Passage Two
When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to Grandma’s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday-best.
But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware-and-stainless informality, with dresses assuming an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain , it spells economic hard times.
Last week Royal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs—one—fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4,000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery (陶瓷) region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier.
Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company “has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend” toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television.
Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it’s better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a “real” dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?
Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette (礼节) that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents and grandparents （“Chew with your mouth closed” “Keep your elbows off the table”) must be picked up elsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be competent professionally but clueless socially.
26. The trend toward casual dining has resulted in
A. bankruptcy of fine china manufacturers.
B. shrinking of the pottery industry.
C. restructuring of large enterprises.
D. economic recession in Great Britain .
27. Which of the following may be the best reason for casual dining?
A. Family members need more time to relax.
B. Busy schedules leave people no time for formality.
C. People want to practice economy in times of scarcity.
D. Young people won’t follow the etiquette of the older generation.
28. It can be learned from the passage that Royal Doulton is
A. a retailer of stainless steel tableware.
B. a dealer in stoneware.
C. a pottery chain store.
D. a producer of fine china.
29. The main cause of the layoffs in the pottery industry is
A. the increased value of the pound.
B. the economic recession in Asia .
C. the change in people’s way of life.
D. the fierce competition at home and abroad.
30. Refined table manners, though less popular than before in current social life,
A. are still a must on certain occasions.
B. are bound to return sooner or later.
C. are still being taught by parents at home.
D. can help improve personal relationships.
答案：
26. ［答案］D
［解析］细节题。根据原文第二段第一句：最近，在科学期刊《自然》杂志上发表的一篇研究文章指出，空气中的含铅废气的排放是造成格陵兰岛的雪中含铅量高的主要原因，这些废气都来自美国。“leading contributor”所指的就是来自美国的废气，因此美国便是格陵兰岛污染的“罪魁祸首”，可以得出D项答案。从后文可知，洁净条例对抑制、降低铅污染起到了至关重要的作用，所以A违背原意；Charles Boutron博士1991年发布的一项研究显示，北极雪中的铅含量正在逐年减少，所以B违背原意；从文中第五段可知，科学家们曾经以为，铅会在soil和snow中长时间滞留，文中还指出，关于铅在土壤中滞留的研究是发表在期刊Ambio上的，所以C违背原意。
27. ［答案］B
［解析］细节题。根据第一段末句：自从美国实行空气洁净条例后，20年间，全世界的铅沉积都大大降低。理解mandate的意思，强制执行，同义转述，实行空气洁净条例便是立法通过，所以B正确。无铅汽油的使用是被提倡的，所以A违背原意；无铅汽油的使用是被立法通过，而不是禁止使用，所以C违背原意，D不够具体明确，应该是通过立法的途径，而不单单是简单的引入。
28. ［答案］D
［解析］细节题。根据原文第三段第一句“…the ratios of the different forms of lead in the leaded gasolines…”可知，不同国家和地区的汽油中铅的含量不同；根据“thus enabled scientists to differentiate the lead sources.”可知，专家可以通过汽油中的铅含量来判断此种铅来自于何地。显然，就是利用判断汽油中铅含量的方法得出格陵兰岛的铅污染主要来自美国的结论。所以D正确。原文中没有提到要分析Nature和Ambio中报告给出的数据，所以A不对；原文没有提及观察北极不同区域铅的累积情况，所以B不对；对东北美土质进行监测的目的是测量土壤中铅的含量，见第四段“…that lead levels in soil…decreased markedly since…”，说明C也不对。
29. ［答案］A
［解析］细节题。根据原文倒数第二段“The forest environment processed and redistributed the lead faster than the scientists had expected.”森林处理和重新分配铅污染的能力超出科学家的预料，同义转述是森林去除、净化铅污染的能力比科学家预计的要强，可知A正确。森林中的铅积累好处理，说明B与文中所述相反。原文没有提及铅沉积在美国的森林中广泛分布，所以C不对；文中没有提到哪层土更容易被污染，所以D也不对。
30. ［答案］C
［解析］推论题。根据最后一段：尽管生态系统的某些环节对空气污染的改善反应迅速(respond rapidly to reductions in atmospheric pollution,…)，但这些研究成果不应该被当作对环境污染的许可。这说明，铅污染仍然应被重视，所以C正确。文中没有提到科学家们被森林污染所困扰，所以A不对；文中虽然举出了使用无铅汽油后铅污染减少，但并没有说铅污染已经解决，而且，“these findings should not be used as a license to pollute”，即暗指铅污染仍然应被重视，科学家们还能“feel relieved”，所以B不对；文中没有提到和污染斗争的方法手段问题，所以D也不对。
