单选题 On America's Gulf coast, massive industrial facilities stand idle. Miles of twisting stainless-steel pipes and huge storage tanks gleam uselessly in the sun. They are a reminder of the hundreds of billions of dollars that America has invested in terminals for handling imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Thanks to the boom in domestic shale gas, those imports are no longer needed. America produces nearly as much gas as it consumes, and will soon produce far more.
So the obvious thing to do with those idle terminals is to re-engineer them to handle exports. Instead of receiving shiploads of liquefied gas and re-gasifying it, they should be taking American gas, liquefying it and loading it onto tankers. Converting these plants will not be cheap—each one will cost at least $5 billion. But the potential rewards are much larger.
In America gas sells for around $3.40 per million British thermal units (mBTU). In Europe it costs around $12. In gas-poor Asia, spot cargoes change hands for as much as $20 per mBTU. Since it costs roughly $5 per mBTU to liquefy the stuff, ship it and turn it back into gas, America could be making a fortune from gas exports. To the extent that such exports displaced dirty coal, they would also help curb global warming.
Most of America's two dozen LNG import terminals have applied for export licences. Yet only one, Sabine Pass in Louisiana, has actually started retooling its kit. Gas from there will start flowing onto global markets by the end of 2015. Why has every other terminal been so slow to seize this opportunity?
Converting a plant is not easy: firms must build now upon row of expensive fridges, known as "liquefaction trains", to get gas moving in the opposite direction. But the real hold-up is political. No LNG facility besides Sabine has yet received permission to export. American law requires the Department of Energy to determine whether gas exports are in the public interest, and President Barack Obama's administration is in no hurry to make up its mind.

单选题 America became less dependent on imported gas due to ______.

A.the use of massive industrial facilities
B.billions of dollars invested in terminals
C.the prosperity of home-produced gas
D.the less consumption of domestic gas

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。选项与原文对比。该题是第一题，一般设置在首段，第二题明确定位了Paragraph 2(第二自然段)，也可以推断出第一题应该在第一段。根据该段的第四句those imports are no longer needed那些进口(指液化天然气的进口)，确定这是该题目的同义转换。而该句前面提到的thanks to=题干的due to，故答案就在thanks to之后。A选项中的massive industrial facilities可以在首句找到，这只是原文提及的信息，并非美国更少地依赖进口气的原因。B选项中的billions of dollars invested in terminals也是原文干扰信息，但非答案。C前面提到，该题答案在thanks to之后，即the boom in domestic shale gas是答案。且选项C的prosperity=boom，home-produced=domestic，故为答案。虽然原文最后一句提到America produces nearly as much gas as it consumes，and will soon produce far more.(美国几乎生产了它自身消耗气的量，并很快将会生产更多。)但没提到D选项所说的“消耗国内气的量少了”。故D是错误的。

单选题 What can be inferred from Paragraph 2?

A.It is easy to deal with the idle terminals.
B.The government will soon convert the idle terminals.
C.The potential reward to convert the plants isn't substantial.
D.Converting the plants may be beneficial in the long term.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。选项与原文对比。A第二段首句提到了do with those idle terminals(处理那些闲置的终端设备)，并未提到处理这些设备是easy(容易的)，选项A的easy一词纯属无中生有。B本段未涉及government这一内容，该选项属于无中生有。C根据potential reward定位到最后一句，该句提及：but the potential rewards are much larger，而C选项说的是isn't substantial，与原文意思相反，故错误。D该段最后两句提到：Converting these plants will not be cheap. But the potential rewards are much larger.说明从长远来看，转变这些设备是有回报，即有益的。D选项的beneficial=原文的rewards；in the long term=potential，故答案为D。

单选题 America can earn a great fortune by ______.

A.gas imports
B.gas exports
C.imports of oil
D.exports of coal

单选题 We can learn from Paragraph 4 that ______.

A.Sabine has begun to retool its facility.
B.Sabine has begun to sell gas to global markets.
C.Most LNG terminals have gained export licences.
D.Every terminal has been quick to grab the chance.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。选项与原文对比。A根据选项中Sabine一词定位到该段第二行：Sabine Pass in Louisiana, has actually started retooling its kit.其中started=begun to；kit=facility。故A为答案。B原文说：Gas from there will start flowing onto global markets by the end of 2015.其中flowing onto=sell to；关键原文提到by the end of 2015，即从2015年末Sabine才开始在全球市场上出售气，而该选项说的则是has begun(现在已经开始出售)，故错误。C根据LNG定位到第一句：Most of America's two dozen LNG import terminals have applied for export licences.原文说到applied for export licences(申请出口执照)，而该选项说have gained export licences(已经获得出口执照)，故错误。D根据every terminal，grab the chance定位到原文最后一句：Why has every other terminal been so slow to seize this opportunity?原文说的是slow，D选项说的却是quick，黑白颠倒，因此错误。

单选题 We can judge from the last paragraph that ______.

A.No LNG facility except Sabine has gained permission to export.
B.Gas exports in America represent the interest of the public.
C.Barack Obama's government has made up its mind.
D.A plant is difficult to be converted.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。选项与原文对比。A no LNG facility帮我们定位到第三行：No LNG facility besides Sabine has yet received permission to export.表面看该选项和原文几乎一致，其中gained permission=原文的received permission。但选项中出现了except，原文说的是besides，注意两词有本质区别，except是“除了之外”；besides强调包括在内。即原文说的是：没有LNG设施(包括Sabine在内)获得许可出口。该选项说的是：没有LNG设施(除了Sabine以外)获得许可出口，故错误。B根据interest of the public定位到第四行American law requires the Department of Energy to determine whether gas exports are in the public interest.原文说：石油出口是否符合公众利益尚待确定，而B选项说：石油出口符合了公众利益。语意不符，故错误。C根据Barack Obama定位到最后一句：President Barack Obama's administration is in no hurry to make up its mind.关键词是in no hurry不急着做决定，选项C说has made up its mind已经做好决定，语意不符，故错误。D该段第一句Converting a plant is not easy.=D项A plant is difficult to be converted.故答案为D。