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(2020·烟台模拟)

Children in rural areas of Cambodia often suffer from or even die of preventable illnesses because there is not any soap available.

　　In 2014, Samir Lakhani, an American college student, saw the issue while volunteering in a Cambodian village. “I remember quite vividly a mother bathing her newborn baby with laundry powder,  which is so harmful to the skin, ” said Lakhani. “It’s difficult for rural Cambodians to access soap. First is affordability. If you earn only$1. 50 every day,  you won’t spend $1 on a bar of soap. Then comes access. The demand is so low that local shops don’t stock soap. The last reason,  because many Cambodians don’t really understand where diseases come from,  they don’t know how to prevent them,  including using soap. ”

　　After figuring out a solution to the problem:  the barely-used soap in hotels,  Lakhani started asking hotels to donate leftover soap. “They were all eager to help, ”he explained.

　　Lakhani registered Eco-Soap Bank shortly afterwards. Soon,  he received enough funds to hire disadvantaged Cambodian women to collect and reproduce the used soap.

　　Today,  the organization has four recycling centers across the country,  providing jobs for 35 local women. And so far,  some 174,  000 bars of soap have been donated,  about 24, 000 pounds of soap has been recycled,  and hygiene (卫生) has been improved for about 661, 000 people. “We are killing three birds with one stone, ” Lakhani said.  

　　When it comes to the future of Eco-Soap Bank,  Lakhani said,  “We’ve just scratched the surface. Lack of hygiene is not something unique to Cambodia. The demand for improved hygiene in the developing world is huge,  and much remains to be done. We’re looking at seven countries to expand to in the near future. ”

【文章大意】这是一篇说明文。文章通过描述生态香皂银行: Eco-Soap Bank对于促进柬埔寨农村卫生条件改善、促进就业以及废物利用的积极作用为例, 说明了将来它会对改善发展中国家的卫生条件作出巨大贡献。

1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the reason why rural Cambodians don’t use soap?

A. Poverty.                 B. Inaccessibility.

C. Unawareness.             D. Tradition.

【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第二段First is affordability. If you earn only $1. 50 every day,  you won’t spend $1 on a bar of soap. Then comes access. The demand is so low that local shops don’t stock soap. The last reason,  because many Cambodians don’t really understand where diseases come from, they don’t know how to prevent them,  including using soap. ”可知贫穷、香皂难购买以及没有使用意识是柬埔寨农村人不使用香皂的三点原因, 其中并没有提到传统。

2. What does the underlined part “killing three birds” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. Saving soap,  curing diseases and providing education.

B. Stopping pollution,  providing jobs and inspiring donation.

C. Reducing waste,  providing employment and improving health.

D. Recycling waste,  helping charity and improving community hygiene.

【解析】选C。词义猜测题。由第四段Soon,  he received enough funds to hire disadvantaged Cambodian women to collect and reproduce the used soap. 可知用这种方法为有残疾的柬埔寨女性提供了就业; 倒数第二段And so far,  some 174, 000 bars of soap have been donated,  about 24, 000 pounds of soap has been recycled,  and hygiene has been improved for about 661, 000 people. 可知废弃香皂得到了回收, 卫生健康得到了改善。故可推测划线部分指的是减少了浪费, 提供了就业和改善了健康。

3. What can we infer about Eco-Soap Bank?

A. It won’t be long before it expands to the whole world.

B. There’s little it can do without other countries’ assistance.

C. It will make greater contributions to the developing world.

D. It will soon settle the problem of poor hygiene in Cambodia.

【解析】选C。推理判断题。由最后一段The demand for improved hygiene in the developing world is huge, and much remains to be done. 可知, 生态香皂银行会对将来改善发展中国家的卫生条件作出巨大贡献。

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A. Eco-Soap Bank helps improve hygiene.

B. Cambodian women have a bright future.

C. A US young man calls for helping poor countries.

D. Lack of hygiene remains a serious problem in the world.

【解析】选A。主旨大意题。文章主要以生态香皂银行对于改善柬埔寨农村卫生条件为例, 说明了生态香皂银行将会对于发展中国家卫生条件的改善起到重大作用。

【知识拓展】

佳词积累

1. suffer from. . . 　  遭受……之苦

2. available            adj. 可用的

3. issue                n.  问题

4. vividly             adv.  生动地

5. laundry         n.  洗衣店, 要洗的衣服

6. donate               v.  捐赠

长难句分析 “I remember quite vividly a mother bathing her newborn baby with laundry powder,  which is so harmful to the skin, ” said Lakhani.

分析: 在直接引语中, bathing作宾语a mother的补足语, which引导非限制性定语从句。

翻译: Lakhani说: “我清楚地记得一位母亲用洗衣粉给新生婴儿洗澡, 这对婴儿的皮肤是非常有伤害的。”

背景链接卫生问题是柬埔寨面临的最主要的挑战之一。儿童是最主要的受影响人群, 他们成为腹泻和呼吸道感染的受害者。简单地用香皂洗手就可以有效地预防这样的感染。然而, 对于许多柬埔寨人, 香皂是奢侈品。当美国青年萨米尔 (Samir Lakhani) 亲眼看到一位柬埔寨的母亲用洗衣粉帮她的孩子洗澡时, 他惊呆了。他想为此做点什么。回到美国后, 萨米尔开始为这个项目众筹, 并于2014年成立了一个名为“生态香皂银行”(Eco-Soap Bank)的非营利组织。