Priscilla Ouchida’s “energy-efficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000, three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned（双层玻璃的）windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.

　　Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde（甲醛）gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas is her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.

　　The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is not given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas, a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate the situation in some cases.”

　　The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants generated in most households seldom build up to dangerous levels.

　　1. It can be learned from the passage that the Ouchidas’ house _______.

　　A) is well worth the money spent on its construction

　　B) is almost faultless from the point of energy conservation

　　C) failed to meet energy conservation standards

　　D) was designed and constructed in a scientific way

　　2. What made the Ouchidas’ new house a horrible dream?

　　A) Lack of fresh air. B) Poor quality of building materials.

　　C) Gas leakage in the kitchen. D) The newly painted walls

　　3. The word “accentuate” (Line 4, Para.3) most probably means “_______”.

　　A) relieve B) accelerate C) worsen D) improve

　　4. Why were cracks in old houses not a big concern?

　　A) Because indoor cleanliness was not emphasized.

　　B) Because energy used to be inexpensive.

　　C) Because environmental protection was given top priority.

　　D) Because they were technically unavoidable.

　　5. This passage is most probably taken from an article entitled “_______”.

　　A) Energy Conservation B) Houses Building Crisis

　　C) Air Pollution Indoors D) Traps in Building Construction

　　参考答案及解析

　　答案：BACBC

　　解析：本篇文章是2001年的四级阅读的文章，主要是讲室内空气污染的问题。第一段通过一对夫妻的新房子引出问题。第二段分析空气污染的来源。第三段讲能源节约和室内空气污染的内部联系，第四段从能源价格上深层次的分析了室内空气污染的原因。

　　提示：本篇文章从词汇的角度以及语法的角度以及篇章的分析上都是一篇很简单的文章，选这道题的目的是希望大家能够从现在开始养成一种总结段落大义的习惯，对自己以后阅读理解能力以及速度的提高有很大的帮助。

　　文章翻译

　　Priscilla Ouchida’s的节能房事实证明是一个梦魇。当她和她的工程师老公一年前结婚的时候，他们在加利福尼亚盖了一个三居小房，为了防止透气，他们给房子装了双层玻璃，以及其他的节能设施。然而，问题也就是从他们搬进新家的时候开始的。Priscilla的眼睛熏的睁不开，喉咙发干。经常头疼想睡觉。直到后来生了一种很奇怪的病。

　　专家查询她的病因的时候，发现他厨房的甲醛水平已经超过了政府为化工行业的工人定的最大标准的2倍。。这些气体的来源就是她的橱柜和他满地板的地毯。

　　Ouchida夫妇是室内空气污染的受害者。由于国家提倡节约能源，所以室内空气污染的问题并没有收到重视。而问题并不是刚刚发现。“室内空气污染的问题在提倡能源保护之前就已经出现了”。Moschandrea说，“能源解约某种层度上加重了这个情况”

　　新建的房子要比旧房子看起来情况更麻烦。在能源还是很便宜的时候，房屋的建造者并不是很担心不密封的缝隙。而正是因为这些裂缝，在平均每个房间里面的空气一个小时就可以被外面的新鲜空气替换。因此，房间里产生的污染物很少到影响健康的程度。