邹建辉-2010年最新剑桥官方雅思模拟题
2009-12-29 10:09阅读：6,643
邹建辉-2010年最新剑桥官方雅思模拟题（听力欠奉）
Reading part:
The Academic Reading test is 60 minutes long. It has three sections
with 40 questions to answer. Below is a sample of one section.
(Note that candidates for the Academic module do a different
Reading test to the General Training module.)
Wind Power in the US
Prompted by the oil crises of the 1970s, a wind-power industry
flourished briefly in the United States. But then world oil prices
dropped, and funding for research into renewable energy was cut. By
the mid 1980s US interest in wind energy as a large-scale source of
energy had almost disappeared. The development of wind power at
this time suffered not only from badly designed equipment, but also
from poor long-term planning, economic projections that were too
optimistic and the difficulty of finding suitable locations for the
wind turbines.
Only now are technological advances beginning to offer hope that
wind powe
r will come to be accepted as a reliable and important source of
electricity. There have been significant successes in California,
in particular, where wind farms now have a capacity of 1500
megawatts, comparable to a large nuclear or fossil-fuelled power
station, and produce 1.5 per cent of the state's electricity.
Nevertheless, in the U.S., the image of wind power is still
distorted by early failures. One of the most persistent criticisms
is that wind power is not a significant energy resource.
Researchers at the Battelle Northwest Laboratory, however, estimate
that today wind turbine technology could supply 20 per cent of the
electrical power the country needs. As a local resource, wind power
has even greater potential. Minnesota's energy commission
calculates that a wind farm on one of the state's south western
ridges could supply almost all that state's electricity. North
Dakota alone has enough sites suitable for wind farms to supply
more than a third of all electricity consumed in the continental
US.
The prevailing notion that wind power is too costly results largely
from early research which focused on turbines with huge blades that
stood hundreds of metres tall. These machines were not designed for
ease of production or maintenance, and they were enormously
expensive. Because the major factors influencing the overall cost
of wind power are the cost of the turbine and its supporting
systems, including land, as well as operating and maintenance
costs, it is hardly surprising that it was thought at the time that
wind energy could not be supplied at a commercially competitive
price. More recent developments such as those seen on California
wind farms have dramatically changed the economic picture for wind
energy. These systems, like installations in Hawaii and several
European countries, have benefited from the economies of scale that
come through standardised manufacturing and purchasing. The result
has been a dramatic drop in capital costs: the installed cost of
new wind turbines stood at $1000 per kilowatt in 1993, down from
about $4000 per kilowatt in 1980, and continues to fall. Design
improvements and more efficient maintenance programs for large
numbers of turbines have reduced operating costs as well. The cost
of electricity delivered by wind farm turbines has decreased from
about 30 cents per kilowatt-hour to between 7 and 9 cents, which is
generally less than the cost of electricity from conventional power
stations. Reliability has also improved dramatically. The latest
turbines run more than 95 per cent of the time, compared with
around 60 per cent in the early 1980s. Another misconception is
that improved designs are needed to make wind power feasible. Out
of the numerous wind turbine designs proposed or built by inventors
or developers, the propeller-blade type, which is based on detailed
analytical models as well as extensive experimental data, has
emerged as predominant among the more than 20,000 machines now in
commercial operation world-wide. Like the gas-driven turbines that
power jet aircraft, these are sophisticated pieces of rotating
machinery. They are already highly efficient, and there is no
reason to believe that other configurations will produce major
benefits. Like other ways of generating electricity, wind power
does not leave the environment entirely unharmed. There are many
potential problems, ranging from interference with
telecommunications to impact on wildlife and natural habitats. But
these effects must be balanced against those associated with other
forms of electricity generation. Conventional power stations impose
hidden costs on society, such as the control of air pollution, the
management of nuclear waste and global warming. As wind power has
been ignored in the US over the past few years, expertise and
commercial exploitation in the field have shifted to Europe. The
European Union spends 10 times as much as the US government on
research and development of wind energy. It estimates that at least
10 per cent of Europe's electrical power could be supplied by
land-based wind-turbines using current technology. Indeed,
according to the American Wind Energy Association, an independent
organisation based in Washington, Denmark, Britain, Spain and the
Netherlands will each surpass the US in the generating capacity of
wind turbines installed during the rest of the decade.
Glossary
fossil fuel: coal, oil and natural gas kilowatt: 1,000 watts; a
watt is a unit of power kilowatt-hour: one kilowatt for a period of
one hour megawatt: one million watts wind farm: a group of wind
turbines in one location producing a large amount of electricity
wind turbine: a machine which produces energy when the wind turns
its blades
Questions 1 - 5
Complete the summary below using words from the box. Write your
answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
NB There are more words or phrases than you will need to fill the
gaps. You may use any word or phrase more than once.
The failure during the late 1970s and early 1980s of an attempt to
establish a widespread wind power industry in the United States
resulted largely from the ...(1)... in oil prices during this
period. The industry is now experiencing a steady ...(2)... due to
improvements in technology and an increased awareness of the
potential in the power of wind. The wind turbines that are now
being made, based in part on the ...(3)... of wide-ranging research
in Europe, are easier to manufacture and maintain than their
predecessors. This has led wind-turbine makers to be able to
standardise and thus minimise ...(4)... . There has been growing
...(5)... of the importance of wind power as an energy
source.
criticism success design costs
decisions
stability operating costs fall effects
failure
growth recognition scepticism decline
results production costs
Questions 6 - 10
Look at the following issues (Questions 6-10) and the list of
implications below (A-C). Match each issue with the correct
implication. Write the correct letter A-C in boxes 6-10 on your
answer sheet. N.B. You may use any letter more than once.
Implications
A provides evidence against claims that electricity produced from
wind power is relatively expensive. B supports claims that wind
power is an important source of energy. C opposes the view that
wind power technology requires further development.
Example
The current price of one wind-generated kilowatt... Answer A
Issues
6. The recent installation of systems taking advantage of economies
of scale ...
7. The potential of meeting one fifth of current US energy
requirements by wind power ...
8. The level of acceptance of current wind turbine technology
...
9. A comparison of costs between conventional and wind power
sources ...
10. The view of wind power in the European Union ...
Writing part:
The Academic Writing test is 60 minutes long. It has two writing
tasks of 150 words and 250 words. Below are samples of Task 1 and
Task 2. (Note that candidates for the Academic module do a
different Writing test to the General Training
module.)
Writing Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task
The graph below shows the different modes of transport used to
travel to and from work in one European city in 1960, 1980 and
2000.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main
features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Writing Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
It is inevitable that as technology develops so traditional
cultures must be lost. Technology and tradition are incompatible -
you cannot have both together.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from
your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Speaking part:
In the Speaking test, you have a conversation with a certified
Examiner. It is interactive and as close to a real-life situation
as a test can get. The test is 11 to 14 minutes long with three
parts. In Part 1, you answer questions about yourself and your
family. In Part 2, you speak about a topic. In Part 3, you have a
longer discussion on the topic. Below is a sample of Part 2 –
speaking on a topic.
Speaking, Part 2 sample
Describe a teacher who has greatly influenced you in your
education.
You should say:
1.
where you met them
2. what subject they taught
3. what was special about them
4. explain why this person influenced you so much.
You will have to talk about the topic for 1 to 2 minutes. You have
one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make
some notes if you wish.
