As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating(發(fā)電)and transmission (輸送) system for the 21^st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.
The 19 ^th century saw land grants(政府撥地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.
Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.
So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species(物種) will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.
The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21^st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.
The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let’s remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.
【小題1】What was the problem caused by the construction of the railways?

閱讀下面的短文，然后按照要求寫一篇150詞左右的英語短文。
In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider story’’ often told, Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13 th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web. The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times without success. On the seventh time he made it and went to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one. Abraham Lincoln, the famous American president, lost elections more times than he won them! He never gave up in the face of failure but kept trying and was eventually elected to Congress and then the presidency.
So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top from yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?
Second, is the goal you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question. “If I do succeed this time, where will it get me?’’ This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s part of life. Learn to “l(fā)ive with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, “You can’t win them all.”
【寫作內(nèi)容】
1、概括短文的內(nèi)容要點，該部分字數(shù)大約30詞左右；
2、以“Is Failure a Bad Thing”為題寫一篇文章，包含以下內(nèi)容要點，該部分的字數(shù)大約120詞左右。
⑴失敗是生活中的常事
⑵人們對失敗所持的不同態(tài)度
⑶你對失敗的認識
【寫作要求】
1、可以使用實例或其他論述方法支持你的觀點，也可以參照閱讀材料的內(nèi)容，但不要抄襲閱讀材料中的句子
2、作文中不能出現(xiàn)真實姓名和學(xué)校名稱。
                                                                      
                                                                      
                                                                      
                                                                      
                                                                      
                                                                  

As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating(發(fā)電)and transmission (輸送) system for the 21st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around.

The 19 th century saw land grants(政府撥地) offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died.

Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now.

So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species(物種) will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects.

The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways.

The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape the West far beyond the immediate footprint of power plants and transmission lines. So let’s remember the effects of the railroads and the highways as we construct these new power plants in the West.

1.What was the problem caused by the construction of the railways?

A．Small towns along the railways became abandoned.

B．Land in the West was hard to manage.

C．Some railroad stops remained underused.

D．Land grants went into private hands.

2.What is the major concern in the development of alternative energy according to the last two paragraphs?

A．The use of money and power.

B．The transmission of power.

C．The conservation of solar energy.

D．The selection of an ideal place.

3.What is the author’s attitude towards building solar plants?

A．Disapproving.      B．Approving.         C．Doubtful.          D．Cautious.

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

A．How the Railways Have Affected the West

B．How the Effects of Power Plants Can Be Reduced

C．How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West

D．How the Problems of the Highways Have Been Settled

閱讀下面的短文，然后按照要求寫一篇150詞左右的英語短文。

In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider story’’ often told, Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13 th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web. The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times without success. On the seventh time he made it and went to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one. Abraham Lincoln, the famous American president, lost elections more times than he won them! He never gave up in the face of failure but kept trying and was eventually elected to Congress and then the presidency.

So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top from yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?

Second, is the goal you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question. “If I do succeed this time, where will it get me?’’ This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.

The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s part of life. Learn to “l(fā)ive with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, “You can’t win them all.”

【寫作內(nèi)容】

1、概括短文的內(nèi)容要點，該部分字數(shù)大約30詞左右；

2、以“Is Failure a Bad Thing”為題寫一篇文章，包含以下內(nèi)容要點，該部分的字數(shù)大約120詞左右。

⑴失敗是生活中的常事

⑵人們對失敗所持的不同態(tài)度

⑶你對失敗的認識

【寫作要求】

1、可以使用實例或其他論述方法支持你的觀點，也可以參照閱讀材料的內(nèi)容，但不要抄襲閱讀材料中的句子

2、作文中不能出現(xiàn)真實姓名和學(xué)校名稱。

閱讀下面的短文，然后按照要求寫一篇150詞左右的英語短文。
In one way of thinking, failure is a part of life. In another way, failure may be a way towards success. The “spider story’’ often told, Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13 th century, was hiding in a cave from the English. He watched a spider spinning a web. The spider tried to reach across a rough place in the rock. He tried six times without success. On the seventh time he made it and went to spin his web. Bruce is said to have taken heart and to have gone on to defeat the English. Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one. Abraham Lincoln, the famous American president, lost elections more times than he won them! He never gave up in the face of failure but kept trying and was eventually elected to Congress and then the presidency.
So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were conditions right? Were you in top from yourself? What can you change so things will go right next time?
Second, is the goal you’re trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goals may be. Think about this question. “If I do succeed this time, where will it get me?’’ This may help you prevent failure in things you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
The third thing to bear in mind about failure is that it’s part of life. Learn to “l(fā)ive with yourself” even though you may have failed. Remember, “You can’t win them all.”
【寫作內(nèi)容】
1、概括短文的內(nèi)容要點，該部分字數(shù)大約30詞左右；
2、以“Is Failure a Bad Thing”為題寫一篇文章，包含以下內(nèi)容要點，該部分的字數(shù)大約120詞左右。
⑴失敗是生活中的常事
⑵人們對失敗所持的不同態(tài)度
⑶你對失敗的認識
【寫作要求】
1、可以使用實例或其他論述方法支持你的觀點，也可以參照閱讀材料的內(nèi)容，但不要抄襲閱讀材料中的句子
2、作文中不能出現(xiàn)真實姓名和學(xué)校名稱。