The phrase “fit the bill” in paragraph 1 can be replaced by _______:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions.

The invention of the incandescent light bulb by Thomas A. Edison in 1879 created a demand for a cheap, readily available fuel with which to generate large amounts of electric power. Coal seem to fit the bill, and it fueled the earliest power stations (which were set up at the end of the nineteenth century by Edison himself). As more power plants were constructed throughout the country, the reliance on coal increased. Since the first World War, coal-fired power plants have accounted for about half of the electric produced in the United States each year. In 1986 such plants had a combined generating capacity of 289,000 megawatts and consumed 83 percent of the nearly 900 million tons of coal mined in the country that year. Given the uncertainty of the future growth of nuclear power and in the supply of oil and natural gas, coal-fired power plants could well provide up to 70 percent of the electric power in the United Stats by the end of the century. 

Yet, in spite of the fact that coal has long been a source of electricity and may remain one for many years (coal represents about 80 percent of the United States fossil-fuel reserves), it has actually never been the most desirable fossil fuel for power plants. Coal contain less energy per unit of weight than natural gas or oil; it is difficult to transport, and it is associated with a host of environmental issues, among them acid rain. Since the late 1960’s problems of emission control and waste disposal have sharply reduced the appeal of coal-fired power plants. The cost of ameliorating these environmental problems, along with the rising cost of building a facility as large and complex as a coal-fired power plant, has also made such plants less attractive from purely economic perspective. 

Change in the technological base of coal-fired power plants could restore their attractiveness, however. Whereas some of these changes are evolutionary and are intended mainly to increase the productivity of existing plants, completely new technologies for burning coal cleanly are also being developed.

The phrase “fit the bill” in paragraph 1 can be replaced by _______:

• A. be used
• B. be suitable
• C. be paid 
• D. be discovered

• Câu 2: Mã câu hỏi: 37350

  In the author’s opinion, the important of coal-generated electricity could increase in the future for which of the following reasons?

  • A. The future availability of other fuels are uncertain
  • B. The cost of changing to other fuels is uncertain
  • C. The possible substitutes are too dangerous
  • D. Other fuels present too many environmental problems

• Câu 3: Mã câu hỏi: 37387

  Acid rain is mentioned in the passage for which of the following reasons?

  • A. It reduces the efficiency of coal-fired plants.
  • B. It increases the difficulty in transporting coal.
  • C. It is an environmental problem associated with coal use.
  • D. It contains less energy per unit than coal does.

• Câu 4: Mã câu hỏi: 37392

  The word “it” in paragraph 2 refers to ________.

  • A. oil
  • B. electricity
  • C. plant
  • D. coal

• Câu 5: Mã câu hỏi: 37393

  The word “ameliorating” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ________.

  • A. amending
  • B. raising
  • C. touching
  • D. following

• Câu 6: Mã câu hỏi: 37394

  According to the passage, which of the following is one of the goals of new technology in coal-fired plants?

  • A. To adapt the plants to other kinds of fuel
  • B. To reduce the cost of building more plants
  • C. To lengthen the lives of plant already in use
  • D. To make the plant already in use more effective

• Câu 7: Mã câu hỏi: 37395

  What’s the main idea of the passage?

  • A. Coal-fired power plants are important source of electricity in the United States and are likely to remain so.
  • B. Generating electricity from coal is comparatively recent in the United States.
  • C. Coal is a more economical fuel than either oil or nuclear power.
  • D. Coal is a safer and more dependable fossil fuel than oil or gas.

• Câu 8: Mã câu hỏi: 37396

  Edison’s electric light bulb is mentioned in the passage because it __________.

  • A. increased the need for electric power
  • B. replaced gas as a light source
  • C. was safer than any other method of lighting
  • D. could work only with electricity generated from coal