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  3. The United States is not the energy hog it once was. Efficiency gains are often measured in terms of "energy intensity," which i

The United States is not the energy hog it once was. Efficiency gains are often measured in terms of "energy intensity," which i

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问题     The United States is not the energy hog it once was. Efficiency gains are often measured in terms of "energy intensity," which is the amount of energy consumed per unit of gross domestic product. Since the energy crisis of the early 1970s, U. S. energy intensity has declined by an average of 2. 1% a year. That’s partly because of an economic shift, with a lot of factories closing or moving overseas. But mostly it’s because of greater efficiency in areas such as appliances and building standards, as well as fuel economy standards for cars.
    Still, the rest of the country has been very slow to embrace efficiency measures compared with California. Ours was the first state to implement efficiency standards for appliances and buildings, and it still has the toughest in the nation. California’s zeal for creative energy policy hasn’t always paid off for its residents; its disastrous experiment with deregulation in the late 1990s led to rolling blackouts and price gouging. But its efficiency measures have been a boon.
    The typical American uses 12,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, while the typical Californian uses less than 7,000.
    The state has a variety of regulatory schemes encouraging utilities to conserve power and invest in efficiency, but the most important is a concept called "decoupling". In most states, the more power utilities sell, the more money they make, so they have no incentive to encourage conservation. In California, annual targets are set for utility revenues and electricity use. If more money than expected comes in from high sales, the excess is refunded to consumers; if there’s a shortfall, the utility is allowed to charge more the following year. Decoupling has spread to a handful of states, but too few. The federal government should encourage more by requiring states to study the issue.
    California is accelerating its efforts to wring more savings out of its utilities, and greater energy efficiency is expected to contribute 17% toward the state’s goal of cutting its carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
    At the federal level, legislation is pending that could dramatically lower carbon emissions and power use. Both houses of Congress have approved energy bills, but many of the best energy-efficiency measures were passed by only one house. So, for example, the Senate bill calls for the first boost in fuel economy standards in two decades, while the House version says nothing about vehicle mileage. The House bill, meanwhile, requires more energy-efficient lightbulbs and sets strong national targets for reducing power consumption in buildings, while the Senate’s doesn’t. The two chambers are now working to reconcile their bills, and the future of both the economy and the environment hinges on negotiators making the right choices on efficiency.
According to the text, decoupling
选项 A、discourages utilities from conserving power
B、persuades residents to consume more energy
C、has been introduced to most states in the U. S.
D、promotes the long-term investment in efficiency
答案D
解析 根据第四段第一句“The state…encouraging utilities to conserve power and invest inefficiency，but the most important is a concept called‘decoupling’”和第三、四句“In California，annualtargets are set for…use．If more money…to charge more the following year”，D应为答案。
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