Question

As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating(发电)and transmission (输送) 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(政府拨地) 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(物种) 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】

试题分析：文章太阳能在西部的利用会用什么样的影响，可能和高速公路和铁路一样，有好有坏。

1.细节题：从第二段的句子：The 19 ^th century saw land grants(政府拨地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land.可知铁路的建设使政府拨地落到私人的手里。选B

2.细节题：从倒数第二段的句子：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担心的是钱和能源的使用。选A。

3.作者态度题：作者从铁路和公路在西部出现的好处和坏处，说明solar plants在西部也会出现同样的问题，选D

4.主旨题：从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.可知这篇文章讲的是太阳能会如何塑造西部，选

C

考点：考查社会现象类短文

点评：这篇文章考查了细节题，主旨题，作者态度题，其中作者观点态度题的解题方法要求考生通过在文中寻找带有感情色彩的词来判断作者的态度外,有时还需要综合运用一些阅读方法，如:根据文章中与问题相关的细节做出判断,根据作者提供的例证推断其暗示的态度、观点,:作者的态度和立场一般分为三大类:支持、赞同、乐观;客观、中立;反对、批评、怀疑、悲观.，需要同学们通读全文并把握文章的主旨,最后做出正确选择.