2. 考研
  3. Every year, the American Lung Association(ALA)releases its annual report card on smog, and every year it gives an "F" to over ha

Every year, the American Lung Association(ALA)releases its annual report card on smog, and every year it gives an "F" to over ha

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问题     Every year, the American Lung Association(ALA)releases its annual report card on smog, and every year it gives an "F" to over half the nation’s counties and cities. When ALA’s "State of the Air 2002" recently came out, dozens of credulous local journalists once again took the bait, ominously reporting that their corner of the nation received a failing grade. The national coverage was no better, repeating as fact ALA’s statement that it is "gravely concerned" about air quality, and neglecting to solicit the views of even one scientist with a differing view. Too bad, because this report card says a lot less about actual air quality than it does about the tactics and motives of the ALA.
    The very fact that 60 percent of counties were given an "F" seems to be alarmist. This is particularly true given that smog levels have been trending downward for several decades. According to the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)statistics, ozone, the primary constituent of smog, has nearly decreased 30% since 1970s. This progress will likely continue, even without the wave of new regulations ALA is now demanding.
    ALA is correct that some areas still occasionally exceed the federal standard for ozone, but such spikes are far less frequent than in the past. Even Los Angeles, the undisputed smog capital of America, has cleaned up its act considerably. Los Angeles, which exceeded federal smog standards for 154 days in 1989, has had 75 percent fewer such spikes in recent years. But an ALA-assigned "F" misleadingly implies that air quality has not improved at all.
    Most of the nation is currently in attainment with the current smog standard, and much of the rest is getting close. Nonetheless, ALA chose to assign an "F" to entire county based on just a few readings above a strict new EPA standard enacted in 1997 but not yet in force. In effect, ALA demanded a standard even more stringent than the federal government’s, which allows some leeway for a few anomalously high readings in otherwise clean areas. ALA further exaggerated the public-health hazard by grossly overstating the risks of these relatively minor and sporadic increases above the standard.
In Paragraph 3, the word "spikes"(in boldface)probably refers to______.
选项 A、the increase above the smog standard
B、the irregular readings about air quality in some areas
C、the occurrences of smog in Los Angeles
D、the current standards demanded by ALA
答案A
解析 本题应选A。文章第三段提到，有些地区偶尔会有臭氧超标的情况发生，spikes指的就是这一点。
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