Biomass energy (生物能).often forgotten as a promising alternative (替代物) to oil, received its day in the sun with the gathering of the Bio-Energy World Congress and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, late in April, 1990. Nearly 1, 700 scientists, businessmen, and policy-makers, one-quarter from the foreign nations, gathered for a week to discuss various means of squeezing usable energy out of trees, crops, manure, seaweed, algae, and urban waste. Biomass in the United States contributes 2. 5 percent of the total supply, but this amount can be doubled by 2000 and then doubled again by the year 2010.
Eight percent of Sweden’s energy supply, for example, is presently coming from wood bark and pulp remainings, Sweden intends to raise this percentage by more intensive harvesting of waste food lying around in forests, and through the planting of so-called energy forests of fast-growing trees such as willow and birch.
Brazil is frequently pointed to as a nation with a major successful investment (投资)in energy coming from grains: it presently runs 330,000 automobiles on a water and alcohol (酒精) mixture, replacing 10 percent of its previous oil supply. Brazilian representatives (代表) at the conference said they wish to double this in five years, with a final goal of total replacement. Most of the cars are built at the factory to use the mixture, while older models are changed through low-cost government programs.
4. In Line 2, the phrase received its day in the sun most probably means ________.
A. came to the public mind B. had its turn in the sunlight
C. was regarded as a solar energy D. came from the energy of the sun
5. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?
A. 1, 700 scientists attended the conference.
B. A quarter of American businessmen were present at the conference.
C. Foreign policy-makers accounted for a quarter.
D. Three-quarters of the representatives were from the U. S.
6. Of the total supply in 2010, biomass in the U. S. will be________.
A. 5% B.20% C.10% D.15%
7. Which of the following is not regarded as biomass energy?
A. Willow and seaweed. B. Wood and grains.
C. Water and alcohol mixture. D. Crops and oil mixture.
8. A suitable title for this passage would be ________.
A. An Energy Conference B. Approval of Biomass Energy
C. Bio-Energy for Automobiles D. Keys to Energy Crisis
