"What kind of rubbish are you?" This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai

"What kind of rubbish are you?" This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai it has become a special "greeting" among people over the past week. On July 1st, the city introduced strict trash-sorting regulations （条例〉that are required to follow and expected to be used as a model for our country. Residents must divide their waste into four separate categories and toss （投放）it into specific public dustbins. They must do so at specified times, when monitors are present to ensure correct trash-tossing and to ask the nature of one's rubbish. Individuals who fail to follow the regulations face the possibility of fines and worse. They could be punished with fines of up to 200 yuan （ $ 29）. For those who repeat to go against them, the government can add black marks to their credit records, making it harder for them to get bank loans or even buy train tickets.
Shanghai government is responding to an obvious environmental problem. It generates 9 million tons of garbage a year, more than London's annual output, which is rising quickly. But like other cities in China, it lacks a recycling system. Instead, it has relied on trash pickers to sift （筛选）through the waste, picking out whatever can be reused. This has limits. As people get wealthier, fewer of them want to do such dirty work. The waste, meanwhile, just keeps piling up.
Many residents appear to support the idea of recycling in general but are annoyed by the details. Rubbish must be divided according to whether it is food, recyclable, dry or harmful, the distinctions among which can be confusing, though there are apps to help work it out. Some have complained about the rules concerning food waste. They must put it straight in the required public bins, forcing them to tear open plastic bags and toss it by hand. What they complain most is the short periods for dropping trash, typically a couple of hours, morning and evening. Along with the monitors at the bins, this means that people go at around the same time and can keep an eye on what is being thrown out； no one wants to look bad.
12. What do we know about the trash-sorting regulations in Shanghai?
A. They are the first of their kind. B. They are tied to one's bank account.
C. They have the highest fines. D. They're aided by monitors.
13. Why has Shanghai introduced the trash-sorting regulations?
A. There are fewer and fewer trash pickers.
B. It aims to build a new recycling system.
C. It faces more and more serious garbage problems.
D. People throw the rubbish here and there.
14. What makes the residents upset most about the regulations?
A. Limited time for tossing the trash.
B. Confusing distinction among the categories of trash.
C. Being fined due to improper behavior.
D. Being watched by monitors when throwing the garbage.
15. What can be the best title for the text?
A. A Good Way of Trash-sorting
B. A New Era of Garbage Classification
C. A Great Time in Dealing with Litter
D. An Effective Solution to Rubbish Problem

【答案】