2. 考研
  3. Power and water are interconnected and that has serious consequences for the American West as it grapples with climate change. B

Power and water are interconnected and that has serious consequences for the American West as it grapples with climate change. B

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问题    Power and water are interconnected and that has serious consequences for the American West as it grapples with climate change. By now, everyone knows you save energy by turning out lights. And you conserve water by taking shorter showers. But it’s just as true that saving water may be one of the most effective ways to save energy—and vice versa. "It’s a ’buy one, get one free’ deal," said Douglas Kenney, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School and the editor of an upcoming book that explores the nexus of water and energy.
   In California today, just delivering water accounts for 20 percent of the state’s energy consumption. It takes power to gather water, purify water, and distribute water, especially in places like southern California where water is piped hundreds of miles to supply Los Angeles’ sprawling demands.
   Nationally, energy production sucks more water from freshwater sources than any other sector except agriculture. It takes water to create the power we use to drive our cars, transport our groceries, and run our toaster ovens. Virtually every source of electricity in a typical American home or manufacturing plant—whether it comes from hydroelectricity, coal, natural gas, nuclear, biofuels, or even concentrated solar—also requires water. Lots of water.
   That’s a growing problem, because in many places, finding water for energy isn’t easy— and it’s bound to get tougher as energy demands soar and climate change alters hydrological cycles in already arid regions. The energy sector is the fastest-growing water consumer in the United States, according to a January 2011 Congressional Research Service report. Nationally, that’s a challenge, but regionally it could be a calamity. As the Congressional Research report notes, "much of the growth in the energy sector’s water demand is concentrated in regions with already intense competition over water." The connection between energy and water—and the precariousness of that link in the western United States—is exemplified in a gigantic plug of concrete stopping the muddy Colorado River above Las Vegas, otherwise known as Hoover Dam.
   At the ceremony inaugurating the Hoover Dam provided the two key ingredients—water and power—that freed the Southwest and southern California to go on a 75-year growth spurt. Lake Mead now supplies water to more than 22 million people, and it produces more than four billion kilowatts of electricity per year.
   The Colorado River, lifeblood of seven western states, is already as overdrawn as the federal treasury. Drought conditions during most of the 21st century have forced water managers to plan for a day when the region’ s vast system of dams and reservoirs no longer have enough water to store. Already, utilities have to scramble to respond on days when everybody in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles wants to crank their air conditioners during the same heat wave.
The most appropriate title for this passage could be______.
选项 A、Electricity Needs Water
B、Save the Colorado River
C、How to Save Water
D、Saving Energy and Conserving Water
答案D
解析 此题为主旨大意题。纵观全文，文章第一段引出话题一一水与能源关系密切；第二段指出水输送能源消耗大，特别是在人口密集的大城市；第三段说明几乎每种能源都需要大量的水：第四段指出水资源问题严重；第五段提到水坝带来水和能量；第六段举例科罗拉多河，水将要透支。综上，可知D选项为正确答案。
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