Renewable Energy Sources

　　Today petroleum provides around 40% of the world’s energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. Coal is still used, mostly in pover stations, to cover one-quarter of our energy needs, but it is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel. Natural gas reserves could plug some of the gap from oil, but reserves of that will not last into the 22nd century either. Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserves within 50 years. We could fast reach an energy crisis. We need to rapidly develop sustainable solutions to fuel our future. Less-polluting renewable energy sources offer a more practical long-term energy solution. They may benefit the world’s poor too. “Renewable” refers to the fact that these resources are not used faster than they can be replaced.

　　Hydroelectric power is now the most common form of renewable energy, supplying around 20% of world electricity. China’s three gorges Dam, which has just been completed, is the largest ever. At five times the size of the US’s Hoover Dam, its 26 turbines will generate the equivalent energy of 18 coal-fired power stations. It will satisfy 3% of China’s entire electricity demand.

　　In 2003, the first commercial power station to harness tidal currents in the open sea opened in Norway. It is designed like windmill, but others take the form of turbines.

　　As prices fall, wind power has become the fastest growing type of electricity generation – quadrupling worldwide between 1999 and 2005. Modern wind farms consist of turbines that generate electricity. Though it will be more expensive, there is more than enough wind to provide the world’s entire energy needs. Wind farms come in onshore and offshore forms. They can often end up at spots of natural beauty, and are often unpopular with residents. And turbines are not totally benign – they can interfere with radar and leave a significant ecological footprint, altering climate and lilling sea birds. Migrating birds may have more luck avoiding them. Scotland is building europe’s largest wind farm, which wil power 200,000 homes. The UK’s goal is to generate onefifth of power from renewable sources, mainly wind, by 2020. But this may cause problems, because wind is unreliable.

　　1. What are the energy resources that are not renewable according to the article?

　　A Petroleum and coal.

　　B Natural gas.

　　C Wind and water.

　　D A and B.

　　2. China's Three Gorges Dam

　　A is the first hydroelectric dam in the world.

　　B is of the same size of the US's Hoover Dam.

　　C is the largest of all the hydroelectric dams in the world.

　　D supplies around 20% of the world electricity.

　　3. Which is the country with thefirst commercial power station that makes use of ocean currents produced by tides?

　　A China.

　　B Norway.

　　C England.

　　D America.

　　4. Which of the following statements is true of wind power?

　　A There is plenty of wind to provide the world's entire energy needs.

　　B It is the most rapidly growing type of electricity production.

　　C It may not be reliable.

　　D All of the above.

　　5. According to the article, resources such as wind

　　A are sustainable but not replaceable.

　　B are renewable so sustainable.

　　C are sustainable so renewable.

　　D are irreplaceable.

　　答案與題解：

　　1. D 文章的第一段提到石油 (petroleum)、煤(coal)和天然氣(natural gas)三種礦物燃料 (fossil fuel)，并且說這些可采掘到的燃料將在 50年的時間里用完，所以需要開發再生能源，文章后幾段提到了水資源和風能這兩種 renewable resources。根據這一理解 D是正確選項。

　　2. C A是錯誤選項.因為第二段第二句說世界上第一個水利大壩建在英國 ;B是錯誤的選項，因為該段第五句指出三峽大壩比美國的 Hoover大壩大五倍 ;該段第三句說水力發電為世界提供 20%的電能，所以 D也是錯誤的選項。該段第四句則明確告訴我們 C是答案。

　　3. B文章第三段說 2003年挪威首次運營利用潮汐進行發電的商業電站。所以 B是正確選項。

　　4. D 文章的第四段提到了 A、B、C的內容，所以 D是正確選項。

　　5. B 這個問題的理解依賴對整篇文章內容的理解。文章的第一段昀后一句說 :refers to the fact that “Renewable”these resources are not used faster than they can be replaced.其意思是 :再生能源消耗的速度很慢，以至于不會被替代。所以這種能源是 sustainable。

　　譯文：

可再生能源

　　現今，汽油滿足了世界上約百分之四十的能源需要，大多用來為汽車提供燃料。煤仍被使用，主要是在發電站，以解決我們四分之一的能源需求。但煤卻是最無效率，最不健康，最不環保的礦物燃料。天然氣的儲量可填補部分石油短缺。但這些儲量也不能維持到22世紀。許多專家預計，我們很容易在50年內耗盡可采掘的燃料儲備。我們將很快遇到能源危機。我們需要立即發展可持續的方案來為未來提供能源。污染少的可再生能源為我們提供了一個更現實的長期解決方案。這些能源也會對世界上的窮人有益。“可再生”是指這些能源被使用的速度低于其被更新的速度。

　　2000多年前，中國人和羅馬人使用風車。但第一個水電大壩是1870年建于英國。現在的水力發電已是最常見的可再生能源，占世界電力總量的20％。中國剛建成的三峽大壩是最大的一個發電站。它是美國胡佛發電站的5倍大。它的26臺渦輪機可產生相當于18個燒煤的發電站所發的電量。它將滿足中國電力總需求的3％。令人吃驚的是，有人說，水電站排放大量溫室氣體、2003年，第一個利用大海上的潮汐能發電的商業電站在挪威建成。它的設計好像一個風車，但其他方面則采用了渦輪的形式。

　　由于費用降低，風力發電已成為了發展最迅速的一種發電方式——1999年到2005年翻了兩番�，F代風力農場由發電的渦輪機組成。盡管成本更高，卻會有源源不斷的風力來滿足全世界的所有能量需求。風力農場分向岸和向海兩種形式。它們常常會出現在美麗的環境中，并常常人煙稀少。渦輪機也并非百無一害的。它們可干擾雷達信號，并在生態環境中留下痕跡，改變氣候，殺死海鳥。遷徙的鳥類可以更幸運地避開它們。蘇格蘭正在建造歐洲最大的風力農場，可為20萬戶家庭提供電力。英國的目標是截至2020年達到五分之一的電力來自可再生能源，主要指風能，但這樣做也有問題，因為風是不可靠的。

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