52. The use of water referred in this passage is .
A) a new concept compared with other ways of natural resources
B) less expensive than petroleum and other means of energies
C) now being used more from the ocean than from rivers and lakes
D) being developed to supplement other sources of energy
53. In the matter of developing energy from ocean water, Britain is .
A) working on an old Japanese method
B) the most advanced country in the field
C) following the lead of the United states
D) consolidating their work with operations
54. The development of oceanic water power is important to America because .
A) there is a severe shortage of coal and petroleum
B) it is the cheapest method of producing energy
C) petroleum supplies are being steadily drained
D) obtaining energy from ocean water are simpler
55. Getting energy from the ocean is important to .
A) Russia because of its limited coal and petroleum resources on land
B) America because it is the greatest consumer of energy in the world
C) Asia because most of Asian countries lack other sources of energy
D) South America because a great part of the population is very poor
56. The oscillating water column produces power from .
A) the turbine that powers the generator
B) the generator that produces electricity
C) the cylinders that drives the turbine
D) the air that escapes from the turbine
Passage Two
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
The civilization(文化) of the Renaissance was the creation of prosperous cities and of rulers who drew substantial income from their urban subjects in the Italian city states and the countries of England and France. The commerce that kept cities alive also provided the capital and the flow of ideas that helped build Renaissance culture. During the early Middle Ages foreign trade had virtually come to a halt. By the 11th century, however, population growth and contact with other cultures through military efforts such as the Crusades（十字军东征） helped revive commercial activity. Trade slowly increased with the exchange of luxury goods in the Mediterranean region and various commodities such as fish, furs, and metals across the North and Baltic seas. Commerce soon moved inland, bringing new opulence to the citizens of towns along major trade routes. As traffic along these routes increased, existing settlements grew and new ones were established.
The cities of Italy were located between western Europe and the area along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea known as the Levant. Italy’s leadership in the Renaissance was due in part to its central location for trade. The cities became important and wealthy commercial centers, and the riches collected by the merchants of Venice, Genoa, Milan, and a host of smaller cities supported Italy’s political and cultural achievements.
Important towns developed beyond Italy as well. Especially with the expansion of trade, towns grew along the Danube and Rhine rivers of Europe; around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea; and in the Low Countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands where northern and southern trade routes met. Wherever these towns were located, they became a unique element in a medieval world that up to this time was dominated by seignorialism(领主制), an agricultural system in which the primary economic and political relationship was between landowners and their tenants.
