4．Which is safer--staying at home，traveling to work on public transport，or working in the office？Surprisingly，each of these carries the same risk，which is very low：However，what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry？Unfortunately，the former is 65times riskier than the latter!In fact，the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity，and almost as safe as staying at home．
The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby．It is this that makes chemical accidents so newsworthy．Fortunately，they are extremely rare．The most famous ones happened at Texas City （1947），Flixborough （1974），Seveso （1976），Pemex （1984）and Bhopal （1984）．
Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small．No one died at Seveso，and only 28workers at Flixborough．The worst accident of all was Bhopal，where up to 3，000were killed．The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552．The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542lives，just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal．
Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger．Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate，which is safe unless stored in great quantity．The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management，which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs．The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep．When the poisonous gas drifted over the town，local leaders were incapable of taking effective action．The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb．The fire set off a chain reaction of exploding storage tanks．Yet，by a miracle，the two largest tanks did not explode．Had these caught fire，then 3，000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died．
31．Which of the following statements is TRUE？D
A．Working at the office is safer than staying at home．
B．Travelling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office．
C．Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry．
D．Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air．
32．Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news becauseB．
A．they are very rare．
B．they often cause loss of life
C．they always occur in big cities
D．they arouse the interest of all the readers
33．According to passage，the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened inB．
A．Texas city B．Flixborough C．Seveso D．Mexico City
34．From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind ofB．
A．natural gas，which can easily catch fire
B．fertilizer，which can't be stored in a great quantity
C．poisonous substance，which can't be used in overcrowded areas
D．fuel，which is stored in large tanks
35．From the discussion among some experts we may conclude thatC．
A．to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry
B．the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry
C．all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measure had been taken
D．natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe．
分析 章大意为：先对比一些人类活动的安全性，接着列举发生在一些城市的化工事故，用数字说明那些事故造成的后果；最后文章解释发生事故的原因．
解答 31．D．细节理解题：从文章第一段可知staying at home="traveling"to work on public transport="working"at the office"all is very low．根据这句子"However，what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry？Unfortunately，the former is 65 times riskier than the latter!"可知D项正确．
32．B．细节理解题：从第二段的第一、第二句The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby．It is this that makes chemical accidents so newsworthy．可知，化学工厂由于出现问题而引起死亡；故选B．
33．B．细节理解题：根据第四段第三句"The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management，which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs．"可知B正确．
34．B．细节理解题：根据第四段第二句"Thus the Texas City was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate，which is safe unless stored in a great quantity．"可知硝酸铵是一种不能大量存放在一起的化学物质．故B正确．
35．C．推理判断题：A 根据常理，若不对设备进行维护，会增加发生事故的可能．所以不能避免，故排除；B 官方是应该关系化工厂的生产活动的．D 文章分明已列出气体爆炸引起的事故，说明那不是总是安全的．所以C 正确．
点评 考察学生的推理判断能力和联系上下文的能力，在做推理判断题不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．此类的填空题一定要联系上下文，根据上下文的内容加上自己的理解，再作出正确的判断．
