Question

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Windmills(风车)dot the landscape,producing a renewable energy source.Our pioneer ancestors established windmills as a means of bringing water to the surface.To tell the truth,the history of wind energy is very long.Since early recorded history,people have been harnessing the energy of the wind.Wind energy drove boats along the Nile River as early as 5000 BC.By 200 BC,simple windmills in China were pumping water,while well-designed windmills were grinding(磨)grain in Persia and the Middle East.

New innovations and curiosity helped spread interest in windmills and wind power.Middle Eastern citizens used them for food production by the 11th century.Merchants along trade routes returned to Europe and shared the idea.Windmills caught on,especially in Holland,and the Dutch improved their use.Here,windmills drained lakes and other bodies of water.In France,the windmill pumped irrigation water.Elsewhere in Europe,windmills were used to grind grain.

By the 19th century,settlers in the United States realized the importance of the simple windmill.Pioneers pumped water for livestock(牲畜)and farming.As estimated six million windmills dotted America’s landscape by the end of the 1880s.Charles Brush,the US inventor,invented a windmill capable of producing electricity in 1888.And now the machines are called wind turbines.As late as the 1920s,Americans used small windmills to provide electricity in rural areas without electric service.When power lines began to transport electricity to rural areas in the 1930s,local windmills were used less and less,though they can still be seen on some Western farms.

In the 1970s,oil shortages pushed the development of alternative energy sources,paving the way for the re-entry of the windmill to produce electricity.In the early 1980s,wind energy really took off in California,partly because of State policies that encouraged renewable energy sources.In the 1990s,the push came from a renewed concern for the environment in response to scientific studies indicating potential changes to the global climate if the use of fossil fuels continues to increase.Wind energy is an economical power resource in many areas of the country.

Wind energy isn’t a new phenomenon,but using wind turbines to create and use electricity is a trend that continues to sweep across the globe.

1.The underlined word “harnessing” in Paragraph 1 is the closest in meaning to “ ”.

A.having influence on

B.controlling and using

C.talking about and studying

D.showing interest in

2.As for the application of windmills,Europe .

A.became well-known all over the world first

B.first began food production

C.increased trade activities with other places

D.followed the example of the Middle East

3.According to the passage,Charles Brush .

A.created the first electricity-producing machine in the world

B.first used windmills in the US

C.was a pioneer in producing electricity from wind

D.improved the economic strength in rural areas of the US

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A.The importance of wind power

B.How does wind energy work?

C.The history of wind energy

D.When was wind power first used?

Answer 1