题文
It doesn’t kill germs better than cooler water, but turning tap temperatures high, the US burns carbon equal to the emissions of Barbados.
People typically wash their hands seven times a day in the United States, but they do it at a far higher temperature than is necessary to kill germs, a new study says. The energy waste is equivalent to the fuel use of a small country.
It’s cold and flu season, when many people are concerned about avoiding germs. But forget what you think you know about hand washing, say researchers at Vanderbilt University. Chances are good that how you clean up is not helping you stay healthy; it is helping to make the planet sick.
Amanda R. Carrico, a research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment in Tennessee, told National Geographic that hand washing is often “a case where people act in ways that they think are in their best interest, but they in fact have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions.”
Carrico said, “It’s certainly true that heat kills bacteria, but if you were going to use hot water to kill them it would have to be way too hot for you to tolerate.”
She explained that boiling water, 212°F (99.98°C), is sometimes used to kill germs - for example, to clean drinking water that might be polluted with germs. But “hot” water for hand washing is generally within 104°F to 131°F (40°C to 55°C.) At the high end of that range, heat could kill some germs, but the sustained contact that would be required would scald the skin.
Carrico said that after a review of the scientific literature, her team found “no evidence that using hot water that a person could stand would have any benefit in killing bacteria.” Even water as cold as 40°F (4.4°C) appeared to reduce bacteria as well as hotter water, if hands were scrubbed, rinsed（冲洗）and dried properly.
In fact, she noted that hot water can often have an unfavorable effect on hygiene. “Warmer water can harm the skin and affect the protective layer on the outside, which can cause it to be less resistant to bacteria,” said Carrico.
Using hot water to wash hands is therefore unnecessary, as well as wasteful, Carrico said, particularly when it comes to the environment. According to her research, people use warm or hot water 64 percent of the time when they wash their hands. Using that number, Carrico’s team calculated a significant impact on the planet.
“Although the choice of water temperature during a single hand wash may appear minor, when multiplied by the nearly 800 billion hand washes performed by Americans each year, this practice results in more than 6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually,” she said.
That’s roughly equal to the emissions of two coal-fired power plants, or 1,250,000 passenger vehicles, over the course of a year. It’s higher than the greenhouse gas emissions of small countries like El Salvador or Armenia, and is about equivalent to the emissions of Barbados. If all US citizens washed their hands in cooler water, it would be like eliminating the energy-related carbon emissions of 299,700 US homes, or the total annual emissions from the US zinc or lead industries.
The researchers found that close to 70 percent of respondents said they believe that using hot water is more effective than warm, room temperature, or cold water, despite a lack of evidence backing that up, said Carrico. Her study noted research that showed a “strong cognitive（认知的） connection” between water temperature and hygiene in both the United States and Western Europe, compared to other countries, like Japan, where hot water is associated more with comfort than with health.
The researchers published their results in the July 2013 issue of International Journal of Consumer Studies. They recommended washing with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature, which they noted may be warmer in cold months and cooler in hot ones.
小题1:What does the writer mainly focus on when writing this passage?A．Whether hot water helps kill germs effectively in hand washing.B．How hot water contributes to the serious worsening of our planet.C．Why the consumption of hot water is unnecessary and wasteful.D．What the advantages and disadvantages of using hot water are.小题2:The underlined word scald in paragraph six probably means .A．burnB．improveC．softenD．wrinkle小题3:According to the passage, all the following share roughly the same CO2 emissions yearly EXCEPT .A．two coal-fired power plantsB．US zinc or lead industriesC．1,250,000 passenger vehiclesD．El Salvador or Armenia小题4:Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
A. Boiling water at 212°F (99.98°C) works effectively in killing germs.
B. Warmer water can damage the protective layer of the outside skin.
C. There is much difference between cold water and hot water in reducing bacteria.
D. Americans have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions in hand washing.
小题5:Which of the following is the standard of a comfortable water temperature for washing hands?
A. Warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
B. Between 104°F to 131°F (40°C to 55°C).
C. Below 104°F (40°C) or above 131°F (55°C).
D. Warm enough to kill germs and clean up.
小题6: If you want to read stories of this kind afterwards, which of the following magazines will you probably subscribe to?A．Universal Science Fiction B．Science & DiscoveriesC．Environment & Protection D．Exploration of America 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:A
小题２:A
小题３:D
小题４:C
小题５:A
小题６:B
解析
文章对人们普遍认为的热水洗手比冷水洗手更加有效的观点进行纠正，通过实验和科学依据表明热水并不能杀死细菌，反而会对环境造成伤害。
小题1:主旨题：通读全文和第一段的句子：It doesn’t kill germs better than cooler water, but turning tap temperatures high, the US burns carbon equal to the emissions of Barbados.可知这篇文章讲的是热水是否能杀死细菌，选A。
小题２:猜词题：从第六段的句子：But “hot” water for hand washing is generally within 104°F to 131°F (40°C to 55°C.) At the high end of that range, heat could kill some germs, but the sustained contact that would be required would scald the skin.可知热水在104°F to 131°F (40°C to 55°C.)，但是温度太高会烫伤皮肤，所以选A。
小题３:细节题：从倒数第三段的句子：That’s roughly equal to the emissions of two coal-fired power plants, or 1,250,000 passenger vehicles, over the course of a year. or the total annual emissions from the US zinc or lead industries.可知每年排放同样二氧化碳的是：两个煤炭发电厂，1，250，000辆车，和美国的锌，铅产业，而第二段的句子：It’s higher than the greenhouse gas emissions of small countries like El Salvador or Armenia, and is about equivalent to the emissions of Barbados.说明El Salvador or Armenia是低于这个数量的，选D。
小题４:推理题：从倒数第二段的句子：The researchers found that close to 70 percent of respondents said they believe that using hot water is more effective than warm, room temperature, or cold water, despite a lack of evidence backing that up, 可知很多人认为用热水洗手比冷水洗手更加有效，但是这是没有根据的，所以C是错的。
小题５:细节题：从最后一段的句子：They recommended washing with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature, which they noted may be warmer in cold months and cooler in hot ones.可知舒服的水温应该是冷天感到暖和的水和热天感到冷的水，选A。
小题６:文章出处题：这篇文章是对人们生活中的误区加以纠正，用实验证明，给出科学依据，所以是科学探索类的文章，选B
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“It doesn’t kill germ.....”主要考查你对 [科教类阅读 ]考点的理解。科教类阅读
科教类阅读的概念：
科教类阅读主要考查考生对书面语篇的整体领悟能力和接受及处理具体信息的能力。试题的取材，密切联系当前我国和世界经济、科技等方面的变化，有关数据的来源真实可信。
科教类文章阅读技巧：
一、材料特点：
这类文章的总体特点是：科技词汇多，句子结构复杂，理论性强，逻辑严谨。具体说来它有以下几个特点：
1、文章中词汇的意义比较单一、稳定、简明，不带感情色彩，具有单一性和准确性的特点。这类文章通常不会出现文学英语中采用的排比、比喻、夸张等修辞手法，一词多义的现象也不多见。
2、句子结构较复杂，语法分析较困难。为了描述一个客观事物，严密地表达自己的思想，作者经常会使用集多种语法现象于一体的长句。
3、常使用被动语态，尤其是一些惯用被动句式。
二、命题特点：
科普类阅读的主要命题形式有事实细节题、词义猜测题、推理判断题以及主旨概括题等，其中推理判断题居多。
三、应对策略：
1、要想做好科普英语阅读理解题，同学们就要注意平时多读科普知识类文章，学习科普知识，积累常见的科普词汇，从根本上提高科普英语的阅读能力。
2、要熟悉科普类文章的结构特点。科普类文章一般由标题(Head line)，导语(Introduction)，背景(Back ground)，主体(Main body)和结尾(End)五部分构成。标题是文章中心思想高度而又精辟的概括，但根据历年的高考情况来看，这类阅读理解材料一般不给标题，而要同学们选择标题。导语一般位于整篇文章的首段。背景交待一个事实的起因。主体则对导语概括的事实进行详细叙述，这一部分命题往往最多，因此，阅读时，同学们要把这部分作为重点。结尾往往也是中心思想的概括，并与导语相呼应，命题者常在此要设计一道推理判断题。
3、在进行推理判断时，同学们一定要以阅读材料所提供的科学事实为依据，同时所得出的结论还应符合基本的科普常识。
科普类阅读应试策略：
【命题趋势】
阅读理解题主要考查考生对书面语篇的整体领悟能力和接受及处理具体信息的能力。试题的取材，密切联系当前我国和世界经济、科技等方面的变化，有关数据的来源真实可信。因此科普知识类文章是每年的必考题。分析历年的科普类文章我们不难发现以下特点：
1、文章逻辑性强，条理清楚，语法结构简单，用语通俗。
2、文章内容注重科技领域的新发现。内容新颖，从而使文章显得陌生，内容抽象复杂。
3、命题方面注意对具体细节的准确理解和以之为依据的推理判断。
4、以人们的日常行为或饮食健康入手，探讨利弊，诠释过程，阐述概念。
【应试对策】
许多考生在考试时感到困惑的是：为什么一些没有超越中学语法和词汇范围的篇章，读起来却不能正确理解，或者要花费很多时间才能读懂呢？这种现象的产生与阅读方法有很大的关系。例如，有的考生在考试时一见到文章就立刻开始读，结果读了半天，还不知道短文讲的是什么，试题要求了些什么，结果浪费了大量的时间，而阅读效果并不好。那么，怎样读效果才好呢？任何一种阅读方法或技巧的使用，都是由篇章特点和试题本身的要求决定的，应根据不同的体裁和试题要求采取不同的策略。
1、浏览。浏览的主要目的就是确定文章的体裁。如果文章属于人物传记、记叙文、故事、科普小品和有关社会文化、文史知识的文章，一般来说，应该先看看文章的试题考查内容，对题目类型做到心中有数，针对不同问题，在通读时有粗有细地去阅读，这样不仅能把握篇章的基本结构和逻辑线索，也能做好有关具体事实信息考查的试题。
2、挖掘寓意，掌握中心思想，推出结论。任何文章，作者在行文时都有一定的写作目的和主要话题。在通读篇章时应该吃透作者的写作意图，抓住文章的主题句，充分发挥自己的想象力和概括力，作出对中心思想的归纳和结论的推断。
3、把握篇章结构，利用上下文进行推测。高考中的阅读理解篇章往往是一个较完整的短文，其结构、思想，前后上下连贯统一。考试时应充分利用这一特点推测一些生词、短语在句中的含义，切莫盲目孤立猜测。
4、综观全篇，前后呼应。这是阅读理解的最后一步，在做完阅读理解题后，要立足于文章整体，再迅速读一遍短文，短文中的问题和答案的设置前后都是相关联的，有着一定的连续性，体现着文章的基本脉络。
