A
The world's first hydrogenpowered trains have begun running in Germany. They began carrying passengers Monday in Germany's northern Lower Saxony.The new train will run 100kilometer trips and can travel up to 140 kilometers an hour.
A French railroad company called Alstom built the two trains.Teams in Germany and France cooperated on the project，which was supported by the German government.The new train model，called the Coradia iLint，signals the beginning of efforts in Germany and other nations to move away from pollutionproducing diesel(柴油) trains.
The Coradia iLint is designed to run on nonelectrified train lines with low levels of noise.
It uses a process that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electrical power.If the system produces more energy than the train needs at that time，it can store the extra energy in batteries.The only emissions(排放物) are water and steam.
A single tank of hydrogen can run a Coradia iLint train for about 1，000 kilometers.This is very similar to the distance a dieselpowered train can run on a single tank of diesel.
Hydrogenpowered trains cost more than diesel trains to build，but Alstom officials say the operating costs are much lower.The company plans to provide another 14 Coradia iLint trains to Lower Saxony by 2021.
The head of railroad operations in the area，Carmen Schwab，praised replacing diesel trains with hydrogen trains.She said the move was an important first step in using cleanburning technologies to reach climate protection goals.
Officials say many of the area's wind turbines(涡轮机) will produce part of the energy to create the hydrogen to power the trains.
Alstom says several other European countries have also expressed interest in developing hydrogen train systems.France has already said it wants its first hydrogen train to be operating by 2022.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇科普类说明文。介绍了一种新型的氢动力火车。
1．Why did Germany build the new trains?
A．To replace diesel trains.
B．To carry more passengers.
C．To make traveling much easier.
D．To develop friendship with France.
A [考查细节理解。根据第二段中的“The new train model，called the Coradia iLint，signals the beginning of efforts in Germany and other nations to move away from pollutionproducing diesel(柴油) trains”可知，建造新型火车的目的是取代产生污染的内燃机车。]
2．What is one advantage of the Coradia iLint?
A．It runs without making any noise.
B．It doesn't use electrical power.
C．It costs much less to run.
D．It is cheaper to make it.
C [考查细节理解。根据第六段中的“the operating costs are much lower”可知，氢动力火车的运行成本比较低。]
3．It can be concluded that hydrogen trains ．
A．are widely used
B．are environmentally friendly
C．can stop air pollution
D．can produce water and oxygen
B [考查推理判断。纵观全文可知，新的氢动力火车具有低噪音的特点，且其唯一的排放物是水和蒸汽，所以它是环保的。]
4．What might be the best title for the text?
A．Saving Natural Resources
B．Efforts to Reduce Emissions
C．The World's First Hydrogen Trains
D．A New Way to Make Electricity
C [考查标题归纳。本文的主要信息是介绍世界上第一批氢动力火车的研制原理、其在环保方面的优势以及这种火车的发展趋势。]
