阅读理解 TEXT C If you want to know why Denmark is the world's leader in wind power, start with a three-hour car trip from the capital Copenhagen --mind the bicyclists --to the small town of Lem on the far west coast of Jutland.You'll feel it as you cross the 6.8 km-long Great Belt Bridge:Denmark's bountiful wind,so fierce even on a calm summer's day that it threatens to shove your car into the waves below.But wind itself is only part of the reason.In Lem,workers in factories the size of aircraft hangars build the wind turbines sold by Vestas,the Danish company that has emerged as the industry's top manufacturer around the globe.The work is both gross and fine;employees weld together massive curved sheets of steel to make central shafts as tall as a 14-story building,and assemble engine housings(机器外罩)that hold some 18,000 separate parts.Most impressive are the turbine's blades, which scoop the wind with each sweeping revolution.As smooth as an Olympic swimsuit and honed to aerodynamic perfection,each blade weighs in at 7,000 kg,and they’re what help make Vestas’turbines the best in the world.“The blade is where the secret is,”says Erik Therkelsen,a Vestas executive.“If we can make a turbine,it's sold.” But technology,like the wind itselK is just one more part of the reason for Denmark's dominance.In the end,it happened because Denmark had the political and public will to decide that it wanted to be a leader and to follow through.Beginning in 1 979,the government began a determined programme of subsidies and loan guarantees to build up its wind industry.Copenhagen covered 30% of investment costs,and guaranteed loans for large turbine exporters such as Vestas.It also mandated that utilities purchase wind energy at a preferential price—thus guaranteeing investors a customer base.Energy taxes were channeled into research centres,where engineers crafted designs that would eventually produce cutting-edge giants like Vestas’ 3-magawatt(MW)V90 turbine. As a result.wind turbines now dot Denmark.The country gets more than 1 9%of its electricity from the breeze(Spain and Portugal,the next highest countries,get about 1 0%)and Danish companies control one—third of the global wind market,earning billions in exports and creating a national champion from scratch.“They were out early in driving renewables,and that gave them the chance to be a technology leader and a job—creation leader,”says Jake Schmidt,international climate policy director for the New York City—based Natural Resources Defense Council.“They have always been one or two steps ahead of others." The challenge now for Denmark is to help the rest of the world catch up.Beyond wind,the country(pop.5.5 million)is a world leader in energy efficiency,getting more GDP per watt than any other member of the E.U.Carbon emissions are down 13.3%from 1990 levels and total energy consumption has barely moved,even as Denmark's economy continued to grow at a healthy clip.With Copenhagen set to host all-important U.N.climate change talks in December --where the world hopes for a successor to the expiring Kyoto Protocol -- and the global recession beginning to hit environmental plans in capitals everywhere,Denmark's example couldn't be more timely.“We'll try to make Denmark a showroom.”says Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.“You can reduce energy use and carbon emissions,and achieve economic growth." It's tempting to assume that Denmark is innately green,with the kind of Scandinavian good conscience that has made it such a pleasant global citizen since,oh,the whole Viking thing.But the country’s policies were actually born from a different emotion,one now in common currency: fear.When the 1973 oil crisis hit,90%of Denmark's energy came from petroleum,almost all of it imported.Buffeted by the same supply shocks that hit the rest of the developed world,Denmark launched a rapid drive for energy conservation,to the point of introducing car-free Sundays and asking businesses to switch off lights during closing hours.Eventually the Mideast oil started flowing again,and the Danes themselves began enjoying the benefits of the petroleum and natural gas in their slice of the North Sea.It was enough to make them more than self-sufficient.But unlike most other countries,Denmark never forgot the lessons of l973,and kept driving for greater energy efficiency and a more diversified energy supply.The Danish parliament raised taxes on energy to encourage conservation and established subsidies and standards to support more efficient buildings.“It all started out without any regard for the climate or the environment,”says Svend Auken,the former head of Denmark’s opposition Social Democrat Party and the architect of the country's environmental policies in the 1990s.“But today there’s a consensus that we need to build renewable power." To the rest of the world,Denmark has the power of its example.showing that you can stay rich and grow green at the same time.“Denmark has proven that acting on climate can be a positive experience,not just painful,”says NRDC's Schmidt.The real pain could come from failing to follow in their footsteps.
单选题 Which of the following is NOT cited as a main reason for Denmark's world leadership in wind power?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的leadership in wind power定位到第1、2段。 本题要求选出不属于丹麦称霸世界风能领域的原因。文中首段虽然讲到一些有关丹麦的地理情况,但没有线索表明A“地理位置”和丹麦在世界风能领域领先有什么关系,故A为答案。 此题属于EXCEPT题,用排除法解答更便捷。“第2段前两句说“技术如同风本身一样仅是丹麦称霸的又一部分原因。说到底,丹麦之所以在风能领域称霸是因为丹麦的政治和公众意志”,这分别与B、C对应;文章首段第3句提到“风本身仅是部分原因”,这与D对应。故B、C、D三项均应排除。
单选题 The author has detailed some of the efforts of the Danish Government in promoting the wind industry in order to show
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的efforts,Government,wind industry等定位到第2段。 题干所说的丹麦政府为推动风能产业所做的努力出现在第2段第3句至该段段末,具体包括:扶持大型涡轮机出口、资助风能企业及科研等,这些具体例证都是为该段的主题句(第2句)的观点服务的,该主题句表明政府的坚定决心最终促使丹麦存风能上领先别国,故D为答案。 例证分析题。A“国家的资助及贷款政策”本身就是例证,应排除;B“出口对国家的重要性”、C“税收在经济中扮演的角色”均是对例证细节的胡乱猜想,并非作者举例想要说明的观点;都应排除。
单选题 What does the author mean by“Denmark's example couldn’t be more timely”?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干引语部分直接定位到第4段。 对第4段中“丹麦模式来得再及时不过了”这句话最好的理解来自紧随其后丹麦首相说的话:“我们会努力将丹麦变成一个展示厅,说明减少能源消耗和碳排放的同时,也能保持经济增长。”据此判断,C“丹麦成功节能为世界提供了榜样”是本题答案。 注意斜体部分是couldn't be more的否定加比较的说法,实际表示的是肯定,A的说法刚好与之相反,应排除;由上下文可知,丹麦能起榜样作用的是其节能成果,而非“风能涡轮机”或“经济的发展”,故B和D排除。
单选题 According to the passage,Denmark's energy-saving policies originated from
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据题干中的policies originated from定位到第5段。 第5段的中心内容就是丹麦节能政策是如何开始的,起源自何处。文中第2句总结性地指出此政策源于fear“恐惧”,即对能源荒的恐惧;第3至6句具体说明丹麦在能源荒时期的节能举措;第7句指出丹麦在度过能源荒之后,不忘教训努力进一步节能,这些都清楚说明丹麦环保政策起源于石油短缺的经历,故B为答案。 A对应第5段首句内容,但这只是一般人的想法,在第5段第2句就被否定了,可首先排除;C中的natural resources“自然资源”范围过大,原文只是提到石油短缺,D“充足的风能”和政策起源无关,也应排除。
单选题 Which of the following is NOT implied in the passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据各选项内容各自定位。 文中末段第1句的后半句说“丹麦的例子向你表明,保持富有的同时,也可以变得更环保”,C的说法“节能与经济增长二者不可兼得”与此刚好相反,故为答案。 本题可用排除法答题。从丹麦在1973年危机的例子及文章最后一句可知,不节约能量会导致严重后果,这是真正的痛苦(real pain)所在,与A对应;最后一段的引语“对气候采取行动并不只是痛苦的,它完全可以成为一种积极的体验”暗示,节能是痛苦的,但同时也是有益的,与B对应;文章多处提及丹麦在风能领域的领先地位,与D对应。