阅读理解
For
decades, Americans have been sorting their trash believing that most plastic
could be recycled. But the truth is that the vast majority of all plastic
produced can't be or won't be recycled. In 40 years, less than 10% of plastic
has been recycled.
A
news programme Frontline, by NPR and the PBS. found that oil and gas
companies—the makers of plastic—have known that all along, even as they spent
millions of dollars telling the American public the opposite. The plastics
industry officials said the industry is providing money for new technology that
they believe will get recycling plastic up to scale. The goal, they said, is to
recycle 100% of the plastic they make in 5 years.
But
the more plastic is recycled, the less money the industry will make by selling
new plastic. And those profits have become increasingly important. Companies
have told shareholders that profits from using oil and gas for transport are
expected to decline in coming years with the increasing use of electric cars.
The industry leaders expect oil and gas demands from the chemical industry will
be much greater than the demand from the transport side in the coming decade. Plastic
production overall is now expected to rise three times by 2050, and once again,
the industry is spending money on advertisements and public relations to
promote plastic recycling.
Plastic
is now more common than it's ever been and harder to recycle. Gas prices remain
at historic lows, making new plastic cheaper than recycled plastic. And the
industry now produces many more different—and more complex—kinds of plastics
that are more costly to sort and in many cases can't be recycled at all.
Efforts to reduce plastic use are mounting nationwide, but any plan to
slow the growth of plastic will face an industry with billions of dollars of
future profits to lose.
(1)
What do we know about the goal of 100% plastic recycling?
A . It's modest
B . It's achievable
C . It's urgent.
D . It's unreal.
(2)
How will the oil and gas companies make more profits in the following years?
A . By selling electric cars
B . By adding emphasis on recycling.
C . By increasing plastic production.
D . By meeting the needs of transport.
(3)
What does the underlined word "mounting" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A . Increasing.
B . Working
C . Failing
D . Decreasing
答案: D
C
A