单选题 Current Group, a Germantown-based technology firm, has taken over an ordinary looking house in Bethesda and turned it into a laboratory for smart-grid technology, the system the company believes will bring the nation"s electricity grids into the digital age.
In the front yard stands a utility pole hooked up to a special transformer that connects the power lines to high-speed Internet. Hundreds of sensors attached to the lines monitor how power flows through the home. That information is then sent back to the utility company.
The process lets a utility more efficiently manage the distribution of electricity by allowing two-way communication between consumers and energy suppliers via the broadband network on the power lines. Based on data they receive from hundreds of homes, utilities can monitor usage and adjust output and pricing response to demand. Consumers can be rewarded with reduced rates by cutting back on consumption during peak periods. And computerized substations can talk to each other so overloaded circuits hand off electricity to those that axe not fully loaded, helping to prevent blackouts.
Some utility companies have launched initiatives to give consumers data about their energy consumption habits in an effort to lower energy bills. Smart-grid technology takes such programs further by automating electricity distribution, which would make grids more reliable and efficient.
By partnering with utilities, the company hopes to tap into $4.5 billion in stimulus grants intended to encourage smart-grid development. When he announced the funding, President Obama pointed to a project in Boulder, Colo., as an example of a successful smart-grid experiment. Current is one of the companies working on the project.
Current"s chief executive Tom Casey believes the technology will help utility companies better distribute electricity produced by renewable resources, such as solar panels or wind farms. "A smart grid"s system can be paired up with the renewable resources so that when the renewable source is varying, the overall load can be varied as well," Casey told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. "This will reduce or eliminate the need for backup coal or gas based power generation plants."

单选题 Which of the following is a must for smart-grid technology to work?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节题
由题干中的smart-grid technology定位到第二段可知，智能电网实验房的房子前院里竖着一根电线杆，上面带有特殊变压器，将电线和高速互联网联接在一起。电线上有成百上千个传感器，监控着房子里的电流使用情况。所有信息都被送回总公司。所以C“高速互联网接入和服务”是必要条件，故为正确答案。本实验用房有前院，但前院和高高的木杆与智能电网技术无关，故排除A；特殊的传感器把电线和网络连接在一起，然后由杆子作支撑，并不是说要用钩子把所有电线钩在一起，故排除B；整个过程需要通过传感器将电流情况送回到公司，并没有说会有很多显示器显示电流的流动情况，故排除D。

单选题 What benefit can the smart-grid technology bring?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[考点] 事实细节题
由题干中的benefit, smart-grid technology定位到第三段。第一句说，电力部门可以更好地控制电流的分布。也就是说“可以相应地调整某个区域的电流供应情况”，故A为正确答案。第一句中还说，消费者和电力供应商可以通过连接在电线的高速互联网进行双向交流，但并不是意味着B“费者可以和电力供应商进行直接交流”，本选项断章取义，故排除；第三句说，消费者如果在用电高峰期减少用电量可以获得奖励。其中，“用电高峰期”也是条件之一，所以C片面，故排除；第四句说，计算机化的各变电站之间也可以进行交流，将电流从负载过重的电路上调整到非满负荷运转的电路上，从而避免了停电，并不是D“变电站可以通过计算机进行交谈”，故排除。

单选题 Why is the system called "smart-grid" technology?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点] 推理判断题
由题干中的smart-grid technology定位到第四段第二句可知，与以前的技术相比，智能电网在技术上又前进了一步，因为它是通过电脑自动管理电力分布，这可以使整个电网更可靠，也更高效。这说明，通过计算机化的数据传送与分析，进行自动化的管理，是智能电网的“聪明”所在，因此，新技术智能之处在于B“很好地利用了电脑的智能”。文章没有提到它外观是否漂亮，因此排除A；如果仅仅可以让决策者做出明智的决定，就不会用到“智能”二字了，因此排除C；而D“用户可以做出明智的决定”并不能说明这项新技术非常智能化，故排除。

单选题 What does the phrase "tap into" (Line 1, Para. 5) mean?

单选题 What"s the passage mainly about?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[考点] 主旨大意题
文章第一段引入了“智能电网”这一概念，第二段是这一技术如何实现，第三段是数据的处理，第四段讲智能电网的智能之处，第五段讲政府投资，第六段讲智能电网在节约能源方面的作用。由此可知，这篇文章就是在介绍这种新型技术，所以A为正确答案。B的问题在于选项中的utilities，是电网技术进入数字化时代，而不是供电公共事业部门进入数字化时代，故排除；C“政府将与私人公司合作”在文中提到过，但无论从所占篇幅和重要程度来看，都不是文章的主要内容，故排除；第六段最后一句说智能电网技术“这会减少甚至彻底消除对储备用煤或是天然气发电厂的需要，”并不是它会替代发电厂，故排除D。