题目内容
C
Could the solution to world future energy needs lie in the ocean? It’s possible.
We are not talking about oil, but another potential untapped energy resource called “methane hydrates”.
Methane hydrates are hard, ice-like white solids that form naturally in deposits (沉积物) on ocean floors. They arecomposed of water and highly concentrated methane produced by the microorganisms living in the deposits.
The remarkable thing is that you can hold a flame to a piece of methane hydrate and it will catch on fire. It’s been called “burning ice.”
Methane hydrates are spread around the world. These deposits may in the future become a very important fuel resource. One researcher calculated that a small area off the Southeastern coast of America may contain methane hydrates equal to 30 times the annual U.S. consumption of natural gas.
Right now there are very significant technical and financial challenges facing us before we could exploit this as a resource. Scientists around the world are studying these challenges. One big issue is how to get these methane hydrates off the ocean floor, causing undersea landslides and tidal waves.
Another issue is how to handle the matter after it is brought up. It’s also unclear whether it would make more sense to “mine” solid hydrates or tap the gases found with them. And many deposits may occur in low concentrations with no commercial potential.
Japan, which has no oil supplies of its own, has thrown itself into burning ice research because it has deposits off its shores which could make Japan less dependent on foreign suppliers of oil.
The U.S. Department of Energy and Congress are also supporting research. However, the US administration’s energy policy is focused on traditional fossil (化石) fuels. And at least for now, developing burning ice into a fuel source isn’t high on the energy industry’s list. But if natural gas continues to rise in price, exploiting burning ice might become economically practical.
59. What’s the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph Two?
A. not existed B. Unseen C. available but not used D. unreal
60. What can you learn from the text?
A. Burning ice has been used in some countries.
B. Applying burning ice tops the energy list in America.
C. Burning ice exists in few countries.
D. There are still some problems in developing the burning ice
61. Why has Japan already begun to develop the burning ice?
A. It is a developed country. B. They want to help other countries.
C. It lacks oil supplies of its own. D. America asked Japan to do so.
62. Which one is the best title of the text?
A. World Energy Shortage B. Burning Ice Holds Hope as Fuel Source
C. Methane Hydrates D. Methane Hydrates Spread around the World
59—62 CDCB
As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating(发电)and transmission (输送) system for the 21st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.
The 19 th century saw land grants(政府拨地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.
Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.
So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species(物种) will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.
The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.
The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let’s remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.
【小题1】What was the problem caused by the construction of the railways?
| A．Small towns along the railways became abandoned. |
| B．Land in the West was hard to manage. |
| C．Some railroad stops remained underused. |
| D．Land grants went into private hands. |
| A．The use of money and power. |
| B．The transmission of power. |
| C．The conservation of solar energy. |
| D．The selection of an ideal place. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Approving. | C．Doubtful. | D．Cautious. |
| A．How the Railways Have Affected the West |
| B．How the Effects of Power Plants Can Be Reduced |
| C．How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West |
| D．How the Problems of the Highways Have Been Settled |
There was_____ time when women had no right to vote, could not to to_____ university or choose their jobs.
| A．/, the | B．a, / | C．th/, / | D．a, the |