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On America’s Gulf coast, massive industrial facilities stand idle. Miles of twisting stainless-steel pipes and huge storage tank

admin2020-03-31  61
问题     On America’s Gulf coast, massive industrial facilities stand idle. Miles of twisting stainless-steel pipes and huge storage tanks gleam uselessly in the sun. They are a reminder of the hundreds of billions of dollars that America has invested in terminals for handling imports of liquefied natural gas(LNG). Thanks to the boom in domestic shale gas, those imports are no longer needed. America produces nearly as much gas as it consumes, and will soon produce far more.
    So the obvious thing to do with those idle terminals is to re-engineer them to handle exports. Instead of receiving shiploads of liquefied gas and re-gasifying it, they should be taking American gas, liquefying it and loading it onto tankers. Converting these plants will not be cheap—each one will cost at least $ 5 billion. But the potential rewards are much larger.
    In America gas sells for around $ 3.40 per million British thermal units(mBTU). In Europe it costs around $ 12. In gas-poor Asia, spot cargoes change hands for as much as $ 20 per mBTU. Since it costs roughly $ 5 per mBTU to liquefy the stuff, ship it and turn it back into gas, America could be making a fortune from gas exports. To the extent that such exports displaced dirty coal, they would also help curb global warming.
    Most of America’s two dozen LNG import terminals have applied for export licences. Yet only one, Sabine Pass in Louisiana, has actually started retooling its kit. Gas from there will start flowing onto global markets by the end of 2015. Why has every other terminal been so slow to seize this opportunity?
    Converting a plant is not easy: firms must build now upon row of expensive fridges, known as "liquefaction trains" , to get gas moving in the opposite direction. But the real hold-up is political. No LNG facility besides Sabine has yet received permission to export. American law requires the Department of Energy to determine whether gas exports are in the public interest, and President Barack Obama’s administration is in no hurry to make up its mind.
We can judge from the last paragraph that______.
选项 A、No LNG facility except Sabine has gained permission to export
B、Gas exports in America represent the interest of the public
C、Barack Obama’s government has made up its mind
D、A plant is difficult to be converted
答案D
解析 根据选项[A]中的No LNG facility定位到该段第三行：No LNG facility besides Sa—bine has yet received permission to export．表面看该选项和原文几乎一致，其中gained permission=received permission。但选项中出现了except，原文说的是besides。注意两词有本质区别：except是除了……之外；besides强调包括在内。故错误。根据选项[B]中的interest of the public定位到第四行：American law requires the Department of Energy to determine whether gas exportsare in the public interest．原文关于天然气出口是否代表公众利益并没有给出答案，而选项[B]项说：天然气出口代表了公众利益。故错误。根据选项[C]中的Barack Obama定位到最后一句：President Barack Obama’s administration is in no huny to make up its mind．关键词是in nohurry(不急着做决定)，选项[C]说has made up its mind(已经做好决定)，故错误。[D]项对应该段第一句：Converting a plant is not easy．选项[D]与该句属于同义转换关系，故为答案。
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