Municipal(市政府) regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones. But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45 miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that. They plan to prohibit residents from dying early because the local cemetery(墓地) has reached full capacity.
There’s no more room to bury the dead, they can’t be cremated(火化) and laws forbid a new cemetery. So the mayor has proposed a strange solution: outlaw death. Mayor Roberto Pereira says the bill is meant as a protest against federal regulations that prohibit new or expanded cemeteries in preservation areas. “They have not taken local demands into consideration”, he claims.
A 2003 decree(法令) by Brazil’s National Environment Council forbids burial grounds in protected areas. Mr. Pereira wants to build a new cemetery, but the project has been stopped because 98% of Biritiba Mirim is considered a preservation area.
Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 inhabitants(居民), not only wants to prohibit residents from passing away. The bill also calls on people to take care of their health in order to avoid death. “I haven’t got a job, nor am I healthy. And now they say I can’t die. That’s ridiculous,” Amarildo do Prado, an unemployed resident said.
The city council is expected to vote on the regulation next week. “Of course the bill is laughable, illegal, and will never be approved,” said Gilson Soares de Campos, an assistant to the mayor. “But can you think of a better resolution to persuade the government to change the environmental decree that is prohibiting us from building a new cemetery?” The bill states that “offenders will be held responsible for their acts”. However, it does not say what the punishment will be.
44. What is the bill to be proposed by the officials in Biritiba Mirim?
A. Ban on smoking in public places.
B. Ban on parking in certain zones.
C. Prohibiting residents from dying early.
D. Forbidding buried grounds in preservation.
45. What can we infer from the phrase “have gone far beyond that”?
A. Officials in Biritiba Mirim have nothing of these regulations.
B. The bill to be proposed by officials in Biritiba Mirim is much too unexpected.
C. Officials in Biritiba Mirim have been to many places around the world.
D. The officials in Biritiba Mirim have built too many cemeteries in their town.
46. What’s the attitude of the mayor of Biritiba Mirim towards the federal regulations?
A. He objects to them.
B. He gives strong backing to them.
C. He asks the residents for advice on them.
D. He remains silent about them.
47. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?
A. The mayor of the town wants to build a new cemetery against federal regulation.
B. The residents of the town sing the praises of the bill.
C. The government is going to change the environmental decree.
D. No better resolution of the problem has been thought out.
