书名：雅思阅读真题机经与解析
作者：王学峰 白洋洋 曹攀 编著
ISBN：9-787-301-32123-2
定价：58元
Could Fuel-cell Technology Decelerate Climate Change?
A. Many people think that the conservation of rainforests and coral reefs is a separate matter from traffic and air pollution. In fact, it is not. Scientists now firmly believe that the rapid climate changes in the Earth are already disturbing and changing the living environment for wild animals. Pollution from cars, motorcycles, trucks and so on contributes significantly to this problem.
B. It was estimated by the United Nation’s Climate Change Panel that by the year 2100 the global average temperature rise expected could be as much as 6°C, resulting in forest fires and coral bleaching. Few species, if any, will be immune from the changes in temperature, rainfall and sea levels. The panel believes that to reduce the quantity of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, currently being released into the atmosphere is one of the most effective methods to avoid the disastrous temperature rises. That will depend on slowing the rate of deforestation and, more importantly, finding alternatives to fossil fuels as our primary energy sources.
C. Technologies, such as the fast-growing wind power and solar power, do exist to diminish or eliminate carbon dioxide as a waste product of our energy consumption. But what are we doing about traffic? Electric cars are one possible option, yet their range and the time it takes to charge their batteries pose serious limitations. However, the technology with the most potential to produce climate-friendly cars is fuel-cell technology. Although this was actually invented in the late nineteenth century, it was never refined for mass production because the world’s motor industry put its efforts into developing the combustion engine. One of the first prototype fuel-cell-powered vehicles has been built by the Ford Motor Company. It looks similar to a conventional car, but with better acceleration and a smoother ride. In the future, Ford engineers expect to be able to build a virtually silent vehicle.
D. So what’s the process involved — and is there a catch? The hydrogen goes into the fuel tank, generating electricity. The only emission is water. The fuel-cell is, in some ways, similar to a battery, but unlike a battery it does not run down. As long as hydrogen and oxygen are provided to the cell, it will keep on producing power. Some cells work off methane and a few use liquid fuels such as methanol, but fuel-cells using hydrogen probably are the most potential. Furthermore, they are not limited to transport. Fuel-cells can be made in a huge range of sizes, small enough for portable computers or large enough for power stations. They have no moving components and therefore need no oil. They need nothing but a supply of hydrogen.
E. The big question then is where to get it from. One source of hydrogen is water. But to exploit the abundant resource, electricity is needed, and if the electricity is produced by a coal-fired power station or other fossil fuel, then the overall carbon reduction benefit of the fuel-cell disappears. Renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, do not produce sufficient energy for it to be economically feasible to use them in the “manufacture” of hydrogen as a transport fuel. Another source of hydrogen is, however, available and could provide a supply pending the development of more efficient and cheaper renewable energy technologies. By dividing natural gas (methane) into its constituent components, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are produced. One way to deal with the carbon dioxide could be to store it back below ground — so-called geological sequestration. Oil companies, such as Norway’s Statoil, are experimenting with storing carbon dioxide underground in oil and gas wells.
F. The urgent need to get fuel-cell vehicles, with freak weather conditions that were arguably caused by global warming, will be available in most showrooms. Even now, fuel-cell buses are operating in the US, while in Germany a courier company is planning to take delivery of fuel-cell-powered vans in the near future. However, another challenge that centrally-run fleets of buses and vans and other first fuel-cell vehicles have to confront is fuel distribution. The refueling facilities necessary to top up hydrogen-powered vehicles are available only in a very few locations at present. Public transport and delivery fi rms are logical places to start, since their vehicles are operated from central depots.
G. Fuel-cell technology is being developed across the automobile industry and it could have a major impact on slowing down climate change. But for it to have a long-term future, further investment is needed.
Questions 27 — 32
Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs, A — G.
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A — F from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i — ix, in boxes 27 — 32 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i. | Some negative predictions from a cohort of specialists |
ii. | A holistic opinion of climate change |
iii. | Marketing the hydrogen car |
iv. | Action already taken by the United Nations |
v. | Looking for the essential ingredient |
vi. | How the new vehicle technology functions |
vii. | Using the new technology worldwide |
viii. | Sustaining car manufacture |
ix. | The historical development of fuel-cell technology |
27. Paragraph A
28. Paragraph B
29. Paragraph C
30. Paragraph D
31. Paragraph E
32. Paragraph F
Answer & Explanation 答案及解析
27. ii
此题的关键词为holistic（全面的）。段落A 首句提到很多人都认为热带雨林和珊瑚礁的保护和交通、空气污染无关，但是第二句话锋一转，否定了第一句的内容。第三、四句进一步指出气候变化和污染对于动物的生存环境有影响，所以第三、四句所表达的观点是对于首句观点的补充，表达了一种更加全面（即holistic）的观点，因此ii 为正确答案。
28. i
此题的关键词为negative 和specialists（专家）。B 段首句的United Nation’s Climate Change Panel（联合国气候变化专门委员会）直接对应了选项i 中的a cohort of specialists。同时，此句也指出了专家们对于未来全球气温升高的预估（estimated）以及由此带来如森林大火和珊瑚白化等负面（negative）后果，所以i 为正确答案。
29. ix
此题的关键词为historical 和fuel-cell （燃料电池）technology。虽然C 段前三句提到了technology 的三种形式wind power，solar power 和 electric cars，但这些句子只是起到了铺垫作用，并不是作者想表达的主要观点。第四句引出了题目关键词fuel-cell technology，此后的句子介绍了这项科技从19 世纪晚期以来的发展和应用的历程（即historical development），因此正确答案为ix。
30. vi
此题的关键词为vehicle 和functions。C 段的结尾处提及Ford Motor Company 设计了一种使用fuel-cell 的新车型（vehicle），D 段首句承接这一内容，用so来提问新车型产生能源的过程（process）。此后的句子提到使用hydrogen和oxygen 产生能源等内容，说明了fuel-cell 的工作原理，即function。
31. v
此题的关键词为looking for 和ingredient（原材料）。E 段首句的where to get it from 对应关键词looking for，其后的water 和methane 都是可以产生hydrogen 的两种原材料，因此正确答案为v。
32. vii
此题的关键词为using 和worldwide。F 段中的美国和德国对应worldwide，这些国家正在使用或者计划使用fuel-cell，因此答案为vii。
内容简介：
本书为雅思考试备考书籍，书内收集海内外最新阅读真题6套，并加以适当的修改和改编，确保最大程度还原最新考题趋势。每套试题含3篇文章和对应的题目，共计18篇文章。每篇文章均有详细的解析，并附有重点单词表，方便考生备考。
本书中的每一篇文章均经过了最大化的还原以确保和真题尽可能一致，深思熟虑的编写确保真题的每字每句都原汁原味地还原了考题的地道性。阅读考题每年都会有些微妙的变化，而通过本书中的18篇文章的完整练习、纠错、总结、回顾，考生们可以清晰地从出题者的视角来了解雅思阅读的考试题型、文章选材、做题方法技巧等。
作者简介：
王学峰：曾全额奖学金公派留学于南安普顿大学本科、伦敦艺术大学时尚管理学硕士。雅思阅读满分。
白洋洋：曾国家公派至南美洲做汉语言教学工作。雅思阅读满分。
曹攀：津桥国际学术规划导师，连续多年获评明星教师、新浪五星教师。曾任职于李阳疯狂英语团队，被众多学生称为人生导师。雅思阅读满分。
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