单选题 To get some idea of the amount of heat the sun gives off, think about this. If you could collect all the heat that hits the earth in a two-week period, it would equal the amount of all other known sources and reserves of energy: Wood, coal and oil. But even these sources of energy depend on the sun for their formation. For example, a tree would certainly never grow and provide fuel in the form of wood were it not for the sun.
Because the sun is so important in the production of all forms of heating fuel, more and more time and money are being spent studying ways to change power from the sun directly into a form of heat.
The process currently in use for collecting energy from the sun--known as solar energy--is quite simple. The sunlight hits a metal plate known as a flat-plate collector and the plate absorbs the heat front the sun. This heat, in turn, heats a liquid inside the plate. A layer of fiber-glass inside the plate helps prevent this heat from escaping. In this way, solar heat can be stored in a liquid solution equalling about 1,000 watts of electricity per square meter.
In the 1960s, a solar furnace was installed in the Pyreness Mountains of France to test the use of solar energy. In this furnace, a mirror is used to concentrate the sun's heat. This concentrated heat keeps temperature in the furnace as high as 6,000 °F.

单选题 How does the amount of heat the sun gives off in two weeks compare with all other known sources and reserves of energy?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题询问太阳照射地球两个星期的热量与所有其他能源相比是怎么样的。根据原文(41)处可知,如果你能够收集太阳照射地球两个星期的热量,这相当于所有的能源和能源储存的数量,故选C。
单选题 What have the scientists been studying?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题询问科学家们一直在研究什么。根据原文(42)处可知,由于太阳对于各种形式燃料的生产如此重要,因此人们投入越来越多的时间和余钱来研究把太阳能直接转换为一种热能的方法,故选C。
单选题 What can be inferred from the passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题询问从文章中可得知什么。纵观全文,人们正在努力把太阳能变为人们使用的热能,“Cooking fire”是一种热能,故选C。
单选题 What is Not True about the solar energy in this passage?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题询问文章中关于太阳能哪一项是不对的。根据原文(44)处可知,用这种方式,太阳能可以以溶液的形式被储存,因此太阳能是可以储存的,故选D。
单选题 What is the passage mainly talking about?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题询问文章的主要内容是什么。纵观全文,本文主要讲如何用太阳能造福人类,故选D。