Whichissafer-stayingathome,travelingtoworkonpublictransport,orworkingintheoffice?Surprisingly,eachofthesecarriesthesamerisk,whichisverylow.However,whataboutflyingcomparedtoworkinginthechemicalindustry?Unfortunately,theformeris65timesriskierthanthelatter!Infact,theaccidentrateofworkersinthechemicalindustryislessthanthatofalmostanyofhumanactivity,andalmostassafeasstayingathome.
Thetroublewiththechemicalindustryisthatwhenthingsgowrongtheyoftencausedeathtothoselivingnearby.Itisthiswhichmakeschemicalaccidentssonewsworthy.Fortunately,theyareextremelyrare.ThemostfamousoneshappenedatTexasCity(1947),Flixborough(1974),Seveso(1976),Pemex(1984)andBhopal(1984)。
Someofthesearealwaysinthemindsofthepeopleeventhoughthelossoflifewassmall.NoonediedatSeveso,andonly28workersatFlixborough.TheworstaccidentofallwasBhopal,whereupto3,000werekilled.TheTexasCityexplosionoffertilizerkilled552.ThePemexfireatastorageplantfornaturalgasinthesuburbsofMexicoCitytook542lives,justamonthbeforetheunfortunateeventatBhopal.
Someexpertshavediscussedtheseaccidentsandusedeachaccidenttoillustrateaparticulardanger.ThustheTexasCityexplosionwascausedbytonsofammoniumnitrate(硝酸铵),whichissafeunlessstoredingreatquantity.TheFlixboroughfireballwasthefaultofmanagement,whichtookriskstokeepproductiongoingduringessentialrepairs.TheSevesoaccidentshowswhathappensifthelocalauthoritieslackknowledgeofthedangerontheirdoorstep.Whenthepoisonousgasdriftedoverthetown,localleaderswereincapableoftakingeffectiveaction.ThePemexfirewasmadeworsebyanoverloadedsiteinanovercrowdedsuburb.Thefiresetoffachainreactionosexplodingstoragetanks.Yet,byamiracle,thetwolargesttanksdidnotexplode.Hadthesecaughtfire,then3,000strongrescueteamandfirefighterswouldallhavedied.
1.Chemicalaccidentsareusuallyimportantenoughtobereportedasnewsbecause____.
A.theyareveryrare
B.theyoftencauselossoflife
C.theyalwaysoccurinbigcities
D.theyarousetheinterestofallthereaders
2.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?
A.Workingattheofficeissaferthanstayingathome.
B.Traverllingtoworkonpublictransportissaferthanworkingattheoffice.
C.Stayingathomeissaferthanworkinginthechemicalindustry.
D.Workinginthechemicalindustryissaferthantravelingbyair.
3.Accordingtopassage,thechemicalaccidentthatcausedbythefaultofmanagementhappenedat____.
A.TexascityB.FlixboroughC.SevesoD.MexicoCity
4.Fromthediscussionamongsomeexpertswemaycocludethat____.
A.toavoidanyaccidentsweshouldnotrepairthefacilitiesinchemicalindustry
B.thelocalauthoritiesshouldnotbeconcernedwiththeproductionofthechemicalindustry
C.alltheseaccidentscouldhavebeenavoidedorcontrolledifeffectivemeasurehadbeentaken
D.naturalgasstoredinverylargetanksisalwayssafe
5.Fromthepassageweknowthatammoniumnitrateisakindof____.
A.naturalgas,whichcaneasilycatchfire
B.fertilizer,whichcan'tbestoredinagreatquantity
C.poisonoussubstance,whichcan'tbeusedinovercrowdedareas
D.fuel,whichisstoredinlargetanks
1.B 2.D 3.A 4.C 5
暂无解析
Passage2
Questions6to10arebasedonthefollowingpassage:
Thefoodweeatseemstohaveprofoundeffectsonourhealth.Althoughsciencehasmadeenormousstepsinmakingfoodmorefittoeat,ithas,atthesametime,mademanyfoodsunfittoeat.Someresearchhasshowntat40percentofcancerisrelatedtothedietaswell,especiallycancerofthecolon.Differentculturesatemorepronetogetcertainillnessesbecauseofthefoodthatischaracteristicinthesecultures.Thatfoodisrelatedtoillnessisnotanewdiscovery.In1945,governmentresearchersrealizedthatnitratesandnitrites,commonlyusedtopreservecolorinmeats,andotherfoodadditives,causedcancer.Yetthesecarcinogenicadditivesremaininourfood,anditbecomesmoredifficultallthetimetoknowwhichthingsonthepackaginglabelsofprocessedfoodarehelpfulorharmful.Theadditivesthatweeatarenotallsodirect.Farmersoftengivepenicillintobeefandpoultry,andbecauseofthis,penicillinhasbeenfoundinthemilkoftreatedcows.Sometimessimilardrugsareadministeredtoanimalsnotformedicinalpurposes,butforfinancialreasons.Thefarmersaresimplytryingtofattentheanimalsinordertoobtainahigherpriceonthemarket.AlthoughtheFoodandDrugAdministration(FDA)hastriedrepeatedlytocontroltheseprocedures,thepracticescontinue.
6.Howhassciencedoneadisservicetomankind?
A.Becauseofscience,mostofthefoodsweeattodayarecontaminated.
B.Ithascausedalackofinformationconcerningthevalueoffood.
C.Asaresultofscientificintervention,somepotentiallyharmfulsubstanceshasbeenaddedtoourfood.
D.Thescientistshavepreservedthecolorofmeats,butnotofvegetables.
7.Whatarenitratesusedfor?
A.Theypreservesflavorinpackagedfoods.
B.Theypreservethecolorofmeats.
C.Theyaretheobjectsofresearch.
D.Theycausetheanimalstobecomefatter.
8.TheFDAhastriedrepeatedlytocontrol.
A.theattempttofattentheanimals
B.theattempttocuresickanimals
C.theusingofdrugstoanimals
D.theusingofadditivestopreservethedoloroffood
9.Theword“carcinogenic”meansmostnearlythesameas.
A.trouble-makingB.color-retaining
C.money-savingD.cancer-causing
10.WhichofthefollowingstatementsisNOTtrue?
A.Drugsarealwaysgiventoanimalsformedicalreasons.
B.Someoftheadditivesinourfoodareaddedtothefooditselfandsomearegiventothelivinganimals.
C.Researchershaveknownaboutthepotentialhazardsofthefoodadditivesforoverthirty-fiveyears.
D.Foodmaycausefortypercentofcancerintheworld.
Whichfactorpusheduphouseprices?