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  3. The federal automobile efficiency standards announced this week are an important step on America’s path to a lower-carbon and mo

The federal automobile efficiency standards announced this week are an important step on America’s path to a lower-carbon and mo

admin2014-05-30  63
问题     The federal automobile efficiency standards announced this week are an important step on America’s path to a lower-carbon and more-secure energy future. They are expected to yield multiple benefits; reduced dependence on foreign oil, fewer greenhouse gas emissions, consumer savings at the pump and a more competitive auto industry. They may also serve as proof that well-tailored government regulation can achieve positive results and that consensus among old enemies—in this case environmentalists and the car companies—is possible even at a time of partisan(党派的)disagreement.
    The standards build on a 2009 agreement that established a unified set of rules governing fuel economy and carbon dioxide pollution from automobiles and light trucks. Those rules covered model years 2012-16; the new rules cover 2017 to 2025. Taken together, the two sets of rules would increase fuel efficiency from today’s average of about 29 miles per gallon to 54.5 miles per gallon when they are fully effective in 2025. This is expected to result in a cut of 40 percent to 50 percent in fuel consumption and roughly equivalent cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
    The White House says the rules would reduce oil consumption by two million barrels a day by 2025; the nation now consumes 19 million barrels a day and imports just less than half that amount. And while fuel-efficient cars will cost more initially, lower fuel use is expected to save consumers up to $8,000 over the life of their vehicles.
    The battle for greater fuel economy goes back years and involved many players: California, which in 2002 passed its own law regulating greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles sold there; environmentalists, who pressured the Environmental Protection Agency to impose similar rules nationwide; the Supreme Court, which in 2007 authorized the agency to move forward; and Congress, which ordered the Department of Transportation to update fuel economy standards that had been largely untouched since 1975. President Obama’s contribution was to bring about a consensus among the agencies, the states, the automakers and the interest groups on federal and state standards that reduced fuel use and gave industry the regulatory certainty it needed to move forward.
    It is a model of public-private cooperation. Even so, the Romney campaign has called the rules "extreme" and House Republicans have threatened to roll them back. That would be a grave harm to consumers, the auto companies, the economy and the planet.
The federal automobile efficiency standards announced this week______.
选项 A、help to eliminate partisan disagreement between the two parties
B、enable Americans to be independent from foreign oil
C、help to promote consumption of gas and automobiles
D、can result in a lower-carbon and more-secure energy future
答案D
解析 事实细节题。由定位句可知，本周公布的联邦汽车能效标准是美国迈向更安全的低碳能源未来的重要一步，因此D)“能够带来更安全的低碳能源未来”为本题答案。A)“有助于消除两个党派之间的分歧”是对原文的误解，根据下文可知，分歧双方指的是环保主义者和汽车经销商，故排除；B)“使美国人不再依赖外国石油”和原文不符，下文提到该标准能够降低美国对外国石油的依赖，并不是完全不再需要，故排除；C)“有助于促进石油和汽车领域的消费”不符合原文，原文中提出该标准能够节约消费者的汽油开支，而不是使消费者购买更多的汽油和汽车，故排除。
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