理工類-閱讀理解（11月17日）_職稱英語(yǔ)網(wǎng)校

閱讀理解

Home Heating

Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically，coal—burning furnaces （火爐）fueled the early systems. Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960.Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses. Because it comes primarily from U.S. and Canadian fields，natural gas is also less vulnerable （脆弱的）than oil is to War. Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas，such as New England.

Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity，including the South and the Northwest. It was made popular at least in the South by the low cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air-conditioning. Bottled gas，which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas，is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines. Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties.

Home heating，which accounts for less than 7 percent of a11 energy consumed in the U.S.，has had a commendable （值得贊揚(yáng)的）efficiency record： from 1978 to 1997，the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size. The U.S. Department of Energy，however，forecasts mat energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades. That rise is small considering an expected 21 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses.

Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades. Solar（太陽(yáng)的）heating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas；in 2000 only 47.000 homes relied on it.

1、The word “consumed” in paragraph 3 could be best replaced by ______.

A、used.

B、burned.

C、delivered.

D、pumped.

[正確答案] A

[答案解析] 該題問(wèn)的是：第三段中的“consumed”，下面哪一個(gè)詞替換它最為合適？“consumed”是“用掉”的意思。最佳選擇是“used”（用掉）?！癰urned”是“燒掉”，“delivered”是“傳送”，“pumped”是“用泵抽”。

2、According to-paragraph 3， energy consumed in home heating over the next two decades will increase by ______.

A、33 percent.

B、31 percent.

C、21 percent.

D、14 percent.

[正確答案] D

[答案解析] 該題問(wèn)的是：根據(jù)第三段，在今后20年里用于家庭供暖的能源將增加多少？第三段有這么一句話：然而，美國(guó)能源部預(yù)測(cè)，在今后20年里用于家庭供暖的能源將增加14%.

3、Which of the following statements is NOT true， according to the article？

A、Natural gas comes partly from Canadian fields.

B、Bottled gas is more expensive than utility gas.

C、Equipment for home heating has been considerably improved.

D、Solar heating dominated America in 2000.

[正確答案] D

[答案解析] 該題問(wèn)的是：根據(jù)本文，下面的哪一個(gè)陳述句是錯(cuò)的？文章的最后一句話是這么說(shuō)的：由于太陽(yáng)供暖的價(jià)格高并且大多數(shù)地區(qū)冬天陽(yáng)光少，從來(lái)不為大家普遍使用；2000年里只有47 000個(gè)家庭依靠它。

4、Natural gas didn‘t become the leading fuel until ______.

A、1978.

B、1960.

C、1997.

D、2000.

[正確答案] B

[答案解析] 該題問(wèn)的是：天然氣到什么時(shí)候才變成主要的燃料？第一段中的第三句話是這么說(shuō)的：天然氣到1960年已經(jīng)變成了主要的燃料。因此B是正確的答案。

5、What fuel is the dominant fuel in New England？

A、Gas.

B、Electricity.

C、Wood.

D、Oil.

[正確答案] D

[答案解析] 該題問(wèn)的是：在新英格蘭什么燃料是最主要的？第一段的最后一句話是這么說(shuō)的：在少數(shù)地區(qū)，如新英格蘭，石油仍然是最主要的燃料。

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