单选题 I am addicted to electricity. So are you. And so is your business. We live in an "always on" world-air conditioners, streetlights, TVs, PCs, cell phones, and more. And with forecasts that we'll need 40% more electricity by 2030, determining how we can realistically feed our energy addiction without mining our environment is the critical challenge of the new century. Of course, we could buy energy-saving appliances or drive fuel-efficient cars. We can recycle cans, bottles, and newspapers. We can even plant carbon-absorbing trees. But, no matter how much we may wish they would, these acts by themselves won't satisfy our energy demands. To do that, we need a diverse energy mix that takes a practical, rather than emotional, approach.
Enter nuclear energy. Nuclear alone won't get us to where we need to be, but we won't get there without it. Despite its controversial reputation, unclear is efficient and reliable. It's also clean, emitting no greenhouse gases or regulated air pollutants while generating electricity. And with nuclear power, we get the chance to preserve the Earth's climate while at the same tinge meeting our future energy needs.
Moreover, many of the management woes that gave the early nuclear business a black eye have finally been overcome. A five-year project in Alabama was completed on time and very close to budget. Also, US-designed reactors have been built in about four years in Asia, and new nuclear plants on the drawing board for installation here in America will be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under a speedier process that should be far more efficient than the one in place when the 104 nuclear facilities operating today were licensed.
But this streamlined process will not compromise nuclear safety and security. The NRC holds nuclear reactors to the highest safety and security standards of any American industry. A two-day national security simulation in Washington, D.C., in 2002 concluded nuclear plants "are probably our best defended targets." And because of their advanced design and sophisticated containment structures, US nuclear plants emit a negligible amount of radiation. Even if you lived next door to a nuclear power plant, you would still be exposed to less radiation each year than you would receive in just one roundtrip flight from New York to Los Angeles.
Here's the reality: The US needs more energy, and we need to get it without further harming our environment. Everything is a trade-off. Nothing is free, and nuclear plants are not cheap to build. But we have a choice to make: We can either continue the 30-year debate about whether we should embrace nuclear energy, or we can accept its practical advantages. Love it or not, expanding nuclear energy makes both environmental and business sense.

单选题 According to the first paragraph, in order to satisfy our energy needs, we need to

A. mix all kinds of energies.
B. focus on our energy addiction.
C. do everything to save energy.
D. establish a diversified energy structure.

单选题 According to the passage, nuclear energy could

A. enjoy a good and popular fame.
B. provide us with adequate energy in future.
C. help us get to where we need to be.
D. keep our climate clean.

单选题 The expression "a black eye" (Line 1, Paragraph 3) most probably means

A. an unfriendly attitude.
B. a pleasant attitude.
C. a changing attitude.
D. a doubtful attitude.

单选题 The national security simulation in 2002 shows that

A. nuclear plants should be best protected.
B. nuclear radiation would be much less and not so serious.
C. nuclear safety and security standards would be the strictest.
D. nuclear technology should be highly advanced and sophisticated.

单选题 The author's attitude toward the nuclear energy could possibly be

A. affirmative and supportive.
B. controversial and doubtful.
C. unnecessary but important.
D. important but dangerous.