Geothermal Energy
Paragraph 1: Earth's internal heat, fueled by radioactivity, provides the energy for plate tectonics and continental drift, mountain building, and earthquakes. It can also be harnessed to drive electric generators and heat homes. Geothermal energy becomes available in a practical form when underground heat is transferred by water that is heated as it passes through a subsurface region of hot rocks (a heat reservoir) that may be hundreds or thousands of feet deep. The water is usually naturally occurring groundwater that seeps down along fractures in the rock; less typically, the water is artificially introduced by being pumped down from the surface. The water is brought to the surface, as a liquid or steam, through holes drilled for the purpose.
1. According to the processes described in paragraph 1, what is the relationship between radioactivity and the steam produced by geothermal heat?
○Geothermally heated steam is produced when water is exposed to radioactivity deep underground.
○ When water is introduced into holes drilled thousands of feet in the ground, it becomes radioactive and turns to steam.
○ Radioactivity heats Earth's interior rock, which in turn can heat water to the point it becomes steam.
○ When a reservoir of steam in subsurface rock is produced by radioactivity, it is said to be geothermally heated.
題型：細(xì)節(jié)題
定位詞： relationship between radioactivity and the steam
解題思路： 關(guān)于定位詞中的 radioactivity，只有文章開頭提到其功能為為地球內(nèi)部的熱能提供燃料，只有選項(xiàng)C中提到了這一功能，所以C為正確選項(xiàng)。
重點(diǎn)句子翻譯：
Earth's internal heat, fueled by radioactivity, provides the energy for plate tectonics and continental drift, mountain building, and earthquakes.
地球內(nèi)部的熱量，通過輻射帶動(dòng)，為板塊構(gòu)造和大陸漂移，造山運(yùn)動(dòng)，地震提供了能量。
2. The word “practical” in the passage is closest in meaning to
○Usable
○Plentiful
○Economical
○Familiar
題型：詞匯題
解題思路： “practical”是一個(gè)簡單詞匯，意為“實(shí)用的；實(shí)際的”，所以A項(xiàng)正確。
Paragraph 2：By far the most abundant form of geothermal energy occurs at the relatively low temperatures of 80ºto 180º centigrade. Water circulated through heat reservoirs in this temperature range is able to extract enough heat to warm residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. More than 20,000 apartments in France are now heated by warm underground water drawn from a heat reservoir in a geologic structure near Paris called the Paris Basin. Iceland sits on a volcanic structure known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, is entirely heated by geothermal energy derived from volcanic heat.
3. The word “abundant” in the passage is closest in meaning to
○Economical
○Familiar
○Plentiful
○Usable
題型：詞匯題
解題思路： “relatively low temperatures” 說明在這種溫度范圍內(nèi)地?zé)崮芰康男纬墒亲钬S富的，所以C項(xiàng)正確。
4. According to paragraph 2, which of the following is true about heat reservoirs with a temperature in the range of 80° to 180° centigrade?
○They are under international control.
○They are more common than reservoirs that have a higher temperature.
○Few of them produce enough heat to warm large industrial spaces.
○They are used to generate electricity.
題型：細(xì)節(jié)題
定位詞： heat reservoirs with a temperature in the range of 80° to 180° centigrade
解題思路：根據(jù)定位詞中的數(shù)字定位到第一句話，根據(jù)意思可知在這種溫度范圍內(nèi)地?zé)崮芰康男纬墒亲钬S富的，所以B項(xiàng)正確。選項(xiàng)A、C、D的說法原文未提及。
重點(diǎn)句子翻譯：
By far the most abundant form of geothermal energy occurs at the relatively low temperatures of 80ºto 180º centigrade.
到目前為止，最豐富的地?zé)崮茉吹男问匠霈F(xiàn)在相對(duì)較低的80度至180度攝氏溫度。
Paragrapgh3：Geothermal reservoirs with temperatures above 180° centigrade are useful for generating electricity. They occur primarily in regions of recent volcanic activity as hot, dry rock; natural hot water; or natural steam. The latter two sources are limited to those few areas where surface water seeps down through underground faults or fractures to reach deep rocks heated by the recent activity of molten rock material. The world's largest supply of natural steam occurs at The Geysers, 120 kilometers north of San Francisco, California. In the 1990s enough electricity to meet about half the needs of San Francisco was being generated there. This facility was then in its third decade of production and was beginning to show signs of decline, perhaps because of over development. By the late 1990s some 70 geothermal electric-generating plants were in operation in California, Utah, Nevada, and Hawaii, generating enough power to supply about a million people. Eighteen countries now generate electricity using geothermal heat.
5. According to paragraph 3, what is the connection between underground faults and naturally occurring steam?
○ Underground faults enable the heat from molten-rock material to escape upward to regions where it can heat surface water enough to produce steam.
○ Underground faults are created by steam that is produced in geothermal reservoirs deep inside Earth.
○ Underground faults create spaces in which natural steam is sometimes trapped.
○ Underground faults allow surface water to reach deep rocks that are hot enough to turn it into steam.
題型：細(xì)節(jié)題
定位詞： connection between underground faults and naturally occurring steam
解題思路：定位詞 natural steam后面的一句話解釋了兩者的關(guān)系，地下斷層讓水通過、到達(dá)深處巖石，使其溫度變高成為蒸汽，所以D項(xiàng)正確。
重點(diǎn)句子翻譯：
The latter two sources are limited to those few areas where surface water seeps down through underground faults or fractures to reach deep rocks heated by the recent activity of molten rock material.
后兩個(gè)能源僅限于那些地表水滲入地下斷層，到達(dá)了被近期熔巖材料活動(dòng)加熱的深處的巖石的領(lǐng)域。
6. In paragraph 3, why does the author mention that in the 1990s The Geysers was in its third decade of production?
○ To provide the historical context of the geothermal production of electricity in the United States
○ To imply that The Geysers was the first geothermal site to be put into production in California
○ To help explain the signs of decline shown by The Geysers
○ To explain why 70 new geothermal sites were put into electricity production in the late 1990s
題型：修辭目的題
定位詞： in the 1990s The Geysers was in its third decade of production
解題思路：這是例證目的題，答案在例子的后半句，“該設(shè)施當(dāng)時(shí)在其生產(chǎn)的第三十年”是用來更好地說明其下降的跡象。所以c項(xiàng)正確。
重點(diǎn)句子翻譯：
This facility was then in its third decade of production and was beginning to show signs of decline, perhaps because of over development.
該設(shè)施當(dāng)時(shí)在其生產(chǎn)的第三十年，開始顯示出下降的跡象,也許是因?yàn)檫^度開發(fā)。