2014年7月6日托福阅读真题P1+题目+答案：Removing Dams

2014年7月6日托福阅读真题+题目+答案：Removing Dams

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.

1. According to paragraph 1, building dams was beneficial in each of the following ways EXCEPT

A.increasing the amount of land that could be used for farming

B.strengthening local economies

C.increasing the availability of low-cost electricity

D.expanding the aquatic habitats of 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, then the 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, expensive, 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."

2. According to paragraph 2, the likelihood that new dams will be built has decreased because

A.construction costs have increased enormously

B.safety standards have become much higher

C.public opposition to dam construction has increased

D.at most suitable sites an existing dam would have to be removed first

3. The word "obsolete " in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.unpopular

B.inefficient

C.out of date

D.unnecessary

4. Paragraph 2 supports which of the following ideas about operating licenses for large dams?

A.Since 1999 licenses have been renewed only for small dams.

B.Before 1999, owners applying for a license renewal were more likely to have their applications than they were after that date.

C.Strong public opposition to their renewal was common even before 1999, but it was based on safety considerations, not on environmental ones.

D.The environmental cost of dams has been a minor consideration in license renewal applications since 1999.

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.

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