Today petroleum provides around 40% of the world's energy needs, mostly fuelling
automobiles. Coal is still used, mostly in power stations, to cover one-quarter
of our energy needs, but it is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most
environmentally damaging fossil fuel. Natural gas reserves could plug some of
the gap from oil, but reserves of that will not last into the 22nd century
either. Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within
50 years. We could fast reach an energy crisis. We need to rapidly develop
sustainable solutions to fuel our future. Less-polluting renewable energy
sources offer a more practical long-term energy solution. They may benefit the
world's poor too. "Renewable" refers to the fact that these resources are not
used faster than they can be replaced. Hydroelectric power is
now the most common form of renewable energy, supplying around 20% of world
electricity. China's Three Gorges Dam, which has just been completed, is the
largest ever. At five times the size of the US's Hoover Dam, its 26 turbines
will generate the equivalent energy of 18 coal-fired power stations. It will
satisfy 3% of China's entire electricity demand. In 2003, the
first commercial power station to harness tidal currents in the open sea opened
in Norway. It is designed like windmill, but others take the form of
turbines. As prices fall, wind power has become the fastest
growing type of electricity generation-quadrupling worldwide between 1999 and
2005. Modern wind farms consist of turbines that generate electricity. Though it
will be more expensive, there is more than enough wind to provide the world's
entire energy needs. Wind farms come in onshore and offshore forms. They can
often end up at spots of natural beauty, and are often unpopular with residents.
And turbines are not totally benign—they can interfere with radar and leave a
significant ecological footprint, altering climate and lilling sea birds.
Migrating birds may have more luck avoiding them. Scotland is building Europe's
largest wind farm, which wil power 200,000 homes. The UK's goal is to generate
one fifth of power from renewable sources, mainly wind, by 2020. But this may
cause problems, because wind is unreliable.
单选题
What are the energy resources that are not renewable according to the
article?
C. is the largest of all the hydroelectric dams in the world
D. supplies around 20% of the world electricity
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段第二句明确告诉我们答案：“China's Three Gorges Dam, which has just been completed, is the largest ever.”故选C。
单选题
Which is the country with the first commercial power station that makes
use of ocean currents produced by tides?
A. China.
B. Norway.
C. England.
D. America.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段第一句明确指出，挪威首次运营利用潮汐进行发电的商业电站：“In 2003, the first commercial power station to harness tidal currents in the open sea opened in Norway.”故选B。
单选题
Which of the following statements is TRUE of wind power?
A. There is plenty of wind to provide the world's entire energy needs.
B. It is the most rapidly growing type of electricity production.
C. It may not be reliable.
D. All of the above.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第四段提到了A、B、C的内容，故选D。
单选题
According to the article, resources such as wind ______.
A. are sustainable but not replaceable
B. are renewable so sustainable
C. are sustainable so renewable
D. are irreplaceable
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 这个问题的理解依赖对整篇文章内容的理解。文章第一段最后一句话说“'Renewable' refers to the fact that these resources are not used faster than they can be replaced.”其意思是：再生能源消耗的速度很慢，以至于不会被替代。所以这种能源是sustainable，故选B。