1 . There’s nothing quite like cooking over my gas stove with beautiful blue flame, so quickly adjusted and so suited to its purpose that when things run smoothly in life, we say we are “cooking with gas”.
But in recent years environmentalists have been warning that gas stoves are bad for the climate and not so great for our health, either. New studies published this year have heightened health worries about poisonous fumes (烟气) in our kitchens. Is the evidence sufficient to shift our cooking habits?
The big surprise in one new study, conducted by environmental scientists at Stanford University, is the amount of unburned gas that leaks into kitchens when a stove is off. They found that more than three quarters of methane (甲烷) that escapes from a stove does so when it is not in use, most likely through imperfect pipe fittings. Second, there are the pollutants created by burning when a stove is on, most notably nitrogen oxides, which can upset the lungs.
Drew Michanowicz, a senior scientist at PSE Healthy Energy, a nonprofit research and policy group, said, “A lot of us work at home now. We take about 20, 000 breaths a day, and my stove is like 10 feel away from me. What else is in natural gas?” Michanowicz also frets that as more people weatherize their homes and close windows, they are reducing air exchange, which means indoor pollution will be worse.
Not surprisingly, the American Gas Association has criticized both studies, saying the levels of VOCs found in the Boston study are “reassuringly low”.
What is the average home cook to make of all this. They might follow Michanowicz, who bought an induction burner (电磁炉) and does much of his cooking on it. As for me, I’m making some changes. I’ve switched to an electric kettle for boiling water, and despite its annoying noise, I now use the exhaust hood (吸油烟机) over my stove-something only about 25 to 40 percent of people say they do. And weather permitting, I’ll open a window.
1. What does the author think of her using gas stove according to paragraph 1?| A．It is challenging. | B．It is convenient. |
| C．It is quite time-consuming. | D．It is friendly to the environment. |
| A．The inefficiently-burnt gas. | B．The pollutants created by burning. |
| C．The improperly-placed stove. | D．The poor quality of the pipe fittings. |
| A．worries | B．promises | C．denies | D．wonders |
| A．The influence of Michanowicz. | B．The importance of electric devices. |
| C．The future of induction burners. | D．Changes of people’s cooking habits. |
