2. 考研
  3. On America’s Gulf coast, massive industrial facilities stand idle. Miles of twisting stainless-steel pipes and huge storage tank

On America’s Gulf coast, massive industrial facilities stand idle. Miles of twisting stainless-steel pipes and huge storage tank

admin2018-03-01  30
问题     On America’s Gulf coast, massive industrial facilities stand idle. Miles of twisting stainless-steel pipes and huge storage tanks gleam uselessly in the sun. They are a reminder of the hundreds of billions of dollars that America has invested in terminals for handling imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Thanks to the boom in domestic shale gas, those imports are no longer needed. America produces nearly as much gas as it consumes, and will soon produce far more.
    So the obvious thing to do with those idle terminals is to re-engineer them to handle exports. Instead of receiving shiploads of liquefied gas and re-gasifying it, they should be taking American gas, liquefying it and loading it onto tankers. Converting these plants will not be cheap—each one will cost at least $5 billion. But the potential rewards are much larger.
    In America gas sells for around $3.40 per million British thermal units (mBTU). In Europe it costs around $12. In gas-poor Asia, spot cargoes change hands for as much as $20 per mBTU. Since it costs roughly $5 per mBTU to liquefy the stuff, ship it and turn it back into gas, America could be making a fortune from gas exports. To the extent that such exports displaced dirty coal, they would also help curb global warming.
    Most of America’s two dozen LNG import terminals have applied for export licences. Yet only one, Sabine Pass in Louisiana, has actually started retooling its kit. Gas from there will start flowing onto global markets by the end of 2015. Why has every other terminal been so slow to seize this opportunity?
    Converting a plant is not easy: firms must build now upon row of expensive fridges, known as "liquefaction trains", to get gas moving in the opposite direction. But the real hold-up is political. No LNG facility besides Sabine has yet received permission to export. American law requires the Department of Energy to determine whether gas exports are in the public interest, and President Barack Obama’s administration is in no hurry to make up its mind.
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that ______.
选项 A、Sabine has begun to retool its facility
B、Sabine has begun to sell gas to global markets
C、most LNG terminals have gained export licences
D、every terminal has been quick to grab the chance
答案A
解析 根据选项A中“Sabine”一词定位到该段第二行：...Sabine Pass in Louisiana, has actually started retooling its kit. 其中“started”=“begun to”；“kit=facility”。故A项为答案。根据选项B对应到该段第三句：Gas from there will start flowing onto global markets by the end of 2015. 其中“flowing onto”对应“sell…to”。关键在于原文提到“by the end of 2015”，即从2015年末Sabine才开始在全球市场上出售气，而该选项说的则是现在已经开始出售，故错误。根据选项C中的“LNG”定位到第一句：Most of America’s two dozen LNG import terminals have applied for export licences. 原文说到“applied for export licences(申请出口执照)”，而该选项说“have gained export licences(已经获得出口执照)”，故错误。根据选项D中的“every terminal”，“grab the chance”定位到原文最后一句：Why has every other terminal been so slow to seize this opportunity?原文说的是“slow”，选项D说的却是“quick”，黑白颠倒，因此该项错误。综上所述，该题答案为选项A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/mABZ777K
0

考研英语一

相关试题推荐
随机试题
最新回复(0)