In the late 1960's, many people in North America turned their attention to envir

In the late 1960's, many people in North America turned their attention to environmental problems, and new steel-and-glass skyscrapers were widely criticized. Ecologists pointed out that a cluster of tall buildings in a city often overburdens public transportation and parking lot capacities.

Skyscrapers （摩天大楼）are also lavish consumers, and wasters, of electric power. In one recent year, the addition of 17 million square feet of skyscraper office space in New York City raised the peak daily demand for electricity by 120, 000 kilowatts -- enough to supply the entire city of Albany, New York, for a day.

Glass-walled skyscrapers can be especially wasteful. The heat loss (or gain) through a wall of half-inch plate glass is more than ten times that through a typical masonry（砖石） wall filled with insulation board（隔热板）. To lessen the strain on heating and air-conditioning equipment, builders of skyscrapers have begun to use double-glazed panels of glass, and reflective glasses coated with silver or gold mirror films （反射膜）that reduce glare as well as heat gain. However, mirror-walled skyscrapers raise the temperature of the surrounding air and affect neighboring buildings.

Skyscrapers put a severe strain on a city's sanitation facilities（卫生设施）, too. If fully occupied, the two World Trade Center towers in New York City would alone generate 2.25 million gallons of raw sewage（污水） each year -- as much as a city the size of Stanford, Connecticut, which has a population of more than 109, 000.

Skyscrapers also interfere(干扰) with television reception, block bird flyways, and obstruct air traffic. In Boston in the late 1960’s , some people even feared that shadows from skyscrapers would kill the grass on Boston Common.

Still, people continue to build skyscrapers for all the reasons that they have always build them—personal ambition ,civic pride, and the desire of owners to have the largest possible amount of rentable space.

63.What is one disadvantage of mirror-walled skyscrapers ?

A. the surrounding air is heated

B. the birds’ flyway is blocked

C. construction cost is increased

D. extra air-conditioning and heating equipment is needed

64. In the late 1960’s some residents of Boston were concerned with which aspect

of skyscrapers?

A. the noise and dirt from their construction

B. the harmful effects on the city’s grass

C. the effect on air traffic in Boston

D. the interference with television reception

65. According to the passage, what is NOT the reason why skyscrapers continue to be built?

A. to have more space for rent.

B. to exhibit the skills in building construction

C. to achieve someone’s ambition

D. to act as a symbol and pride of the place

66. The main purpose of the passage is to _________.

A. describe skyscrapers and their effect on the environment.

B. prove skyscrapers are better than other modern structures.

C. advocate the use of double –glazed panels of glass.

D. illustrate many architectural materials and designs of skyscrapers

试题答案

 A B B A