentalists and local governments are increasingly concerned about the toxic hazard posed by old electronic devices and the cost of safely recycling those products. An estimated 6 million televisions and computers are stocked in California homes, and an additional 6,000 to 7,000 computers become outdated every day. The machines contain high levels of lead and other hazardous substances, and are already banned from California landfills.
Legislation by Senator Byron Sher would require consumers to pay a recycling fee of up to $30 on every new machine containing a cathode (阴极) ray tube. Used in almost all video monitors and televisions, those devices contain four to eight pounds of lead each. The fees would go toward setting up recycling programs, providing grants to non-profit agencies that reuse the tubes and rewarding manufacturers that encourage recycling.
A separate bill by Los Angeles-area Senator Gloria Romero would require high-tech manufacturers to develop programs to recycle so-called e-waste.
If passed, the measures would put California at the forefront of national efforts to manage the refuse of the electronic age.
But high-tech groups, including the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and the American Electronics Association, oppose the measures, arguing that fees of up to $30 will drive consumers to online, out-of-state retailers.
“What really needs to occur is consumer education. Most consumers are unaware they’re not supposed to throw computers in the trash,” said Roxanne Gould, vice president of government relations for the electronics association.
Computer recycling should be a local effort and part of residential waste collection programs, she added.
Recycling electronic waste is a dangerous and specialized matter, and environmentalists maintain the state must support recycling efforts and ensure that the job isn’t contracted to unscrupulous (毫无顾忌的) junk dealers who send the toxic parts overseas.
“The graveyard of the high-tech revolution is ending up in rural China.” said Ted Smith, director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. His group is pushing for an amendment to Sher’s bill that would prevent the export of e-waste.
66. What step were Bay Area officials going to take regarding e-waste disposal?
67. The two bills stalled in the California Assembly both concern ______.
68. Consumers are not supposed to throw used computers in the trash because ______.
69. High-tech groups believe that if an extra $30 is charged on every TV or computer purchased in California, consumers will ______.
70. We learn from the passage that much of California’s electronic waste has been ______.
问题1选项
A.Exert pressure on manufacturers of electronic devices.
B.Lay down relevant local regulations themselves.
C.Lobby the lawmakers of the California Assembly.
D.Rally support to pass the stalled bills.
问题2选项
A.regulations on dumping hazardous substances into landfills
B.the sale of used electronic devices to foreign countries
C.the funding of local initiatives to reuse electronic trash
D.the reprocessing of the huge amounts of electronic waste in the state
问题3选项
A.they contain large amounts of harmful substances
B.this is banned by the California government
C.some parts may be recycled for use elsewhere
D.unscrupulous dealers will retrieve them for profit
问题4选项
A.abandon online shopping
B.buy them from other states
C.strongly protest against such a charge
D.hesitate to upgrade their computers
问题5选项
A.collected by non-profit agencies
B.dumped into local landfills
C.exported to foreign countries
D.recycled by computer manufacturers
第1题:B
第2题:D
第3题:A
第4题:B
第5题:C
66.细节推断题。题干意思是“旧金山海湾区的官员将采取什么措施处理电子垃圾?”。文章第一段Bay Area officials said Thursday they planned to take matters into their own hands to regulate the region’s growing pile of electronic trash.(海湾地区的官员周四表示,他们计划自行处理此事,以管理该地区越来越多的电子垃圾)和第二段they would propose local initiatives aimed at controlling electronic waste if the California law-making body fails to act on two bills stalled in the Assembly(如果加州立法机构不能对国会搁置的两项法案采取行动,他们将提出旨在控制电子垃圾的地方倡议),由此可推断,旧金山海湾区的官员将制定地方法规来应对电子垃圾,故B项“自行制定相关的地方法规”正确。A项“对电子设备制造商施加压力”在第五段有提及,这是洛杉矶地区官员提出的;C项“游说加州议会的立法者”没有提到;D项“争取支持通过停滞的法案”这是旧金山海湾区的官员要求加州立法机构做的,而不是他们将采取的措施。因此,该题选择B项正确。
67.细节推断题。题干意思是“在加州议会搁置的两项法案都与……有关”。第二段提到如果加州没有通过搁置的两个有关电子垃圾处理的法案,当地政府有关人员会自己采取措施,接着第三段就讲到了Environmentalists and local governments are increasingly concerned about the toxic hazard posed by old electronic devices and the cost of safely recycling those products.(环保人士和地方政府越来越关注旧电子设备造成的有毒危害,以及安全回收这些产品的成本),由此推测,加州搁置的这两个法案都是关于电子垃圾的回收再利用的问题,故D项“对该州大量电子垃圾的再处理”符合题意。A项“向垃圾填埋场倾倒有害物质的规定”,这只是用来例证回收再利用电子垃圾的重要性;B项“向国外销售二手电子设备”和C项“为当地回收电子垃圾的倡议提供资金”不属于搁置的两项法案,这只是倡议。因此,该题选择D项正确。
68.细节推断题。题干意思是“消费者不应该把用过的电脑扔进垃圾桶,因为……”。根据第三段最后一句The machines contain high levels of lead and other hazardous substances, and are already banned from California landfills.(这些机器含有高浓度的铅和其他有害物质,已经被加州的垃圾填埋场禁止使用)可推断,因为废旧的电子产品含有很多有害物质,所以消费者不应该随意丢到垃圾桶里面,故A项“它们含有大量的有害物质”符合题意。B项“这是加州政府禁止的”,文章并没明确提及这是政府禁止的;C项“一些零件可能被回收在其他地方使用”,这是鼓励回收的原因;D项“不道德的交易商会把它们回收用来牟利”是回收电子产品中可能会出现的问题,不符合题干。因此,该题选择A项正确。
69.细节事实题。题干意思是“一些高科技组织认为,如果在加州购买的每台电视或电脑多收30美元,消费者将会……”。根据题干定位到文章第七段But high-tech groups, including the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and the American Electronics Association, oppose the measures, arguing that fees of up to $30 will drive consumers to online, out-of-state retailers.(但包括硅谷制造集团和美国电子协会在内的高科技集团反对这些措施,称高达30美元的费用将促使消费者转向州外的在线零售商),由此可知,如果在加州购买的每台电视或电脑多收30美元,消费者将会从其他州购买,故B项“从其他州购买”正确。A项“放弃网上购物”,文中提到消费者会转向州外的在线零售商,A项错误;C项“强烈反对这一收费规定”和D项“犹豫升级他们的电脑”都没有提到。因此,该题选择B项正确。
70.细节推断题。题干意思是“我们从这篇文章中了解到,加州的大部分电子垃圾已经……”。最后一段提到The graveyard of the high-tech revolution is ending up in rural China.(高科技革命的墓地正在中国农村结束),这是一种隐含的说法,意思就是类似处理电子垃圾这类的高科技革命最后因为这些垃圾出口到中国而以失败告终;结合最后一句His group is pushing for an amendment to Sher’s bill that would prevent the export of e-waste.(他的组织正在推动对谢尔法案的一项修正案,该法案将阻止电子垃圾的出口)可知C项“出口国外”正确。A项“由非牟利机构收取”和D项“电脑制造商回收”都只是提出来的建议,文中没有提到这些措施到底有没有实施;B项“被扔进当地的垃圾填埋场”错误。因此,该题选择C项正确。