2. C　词义猜测题。根据后一句的 “such as the melting(融化)of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica.”可知tipping point的意思是融点，故本题选C。

1. B　推理判断题。由第二自然段的第一句“Not long ago， My wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet-not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change.”可知本题选B。

4.Which of the folowing would be the best title of the passage?

　 A.Saving Energy States at home　ging Our Habbits Begins at Work

　ging Climates Sounds Reasonable D.Reducing Emission of CO₂ proves difficult..

　解析：为了保护环境，减少温室气体的排放量，作者号召我们从自己做起，从日常生活的细节着手，降低二氧化碳的排放量。

2. The underlined words “tipping points” most probably refer to

A. freezing points　　　 B. burning points　　　 　C. melting points　　 D. boiling points 　3. It can be inferred from the passage that __-------_______________________

A. it is necessary to keep the air-conditioning on all the time

B. it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO₂

C. the average US household produces about 3,000 pounds of CO₂ a month PP

D. the average European household produces about 1,000 pounds of CO₂ a month

1. Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?

A. To take special kinds of food　　　　　 B. To respond to climate change. 　

C. To lose weight　　　　　　　　　　　 D. To improve their health

4. What is the main purpose of this text?

A.　 To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

B.　 To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

C.　 To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families.

D.　 To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing.

解析：本文为科技说明文。作者通过介绍Fox Point居住群的boiler rooms,阐述这种房子环保节能的优点，以及在许多城市受到欢迎的事实。

1 C　 写作意图题。根据第一段最后两句可知。作者介绍开水房实际上是从一个侧面展示整个建筑群的环保节能的特点。

2 A 细节理解题。根据第三段第二句“Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs.”可知，达到这一标准可使建筑成本提高2%，但由于其运行成本低，很快会得到弥补。

3 B 细节理解题。根据第四段第二句“Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused, by housing.　 ”可知。

4 D 写作目的题。本文的主要目的是给读者介绍这种住房的节能环保的特点。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B

(NMET2009福建)We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more-doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets. 　

Not long ago, My wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet-not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is bending up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don’t keep reducing emissions(排放)of carbon dioxide(CO₂)and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere. 　

We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO₂^. . We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household(家庭)produces about 150 pounds of CO₂ a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That’s more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?

For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting(融化)of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. “To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO₂ emissions by 80 percent,” he said. 　

Good advice, I thought. I’d opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We’d gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I’d almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It’s time for us to change our habits if necessary. 　

3. It can be learned from the text that_____.　　　　　　

A.　 New York City is seriously polluted

B.　 people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

C.　 a great number of people in New York City don't have houses to live in

D.　 some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

2. What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

A.　 Lower running costs.

B.　 Costing less in construction.　　

C.　 Less air to be lost in hot days.

D.　 Better prices for homeless people.

1. What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?

A.　 To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.　

B.　 To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

C.　 To show how the environment-friendly building works.

D.　 To compare old and new boiler rooms.