As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating and transmission system for the 21st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around. The 19 th century saw land grants offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died. Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now. So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects. The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways. The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape... What is the author's attitude towards building solar plants? A) Disapproving. B) Approving. C) Doubtful. D) Cautious.
D
(Question)
"REMOVE from friends." This is no ordinary button. One click and I have the power to erase a person from my life. In late fall, I had around 400 friends on Facebook. Today, I have 134. Click. Make that 133. When Facebook first entered my life in 2005, I panicked(, ) that my friend count was too low. If I wasn't properly connected, how would anyone see my clever quote ? Who would wish me a happy birthday? I accepted and sent out friend requests without a second thought and soon accumulated 391 friends. There is an appeal to being able to communicate with someone or just "thumbs up" a photo rather than make real conversation. "It's comforting and it's easy," said Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University, who studies the way people communicate online." There's a sense of belonging in it. It's a sense of community in a generation where community has sort of disappeared." However, I don't talk to half of these people in the online community. There are some I would avoid if I met them on the street. Click. 132. I decided to rid my account of any "friend" that...well, wasn't. Sound easy? You try it. Look at who you're dealing with: family, friends, classmates, crushes , acquaintances... With every click of the "Remove from friends" button, you risk burning a bridge, losing a contact and missing an opportunity. So every time I go to click the button, my heart hurts. However, I'm not the only one who has experienced a Faceboook friend refreshing. The New Oxford American Dictionary announces its "Word of the Year" each year, and last year, "unfriend" made the cut (though I'll still stick with "defriend"). When I started my mission , _ . Most were surprised by how easily they could cut hundreds of connections without thinking twice. "Oh my God, I defriended like 600 people today. I feel so good!" my friend Sarah messaged. Dana, a close friend from high school, and I battled it out to see who could get our counts lower. She wins at 123. To some, it's poor "netiquette " to defriend. But to... What is Larry Rosen's opinion? A) People living in the same area are closely connected in everyday life. B) Communication online helps people feel they are members of a group. C) It's easy for people to make and break new friendships online. D) Today's young people spend nearly all their time communicating online.
(Answer)
B
Ques: To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun! Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the eleventh century BC. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office. In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England. By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn't until the twentieth century that women's umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors. This passage talks mainly about _ . A) when and how the umbrella was invented B) why the umbrella was so popular in Europe C) the development of the umbrella D) The history and use of the umbrella
Ans: D
Jennifer's Hurricane Experience I have evacuated lots of times in my life. To make sure everything is safe, my family have to move a lot of things. I usually help my mom and my brothers help my dad. Mom and I take all of the special keepsakes to low safe places. Another thing we have to do is to take our sailboat out into deep water and anchor it really well. When it's time to anchor the sailboat, Scott, my father's brother, comes over. I just need to wait in the car with my mom and brothers before we evacuate. John's Hurricane Experience My family evacuated for hurricane Opal in 1995. We left two days early because we were going to my dad's 35thHigh School Reunion . There was a lot of traffic getting out of town. But we didn't get into trouble as we had arrived at the school. During hurricane Georges, I slept. But there was a lot of lightning, thunder and rain at that night. The next morning, there were a lot of branches, twigs and leaves everywhere. Catherine's Hurricane Experience This year, we experienced two hurricanes, Earl and Georges. We did the same thing in both hurricanes. We would always be watching the news. There was a lot of rain ... a whole lot of rain. The hurricane never really got close enough to do very much damage. I have never evacuated, and I don't think that I ever will. Ryan's Hurricane Experience I am a police officer on an island in the Texas Gulf Coast. I was directly affected by the violent weather throughout the hurricane season. Our department was ordered to stay on the island while all the other citizens were evacuating. I didn't feel at all prepared for the situation. So I went to the grocery store and purchased some food. I thought a survival kit would have helped ease some of the tension in my mind. Who fixed the sailboat with Jennifer's father? A) Jennifer. B) Jennifer's mother. C) Jennifer's uncle. D) Jennifer's brothers.
C