Americans have a craze for the sun, a belief that sun will cure chronic illness, and that where there is sunshine there will be

admin2010-01-07  30

问题    Americans have a craze for the sun, a belief that sun will cure chronic illness, and that where there is sunshine there will be a job or, if not a job, at least a warm, pleasant place to be unemployed. There will be low electricity bills, and no need to spend much on clothes ! There will be the simple luxury of being able to sit on the porch the whole year round in an open-necked shirt or a swimsuit.
   The most desirable place in the American sun is the coastline of southern California, for here the climate is Mediterranean. It is rarely too hot and rarely too cold. This being so, the price of apartment and rents, and land for building homes, is beyond the means of the average sun-seeker.
   The neighboring state of New Mexico is now waiting with dread for the flux of sunworshippers. New Mexico is proud of its wild mountains and deserts and its two romantic rivers, the Rio Grande and the Rio Peeks. A former governor of the State wrote: "We can no longer afford the luxury of developers who care greatly for the profits of land use but little for the land itself."
   To many New Mexicans, California’s greatest city, Los Angeles, is the perfect example of what a city should not be. There are more automobiles per head of population in Los Angeles than in any other American city. Until unleaded gasoline was introduced car fumes were a danger to health and the Los Angeles smog was as London’s fog used to be.
   Florida is perhaps the most popular state in the Sun Belt. In fact, it calls itself "The Sun-shine State." It has a subtropical climate and is ideal for a winter vacation. From November to March northerners and easterners come in their tens of thousands to lie on the warm, sandy beaches of Miami. Palm beach and the other resorts along the coast. But Florida is also full of retired people. They have for years been coming to spend their last days in the subtropical sun. Many of them are poor and live in tiny houses or apartments. But they do not have to worry about the dreaded winter cold. They do not have to buy warm clothes. They can live reasonably contented on their pensions.
   More and more houses in the Sun Belt use solar energy for their heating. So far the heat from the sun can only be used in a passive role, that is to say, it can be stored and used for heating the house and the washing water--but it cannot yet be turned into energy for cooking or for lighting. However, experiments are going on in southern Arizona, and scientists hope that before too long it will be possible to feed energy from the sun directly into the national electricity grid. One day America’s sunshine may become one of her greatest assets.  
Why have retired people been coming to spend their last days in Florida?

选项 A、They can afford to do so on their pensions.
B、They are provided with a decent sum of pensions.
C、The food there is good for their health.
D、They can earn some extra money there.

答案A

解析 见文章第二段,退休后的老人能依靠退休金过活。
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