单选题 When it comes to the environment, aviation has a rather dirty reputation. The industry produced 689 million tons of CO₂ in 2012, according to Air Transport Action Group and this number is sure to grow as global demand for flight continues to skyrocket.
'Aviation will double in size worldwide in the next two decades, and if we're not able to provide a sustainable means to fly, we will create a ceiling for growth in the industry,' says Ignaas Caryn, director of innovation at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
As a result, it looks like the aviation industry being ready to green up its game. In January, Boeing announced a new initiative to build a biofuel supply chain in the United Arab Emirates, as well as research it's conducting into biofuels made from salt water-consuming desert plants.
To name just a few partnerships, the airplane manufacturer teamed with Virgin Australia Airlines is to produce sustainable aviation fuels from special trees in Australia. Airbus has also joined other aerospace companies in launching the ITAKA initiative, a collaborative project funded by the European Union to produce and test the use of sustainable jet fuel.
Frederic Eychenne, Airbus' head of new energies, notes that no single crop will do the job for biofuels, and that to achieve true sustainability, biofuel—like food—is best when it's locally-sourced.
'Different countries grow different crops. They have different refineries in place. Sustainability isn't just about reducing emissions in the air. We have to consider the whole life-cycle in terms of production,' he notes.
The main barrier to use biofuel on a larger scale, says Caryn, is the price. 'Today, bio jet fuel is still three to four times more expensive than fossil fuel, because there's no continuous production. There's a demonstrated hole in the value chain,' he notes.
To solve the problem, in 2010 KLM became a joint founder of SkyNRG—a major supplier of eco-efficient jet fuel.
'We believed the development of bio jet fuel was important, and that we couldn't keep it within the boundaries of KLM, so we decided to come up with a new company. In the last five years, SkyNRG have supplied approximately 25 airlines,' he says.
SkyNRG is also working with airlines and airports around the world to create bioports—or supply chains of sustainable jet fuel—in a bid to ultimately bring down the price.
'With an increase volume, we could see price parity within the next ten years,' says Caryn.

单选题 According to Ignaas Caryn what will blocks aviation's development?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】细节题。本题考查的是阻碍航空业发展的瓶颈，可以定位到文中第二段'Aviation will double in size worldwide in the next two decades, and if we're not able to provide a sustainable means to fly, we will create a ceiling for growth in the industry,' says Ignaas Caryn，director of innovation at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines，从这里可以看出主要问题是缺少可持续燃料，所以D项符合文章意思。因此，正确答案是D。

单选题 According to the passage which of the following companies did not take part in making sustainable aviation fuels?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】推断题。本题考查的是哪一家公司没有参与研发生物燃料，根据文中的In January, Boeing announced a new initiative to build a biofuel supply chain in the United Arab Emirates, as well as research it's conducting into biofuels made from salt water-consuming desert plants. To name just a few partnerships, the airplane manufacturer teamed with Virgin Australia Airlines is to produce sustainable aviation fuels from special trees in Australia. Airbus has also joined other aerospace companies in launching the ITAKA initiative, a collaborative project funded by the European Union to produce and test the use of sustainable jet fuel，可知波音、空中列车和维珍澳洲航空都参与了，只有D项所讲的航空公司没有提到。因此，正确答案是D。