A
In New Jersey, there’s a row of houses with a green lawn that kids can’t enjoy. “It’s really frustrating. These lawns are useless to me, ”Alice, a suburban mom in New Jersey said. She lives in a beautiful community full of green lawns.
It’s the middle of summer, but there are no dandelions in sight. And that’s the problem: the lawns are so green because they’re full of pesticides. Warning signs urge parents to keep kids off the chemical-laden grass.
Alice says that most lawns and parks in her area are like this. There are plenty of them, but her kids can’t play in them. “I just want to let my baby experience the grass, ” she said. “Also, I’m sure it’s not good for animals. The other day, a woman found a dead deer in her backyard. ”
In the 1940s, people often mixed clover with grass to keep lawns strong, which benefited the environment. But over the last few decades, pesticides have taken over. In 2012, the world spent $56 billion on pesticides. They go into farms, lawns, parks and just about anywhere where humans grow plants. These chemicals keep parks’ grass and flowers perfect. They just make them useless as actual parks.
That may be more than just annoying. New research has shown that play is good for kids. It helps them discover the world and learn how to get along with other people. But it’s hard to get enough play when there are so few public spaces where kids can play. And the few that exist are often covered in chemicals that make parents uncomfortable.
There are things to take the place of pesticides, like planting a lawn full of clover. Besides, maybe a dandelion here or there isn’t the worst thing.
【语篇概述】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍杀虫剂的使用使得孩子们不得不远离公园里的草坪这一情况。
21. Why do parents ask their kids to keep off the grass?
A. To shelter kids from damage.
B. To protect the environment.
C. To let kids avoid seeing the dead deer.
D. To let kids have more time to study.
【解析】选A。细节理解题。根据题干中的关键词keep off the grass定位第二段“And that’s the problem: the lawns are so green because they’re full of pesticides. ”可知, 草坪上大量的杀虫剂会对孩子造成一定的危害。故父母不愿意让自己的孩子在草坪上玩耍。
22. What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
A. Clover has been popular all the time.
B. The world focuses on building parks.
C. Chemicals help crops grow well in the parks.
D. Nowadays parks aren’t what they used to be.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据文中第四段These chemicals keep parks’ grass and flowers perfect. They just make them useless as actual parks. 可知, 化学药品虽然让植物茁壮成长, 但是已经让公园变得不再像过去那样适合公众游玩, 故选D项。文中第四段提到人们在20世纪40年代使用三叶草, 但是现在已被杀虫剂取代。故排除A项; 依据文中the world spent$56 billion on pesticides可知, 世人在把大量的财力花在杀虫剂上而不是建造公园上, 故B项不正确。依据文中These chemicals keep parks’ grass and flowers perfect. 可知, 化学药品是在帮助公园里的花草长势良好而不是农作物, 故C项不正确。
23. New research on kids in Paragraph 5 is mentioned to _______.
A. show play is kids’ nature
B. advise planting more clover
C. present chemicals’ bad effects on kids
D. encourage kids to get on well with others
【解析】选C。推理判断题。根据题干中的关键词New research on kids in Paragraph 5定位第五段。本段提到新的研究表明, 玩耍对孩子有益, 有利于他们探索世界和学会与他人相处, 但化学药品的使用使得孩子玩耍的公共空间在不断缩小, 影响极坏, 故选C项。
