大學英語四級長篇閱讀練習題

　　下面是小編整理的，希望對大家有幫助。

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　　A Battle is Looming over Renewable Energy,and Fossil Fuel Interests are Losing

　　A. In state capitals across the country,legislators are debating proposals to roll back environmental rules，prodded by industry and advocacy groups eager to curtail***縮減***regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gases.

　　B.The measures，which have been introduced in about 18 states，lie at the heart of an effort to expand to the state level the battle over fossil fuel and renewable energy.The new rules would trim or abolish climate mandates--including those that require utilities to use solar and wind energy,as well as proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules that would reduce carbon emissions from power plants.

　　C.But the campaign—despite its backing from powerful groups such as Americans for Prosperity—has run into a surprising roadblock：the growing political clout of renewable-energy interests，even in rock-ribbed Republican states such as Kansas.

　　D. The stage has been set for what one lobbyist called“trench warfare”as moneyed interests on both sides wrestle over some of the strongest regulations for promoting renewable energy.And the issues are likely to surface this fall in the midterm elections，as well，with Califomia billionaire Tom Steyer pouring money into various gubernatorial***州長的***and state and federal legislative races to back candidates who support tough rules curbing pollution.

　　E.The multi-pronged conservative effort to roll back regulations，begun more than a year ago，is supported by a loose，well.funded confederation that includes the U.S.Chamber of 　Commerce，the National Association of Manufacturers and conservative activist groups such as Americans for Prosperity,a politically active nonprofit organization founded in part by brothers 　David and Charles Koch.These groups argue that existing government rules violate free-market principles and will ultimately drive up costs for consumers.

　　F.The proposed measures are similar from state to state.In some cases，the legislative language matches or closely resembles model bills and resolutions offered by the American Legislative Exchange Council***ALEC***，a free-market.oriented group of state lawmakers underwritten in part by Exxon Mobil，Koch Industries，Duke Energy and Peabody Energy.“Now more than ever is the time for states to lead the way,”ALEC’s top officials told its members at a meeting in December.

　　G.The coalition campaigns have achieyed only symbolic victories in a few states.Nonbinding resolutions critical of the EPA power plant proposals have been approved in Alabama，Georgia，Nebraska，West Virginia and Wyoming.Three other states--Louisiana.Missouri and Ohio—are weighing legislation similar to the ALEC model.

　　H.Only one of the 18 state legislatures has approved a more substantive measure that would replace the EPA’s power plant rules.And even that bill.in Kentucky,could backfire by giving up a chance for the state to design its own program and forcing it to accept a federal compliance program.

　　I.“Clean energy is beginning to become mainstream，”said Gabe Eisner,executive director of the Energy and Policy Institute，a clean-energy think tank in Washington.“Renewable energy is popular and has increased political power now,”but，he added，“that power is still eclipsed by the resources of the fossil fuel industry.”

　　A surprisingly tough fight

　　J.Kansas might be the best place to see how these dynamics are unfolding.

　　K.The state was a promising choice for a foray***攻擊***against rules known as renewable-energy standards.which set minimum levels of renewable-energy use by electric utilities.Variations of these rules have been adopted in about 30 states.even though Congress did not pass a federal version of the requirement.In Kansas，a law passed in 2009 requires utilities to use wind and solar power to generate at least 15 percent of their electricity bv 2016 and 20 percent by 2020.

　　L.The coalition seeking the repeal of the renewable mandate had all the ingredients for success.Financial.muscle came from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce，which lobbied heavily for repeal.In addition，the state is home to Koch Industries，the Koch brothers’Wichita-based energy conglomerate***集團***.The state representative for Wichita，Republican Dennis Hedke，has called the company“one of the greatest success stories in the world”and said“they are making very positive contributions.”Hedke

　　chairs the state House’s Energy and Environment Committee.

　　M.Koch Industries，along with the utility industry’s Edison Electric Institute and the nation’s biggest coal company,Peabody Energy,have supported ALEC.which advised state lawmakers on repeal strategy.

　　N.“Koch has consistently opposed all subsidies and mandates across the board.especially as it relates to energy policy,”Philip Ellendea president and chief operating officer of Koch Companies Public Sector,said in a statement，citing the company’s opposition to the renewable fuel standard，wind production tax credit and ethanol***乙醇***mandate.“Government should not mandate the allocation or use of natural resources and raw materials in the production of goods.”

　　O.The ideological case was supported by conservative think tanks.Kansans for Liberty supposed repeal.and the state branch of Americans for Prosperity told supporters that“green energy mandates replace the free-market with bureaucratic government oversight，driving up costs for hard—working Kansas families.”The national group has spent$300.000 in the state pushing for the rollback of renewable standards.

　　P.Connections to key Kansas politicians also were stron9.Both the Kansas state Senate’s president.Susan Wagle，and the speaker of the state House，Ray Merrick，are members of the ALEC board and backed repeal.“The repeal of the RPS[Renewable Portfolio Standards]fits in line with the goals of the organization，”said Wagle，who said she joined ALEC in the 1990s in connection with her opposition to health-care reforln led by Hillary Rodham Clinton.then the first lady.

　　Q.Moreover’the Kansas economy relies heavily on fossil fuels.The state iS the nation’s 10th.1argest producer of crude oil and l 2th-largest of natural gas，according to the federal Energy Information Administration.In 2013，coal-fired power plants provided 61 percent of the state’s electricity,well above the national average.But the strong winds that blow across Kansas have carried new interests into the state.Kansas ranks sixth in the country in wind output，which jumped by a third last year and equaled 19 percent of the state’s electricity,the EIA says.

　　R. The growing number of wind farms not only generates power but royalties for landowners.Dorothy Barnett，executive director of the Climate and Energy Project，said that Kansas landowners receive more than$1 3 million a year.“This issue is an issue that touches rural Kansans，and we have a lot of rural Kansas legislators，”she said.

　　46.Resolutions with no binding force which are picky about the EPA power plant proposals have been accepted in many states such as Alabama and Georgia.

　　47.It is hopeful to gain success if Kansas is chosen as the foray against the rules of renewable-energy standards which minimize the renewable-energy use by power plants.

　　48.Koch Company’s Philip Ellender cited the company’s opposition to the renewable rules to approve its objection to all energy-policy-concerning subsidies and mandates，and advised that government let go of the allocation or use of materials used in goods production.

　　49.The issue is a problem that concerns the benefits of people in the rural Kansas，and we have a great many lawmakers from rural parts of Kansas.

　　50.The requirement to abolish the RPS complies with the organization’s targets.

　　51.The methods adopted by the l 8 states are the kernel of the attempts to level up the battle between fossil fuel and renewable energy.

　　52.The stage is established for the so-called“Wench warfare”，for the monetary benefits of both parts have been violated by the most powerful rules to spread renewable energy.

　　53.The league which requires abolishing the renewable mandate had all the factors to achieve success.

　　54.However,the winds that sweep across Kansas have brought new benefits to the state.

　　55.The all-sided efforts which roll back the renewable rules have been backed by a confederation with abundant capital，the members of which go against the existing govemment rules.

 

 

 

　　46.Resolutions with no binding force which are picky about the EPA power plant proposals have been accepted in many states such as Alabama and Georgia.那些對EPA電力公司的建議很挑剔的，不具有約束力的決議得到了阿拉巴馬和佐治亞等州的支援。

　　47.It is hopeful to gain success if Kansas is chosen as the foray against the rules of renewable-energy standards Which minimize the renewable-energy use by power plants.如果選擇堪薩斯州來攻擊那些規定了電力公司可再生能源最低使用量的可再生能源準則的話，取得成功是很有希望的。

　　48.Koch Company’s Philip Ellender cited the company’s oppose to the renewable rules to approve its objection to all energy-policy-concerning subsidies and mandates，and advised that government let go of the allocation or use of materials used in goods production.科氏公司的菲利普•埃蘭多引用了該公司對可再生能源規則的反對來證明其對所有與能源政策有關的資助與授權的異議，並且提議政府應該放開在商品生產中對材料的分配及使用。

　　49.The issue is a problem that concerns the benefits of people in the rural Kansas，and we have a great many lawmakers from that part.這個問題是一個關係到堪薩斯州農村地區人們利益的問題，而且我們有很多立法人員都是從該地區來的。

　　50.The requirement to abolish the RPS complies with the organization’s targets.廢除RPS的要求與該組織的目標一致。

　　51.The methods adopted by the 18 states are the kemel of the attempts to level up the battle between fossil fuel and renewable energy.已有18個州採納的這些措施是努力抬高化石燃料和可再生能源之間鬥爭的關鍵。

　　52.The stage is established for the so-called“gench warfare”，for the monetary benefits of both parts have been violated by the most powerful rules to spread renewable energy.由於雙方的金錢利益都受到了推廣可再生能源的最強規則的侵犯，這個舞臺就成了為所謂的“陣地戰”準備的。

　　53.The league which requires abolishing the renewable mandate had all the factors to achieve success.要求廢止可再生能源規定的同盟擁有取得成功所需的一切要素。

　　54.However,the winds that sweep across Kansas have brought new benefits to the state.然而，橫掃過堪薩斯的強風為該州帶來了新的利益。

 

     

　　：Into an Unknown World

　　A、Brain chips mean we are struggling to distinguish our own thoughts from ideas implanted by advertisers.Self-driving cars restrict old.school human drivers to special recreation parks.And the optimal***最佳的***number offingers is 12.5.

　　B、Confused?It’s a vision of the world in 25 years，as dreamed up by today’s researchers in computer-human interaction***CHI***.

　　C、CHI normally means investigating better ways for people to interact with devices we have now,but last week attendees at the annual conference in Toront0，Canada，got ahead of themselves.They created an imaginary conference agenda for 2039 that predicts the kinds of challenges we will face with future computers--many of which will be implanted.

　　D、“It’s meant to be sort of the fringes***邊緣***of human--computer interaction research，what’s really edgy or provocative，”says Eric Baumer of Cornell University in Ithaca，New York，who dreamed up the idea of the conference.“There’s a lot of retrospective thinking about the past，but there’s not as much thinking about what are the futures toward which we think we’re working.”

　　E、We used the abstracts to create a list of the questions we—or more accurately.our cyborg descendants--might have about computers in 2039.

　　Is it weird when my organs talk to each other?

　　F、In an abstract entitled“My liver and my kidney compared notes”，IBM researcher Michael Muller,based in Cambridge，Massachusetts，looks at what happens when the implanted monitors on people’s intemal organs—a network he calls Arterionet--are able to share data and pool knowledge to offer enhanced health tips.

　　G、His conclusion：“While most users were skeptical.many users proposed additional features that could lead to greater acceptance and compliance with such recommendations.”

　　H、It’s worth thinking about how people might deal with health tips from organ monitors.Wearable technology that tracks your activity or your health status is slowly gaining popularity while researchers earlier this year implanted power-generating silicone strips on the hearts，lungs and diaphragms***橫膈膜*** of live cows，pigs and sheep.Muller says the biggest challenge to creating Arterionet will be figuring out how to fit the artificial intelligence in a sufficiently small and safe package.

　　Why do plants need their own Facebook,again?

　　I、To understand this question，you need to know about Plantastic，the brainchild of Bill Tomlinson and his colleagues at the University of California at Irvine.

　　J、In their abstract，they reason that to make our food supply more sustainable，it may make sense to grow more fruits and vegetables close to home.But certain crops thrive when they’re grown in large quantities or alongside certain other plants--too tall all order for the average farmer.

　　K、Enter Plantastic，which would advise what plants would work best for your area and tell you what people in the neighbourhood are growin9.Nanochips on plants would feed data back to the site.That information in turn could be used to 1earn more about what grows best in which environment.

　　L、Assuming people will want to know whether this adds anythin9，Tomlinson’s team created a fictional***虛構的***study that looks at l o backyard gardens over two growing seasons.It suggests that using Plantastic will increase yields by 4 to 12 percent.

　　M、Tomlinson’s graduate student Juliet Norton is working on an early version of what the online system might look like.

　　Autonomous cars have made driving so boring--what shall I do instead?

　　N、Andreas Riener at the Institute for Pervasive Computing in Linz.Austria，has written an abstract that starts with a bold view of the future：“The first self-driving car cruised on our roads in 2019.Now,20 years after,it is time to review how this innovation has changed our mobility behaviour.”

　　O、This vision is rooted in a real trend.Self-driving cars have been making headlines for several years now.They are legal to drive in the state of Nevada.and Google’s driverless car has already racked up hundreds of thousands of practice miles.

　　P、Reiner’s contribution is to explore how this will change us.He predicts that once the robots take the wheel everywhere.many of us will lose interest in driving altogether.Fewer of us will own our own cars.Those who do won’t waste as much time pimping them out or driving around iust for fun.People who still love cars might have to seek their thrills in special“recreation parks”.where they can drive manually in an artificial environment.“If the vehicles of the future are only a means to get from A to B，this car culture would get lost.”he says.

　　Did I just think up that idea or did an advertiser implant it?

　　Q、Multiple contributors to CHl 2039 ponder the future of brain implants.Whether it involves capturing input from each of our senses or recording neurons***神經元***directly in the brain，they assume that this one is a question not of if but when.And that could bring opportunities--and challenges.

　　R、Shachar Maidenbaum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem，Israel，envisions devices that could record our day-to-day experiences and then allow US to share our memories with one another,revolutionising courts，classrooms，and our social interactions.

　　S、Daniel Gruen of IBM Research，meanwhile，envisions devices that could prompt your memory when you forget something.一with some darker consequences.“Imagine in the future that you have systems that help you with memory,”he says.“At what point do you start wondering.‘Wait.I’ve had an idea.Is that really mine or is that idea coming from somewhere else?”’

　　So，what is the ideal number of fingers?

　　T.、Ever strain yourself swiping across your iPhone screen?That problem would go away if you could have an extra thumb surgically***手術地***attached to your hand.

　　U、That’s the starting point for a fictitious study of l 24 people who have chosen to augment their hands with bionic***仿生的***fingers--on average they have 13.4 digits.Johannes Schfnin9，a computer scientist at Hasselt University in Belgium，even comes to an intriguing conclusion：“The optimal finger count is l 2.5，with six normal—sized fingers on each hand and the dominant hand having an extra half-sized finger that can be moved with 6 degrees of freedom.”

　　V、It’s entertaining stuff but even SchSning admits that 25 years might not be long enough for this one to appear.

　　46.In his article.Michael Muller investigates the consequences of Arterionet’s being capable of sharing information to supply extra strong health advices.

　　47.CHI refers to the exploration ofbetter means for people to interact with today’s equipments，but during last week’s yearly meetin9，participants proposed a future vision of CHI.

　　48.To prove if Plantastic is really helpful.Tomlinson and his colleagues conducted an imaginary research which investigates l o family gardens over 2 planting seasons.

　　49.Autonomous cars have become a hot topic since many years a90.

　　50.It deserves to be taken into account that what people will do to treat the health secrets offered by organ monitoring units.

　　51.In the paper,Tomlinson and his partners infer that to increase the endurability of our food supply,it is necessary to plant more fruits and vegetable near our houses.

　　52.Bionic finger is an interesting stuff but even SchSning doubt whether it can be created during the next25 years.

　　53.At the same time.IBM research Daniel Gruen imagines some kind of equipments that Call remind you of things you forget，which leads to bad results,

　　54.We always think a lot about the past，but we seldom consider the future life we’re trying to create.

　　55.In 2019.our roads saw in the first autonomous car.And the year 2039 is the time for us to consider to what extent this creation has transformed our moving styles.

 

 

 

 

　　46.In his article.Michael Muller investigates the consequences of Artefionet’s being capable of sharing information to supply extra strong health advices.在他的文章中，邁克爾·穆勒研究了Arterionet內部能夠共享資訊並提供養生祕訣時帶來的後果。

　　47.CHI refers to the exploration ofbeRer means for people to interact with today’s equipments，but during last week’s yearly meeting，participants proposed a future vision of CHl.CHl研究的是人們與現今裝置之間的互動方法，但在上週的年會上，與會者提出了CHl的未來願景。

　　48.To prove if Plantastic is really helpful.Tomlinson and his colleagues conducted an imaginary research which investigates 10 family gardens over 2 planting seasons.為了證明Plantastic是否真的有用，湯姆 林森和他的同事進行了一場虛構研究，研究了10個家庭菜園在兩個生長季的情況。

　　49.Autonomous cars have become a hot topic since many years ago.自動駕駛汽車自數年前開始就已經是一個熱點話題。

　　50.It deserves to be taken into account that what people will do to treat the health secrets offered by organ monitoring units.人們會如何對待器官監控器提出的養生祕訣這個問題是值得考慮的。

　　51.In the paper,Tomlinson and his partners infer that to increase the endarability of oar food supply,it is necessary to plant more fruits and vegetable near oar houses.在這篇文章中，湯姆林森和他的同事指出，為了增加食物供給的永續性，我們有必要在家附近種植一些果蔬。

　　52.Bionic finger is interesting stuff but even Sch6ning doubt whether it carl be created during the next 25years.仿生手指是個有趣的東西，但是即使是Sch6ning也不確定接下來的25年之內是否能創造出來。

　　53.At the same time，IBM research Daniel Gruen imagines some kind of equipments that Can remind you of things you forget，which leads to bad results.與此同時，IBM研究人員丹尼爾·格倫也構想了可以幫助你記起一些事情的裝置，但使用這個裝置的結果並不好。

　　54.We always think a lot about the past，but we seldom consider the future life we’re trying to create.我們總會回顧過去，但是對於我們正在努力創造的未來卻少有思考。

　　55.In 2019.our roads saw in the first autonomous car.And the year 2039 is the time for us to consider to whal extent this creation has transformed our moving styles.在2019年，我們的公路迎來了第一輛無人駕駛汽車。而20年後的2039年對我們來說，正是思考這項創新在多大程度上改變了我們出行方式的時間。

　　55.The all-sided efforts which roll back the renewable rules have been backed by a confederation with abundant capital，the members of which go against the existing government rules.這些回滾可再生能源規則的全面努力得到了一個資金充足的聯盟的支援，這個聯盟中的成員都反對現存的政府規定。