A nuclear plant was built in the area （) the farmers ’ protests.A、withB、inC、overD、among

A.1 0

B.9

C.8

D.7

A．the sudden and complete failure of a company, organization, or system

B．severe overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor resulting in the core melting and radiation escaping

The greatest fear of nuclear power opponents has always been a reactor “melt down”. Today, the chances of a meltdown that would threatenUSApublic health are testing new reactors that rely not on human judgment to shut them down but on the laws of nature. Now General Electric is already building two advanced reactors in. But don't expect them even on USA shores unless things change in Washington.

The procedure for licensing nuclear power plants is a bad dream. Any time during, or even after, construction, an objection by any group or individual can bring everything to a halt while the matter is investigated or taken to court. Meanwhile, the builder must add nice, but not necessary improvements, some of which force him to knock down walls and start over. In every case when a plant has been opposed, the Nuclear Regulation Commission has ultimately granted a license to construct or operate. But the victory often costs so much that the utility ends up abandoning the plant anyway.

A case in point is the Shoreham plant onNew York'sLong Island. Shoreham was a virtual twin to the Millstone plant in, both ordered in the mid 60s '. Millstone, complete for $ 101 million, has been generating electricity for two decades. Shoreham, however, was singled out by antinuclear activists who, by sending in endless protests, drove the cost over $5 billion and delayed its use for many years.

Shoreham finally won its operation license. But the plant has never produced a watt power. Governor Mario Cuomo, an opponent of a Shoreharn start up, used his power to force's publicities commission to accept the following settlement: the power company could pass the cost of Shoreham along to its consumers only if it agreed not to operate the plant. Today, a perfectly good facility, capable of servicing hundreds of thousands of homes, sits rusting.

96.The author's attitude towards the development of nuclear power is _____.

A.negative

B.neutral

C.positive

D.questioning

97.What has made the procedure for licensing nuclear plants a bad dream_____

A.The inefficiency of the Nuclear Regulation Commission.

B.The enormous cost of construction and operation.

C.The length of time it takes to make investigations.

D.The objection of the opponents of nuclear power.

98.It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that _____.

A.there are not enough safety measures in theUSAfor running new nuclear power plants

B.it is not technical difficulties that prevent the building of nuclear power plants in theUSA

C.there are already more nuclear power plants than necessary in theUSA

D.the American government will not allow Japanese nuclear reactors to be installed in theUSA

99.Governor Mario Cuomo's chief intention in proposing the settlement was to _____.

A.stop the Shoreham plant from going into operation

B.urge the power company to further increase its power supply

C.permit the Shoreham plant to operate under certain conditions

D.help the power company to solve its financial problems

100.From which sentence of the article can you see the attitude of the author and that of Governor Mario Cuomo respectively_____

A.the 2nd sentence in the first paragraph, the 3rd sentence in the last paragraph.

B.the last sentence, the last sentence but one

C.the last sentence in para.2, last sentence but one.

D.the last sentence in para.3, the 3rd sentence in the fifth paragraph.

Toshiba Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida said that while the price might seem quite high, Toshiba had a lot of competition for the company and that the future growth and profit potential of the business made it the correct price.

By 2020 the market for nuclear power generation is expected to grow 50 percent compared to 2005, Nishida said at a London news conference. "Toshiba is responding to this challenge by acquiring Westinghouse."

Upon completion of the acquisition, Toshiba expects its nuclear power business to expand to three times the current level by 2015 as a result of operational and technological synergies, Toshiba said in a statement.

Toshiba expects to close the deal within six months and is not expecting regulatory troubles, Nishida said.Westinghouse will keep its headquarters in Pennsylvania, as well as its equipment, employees and trademarks, he said.

Toshiba, which makes electronic goods including DVD players, semiconductors, electric motors and power systems, is preparing for an expected surge of new investment in power plants in China, India and the US.

Westinghouse, which has built most of the nuclear reactors in the United States, is likely to design the plant and service them when they come online.

What does the passage mainly discuss？

A．The acquisition of British Nuclear Fuels by Toshiba

B．The acquisition of Westinghouse Electric by Toshiba

C．Toshiba's expansion in nuclear power business.

D．Toshiba's embarking on nuclear power business.

(15 minutes)

Directions :

Read the following text. Choose the best word or phrase for each numbered blank and mark A , B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET1.

In addition to the established energy sources such as gas ,coal ,oil and nuclear ,there are a num-ber of other sources that we ought to consider. Two of these are hydroelectric and tidal power. These two sources are (21) in that they are both renewable. (22) ,hydropower is more widely used than tidal.ln (23) ,a substantial amount of electricity is already produced in HEP (hydroelectric power)stations worldwide, (24) tidal stations are stillin the very early (25) of development. .

As far as geographical (26) is concerned ,HEP projects are to be found on lakes and rivers, whiletidal (27)are constructed only at river mouths where tidal (28) is great .Unfortunately these are (29) in number. At present HEP stations are found mainly in Norway ,Canada ,Sweden and Brazil ,whereas tidal plants are in (30) in France ,Russia and China.

As regards capital (31) ,both require very high..investment. On the other hand ,generating(32) are quite low in both cases .ln fact,a large scale HEP plant is capable of producing power more (33) than conventional sources ,such as coal ,oil and nuclear plants. Tidal power also com-pares (34) with nuclear and oil generated electricity, (35) the amount of money on production.

(36) HEP stations ,tidalconstructions have alonglife (37).Itis estimated thatthey can operate foroverl00 years. With respect to (38) 0f supply ,tidal stations (39) from HEP ones in that they often can only supply power (40). HEP stations ,however ,provide a constant supply of elec-tricity.

21.

[ A] compatible

[ B ] parallel

[ C] similar

[ D] identical

Section A – This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attempted

Hesket Nuclear (HN) is a nuclear power station in Ayland, a large European country. The HN plant is operated by Hesket Power Company (HPC), which in turn is wholly owned by the government of Ayland. Initially opened in the late 1950s, the power station grew in subsequent decades by the addition of several other facilities on the same site. HN now has the ability to generate 5% of Ayland’s entire electricity demand and is one of the largest nuclear stations in Europe. At each stage of its development from the 1950s to the present day, development on the site was welcomed by the relevant local government authorities, by the businesses that have supported it, by the trade union that represents the majority of employees (called Forward Together or FT for short) and also by the national Ayland government. A nuclear reprocessing facility was added in the 1980s. This is a valuable source of overseas income as nuclear power producers in many other parts of the world send material by sea to HN to be reprocessed. This includes nuclear producers in several developing countries that rely on the cheaper reprocessed fuel (compared to ‘virgin’ fuel) that HN produces.

HPC is loss-making and receives a substantial subsidy each year from the government of Ayland. HPC has proven itself uneconomic but is deemed politically and environmentally necessary as far as the government is concerned. The government of Ayland has reluctantly accepted that large subsidies to HPC will be necessary for many years but considers nuclear power to be a vital component of its energy portfolio (along with other energy sources such as oil, gas, coal, renewables and hydroelectric) and also as a key part of its ‘clean’ energy strategy. Unlike energy from fossil fuels (such as coal, gas and oil), nuclear power generates a negligible amount of polluting greenhouse gas. HN also provides much needed employment in an otherwise deprived part of the country. The HN power station underpins and dominates the economy of its local area and local government authorities say that the HN plant is vital to the regional economy.

Since it opened, however, the HN power station has been controversial. Whilst being welcomed by those who benefi t from it in terms of jobs, trade, reprocessing capacity and energy, a coalition has gradually built up against it comprising those sceptical about the safety and environmental impact of nuclear power. Some neighbouring countries believe themselves to be vulnerable to radioactive contamination from the HN plant. In particular, two countries, both of whom say their concerns about HN arise because of their geographical positions, are vocal opponents. They say that their geographical proximity forced them to be concerned as they are affected by the location of the HN plant which was not of their choosing.

The government of Beeland, whose capital city is 70 km across the sea from HN (which is situated on the coast), has consistently opposed HN and has frequently asked the government of Ayland to close HN down. The Beeland government claims that not only does ‘low-level’ emission from the site already contaminate the waters separating the two countries but it also claims that any future major nuclear ‘incident’ would have serious implications for the citizens of Beeland. There is some scientifi c support for this view although opinion is divided over whether Beeland is being irrational in its general opposition to HN.

The government of Ceeland is also a vocal opponent of HN. Ceeland is located to the north of Beeland and approximately 500 km away from Ayland. Some nuclear scientists have said that with such a large stretch of water between the HN plant and Ceeland, even a much-feared incident would be unlikely to seriously impact on Ceeland. Some commentators have gone further and said that Ceeland’s concerns are unfounded and ‘borne of ignorance’. FT, the trade union for HN employees, issued a statement saying that Ceeland had no reason to fear HN and that its fears were ‘entirely groundless’.

HN’s other vocal and persistent opponent is No Nuclear Now (NNN), a well-organised and well-funded campaigning group. Describing itself on its website as ‘passionate about the environment’, it describes HN’s social and environmental footprint as ‘very negative’. NNN has often pointed to an environmentally important colony of rare seals living near the HN plant. It says that the seals are dependent on a local natural ecosystem around the plant and are unable to move, arguing that the animals are at signifi cant risk from low-level contamination and would have ‘no chance’ of survival if a more serious radioactive leak ever occurred. NNN points to such a leak that occurred in the 1970s, saying that such a leak proves that HN has a poor safety record and that a leak could easily recur.

Each time an objection to the HN power station is raised, FT, the trade union, robustly defends the HN site in the media, and argues for further investment, based on the need to protect the jobs at the site. Furthermore, the radiation leak in the 1970s led to FT uniting with the HPC board to argue against those stakeholders that wanted to use the leak as a reason to close the HN site. The combination of union and HPC management was able to counter the arguments of those asking for closure.

HN places a great deal of emphasis on its risk management and often publicises the fact that it conducts continual risk assessments and is in full compliance with all relevant regulatory frameworks. Similarly, FT recently pointed out that HN has had an ‘impeccable’ safety record since the incident in the 1970s and says on its website that it is ‘proud’ that its members are involved in ensuring that the company is continually in full compliance with all of the regulatory requirements placed upon it.

The board of HPC, led by chairman Paul Gog, is under continual pressure from the government of Ayland to minimise the amount of government subsidy. Each year, the government places challenging targets on the HPC board requiring stringent cost controls at the HN power station. In seeking to reduce maintenance costs on the expiry of a prior maintenance contract last year, the board awarded the new contract to an overseas company that brought its own workers in from abroad rather than employing local people. The previous contract company was outraged to have lost the contract and the move also triggered an angry response from the local workforce and from FT, the representative trade union.

FT said that it was deplorable that HPC had awarded the contract to an overseas company when a domestic company in Ayland could have been awarded the work. The union convenor, Kate Allujah, said that especially in the nuclear industry where safety was so important, domestic workers were ‘more reliable’ than foreign workers who were brought in purely on the basis of cost and in whose countries safety standards in similar industries might not be so stringent. HPC said that it had done nothing illegal as the foreign workers were allowed to work in Ayland under international legal treaties. Furthermore, it argued that pressure by FT to raise wages over recent years had created, with the government’s subsidy targets, the cost pressure to re-tender the maintenance contract.

On HN’s 50th anniversary last year, NNN published what it called a ‘risk assessment’ for the HN power station. It said it had calculated the probabilities (P) and impacts (I) of three prominent risks.

Risk of major radioactive leak over the next 10 years: P = 10%, I = 20

Risk of nuclear explosion over the next 50 years: P = 20%, I = 100

Risk of major terrorist attack over next 10 years: P = 10%, I = 80

Impacts were on an arbitrary scale of 1–100 where 100 was defi ned by NNN as ‘total nuclear annihilation of the area and thousands of deaths’.

The governments of Beeland and Ceeland seized upon the report, saying that it proved that HN is a genuine threat to their security and should be immediately closed and decommissioned. HN’s risk manager, Keith Wan, vigorously disagreed with this assessment saying that the probabilities and the impacts were ‘ridiculous’, massively overstated and intended to unnecessarily alarm people. HN’s public relations offi ce was also angry about it and said it would issue a rebuttal statement.

Required:

(a) Distinguish between voluntary and involuntary stakeholders, identifying both types of stakeholders in Hesket Nuclear. Assess the claims of THREE of the involuntary ‘affected’ stakeholders identifi ed. (12 marks)

(b) The trade union, Forward Together, has had a long relationship with HN and represents not only the main workforce but also the employees of the maintenance company replaced by the foreign workers.

Required:

Explain the roles of employee representatives such as trade unions in corporate governance and critically evaluate, from the perspective of HPC’s board, the contribution of Forward Together in the governance of HPC. (10 marks)

(c) Explain what an agency relationship is and examine the board of HPC’s current agency relationship and objectives. Briefl y explain how these would differ if HPC was a company with private shareholders. (10 marks)

(d) As a part of HPC’s public relations effort, it has been proposed that a response statement should be prepared for the company’s website to help address two major challenges to their reputation.

Required:

Draft this statement to include the following:

(i) Referring to the NNN report, explain why accurate risk assessment is necessary at Hesket Nuclear. (8 marks)

(ii) Explain what a social and environmental ‘footprint’ is and construct the argument that HN’s overall social and environmental footprint is positive. (6 marks)

Professional marks will additionally be awarded in part (d) for drafting a statement that is clear, has a logical fl ow, is persuasive and is appropriately structured. (4 marks)

The room is a vault (地下库) designed to hold around 2 million seeds, representing all known varieties of the world's crops. It is being built to safeguard the world's food supply against nuclear war, climate change, terrorism, rising sea levels, earthquakes and the collapse of electricity supplies. "If the worst came to the worst, this would allow the world to reconstruct agriculture on this planet," says Cary Fowler, director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, an independent international organization promoting the project.

The Norwegian (挪威的) government is planning to create the seed bank next year at the request of crop scientists. The $3 million vault will be built deep inside a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian Arctic island of Spitsbergen. The vault will have metre-thick walls of reinforced concrete and will be protected behind two airlocks and high-security doors.

The vault's seed collection will represent the products of some 10, 000 years of plant breeding by the world's farmers. Though most are no longer widely planted, the varieties contain vital genetic properties still regularly used in plant breeding.

To survive, the seeds need freezing temperatures. Operators plan to replace the air inside the vault each winter, when temperatures in Spitsbergen are around -18℃. But even if some disaster meant that the vault was abandoned, the permanently frozen soil would keep the seeds alive. And even accelerated global warming would take many decades to penetrate the mountain vault.

"This will be the world's most secure gene bank," says Fowler. "But. its seeds will only be used when all other samples have gone for some reason."

The project comes at a time when there is growing concern about the safety of existing seed banks around the world. Many have been criticized for their poor security, ageing refrigeration (冷藏) systems and vulnerable electricity supplies.

The scheme won UN approval at a meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome in October 2005. A feasibility study said the facility "would essentially be built to last forever".

The Norwegian vault is important in that ______.

A．the seeds in it represent the rarest varieties of world's crops

B．the seeds in it could revive agriculture if the worst thing should happen

C．it is built deep in a mountain on a freezing-cold Arctic island.

D．it is strong enough against all disasters caused by man and nature

Passage Four

Within a large concrete room，Cut out of a mountain on a freezing-cold island just 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole，could lie the future of humanity.

The room is a vault(地下库)designed to hold around 2 million seeds,representing all known varieties of the world’S crops.It is being built to safeguard the world’S food supply against nuclear War,climate change，terrorism，rising sea levels，earthquakes and the collapse of electricity supplies。“If the worst came to the worst，this would allow the world to reconstruct agriculture on this planet，”says Cary Fowler,director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust，an independent international organisation promoting the project.

The Norwegian(挪威的)government is planning tO create the seed bank next year at the request of crop scientists.The ＄3 million vault will be built deep inside a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian Arctic island of Spitsbergen.The vault will have metre-thick walls of reinforced concrete and will be protected behind two airlocks and high-security doors.

The vault’S seed collection will represent the products of some 10，000 years of plant breeding by the world’S farmers.Though most are no longer widely planted，.the varieties contain vital genetic properties still regularly used in plant breeding.

To survive，the seeds need freezing temperatures.Operators plan to replace the air inside the vault each winter,when temperatures in Spitsbergen are around-18℃.But even if some disaster meant that the vault Was abandoned,the permanently frozen soil would keep the seeds alive.And even accelerated global warming would take many decades to penetrate the mountain vault.

“This will be the world’s most secure gene bank，” Says Fowler.“But its seeds will only be used when all other samples have gone for sOme reason.”

The project comes at a time when there is growing concern about the safety of existing seed banks around the world.Many have been criticized for their poor security, ageing refrigeration(冷藏)systems and vulnerable electricity supplies.

The scheme won UN approval at a meeting of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome in October 2005.A feasibility study said the facility“would essentially be built to last forever”.

46.The Norwegian yault is important in that_________________.

A.the seeds in it represent the rarest varieties of world’S crops

B. the seeds in it could revive agriculture if the worst thing should happen

C.it is built deep in a mountain on a freezing-cold Arctic island

D.it is strong enough against all disasters caused by man and nature

看资料，回答题

The Impossibility of Rapid Energy Transitions

[ A ] Politicians are fond of promising rapid energy transitions．Whether it is a transition from imported to domestic oil or from coal-powered electricity production to natural-gas power plants， politicians love to talk big．Unfortunately for them （and often the taxpayers）， our energy systems are a bit like an aircraft carrier: they are unbelievably expensive， they are built to last for a very long time， they have a huge amount of inertia （meaning it takes a lot of energy to set them moving ）， and they have a lot of momentum once they are set in motion．No matter how hard you try， you can"t turn something that large on a dime （10美分硬币 ）， or even a few thousand dimes．

[ B ] In physics， moving objects have two characteristics relevant to understanding the dynamics of energy systems: inertia and momentum．Inertia is the resistance of objects to efforts to change their state of motion．If you try to push a boulder （大圆石 ）， it pushes you back．Once you have started the boulder rolling， it develops momentum， which is defined by its mass and velocity．Momentum is said to be "conserved，" that is， once you build it up， it has to go somewhere．So a heavy object， like a football player moving at a high speed， has a lot of momentum-that is， once he is moving， it is hard to change his state of motion．If you want to change his course， you have only a few choices: you can stop him， transferring （possibly painfully） some of his kinetic energy （动能） to your own body， or you can approach alongside and slowly apply pressure to gradually alter his course．

[ C ] But there are other kinds of momentum as well．After all， we don"t speak only of objects or people as having momentum; we speak of entire systems having momentum．Whether it"s a sports team or a presidential campaign， everybody relishes having the big momentum， because it makes them harder to stop or change direction．

[ D ] One kind of momentum is technological momentum．When a technology is deployed， its impacts reach far beyond itself．Consider the incandescent （白炽灯的） bulb， an object currently hated by many environmentalists and energy-efficiency advocates．The incandescent light bulb， invented by Thomas Edison， which came to be the symbol of inspiration， has been developed into hundreds， if not thousands， of forms．Today， a visit to a lighting store reveals a stunning array of choices．There are standard-shaped bulbs， flame-shaped bulbs， colored globe-shaped bulbs， and more．It is quite easy， with all that choice， to change a light bulb．

[ E ] But the momentum of incandescent lighting does not stop there．All of those specialized bulbs ledto the building of specialized light fixtures， from the desk lamp you study by， to the ugly but beloved hand-painted Chinese lamp you inherited from your grandmother， to the ceiling fixture in your closet， to the light in your oven or refrigerator， and to the light that the dentist points at you．It is easy to change a light bulb， sure， but it is harder to change the bulb and its fixture．

[ F ] And there is more to the story， because not only are the devices that house incandescent bulbs shaped to their underlying characteristics， but rooms and entire buildings have been designed in accordance with how incandescent lighting reflects off walls and windows．

[ G ] As lighting expert Howard Brandston points out， “ Generally， there are no bad light sources， only bad applications．" There are some very commendable characteristics of the CFL [ compact fluorescent （荧光的） light bulb ]， yet the selection of any light source remains inseparable from the luminaire （照明装置 ） that houses it， along with the space in which both are installed， and lighting requirements that need to be satisfied．The lamp， the fixture， and the room， all three must work in concert for the true benefits of end-users．If the CFL should be used for lighting a particular space， or an object within that space， the fixture must be designed to work with that lamp， and that fixture with the room．It is a symbiotic （共生的 ） relationship．A CFL cannot be simply installed in an incandescent fixture and then expected to produce a visual appearance that is more than washed out， foggy， and dim．The whole fixture must be replaced-light source and luminaire-and this is never an inexpensive proposition．

[ H ] And Brandston knows a thing or two about lighting， being the man who illuminated the Statue of Liberty．

[ I ]Another type of momentum we have to think about when planning for changes in our energy systems is labor-pool momentum．It is one thing to say that we are going to shift 30 percent of our electricity supply from， say， coal to nuclear power in 20 years．But it is another thing to have a supply of trained talent that could let you carry out this promise．That is because the engineers，designers， regulators， operators， and all of the other skilled people needed for the new energy industry are specialists who have to be trained first （or retrained， if they are the ones being laid off in some related industry）， and education， like any other complicated endeavor， takes time．And not only do our prospective new energy workers have to be trained， they have to be trained in the right sequence．One needs the designers， and perhaps the regulators， before the builders and operators， and each group of workers in training has to know there is work waiting beyond graduation．In some cases， colleges and universities might have to change their training programs，

adding another layer of difficulty．

[ J ] By far the biggest type of momentum that comes into play when it comes to changing our energy systems is economic momentum．The major components of our energy systems， such as fuel production， refining， electrical generation and distribution， are costly installations that have lengthy life spans．They have to operate for long periods of time before the costs of development have been recovered．When investors put up money to build， say， a nuclear power plant， they expect to earn that money back over the planned life of the plant， which is typically between 40and 60 years．Some coal power plants in the United States have operated for more than 70 years!

The oldest continuously operated commercial hydro-electric plant in the United States is on New York"s Hudson River， and it went into commercial service in 1898．

[ K ] As Vaclav Smil points out， "All the forecasts， plans， and anticipations cited above have failed so miserably because their authors and promoters thought the transitions they hoped to implement would proceed unlike all previous energy transitions， and that their progress could be accelerated in an unprecedented manner．"

[ L ] When you hear people speaking of making a rapid transition toward any type of energy， whether it is a switch from coal to nuclear power， or a switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric cars， or even a switch．from an incandescent to a fluorescent light， understanding energy system inertia and momentum can help you decide whether their plans are feasible．

Not only moving objects and people but all systems have momentum．

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