Question

The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important- is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.

The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency (效率)，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.

‘Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher，‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. ’In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.

Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information，it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.

Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted 一 whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example. Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them.

1.As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of________.

A. zero-carbon homes

B. the behaviour of building users

C. sustainable building design

D. the reduction of carbon emissions

2.The underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refers to”________.”

A.the ways B.their homes C.developments D.existing efforts

3.What are Katy Janda’s words mainly about?

A. The importance of changing building users, habits.

B. The necessity of making a careful building design.

C. The variety of consumption patterns of building users.

D. The role of technology in improving energy efficiency.

4.The information gap in energy use _______.

A. can be bridged by feedback facilities

B. affects the study on energy monitors

C. brings about problems for smart meters

D. will be caused by building users’ old habits

5.What does the dimension added by social science research suggest?

A. The social science research is to be furthered.

B. The education programme is under discussion.

C. The behaviour of building users is unpredictable.

D. The behaviour preference of building users is similar.

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.A

5.C

【解析】文章大意：UKERC的研究发现居民的行为和房屋的设计在节能方面同样的重要。文章号召我们要注意自己的行为切实注意环保节能。

1.The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC).居民的行为和房屋的设计在节能方面同样的重要。这是UKERC的研究的结果。所以如果我们要想达到节能的目的，我们必须要注意使用者的行为。故B正确。

2.The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency (效率)，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.可知：这个研究说明人们现在提高能源使用效率的努力忽视了使用者的行为，却把太多的注意力集中到了房屋的设计和技术的发展方面。故本句中的which是指existing efforts。故D正确。

3.Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’和‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. ’In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.可知技术是可以给我们带来帮助，但是它不能解决所有的问题。房屋使用者的使用行为可以让最细心的设计都失去效果。本句说明Katy Janda认为房屋使用者的习惯很重要。故A正确。

4.Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use可知Feedback facilities可以bridge the information gap。故A正确。

5.Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted可知很多家庭的个人行为是很难预测的。故C正确。