In the 1970s oil was discovered in ________, but the revenue from oil did not create a
A.the English Channel
B.the Irish Sea
C.St. George's Channel
D.the North Sea
A.the English Channel
B.the Irish Sea
C.St. George's Channel
D.the North Sea
Natural-gas Vehicles
Kermit the Frog once said, "It's not that easy bein' green." Although he wasn't referring to cars, his observation seems particularly appropriate for the auto industry today: Designing, developing and marketing "green" cars has not been an easy task, which is why gasoline-powered vehicles still rule the mad and fossil fuels still account for almost 75 percent of the word's energy consumption. As gasoline soar and concern over harmful emission mounts, however, cars that run on alternate fuel sources will become increasingly important. A natural-gas vehicle, or NGV, is the perfect example of such a car -- it's fuel- efficient, environmentally friendly and offers a relatively low cost of ownership.
Natural Gas Basics
The word "gas" is a confusing term because it is used to 'describe many different substances that are similar but not exactly the same. For example, the "gas" you put in your car is gasoline, one component of crude oil, or petroleum. Petroleum is a dark, sticky liquid mixture of compounds formed underground by the decay of ancient marine animals.
Natural gas also comes from the decay of ancient organisms, but it naturally takes a gaseous form. instead of a liquid from. Natural gas commonly occurs in association with crude oil. It is derived from both land plants and aquatic(水生的)organic matter and forms above or below oil deposits. It is often dissolved in crude oil at the high pressures existing in a reservoir. There are also reservoirs of natural gas, known as non-associated gas, that contain only gas and no oil.
Natural gas consists primarily of methane (沼气)and other hydrocarbon gases. Hydrocarbons are organic compounds composed only of the elements carbon and hydrogen. The hydrocarbons in natural gas are called saturated hydrocarbons because they contain' hydrogen and carbon bound together by single bonds.
Like gasoline, natural gas is combustible (易燃的), which means it can be used in a combustion engine like gasoline. But cars that could burn natural gas didn't appear on the scene until the 1930s.
From Field to Ford
We extract natural gas trapped in underground reservoirs by drilling wells into the earth. A modern well, equipped with diamond-studded drill bits, can drill to depths approaching 25,000 feet.
Throughout the 19th century, the use of natural gas remained localized because there was no way to transport large quantities of gas over long distances. In 1890, the invention of a leakproof pipeline coupling made it possible to transport gas miles from the source. Improvements in pipeline technology continued over the next two decades until long-distance gas transmission became practical. From 1927 to 1931, laborers constructed more than 10 major natural gas transmission systems in the United States, making natural gas a viable energy source for many applications. The oil shortages of the late 1960s and early 1970s brought renewed interest in natural gas as a fuel source, especially for automobiles.
Today, owners of natural-gas vehicles can fill up their cars at one of 1,300 fueling stations located in the United States. Honda also offers a personal natural gas pump to people who purchase its natural-gas- powered Civic. The pump uses a home's existing natural gas lines and can be installed for $ 500 to $ 1, 500.
Natural-gas Vehicle Design
Natural-gas vehicles use the same basic principles as gasoline-powered vehicles. In other words, the fuel (natural gas in this case) is mixed with air in the cylinder of a four-storke engine and then ignited by a spark plug to move a piston(活塞) up and down. Although there are some differences between natural gas and gasoline in terms of flamability and ignition temperatures NGVs themselves operate on the same fundamental concepts as gasoline-powered vehicles.
Still, some modifications are required
A.Y
B.N
C.NG
But that doesn’t have to be the outcome. Water shortages do not have to trouble the world—if we start valuing water more than we have in the past. Just as we began to appreciate petroleum more after the 1970s oil crises, today we must start looking at water from a fresh economic perspective. We can no longer afford to consider water a virtually free resource of which we can use as much as we like in any way we want.
Instead, for all uses except the domestic demand of the poor, governments should price water to reflect its actual value. This means charging a fee for the water itself as well as for the supply costs.
Governments should also protect this resource by providing water in more economically and environmentally sound ways. For example, often the cheapest way to provide irrigation (灌溉) water in the dry tropics is through small-scale projects, such as gathering rainfall in depressions (凹地) and pumping it to nearby cropland.
No matter what steps governments take to provide water more efficiently, they must change their institutional and legal approaches to water sue. Rather than spread control among hundreds or even thousands of local, regional, and national agencies that watch various aspects of water use, countries should set up central authorities to coordinate water policy.
第21题:What is the real cause of the potential water crisis?
A) The world population is increasing faster and faster.
B) Half of the world’s water resources have been seriously polluted.
C) Humanity has not placed sufficient value on water resources.
D) Only half of the world’s water can be used.
Natural-gas Vehicles
Kermit the Frog once said, "It's not that easy be in green." Although he wasn't referring to cars, his observation seems particularly appropriate for the auto industry today: Designing, developing and marketing "green" cars has not been an easy task, which is why gasoline-powered vehicles still rule the road and fossil fuels still account for almost 75 percent of the world's energy consumption. As gasoline prices soar and concern over harmful emission mounts, however, cars that run on alternate fuel sources will become increasingly important. A natural-gas vehicle, or NGV, is the perfect example of such a car -- it's fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and offers a relatively low cost of ownership.
Natural Gas Basics
The word "gas" is a confusing term because it is used to describe many different substances that are similar but not exactly the same. For example, the "gas" you put in your car is gasoline, one component of crude oil, or petroleum. Petroleum is a dark, sticky liquid mixture of compounds formed underground by the decay of ancient marine animals.
Natural gas also comes from the decay of ancient organisms, but it naturally takes a gaseous form. instead of a liquid form. Natural gas commonly occurs in association with crude oil. It is derived from both land plants and aquatic (水生的) organic matter and forms above or below oil deposits. It is often dissolved in crude oil at the high pressures existing in a reservoir. There are also reservoirs of natural gas, known as non-associated gas, that contain only gas and no oil.
Natural gas consists primarily of methane (沼气) and other hydrocarbon gases. Hydrocarbons are organic compounds composed only of the elements carbon and hydrogen. The hydrocarbons in natural gas are called saturated hydrocarbons because they contain hydrogen and carbon bound together by single bonds.
Like gasoline, natural gas is combustible (易燃的), which means it can be used in a combustion engine like gasoline. But cars that could burn natural gas didn't appear on the scene until the 1930s.
From Field to Ford
We extract natural gas trapped in underground reservoirs by drilling wells into the earth. A modern well. equipped with diamond-studded drill bits, can drill to depths approaching 25.000 feet.
Throughout the 19th century, the use of natural gas remained localized because there was no way to transport large quantities of gas over long distances, in 1890, the invention of a leakproof pipeline coupling made it possible to transport gas miles from the source. Improvements in pipeline technology continued over the next two decades until long-distance gas transmission became practical. From 1927 to 1931, ,laborers constructed more than t0 major natural gas transmission systems in the United States, making natural gas a viable energy source for many applications. The oil shortages of the late 1960s and early 1970s brought renewed interest in natural gas as a fuel source, especially for automobiles.
Today, owners of natural-gas vehicles can fill up their cars at one of 1,300 fueling stations located in the United States. Honda also offers a personal natural gas pump to people who purchase its natural-gas-powered Civic. The pump uses a home's existing natural gas lines and can be installed for $ 500 to $1500.
Natural-gas Vehicle Design
Natural-gas vehicles use the same basic principles as gasoline-powered vehicles. In other words, the fuel (natural gas in this case) is mixed with air in the cylinder of a four-stroke engine and then ignited by a spark plug to move a piston (活塞) up and down. Although there are some differences between natural gas and gasoline in terms of flamability and ignition temperatures, NGVs themselves operate on the same fundamental concepts as gasoline-powered vehicles.
Still, some
A.Y
B.N
C.NG
In the 1970s, General Motors (GM) spent millions trying to keep the facility______, but productivity and quality were continually poor.
A.the 19th century
B.the 1930s
C.the late 1960s
D.the early 1970s
We can infer from the passage that .
A.children today seem to be more obedient to their parents
B.children in the 1970s enjoyed more freedom than those today
C.the author became overprotective under the influence of her mother
D.the social security back in the 1970s was no better than it is today
听力原文:How about farmers' income in the late 1970s?
(34)
A.Farmers had less money to spend than other Americans.
B.Farmers earned about one-third the income of non-farmers.
C.Farmers earned almost as much money as the non-farmers.
D.Farmers earned more money than the average American families.