Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
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 (雙層玻璃的) 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? 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.
31. 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
32. 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.
33. The word “accentuate” (Line 4, Para. 3) most probably means “________”.
A) relieve
B) accelerate
C) worsen
D) improve
34. 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.
35. 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
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