1、雅思的模擬題Academic Reading關于雅思的模擬題Academic Reading關于雅思的模擬題Academic Reading【1】Academic ReadingWind Power in the USPrompted by the oil crises of the 1970s, a wind-power industry flourished briefly in the United States. But then world oil prices dropped, and funding for research into renewable energy was c

2、ut. By the mid 1980s US interest in wind energy as a large-scale source of energy had almost disappeared. The development of wind power at this time suffered not only from badly designed equipment, but also from poor long-term planning, economic projections that were too optimistic and the difficult

3、y of finding suitable locations for the wind turbines.Only now are technological advances beginning to offer hope that wind power will come to be accepted as a reliable and important source of electricity. There have been significant successes in California, in particular, where wind farms now have

4、a capacity of 1500 megawatts, comparable to a large nuclear or fossil-fuelled power station, and produce 1.5 per cent of the states electricity.Nevertheless, in the US, the image of wind power is still distorted by early failures. One of the most persistent criticisms is that wind power is not a sig

5、nificant energy resource. Researchers at the Battelle Northwest Laboratory, however, estimate that today wind turbine technology could supply 20 per cent of the electrical power the country needs. As a local resource, wind power has even greater potential. Minnesotas energy commission calculates tha

6、t a wind farm on one of the states south western ridges could supply almost all that states electricity. North Dakota alone has enough sites suitable for wind farms to supply more than a third of all electricity consumed in the continental US.The prevailing notion that wind power is too costly resul

7、ts largely from early research which focused on turbines with huge blades that stood hundreds of metres tall. These machines were not designed for ease of production or maintenance, and they were enormously expensive. Because the major factors influencing the overall cost of wind power are the cost

8、of the turbine and its supporting systems, including land, as well as operating and maintenance costs, it is hardly surprising that it was thought at the time that wind energy could not be supplied at a commercially competitive price.More recent developments such as those seen on California wind far

9、ms have dramatically changed the economic picture for wind energy. These systems, like installations in Hawaii and several European countries, have benefited from the economies of scale that come through standardised manufacturing and purchasing. The result has been a dramatic drop in capital costs:

10、 the installed cost of new wind turbines stood at $1000 per kilowatt in 1993, down from about $4000 per kilowatt in 1980, and continues to fall.Design improvements and more efficient maintenance programs for large numbers of turbines have reduced operating costs as well. The cost of electricity deli

11、vered by wind farm turbines has decreased from about 30 cents per kilowatt-hour to between 7 and 9 cents, which is generally less than the cost of electricity from conventional power stations. Reliability has also improved dramatically. The latest turbines run more than 95 per cent of the time, comp

12、ared with around 60 per cent in the early 1980s.Another misconception is that improved designs are needed to make wind power feasible. Out of the numerous wind turbine designs proposed or built by inventors or developers, the propeller-blade type, which is based on detailed analytical models as well

13、 as extensive experimental data, has emerged as predominant among the more than 20,000 machines now in commercial operation world-wide. Like the gas-driven turbines that power jet aircraft, these are sophisticated pieces of rotating machinery. They are already highly efficient, and there is no reaso

14、n to believe that other configurations will produce major benefits.Like other ways of generating electricity, wind power does not leave the environment entirely unharmed. There are many potential problems, ranging from interference with telecommunications to impact on wildlife and natural habitats.

15、But these effects must be balanced against those associated with other forms of electricity generation. Conventional power stations impose hidden costs on society, such as the control of air pollution, the management of nuclear waste and global warming.As wind power has been ignored in the US over t

16、he past few years, expertise and commercial exploitation in the field have shifted to Europe. The European Union spends 10 times as much as the US government on research and development of wind energy. It estimates that at least 10 per cent of Europes electrical power could be supplied by land-based

17、 wind-turbines using current technology. Indeed, according to the American Wind Energy Association, an independent organisation based in Washington, Denmark, Brit關于雅思模擬題Academic Reading【2】ain, Spain and the Netherlands will each surpass the US in the generating capacity of wind turbines installed du

18、ring the rest of the decade.Glossaryfossil fuel: coal, oil and natural gaskilowatt: 1,000 watts; a watt is a unit of powerkilowatt-hour: one kilowatt for a period of one hourmegawatt: one million wattswind farm: a group of wind turbines in one location producing a large amount of electricitywind tur

19、bine: a machine which produces energy when the wind turns its bladesQuestions 1 - 5Complete the summary below.Choose your answers from the box below the summary and write them in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.NB There are more words or phrases than you will need to fill the gaps.You may use any wor

20、d or phrase more than once.ExampleThe failure during the late 1970s and early 1980s of an attempt toestablish a widespread wind power industry in the United States resulted largely from the .(1) . in oil prices during this period. The industry is now experiencing a steady .(2). due to improvements i

21、n technology and an increased awareness of the potential in the power of wind. The wind turbines that are now being made, based in part on the .(3). of wide-ranging research in Europe, are easier to manufacture and maintain than their predecessors. This has led wind-turbine makers to be able to stan

22、dardise and thus minimise .(4). . There has been growing .(5). of the importance of wind power as an energy source.criticism successdesign costs production costsfailure stabilityoperating costs fallgrowth recognitionscepticism decisionseffects declineresultsQuestions 6 - 10Look at the following list of issues (Questions 6-10) and implications (A-C).Match each issue with one implication.Write the appropri