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  3. For nearly a century, two United States governmental agencies, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Recla

For nearly a century, two United States governmental agencies, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Recla

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问题     For nearly a century, two United States governmental agencies, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, have constructed dams to store water and to generate electricity. Building these dams provided cheap electricity, created jobs for workers, stimulated regional economic development, and allowed farming on lands that would otherwise be too dry. But not everyone agrees that big dam projects are entirely beneficial. Their storage reservoirs stop the flow of rivers and often submerge towns, farms, and historic sites. They prevent fish migrations and change aquatic habitats essential for native species.
    The tide may have turned, in fact, against dam building. In 1998 the Army Corps announced that it would no longer be building large dams. In the few remaining sites where dams might be built, public opposition is so great that getting approval for projects is unlikely. Instead, the new focus may be on removing existing dams and restoring natural habitats. In 1999 Bruce Babbitt, the then United States interior secretary, said, —Of the 75,000 large dams in the United States, most were built a long time ago and are now obsolete and unsafe. They were built with no consideration of the environmental costs. As operating licenses come up for renewal, dam removal and habitat restoration to original stream flows will be among the options considered.
    The first active hydroelectric dam in the United States to be removed against the wishes of its owners was the 162-year-old Edwards Dam, on the Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine. For many years, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service had advocated the removal of this dam, which prevented migration of salmon, shad, sturgeon, and other fish species up the river. In a precedent-setting decision, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered the dam removed after concluding that the environmental and economic benefits of a free-flowing river outweighed the electricity generated by the dam. In July 1999 the dam was removed and restoration work began on wetlands and stream banks long underwater.
    The next dams likely to be taken down are the Elwha and Glines Dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park in the state of Washington. Built nearly a century ago to provide power to lumber and paper mills in the town of Port Angeles, these dams blocked access to upstream spawning beds for six species of salmon on what once was one of the most productive salmon rivers in the world. Simply removing the dams will not restore the salmon, however. Where 50-kilogram king salmon once fought their way up waterfalls to lay their eggs in gravel beds, there now are only concrete walls holding back still water and deep beds of muddy deposits. Removing the mud, uncovering gravel beds where fish spawn, and finding suitable salmon types to rebuild the population is a daunting task. Congress will have to appropriate somewhere around $300 to $400 million to remove these two relatively small dams and rehabilitate the area.
    Environmental groups, encouraged by these examples, have begun to talk about much more ambitious projects. Four giant dams on the Snake River in Washington State, for example, might be removed to restore salmon and steelhead fish runs to the headwaters of the Columbia River. The Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite National Park might be taken down to reveal what John Muir, the founder of the prestigious environmental organization Sierra Club, called a valley—just as beautiful and worthy of preservation as the majestic Yosemite. Some groups have even suggested removing the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. In each of these cases, powerful interests stand in opposition. These dams generate low-cost electricity and store water that is needed for agriculture and industry. Local economies, domestic water supplies, and certain types of recreation all would be severely impacted by destruction of these dams.
The third paragraph suggests that one main consideration for keeping the Edwards Dam was________.
选项 A、the electricity it generated
B、the length of time it had been in operation
C、the high cost of removing it
D、the fact that removing it would set a bad example
答案A
解析 文中并没有明确说明原因，但是保留大坝的原因主要在于其作用。第3段第3句联邦能源监管委员会要拆除这个大坝的原因是自由流动的河流所带来的环境和经济效益远超其发电效益，这其实也可以暗示了这个大坝的作用在于其有发电效益，故正确答案为A项。B项“大坝投入使用的时间”、C项“拆除大坝代价昂贵”、D项“拆除大坝会树立不好的榜样”，这三项都不能成为大坝运营这么久的原因。
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