二、阅读理解
A number of companies have used the wind and the sun to produce energy. Now, one company is using the force of flowing rivers and ocean waves.
The company is based in the U.S. state of Maine. It is called the Ocean Renewable Power Company, or ORPC. The company recently presented the new technology at an energy conference near Washington, DC. Christopher Sauer, the CEO of ORPC says the technology was designed for small, lonely villages that do not have easy ways to get power.
The ORPC technology is an energy generator(发电机)which can be put under water in the river, called RivGen. It works in a series of steps. First, the generator is put in the middle of a steel cage. The cage goes on top of a wide boat with a flat bottom called a pontoon(趸船). Wheels – or, turbines(涡轮机) – are connected to each side of the generator. Once the pontoon boat is fixed to one place, it is flooded with water. The pontoon, cage, and generator all sink to the bottom of the river. There, the river waves turn the wheels and creates as much as 50 kilowatts(千瓦)of power.
CEO Christopher Sauer says the generator is not very tall, so it can work in water areas that are not very deep, but other companies are not able to work in shallow water. And, Sauer says, the turbines are safe for the animals that live in the river. “At the peak of salmon(鲑鱼) season, we had almost two million fish pass by this thing but at the end of all of that, we did not have a single fish die that we knew about,” he said. Another feature of the technology he mentioned is “crossflow turbines”. They permit the turbines to move in the same direction, no matter what way the water is flowing. Sauer also says the turbines’ shape permits the generator to harvest power from tidal waves in the ocean. The company’s ocean turbine is called TidGen. It can create up to 600 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power a small settlement(定居点).
Right now, the amount of power TidGen can harvest changes as the strength of the tide goes up and down. But ORPC workers are trying to make the power output steady(稳定的). In time, they want TidGen power to be part of the main energy.
CEO Christopher Sauer estimates ORPC’s current price is about 50 cents per kilowatt-hour. That price does not make the ORPC system competitive with natural gas. However, for small lonely villages, energy from flowing water could be more economical.
1. What can ORPC use to produce energy?
A. The wind. B. The sun.
C. The natural gas. D. The force of flowing river.
2. Where is RivGen when it works?
A. On the river. B. At the bottom of the river.
C. Over the river. D. On the river bank.
3. According to what Sauer said in Para 4, we can know that ___________ .
A. the turbines killed lots of fish
B. salmons can help the RivGen create power
C. the animals that live in the river may destroy the turbines
D. the turbines do not make the animals in the river in danger
4. Which of the following word CANNOT be used to describe the RivGen?
A. Safe. B. Perfect. C. Useful. D. Harmless.
5. What can we infer from the passage?
A. ORPC’s generator can work in shallow water.
B. The way the water is flowing can make the turbines move in different directions.
C. TidGen power is still not part of the main energy at present because of its unsteady output.
D. All lonely villages in the U.S. will have easy ways to get power with the help of RivGen.
【答案】1—5 DBDBC
A number of companies have used the wind and the sun to produce energy. Now, one company is using the force of flowing rivers and ocean waves.
The company is based in the U.S. state of Maine. It is called the Ocean Renewable Power Company, or ORPC. The company recently presented the new technology at an energy conference near Washington, DC. Christopher Sauer, the CEO of ORPC says the technology was designed for small, lonely villages that do not have easy ways to get power.
The ORPC technology is an energy generator(发电机)which can be put under water in the river, called RivGen. It works in a series of steps. First, the generator is put in the middle of a steel cage. The cage goes on top of a wide boat with a flat bottom called a pontoon(趸船). Wheels – or, turbines(涡轮机) – are connected to each side of the generator. Once the pontoon boat is fixed to one place, it is flooded with water. The pontoon, cage, and generator all sink to the bottom of the river. There, the river waves turn the wheels and creates as much as 50 kilowatts(千瓦)of power.
CEO Christopher Sauer says the generator is not very tall, so it can work in water areas that are not very deep, but other companies are not able to work in shallow water. And, Sauer says, the turbines are safe for the animals that live in the river. “At the peak of salmon(鲑鱼) season, we had almost two million fish pass by this thing but at the end of all of that, we did not have a single fish die that we knew about,” he said. Another feature of the technology he mentioned is “crossflow turbines”. They permit the turbines to move in the same direction, no matter what way the water is flowing. Sauer also says the turbines’ shape permits the generator to harvest power from tidal waves in the ocean. The company’s ocean turbine is called TidGen. It can create up to 600 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power a small settlement(定居点).
Right now, the amount of power TidGen can harvest changes as the strength of the tide goes up and down. But ORPC workers are trying to make the power output steady(稳定的). In time, they want TidGen power to be part of the main energy.
CEO Christopher Sauer estimates ORPC’s current price is about 50 cents per kilowatt-hour. That price does not make the ORPC system competitive with natural gas. However, for small lonely villages, energy from flowing water could be more economical.
1. What can ORPC use to produce energy?
A. The wind. B. The sun.
C. The natural gas. D. The force of flowing river.
2. Where is RivGen when it works?
A. On the river. B. At the bottom of the river.
C. Over the river. D. On the river bank.
3. According to what Sauer said in Para 4, we can know that ___________ .
A. the turbines killed lots of fish
B. salmons can help the RivGen create power
C. the animals that live in the river may destroy the turbines
D. the turbines do not make the animals in the river in danger
4. Which of the following word CANNOT be used to describe the RivGen?
A. Safe. B. Perfect. C. Useful. D. Harmless.
5. What can we infer from the passage?
A. ORPC’s generator can work in shallow water.
B. The way the water is flowing can make the turbines move in different directions.
C. TidGen power is still not part of the main energy at present because of its unsteady output.
D. All lonely villages in the U.S. will have easy ways to get power with the help of RivGen.
【答案】1—5 DBDBC
