In the quest for the perfect lawn, homeowners across the country are taking a shortcut—and it is the environment that is paying the price. About eight million square metres of plastic grass is sold each year but opposition has now spread to the highest gardening circles. The Chelsea Flower Show has banned fake grass from this year’s event, declaring it to be not part of its ethos. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which runs the annual show in west London, says it has introduced the ban because of the damage plastic grass does to the environment and biodiversity.
Ed Horne, of the RHS, said: “We launched our sustainability strategy last year and fake grass is just not in line with our ethos and views on plastic. We recommend using real grass because of its environmental benefits, which include supporting wildlife alleviating flooding and cooling the environment.”
The RHS’s decision comes as campaigners try to raise awareness of the problems fake grass causes. A Twitter account, which claims to “cut through the greenwash” of artificial grass, already has more than 20,000 followers. It is trying to encourage people to sign two petitions, one calling for a ban on the sale of plastic grass and another calling for an “ecological damage” tax on such lawns. They have gathered 7,276 and 11,282 signatures.
However, supporters of fake grass point out that there is also an environmental impact with natural lawns, which need mowing and therefore usually consume electricity or petrol. The industry also points out that real grass requires considerable amounts of water, weed killer or other treatments and that people who lay fake grass tend to use their garden more. The industry also claims that people who lay fake grass spend an average of £500 on trees or shrubs for their garden, which provides habitat for insects.
In response to another petition last year about banning fake lawns, which gathered 30,000 signatures, the government responded that it has “no plans to ban the use of artificial grass”.
It added: “We prefer to help people and organizations make the right choice rather than legislating on such matters. However, the use of artificial grass must comply with the legal and policy safeguards in place to protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable drainage, while measures such as the strengthened biodiversity duty should serve to encourage public authorities to consider sustainable alternatives.”
1. The RHS thinks that plastic grass ________.
2. The petitions mentioned in Paragraph 3 reveal the campaigners’ ________.
3. In Paragraph 4, supporters of fake grass point out ________.
4. What should the government do with regard to artificial grass?
5. It can be learned from the text that fake grass ________.
问题1选项
A.is harmful to the environment
B.is a hot topic in gardening circles
C.is overpraised in the annual show
D.is ruining the view of west London
问题2选项
A.disappointment with the RHS
B.resistance to fake grass use
C.anger over the proposed tax
D.concern about real grass supply
问题3选项
A.the necessity to lower the costs of fake grass
B.the disadvantages of growing real grass
C.the way to take care of artificial lawns
D.the challenges of insect habitat protection
问题4选项
A.Urge legislation to restrict its use.
B.Take measures to guarantees its quality.
C.Remind its users to obey existing rules.
D.Replace it with sustainable alternatives.
问题5选项
A.is being improved continuously
B.has seen a market share decline
C.is becoming increasingly affordable
D.has been a controversial product
第1题:A
第2题:B
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
The RHS thinks that plastic grass ________. RHS认为塑料草________。
A. is harmful to the environment A. 对环境有害
B. is a hot topic in gardening circles B. 是园艺圈热门的话题
C. is overpraised in the annual show C. 在年度表演中被过度称赞
D. is ruining the view of west London D. 正破坏伦敦西部的景观
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词RHS以及plastic grass可以定位到文章第一段最后一句“RHS表示他们之所以出台禁令，是因为塑料草会对环境和生物多样性造成破坏（The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), …because of the damage plastic grass does to the environment and biodiversity）。因此A选项“对环境有害”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“是园艺圈热门的话题”，C选项“在年度表演中被过度称赞”和D选项“正破坏伦敦西部的景观”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The petitions mentioned in Paragraph 3 reveal the campaigners ________. 第三段中提到的请愿书揭示了活动人士________。
A. disappointment with the RHS A. 对RHS感到失望
B. resistance to fake grass use B. 抵制使用人造草
C. anger over the proposed tax C. 对提议的税收感到愤怒
D. concern about real grass supply D. 担心真草的供应
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词petitions和campaigners可以定位到文章第三段第一句“RHS做出这一决定之际，活动人士正试图使人们意识到人造草造成的问题（The RHS’s decision comes as campaigners try to raise awareness of the problems fake grass causes）”，随后提到了他们签署了两份请愿书（petitions），即“呼吁禁止销售塑料草和呼吁对此类草坪征收‘生态破坏’税”，由此可知这些活动人士是在“抵制使用人造草”，因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“对RHS感到失望”在文章中并未提及，属于无中生有；
C选项“对提议的税收感到愤怒”，根据原文可知征收“生态破坏”税是这些活动人士提议的，属于反向干扰；
D选项“关注以上真草的供应”在文中并未提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
In Paragraph 4, supporters of fake grass point out ________. 第四段中人造草的支持者指出________。
A. the necessity to lower the costs of fake grass A. 降低人造草成本的必要性
B. the disadvantages of growing real grass B. 种植真草的劣势
C. the way to take care of artificial lawns C. 打理人造草坪的方法
D. the challenges of insect habitat protection D. 保护昆虫栖息地面临的挑战
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词supporters可以定位到文章第四段第一句“然而，人造草坪的支持者指出，天然草坪也会对环境产生影响（However, supporters of fake grass point out that there is also an environmental impact with natural lawns）”，随后指出为什么会对环境造成影响：消耗电力或汽油、需要大量的水、除草剂等，因此B选项“种植真草的劣势”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“降低人造草成本的必要性”，C选项“打理人造草坪的方法”和D选项“保护昆虫栖息地面临的挑战”在文章中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
What should the government do with regard to artificial grass? 关于人造草，政府应该怎么做？
A. Urge legislation to restrict its use. A. 敦促立法限制其使用。
B. Take measures to guarantees its quality. B. 采取措施保证质量。
C. Remind its users to obey existing rules. C. 提醒使用者遵守现有规则。
D. Replace it with sustainable alternatives. D. 用可持续的方案来替代它。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词government及artificial grass可以定位到文章最后一段第二句“使用人造草必须遵守现行的法律和政策保护措施（the use of artificial grass must comply with the legal and policy safeguards...）”，因此C选项“提醒使用者遵守现有规则”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“敦促立法限制其使用”，文章倒数第二段中提到“没有计划禁止使用人造草”（no plans to ban the use of artificial grass），属于反向干扰；
B选项“采取措施保证质量”，文章并未提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“用可持续的方案来替代它”，文章最后一句提到“加强生物多样性义务等措施应该有助于鼓励公共当局考虑可持续的替代方法”（to encourage public authorities to consider sustainable alternatives），只是提到考虑替代方案，并不是直接替换，属于过度推断。
第5题:
【选项释义】
It can be learned from the text that fake grass ________. 从文中可知，人造草________。
A. is being improved continuously A. 正在不断改进
B. has seen a market share decline B. 市场份额下降
C. is becoming increasingly affordable C. 正变得越来越实惠
D. has been a controversial product D. 成为有争议的产品
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章阐述了RHS，人造草支持者（supporters）以及政府对人造草的不同态度，并且各方都阐述了理由，说明各方对于人造草是存在争议的，因此D选项“成为有争议的产品”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“正在不断改进”，B选项“市场份额下降”和C选项“正变得越来越实惠”在文中均不能体现，属于无中生有。
【参考译文】
为了追求完美的草坪，全国各地的房主都在走捷径，而付出代价的却是环境。每年大约有800万平方米的塑料草被售出，但反对的声音现在已经蔓延到最高级别的园艺界。切尔西花展已经禁止在今年的花展上使用人造草坪，宣布人造草坪不符合其宗旨。英国皇家园艺学会在伦敦西部举办一年一度的切尔西花展，该学会表示，之所以颁布禁令，是因为塑料草对环境和生物多样性造成了破坏。
英国皇家园艺学会的埃德·霍恩说：“我们去年推出了可持续发展战略，人造草坪不符合我们的理念和对塑料的看法。我们建议使用真草，因为它对环境有益，包括支持野生动物、缓解洪水和冷却环境。”
英国皇家园艺学会做出这一决定的同时，运动人士也在努力提高人们对人造草坪造成的问题的认识。一个声称要“戳穿”人造草的“绿色谎言”的推特账户已经拥有了两万多名粉丝。它试图鼓励人们签署两份请愿书，一份呼吁禁止销售塑料草，另一份呼吁对这种草坪征收“生态破坏”税。目前，这两份请愿书已分别收集到7276个和11282个签名。
然而，人造草坪的支持者指出，天然草坪也会对环境造成影响，因为天然草坪需要修剪，因此通常需要消耗电力或汽油。该行业还指出，真草需要大量的水、除草剂或其他处理剂，而铺设人造草坪的人往往会更多地使用花园。该行业还声称，铺设人造草坪的人平均要花费500英镑在花园里的树木或灌木上，这为昆虫提供了栖息地。
去年，另一份关于禁止铺设人造草坪的请愿收集了3万个签名，政府在回应时表示“没有计划禁止使用人造草。”
政府补充说：“我们更愿意帮助人们和组织做出正确的选择，而不是就此类问题立法。然而，人造草的使用必须遵守现有的法律和政策保障措施，以保护生物多样性和确保可持续排水，而诸如加强生物多样性责任等措施应有助于鼓励公共当局考虑可持续的替代品。
【出处】《泰晤士报》2022.5.14
