IV. Summary and Cloze Test Design
Please summarize the following passage in
200 words and design
five multiple-choice cloze questions for 11th graders . Each question must include four alternatives, (A), (B), (C), and (D), with one of them being the best answer. Answers to each question must be provided.
Strictly speaking, air pollution is not a new problem. More than likely it began when humans invented
fire whose smoke choked the inhabitants of poorly ventilated caves. In fact, very early accounts of air pollution characterized the phenomenon as “smoke problems,” the major cause being people burning wood and coal to keep warm.
To alleviate the smoke problem in old England, King Edward I issued a proclamation in 1273 forbidding the use of sea coal, an impure form of coal that produced a great deal of soot and sulfur dioxide when burned.One person was reputedly executed for violating this decree. In spite of such restrictions, the use of coal grew as a heating fuel during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
As industrialization increased, the smoke problem worsened. In 1661, the prominent scientist John
Evelyn wrote an essay deploring London’s filthy air. And by the 1850s, London had become notorious for its “pea soup” fog, a thick mixture of smoke and fog that hung over the city. These fogs could be dangerous. In 1873, one was responsible for as many as 700 deaths. Another in 1911 claimed the lives of 1150 Londoners. To describe this chronic atmospheric event, a physician, Harold Des Voeux, coined (around 1911) the word smog, meaning a combination of smoke and fog.
Little was done to control the burning of coal as time went by, primarily because it was extremely difficult to counter the basic attitude of the powerful industrialists: “Where there’s muck, there’s money.” London’s acute smog problem intensified. Then, during the first week of December, 1952, a major disaster struck. The winds died down over London and the fog and smoke became so thick that people walking along the street literally could not see where they were going. People wore masks over their mouths and found their way along the sidewalks by feeling the walls of buildings. This particular disastrous smog lasted 5 days and took nearly 4000 lives, prompting Parliament to pass a Clean Air Act in 1956. Additional air pollution incidents occurred in England during 1956, 1957, and 1962, but due to the strong legislative measures taken against air pollution, London’s air today is much cleaner, and “pea soup” fogs are a thing of the past.
Air pollution episodes were by no means limited to Great Britain. During the winter of 1930, for instance,Belgium’s highly industrialized Meuse Valley experienced an air pollution tragedy when smoke and other contaminants accumulated in a narrow steep-sided valley. The tremendous buildup of pollutants caused about 600 people to become ill, and ultimately 63 died. Not only did humans suffer, but cattle, birds, and rats fell victim to the deplorable conditions.
The industrial revolution brought air pollution to the United States, as homes and coal-burning industries belched smoke, soot, and other undesirable emissions into the air. Soon, large industrial cities, such as St. Louis and Pittsburgh (which became known as the “Smoky City”), began to feel the effects of the ever-increasing use of coal. As early as 1911, studies documented the irritating effect of smoke particles on themhuman respiratory system and the “depressing and devitalizing” effects of the constant darkness brought on by giant, black clouds of smoke. By 1940, the air over some cities had become so polluted that automobile headlights had to be turned on during the day.
The first major documented air pollution disaster in the United States occurred at Donora, Pennsylvania,during October, 1948, when industrial pollution became trapped in the Monongahela River Valley. During the ordeal, which lasted 5 days, more than 20 people died and thousands became ill. Several times during the 1960s, air pollution levels became dangerously high over New York City. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, in cities such as Los Angeles, the ever-rising automobile population, coupled with the large petroleum processing plants, were instrumental in generating a different type of pollutant, photochemical smog — one that forms in sunny weather and irritates the eyes. Toward the end of World War II, Los Angeles had its first (of many) smog alerts.
Air pollution episodes in Los Angeles, New York, and other large American cities led to the establishment of much stronger emission standards for industry and automobiles. The Clean Air Act of 1970, for example, empowered the federal government to set emission standards that each state was required to enforce. The Clean Air Act was revised in 1977 and updated by Congress in 1990 to include even stricter emission requirements for autos and industry. The new version of the Act also includes incentives to encourage companies to lower emissions of those pollutants contributing to the current problem of acid rain. Moreover,amendments to the Act have identified 189 toxic air pollutants for regulation. In 2001, the United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, made it clear that cost need not be taken into account when setting clean air standards.
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