【正文】 th solar and wind energy, which are booming, tidal (潮汐的) power is a loser in the clean energy petition. But if you did want to build a tidal power station, there are few better sites than the mouth of the River Severn, in Britain. Its tidal range, the difference in depth between high and low tides, of around 15 metres is among the largest in the world. Engineers and governments have been toying with the idea since at least 1925. But none of the suggested projects has materialised. Price is one objection. A study thought that tidal energy might cost between ￡216 and ￡368 ($306 521) per MWh of electricity by 2025, pared with ￡58 75 for seagoing wind turbines (輪機) and ￡55 76 for solar panels. Environmentalists also worry that any plant would change the tides, making life harder for wildlife. An engineer called Rod Rainey thinks he has a way around both problems. He plans to replace the conventional turbines of previous plans with a much older technology. Specifically, he plans to span (橫跨) the river mouth with a line of water wheels. This is a design that dates back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Examples can be found fixed to the sides of old watermills (水磨). But there would be nothing old fashioned about Mr Rainey39。s wheels. Thirty metres high and sixty wide, they would be made from ordinary steel. Two hundred and fifty of them, along with the supporting structures, would be floated into place and secured to the seabed, creating a line 15km long. Together, they could supply power at an avenge ate of 4GW. That is about as much as two biggish nuclear power stations would manage. Substituting one of the wheels with a set of locks would provide a shipping channel about twice the width of Panama Canal, permitting upstream ports such as Avonmouth and Cardiff to continue operating.（1）What is special about the mouth of the River Seven? A.The tidal range there is about 15 meters.B.It has the largest tidal range in the world.C.The tidal power station has been built there.D.Its power plant makes life harder for wildlife.（2）What was people39。s initial attitude towards tidal power? ....（3）What are the locks used for? .. wheels. electricity.（4）What39。s the best tittle for the text? invented turbines.39。s tidal power station. power in the River Seven. old idea might be made practical.【答案】 （1）A（2）A（3）B（4）D 【解析】【分析】本文是一篇說明文，潮汐能發(fā)電站雖然計劃已久,但由于科學家的擔心,很長時間以來都沒有得以實現(xiàn)。而名叫Rod Rainey的工程師最近想到了解決問題的辦法,雖然用的是過去的科技,但在輪上做了很大改進,這樣在保證海洋生物和環(huán)境安全的同時也可大量發(fā)電。 （1）考查細節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第一段中的Its tidal range, the difference in depth between high and low tides, of around 15 metres is among the largest in the world.它的潮汐差,即最低和最高潮汐的深度差,是大約15米,位居世界首位?？芍?the mouth of the River Severn最大的特點就是潮汐差很大。故選A。 （2）考查推理判斷。根據(jù)第二段中的Engineers and governments have been toying with the idea since at least 1925.和最后一段中的Environmentalists also worry that any plant would change the tides, making life harder for wildlife.可知,工程師對潮汐電站的想法漫不經心,環(huán)境主義者擔心它會給海洋生物帶來危險,所以最初人們對潮汐發(fā)電站都是不支持的。故選A。 （3）考查細節(jié)理解。根據(jù)最后一段中的a set of locks would provide a shipping channel about twice the width of Panama Canal, permitting upstream ports such as Avonmouth and Cardiff to continue operating.可知,locks的主要作用是提供一條比巴拿馬運河寬一倍的水上運輸渠道,保證上游的港口能夠正常運行。故選B。 （4）考查主旨大意?？v觀全文可知,文章主要講Rod Rainey用古老的方法代替?zhèn)鹘y(tǒng)的輪機進行潮汐發(fā)電,打破River Severn不適宜潮汐發(fā)電的舊思想。故選D。 【點評】本題考點涉及細節(jié)理解，推理判斷和主旨大意三個題型的考查，是一篇科技類閱讀，要求考生在捕捉細節(jié)信息的基礎上，進一步根據(jù)上下文的邏輯關系，進行分析，推理，概括和歸納，從而選出正確答案。8．閱讀理解 What a Messy Desk Says About You For some time, psychologists have been studying how personality traits affect health and healthrelated choices. Not surprisingly, they have found that people blessed with innate conscientiousness, meaning that they are organized and predictable, typically eat better and live longer than people who are disorderly. They also tend to have immaculate offices. What has been less clear is whether neat environments can produce good habits even in those who aren39。t necessarily innately conscientious. To find out, researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a series of experiments. In the first experiment, they randomly assigned a group of collegeage students to spend time in two office spaces, one of which was very neat, the other wildly cluttered (亂堆) with papers and other workrelated stuff. The students spent their time filling out questionnaires unrelated to the study. After 10 minutes, they were told they could leave with an apple or a chocolate bar. Those students who sat in the orderly office were twice as likely to choose the apple as those who sat among the mess. A second experiment, however, found that working in chaos has its advantages, too. In this one, college students were placed in a messy or a neat office and asked to dream up new uses for PingPong balls. Those in messy spaces generated ideas that were significantly more creative, according to two independent judges, than those in offices where stacks of papers and other objects were neatly arranged. The results were something of a surprise, says Dr. Vohs, the leader of the study. Few previous studies found much virtue in disorder. The broken window theory, proposed decades ago, holds that even slight disorder and neglect can encourage indifference and poor discipline. But in the study by Dr. Vohs, disordered offices encouraged originality and a search for novelty. In the final portion of the study, adults were given the choice of adding a health boost to their lunchtime smoothie that was labeled either new or classic. The volunteers in the messy space were far more likely to choose the new one。 those in the tidy office generally chose the classic version. Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, Dr. Vohs and her coauthors conclude in the study, which can produce fresh insights. The implications of these findings are also practical. My advice would be, if you need to think outside the box for a future project, Dr. Vohs says, then let the clutter rise and free your imagination. But if your primary goal is to eat well or to go to the gym, pick up around your office first. By doing this, the naturally messy can acquire some of the discipline of the conscientious.（1）The underlined word immacula