In the United States alone,over 100 million cell-phones are thrown away each year.Cell-phones are part of a growing mountain of electronic waste like computers and personal digital assistants.The electronic waste stream is increasing three times taster than traditional garbage as a whole.

Electronic devices contain valuable metals such as gold and silver.A Swiss study reported that while the weight of electronic goods represented by precious metals was relatively small in comparison to total waste,the concentration（含量）of gold and other precious metals was higher in So-called e-waste than in naturally occurring minerals.

Electronic wastes also contain many poisonous metals.Even when the machines are recycled and the harmful metals removed,the recycling process often is carried out in poor countries,in practically uncontrolled ways which allow many poisonous substances to escape into the environment.

Creating products out of raw materials creates much more waste material,up to 100 times more,than the material contained in the finished products.Consider again the cell-phone,and imagine the mines that produced those metals,the factories needed to make the box and packaging（包装）it came in.Many wastes produced in the producing process are harmful as well.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency notes that most waste is dangerous in that"the production, distribution,and use of products-as well as management of the resulting waste-all result in greenhouse gas release." Individuals can reduce their contribution by creating less waste at the start-for instance,buying reusable products and recycling.

In many countries the concept of extended producer responsibility is being considered or has been put in place as an incentive（动机）for reducing waste.If producers are required to take back packaging they use to sell their products,would they reduce the packaging in the first place?

Governments' incentive to require producers to take responsibility for the packaging they produce is usually based on money.Why,they ask,should cities or towns be responsible for paying to deal with the bubble wrap（气泡垫）that encased your television?

From the governments' point of view,a primary goal of laws requiring extended producer responsibility is to transfer both the costs and the physical responsibility of waste management from the government and tax-payers back to the producers.

【小题1】By mentioning the Swiss study,the author intends to tell us that .

A．the weight of e-goods is rather small

B．natural minerals contain more precious metals

C．E-waste deserves to be made good use of

D．the percentage of precious metals is heavy in e-waste

【小题2】The responsibility of c-waste treatment should be extended .

A．from producers to governments

B．from governments to producers

C．from individuals to distributors

D．from distributors to governments

【小题3】What docs the passage mainly talk about?

A．The increase in e-waste.	B．The creation of e-waste.
C．The seriousness of e-waste.	D．The management of e-waste.

   El Nifio, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nifio sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nifio, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nifio in 1997 helped American’s economy grow by 15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvest, farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural in rich countries in growth than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱）in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施）can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道）make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
【小题1】What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?

A．It is named after a South American fisherman.

B．It takes place almost every year all over the world.

C．It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.

D．It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.

【小题2】What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?

A．Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.

B．Droughts become more harmful than floods.

C．Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.

D．Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.

【小题3】The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that_________.

A．more investment should go to risk reduction

B．governments of poor countries need more aid

C．victims of El Nino deserve more compensation

D．recovery and reconstruction should come first

【小题4】What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To introduce El Nino and its origin.

B．To explain the consequences of El Nino.

C．To show ways of fighting against El Nino.

D．To urge people to prepare for El Nino.