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SAT官方每日一题附答案和解析[阅读](2018年9月21日)
日期:2018-09-21 09:56

(单词翻译:单击)

每日一题

Critical Reading>Select an Answer

At a time when partisanship seems to lead most every story in politics, it's worth highlighting a sweeping bipartisan push that's lasted four decades.

Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have all made the same pledge to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. And yet at the end of each administration so far, imports have been higher than before.

The pledge seems to have meant little—until now. By the time President Obama leaves office, oil imports will be lower and this trend will continue. And to be fair, it's not all thanks to Obama.

Decreased dependence on foreign oil is the cumulative result of many events that set the stage for natural gas. Government policies since the 1970s funded advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (already available since the 1930s and 1950s respectively). Later, high gas prices provided market incentives to locate new wells on private lands utilizing these technologies. Most recently, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 excluded hydraulic fracturing from underground injection regulations. It's a rare instance in which markets, government, and technology worked together with a common goal. And succeeded.

As a result, the energy transition is now in play, but most people haven't noticed yet. In fact, Dr. Michael Webber, Deputy Director of the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, predicts natural gas will overtake petroleum as the dominant energy source in the U.S. within 10-20 years. Perhaps when this occurs and we finally achieve that famous political pledge to "reduce dependence on foreign oil," more Americans will recognize the significance of what's taking place.

The underlined sentence primarily serves to ________

A.identify the government policies that initially prompted a change in energy usage in the US.
B.shift the discussion to the factors that led to a decrease in US oil imports.
C.introduce the idea that the US has begun to reduce its use of foreign oil.
D.emphasize the length of time it has taken the US to find a viable alternative to natural gas.

答案和解析

答案:B

解析:

Choice B is the best answer. Earlier in the passage the author indicates that there have been ongoing efforts to reduce dependence on foreign oil and that soon "oil imports will be lower." In these lines, the author shifts the discussion to the factors that have led to a decreased dependence on imported oil, noting that "many events . . . set the stage" for increased use of an alternative source of energy.
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重点单词
  • petroleumn. 石油
  • recognizevt. 认出,认可,承认,意识到,表示感激
  • cumulativeadj. 累积的,附加的
  • viableadj. 能居住的的,能生存的,可行的
  • initiallyadv. 最初,开头
  • trendn. 趋势,倾向,方位 vi. 倾向,转向
  • achievev. 完成,达到,实现
  • dependencen. 依赖,信赖,上瘾
  • havenn. 港口,避难所,安息所 v. 安置 ... 于港中,
  • pledgen. 保证,誓言,抵押,抵押品 vt. 保证,发誓,以