In 1993, New York State ordered stores to charge a deposit on beverage containers. Within a year, consumers had returned millions of aluminum(铝)cans and glass and plastic bottles. Plenty of companies were eager to accept the aluminum and glass as raw materials for new products, but because few could figure out what to do with the plastic, much of it would be buried in landfills(垃圾填埋场). The problem was not limited to New York. Unfortunately, there were too few uses for second-hand plastic.

　　Today, one out of five plastic soda bottles is recycled in the United States. The reason for the change is that now there are dozens of companies across the country buying discarded plastic soda bottles and turning them into fence posts, paint brushes, etc.

　　As the New York experience shows, recycling involves more than simply separating valuable materials from the rest of the rubbish. A discard remains a discard until somebody figures out how to give it a second life-and until economic arrangements exist to give that second life value. Without adequate markets to absorb materials collected for recycling, throwaways, actually depress prices for used materials.

　　Shrinking landfill space, and rising costs for burying and burning rubbish are forcing local governments to look more closely at recycling. In many areas, the East Coast especially, recycling is already the least expensive waste management option. For every ton of waste recycled, a city avoids paying for its disposal, which, in parts of New York, amounts to saving of more than $100 per ton. Recycling also stimulates the local economy by creating jobs and trims the pollution control and energy costs of industries that make recycled products by giving them a more refined raw material.

　　21.What regulation was issued by New York State concerning beverage containers?

　　A. Beverage companies should be responsible for collecting and reusing discarded plastic soda bottles.

　　B. Throwaways should be collected by the state for recycling.

　　C. A fee should be charge on used containers for recycling.

　　D. Consumers had to pay for beverage containers and could get their money back on returning them.

　　答案：D

　　解析：答案D。文章开头指出，纽约政府下令饮料瓶要收押金。这句话其实可引申出两层意思：一方面，消费者需要为饮料瓶付款;另一方面，当他们送回饮料瓶时，他们可收回为饮料瓶所付的钱。D项表达了这两层意思，A、C两项文章未提到。B项不合题意。因此D项为正确答案。

　　22.The returned plastic bottles in New York used to _______.

　　A. end up somewhere underground

　　B. be turned into raw materials

　　C. have a second-life value

　　D. be separated from other rubbish

　　答案：A

　　解析：答案A。第一段指出，much of it would be buried in landfills，也就是说，许多塑料瓶被埋在垃圾填埋场，故A项正确。B项说“变成原材料”，第一段提到许多公司打算接受铝罐和玻璃瓶作为新产品的原材料，但不包括塑料，故B项不对。第一段最后一句指出二手塑料用途少，因此C项也不对。D项文章未提到。因此A项为正确答案。

　　23.The key problem in dealing with returned plastic beverage containers is ________.

　　A. to sell them at a profitable price

　　B. how to turn them into useful things

　　C. how to reduce their recycling costs

　　D. to lower the prices for used materials

　　答案：B

　　解析：答案B。第三段第二句指出，废品将仍是废品，直到有人能够确定如何给它第二次生命，直到在第二次生命价值中考虑到经济安排。可见处理回收的塑料饮料瓶的关键在于找到它们重新利用的价值及方法。因此B项为正确答案。

　　24.Recycling has become the first choice for the disposal of rubbish because ________.

　　A. local government find it easy to manage

　　B. recycling has great appeal for the jobless

　　C. recycling causes little pollution

　　D. other methods are more expensive

　　答案：D

　　解析：答案D。第四段第一句指出，填埋场地越来越少，填埋和烧毁垃圾的费用也在增加，因此政府看重回收。可见在处理垃圾时，政府首先想到回收是因为其他方式耗资太大。而且the East Coast这一例子也直接点明了回收利用是最便宜的垃圾处理方案。因此D项为正确答案。

　　25.It can be concluded from the passage that _______.

　　A. rubbish is a potential remedy for the shortage of raw materials

　　B. local governments in the U. S. can expect big profits from recycling

　　C. recycling is to be recommended both economically and environmentally

　　D. landfills will still be widely used for waste disposal

　　答案：C

　　解析：答案C。在最后一段中，作者从两方面论述了回收垃圾的好处，一是节约费用，二是有利于控制污染，保护环境。C项准确地表达了这两层含义。A、B两项文章未提到。D项说法错误，因为政府在处理垃圾时首先想到的是回收利用，可见是回收而不是垃圾坟埋场将得到广泛应用。

　　If women are mercilessly exploited year after year, they have only themselves to blame. Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe(衣柜)packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.

　　Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste. Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.

　　No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability(耐用). They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.

　　When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusion to be drawn are obvious.Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.

　　26.Designers and big stores always make money______.

　　A. by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry

　　B. because they are capable of predicting new fashions

　　C. by constantly changing the fashions in women's clothing

　　D. because they attach great importance to quality in women's clothing

　　答案：C

　　解析：答案C。首段第二句说：因为妇女一想到穿着过时服装在公众场合下露面就浑身发抖，于是总是被时装设计师和大商场捉弄。本句的暗含意义是，妇女不愿穿过时服装，设计师和大商场也就利用她们的这一心理特点经常改换时装款式来赚大钱。C项内容与此相符。

　　27.To the writer, the fact that women alter their old-fashioned dresses is seen as _______.

　　A. a waste of money

　　B. a waste of time

　　C. an expression of taste

　　D. an expression of creativity

　　答案：B

　　解析：答案B。第二段第三句明确指出：Women…waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have.

　　28. The writer would be less critical if fashion designers placed more stress on the _______ of clothing.

　　A. cost

　　B. appearance

　　C. comfort

　　D. suitability

　　答案：C

　　解析：答案C。第三段第二句批评设计师们很少关心保暖、舒适和耐用这些极为重要的事情。依此逆推，如果服装师多注意一点“舒适”，作者自然会批评得少些，至少不会用第三段中的实例进行批评。

　　29. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

　　A. New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.

　　B. The constant changes in women‘s clothing reflect their strength of character

　　C. The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.

　　D. Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.

　　答案：A

　　解析：答案A。在解答第三十六题时我们已得出结论：设计师和大商场利用妇女不愿穿过时的衣服而赚钱，这就意味着服装新的时髦式设计出来是为了赚钱。

　　30. By saying "the conclusions to be drawn are obvious"(S1, Para. 4), the writer means that _______.

　　A. women's inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughted at

　　B. women are better able to put up with discomfort

　　C. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers

　　D. men are more reasonable in the matter of fashion

　　答案：D

　　解析：答案D。解答本题首先要知道将男女作了比较后得出了什么结论。这结论就是Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers.结论的实质就是D项内容。