In Greek mythology(神话), fire is a gift form God, stolen from Zeus(宙斯) by Prometheus and handed over to humans suffering from cold. What could be more natural than sitting around a beautiful fire on a winter night, at a campsite in the Berkshires?
Hard as it may be to believe, the fireplace—long considered a trophy(奖杯), particularly in a city like New York—is acquiring a social shame. Among those who desire to be environmentally responsible, it is joining the ranks of bottled water and big houses.
Sally Treadwell, a 51-year-old public relations executive in Boone, N.C., said nothing makes her happier than building a fire on a cold winter night. But most of the time she doesn’t, because she feels too guilty about the damage it may do to the environment. Every time she builds a fire, it causes “inner conflict,” she said. “It’s a guilty pleasure”.
“The smoke from a fire smells very nice,” said Diane Bailey, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. “But it can cause a lot of harm. The tiny particles(颗粒) can cause illness, and can cross into the bloodstream, causing heart attacks as well as worsening other conditions.”
Growing concerns about the air pollution and health problems caused by smoke from wood fires are urging a number of areas across the country to pass laws regulating them. Idaho offers a tax cut to people who replace uncertified(不合格的)wood stoves with “greener” ones; San Joaquin County in California forbids selling a home unless its wood stove is replaced with an E.P.A. certified one；and Palo Alto and other governments in California forbid wood-burning fireplaces in new construction.
Certainly, many think otherwise. In any case, most fireplaces are used far too infrequently to cause any real damage to the environment, said Stephen Sears, the vice president of the Brick Industry Association, voicing an opinion shared by some.
Perhaps not coincidentally, sales of wood-burning equipment dropped to 235,000 in 2009 from 800,000 in 1999, according to the Brick Industry Association. It also reports that approximately 35,000 fireplaces were installed in the United States in 2009, compared to 80,000 in 2005. Certainly those numbers reflect the economic slowdown, but the may also be affected by growing mixed feelings to wood fries.
小题1:We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that ________.| A．big houses are not considered environmentally friendly | | B．bottle water is a good companion for a fire place | | C．a fireplace is viewed as a sign of success | | D．people in New York are laughed at for their tradition |
小题2:Sally’s “inner conflict” in the 3rd paragraph resulted from ________.| A．her love for the fireplace | | B．the damage to the environment | | C．the concern about her health | | D．her mixed emotion fro the fireplace |
小题3: In terms of the regulations about wood fires we can learn from the passage that_______.| A．uncertified fireplaces are forbidden in Idaho | | B．some people are against the woodfire controlling regulations | | C．only energy-efficient wood stoves can be used in the US | | D．all the people support measures taken to control the use of fireplaces |
小题4:What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?| A．To urge people to burn less wood | | B．To discuss wood-burning’s impact | | C．To throw light on the causes of the fireplace’s decline | | D．To indicate the cooling love for the fireplace |
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