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

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

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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 "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 habit, 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)statistic, ozone, the primary constituent of smog, has declined by approximately 30 percent since the 1970s. And recent gains indicate that the 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 Angles, 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 are not improved at all.
    Most of the nation currently in attainment with the current smog standard, and much of the rest is getting close. Nonetheless, ALA chose to assign an "F" to an entire country 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 risk of these relatively minor and sporadic increases above standard.
in Para. 3, the word "spike"(in boldface)probably refers to______.
选项 A、the increases above the smog standard
B、the irregular readings about air quality in some areas
C、the occurrences of smog in Los Angels
D、the current standards demanded by ALA
答案A
解析 从第三段第一句可知，spike指的就是the increases above the smog standard．
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