单选题

Powering a City? It"s a Breeze.

The graceful wooden windmills that have broken up the flat Dutch landscape for centuries—a national symbol like wooden shoes and tulips—yielded long ago to ungainly metal-pole turbines.
Now, windmills are breaking into a new frontier. Though still in its teething stages, the "urban turbine" is a high-tech windmill designed to generate energy from the rooftops of busy cities. Lighter, quieter, and often more efficient than rural counterparts, they take advantage of the extreme turbulence and rapid shifts in direction that characterize urban wind patterns.
Prototypes have been successfully tested in several Dutch cities, and the city government in the Hague has recently agreed to begin a large-scale deployment in 2003. Current models cost US $8,000 to US $12,000 and can generate between 3,000 and 7,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. A typical Dutch household uses 3,500 kilowatt hours per year, while in the United States, this figure jumps to around 10,000 kilowatt hours.
But so far, they are being designed more for public or commercial buildings than for private homes. The smallest of the current models weigh roughly 200 kilograms and can be installed on a roof in a few hours without using a crane.
Germany, Finland and Denmark have also been experimenting with the technology, but the ever-practical Dutch are natural pioneers in urban wind power mainly because of the lack of space. The Netherlands, with 16 million people crowded into a country twice the size of Slovenia, is the most densely populated in Europe.
Problems remain, however, for example, public safety concerns, and so strict standards should be applied to any potential manufacturer. Vibrations are the main problem in skyscraper-high turbine. People don"t know what it would be like to work there, in an office next to one of the big turbines. It might be too hectic.
Meanwhile, projects are under way to use minimills to generate power for lifeboats, streetlights, and portable generators. "I think the thing about wind power is that you can use it in a whole range of situations," said Corin Millais, of the European Wind Energy Association. "It"s a very local technology, and you can use it right in your backyard, but I don"t think anybody wants a nuclear power plant in their backyard."

单选题 What are the symbols of the Netherlands according to the first paragraph?

单选题 Which statement best describes the urban turbine mentioned in the second paragraph?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第二段第二句“Though still in its teething stages, the "urban turbine" is a high-tech windmill designed to generate energy from the rooftops of busy cities.”可知，城市涡轮机是高科技的风车，安装在屋顶上为人们提供能量，故B项正确。A项中把这种风车的安装地点局限在了屋顶上，其说法过于片面，所以不准确。根据本段最后一句前半句“Lighter, quieter, and often more efficient than rural counterparts”可知，城市涡轮机比乡村木制风车重量轻，噪声小，效率高，但这不等于“It is light and quiet and therefore more efficient.”所以C项说法错误。根据本段最后一句“they take advantage of the extreme turbulence and rapid shifts in direction that characterize urban wind patterns”可知，涡轮机利用了城市的风所特有的紊流(即不规则的大气运动)和快速转向，但是D项的说法对于描述涡轮机的特点过于模糊，不全面。故本题选B。

单选题 The smallest models of an urban turbine

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第四段第一句“they are being designed more for public or commercial buildings than for private homes”可知，城市涡轮机的设计更适于公共或商务楼房，而不是家庭，所以A项说法错误。根据本段第二句“The smallest of the current models weigh roughly 200 kilograms and can be installed on a roof in a few hours without using a crane.”可知，最小的涡轮机大约重200千克，而且不需要吊车就可安装到屋顶上，因此B项和D项错误，C项正确。故本题选C。