Every time you go to the supermarket you e away with your purchases packed in plastic bags. But wouldn’t it be kinder to the environment if you asked for paper bags instead?
The answer is not as easy as it might seem. Environmentalists say there are drawbacks to using both plastic bags and paper bags.
80 percent of groceries in the US are packed in plastic bags and the numbers are being huge. Consumers use between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags per year worldwide.
Some experts believe that all these bags harm the environment. Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down and, as it does so, poisonous materials are released into the water and soil.
Further damage is caused if plastic bags enter the sea. For example, endangered sea turtles cannot tell the bags from jellyfish, their main source of food, and often choke on them.
However, this kind of bag does have its advantages.
Paper bags use more energy and create more waste than plastic bags. Plastic bags require 40 percent less energy to produce and cause 70 percent less air pollution. They also release as much as 94 percent less waste into the water than paper ones do.
But paper bags do break down more quickly than plastic bags. They don’t endanger wildlife, either.
So what should we do? One possible solution would be to use biodegradable plastic bags. “Biodegradable” means that the bags break down naturally just like a piece of banana peel when it is left outside.
But until biodegradable technology improves, it might be easier to pack things you buy in reusable cloth bags.
【小题1】Compared to paper bags, plastic bags .A．produce 6 percent more wasteB．can be made biodegradable more easilyC．can be used as a source of foodD．save 40 percent of the energy【小题2】By saying “The answer is not as easy as it might seem,” (in paragraph 2) the writer means .
A. biodegradable plastic bags can pete with paper
B. paper bags seem to be kind to environment
C. it’s difficult to say whether plastic or paper bags are better for the environment
【小题3】What does the author suggest people use at the present time?A．Paper bagsB．Plastic bagsC．Biodegradable plastic bags.D．Cloth bags.D
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(答案→)D
解析：本文主要分析了塑料袋和纸袋的优势和劣势，他们各有优劣，作者建议我们使用可以重复使用的布袋子。
【小题1】D 细节题。根据文章第7段Paper bags use more energy and create more waste than plastic bags. Plastic bags require 40 percent less energy to produce and cause 70 percent less air pollution.可知生产塑料袋比生产纸袋节约百分之40的资源。故Ｄ正确。
【小题2】C 推理题。根据文章第2段The answer is not as easy as it might seem. Environmentalists say there are drawbacks to using both plastic bags and paper bags.可知使用塑料袋和使用纸袋都有各自的优点和缺点。很难说哪一个就更加环保。故C正确。
【小题3】D 细节题。根据文章最后一段But until biodegradable technology improves, it might be easier to pack things you buy in reusable cloth bags.可知作者建议我们使用布袋子。故D正确。