We may think we’re a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices(装置) well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment — and our wallets — as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.
我们可能认为自己是一个在看到新奇事物的第一时间就丢弃旧技术的文明，但一项新研究表明，即使这些设备过时了，我们仍然会继续使用它们。这对环境——以及我们的钱包——是个坏消息，因为这些过时的设备比那些能做同样事情的新设备消耗更多的能源。

To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life — from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s. Devices were grouped by generation. Desktop computers, basic mobile phones, and box-set TVs defined 1992. Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997. And MP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002, before tablets and e-readers showed up in 2007.
为了弄清楚这些设备使用了多少电力，纽约罗切斯特理工学院的凯莉·巴比特和她的同事们追踪了每个产品在其整个生命周期中的环境成本——从开采其矿物开始，到我们停止使用该设备为止。这种方法提供了自20世纪90年代初以来家庭能源使用变化的一个读数。设备按代分组。台式电脑、基本移动电话和盒式电视定义了1992年。数码相机在1997年出现。MP3播放器、智能手机和液晶电视在2002年进入家庭，然后在2007年平板电脑和电子阅读器出现。

As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn’t throw out our old ones. “The living-room television is replaced and gets planted in the kids’ room, and suddenly one day, you have a TV in every room of the house,” said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007. We’re not just keeping these old devices — we continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt’s team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions（排放）more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.
然而，随着我们积累了更多的设备，我们并没有丢弃旧的。 “客厅电视被替换后被放置在孩子的房间里，突然有一天，你发现家里每个房间都有一台电视，”一位研究员说。每个家庭的电子设备平均数量从1992年的四个增加到2007年的13个。我们不仅保留了这些旧设备——我们继续使用它们。根据巴比特团队的分析，旧式台式显示器和带有阴极射线管的盒式电视是能源消耗和温室气体排放最糟糕的设备，从1992年到2007年这段时间内，它们的能源消耗和温室气体排放增加了一倍以上。

So what’s the solution（解决方案）? The team’s data only went up to 2007, but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more on-demand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.
那么解决方案是什么呢？团队的数据只到2007年，但研究人员还探讨了如果消费者用能够执行多种功能的新型电子产品替换旧产品会发生什么，例如用于文字处理和电视观看的平板电脑。他们发现，如果在平板电脑上而不是电视和台式电脑上观看更多的点播娱乐，可以减少44%的能源消耗。

1. What does the author think of new devices?
   A. They are environment-friendly. B. They are no better than the old.
   C. They cost more to use at home. D. They go out of style quickly.
   答案：A

2. Why did Babbitt’s team conduct the research?
   A. To reduce the cost of minerals.
   B. To test the life cycle of a product.
   C. To update consumers on new technology.
   D. To find out electricity consumption of the devices.
   答案：D

3. Which of the following uses the least energy?
   A. The box-set TV. B. The tablet.
   C. The LCD TV. D. The desktop computer.
   答案：B

4. What does the text suggest people do about old electronic devices?
   A. Stop using them. B. Take them apart.
   C. Upgrade them. D. Recycle them.
   答案：A