Question

As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating(發電)and transmission (輸送) system for the 21^st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.

The 19 ^th century saw land grants(政府撥地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.

Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.

So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species(物種) will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.

The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21^st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.

The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let’s remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.

1.What was the problem caused by the construction of the railways?

A．Small towns along the railways became abandoned.

B．Land in the West was hard to manage.

C．Some railroad stops remained underused.

D．Land grants went into private hands.

2.What is the major concern in the development of alternative energy according to the last two paragraphs?

A．The use of money and power.

B．The transmission of power.

C．The conservation of solar energy.

D．The selection of an ideal place.

3.What is the author’s attitude towards building solar plants?

A．Disapproving.      B．Approving.         C．Doubtful.          D．Cautious.

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．How the Railways Have Affected the West

B．How the Effects of Power Plants Can Be Reduced

C．How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West

D．How the Problems of the Highways Have Been Settled

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：文章太陽能在西部的利用會用什么樣的影響，可能和高速公路和鐵路一樣，有好有壞。

1.細節題：從第二段的句子：The 19 ^th century saw land grants(政府撥地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land.可知鐵路的建設使政府撥地落到私人的手里。選B

2.細節題：從倒數第二段的句子：There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.可知在新能源的使用方面主要擔心的是錢和能源的使用。選A。

3.作者態度題：作者從鐵路和公路在西部出現的好處和壞處，說明solar plants在西部也會出現同樣的問題，選D

4.主旨題：從文章的第一段的句子：The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.可知這篇文章講的是太陽能會如何塑造西部，選

C

考點：考查社會現象類短文

點評：這篇文章考查了細節題，主旨題，作者態度題，其中作者觀點態度題的解題方法要求考生通過在文中尋找帶有感情色彩的詞來判斷作者的態度外,有時還需要綜合運用一些閱讀方法，如:根據文章中與問題相關的細節做出判斷,根據作者提供的例證推斷其暗示的態度、觀點,:作者的態度和立場一般分為三大類:支持、贊同、樂觀;客觀、中立;反對、批評、懷疑、悲觀.，需要同學們通讀全文并把握文章的主旨,最后做出正確選擇.