首页
登录
职称英语
Nuclear power has become an important source of energy in several countries,
Nuclear power has become an important source of energy in several countries,
游客
2023-12-11
28
管理
问题
Nuclear power has become an important source of energy in several countries, especially in Europe and Japan. Nuclear power supplies one-third of all electricity in Europe, including two- thirds in Belgium and France, one-half in Hungary and Sweden, and one-third in Finland, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland. Outside of Europe,’ Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also rely on nuclear power for much of their electricity.
The United States and Canada are less dependent than Europeans on nuclear energy, in part because of more abundant coal reserves. Nuclear power generates approximately 20 percent of the electricity in North America as a whole; with New England drawing most of its electricity from nuclear power.
Five interrelated problems severely restrict the use of nuclear power instead of coal to generate electricity. The first problem associated with nuclear power is the danger of an accident. A nuclear power plant produces electricity from energy released by splitting uranium atoms in a controlled environment, a process known as fission. One of the products in a nuclear reaction is radioactive waste, which is lethal to people: exposed to it. Elaborate safety precautions must be taken to prevent the fuel from leaking out of the power plant.
The second problem with nuclear power is the need to store waste products following the reaction. The spent fuel and other radioactive waste products must be stored for several thousand years, until they are no longer lethal. But no country has devised an effective storage system for the radioactive waste products.
The third problem with nuclear power is that a bomb can be made from the material. Nuclear power has been used in warfare twice.
Even if we are confident that government will not use nuclear weapons, can we be as confident about terrorist organizations? Terrorists could steal a small amount of nuclear fuel and construct their own nuclear weapons. A few years ago, a Princeton undergraduate wrote a term paper that outlined how to make a nuclear weapon. He was accused at first of leaking government secrets, but the student showed that most of his information came from the encyclopedia and a few unclassified government documents. Following publicity about the term paper, several organizations and foreign governments contacted the student for technical assistance in making a bomb.
A fourth problem with nuclear power is the scarcity of uranium. Like the fossil fuels, uranium ore is a nonrenewable resource, and proven reserves will be depleted in less than a century at the current rate of use. Proven uranium reserves are not distributed uniformly across the earth’s surface. The United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and the former Soviet Union rank among the world’ s leaders. One-fifth of the world’ s proven reserves are concentrated in South Africa, but access to that supply is uncertain because of the country’s racial problems.
The final problem with using nuclear power is its high cost. Nuclear power plants cost several billion dollars to build, primarily because of elaborate safety measures. Without double- and triple-backup systems, nuclear energy would be too dangerous to use. As a result, the cost of generating electricity is much higher from nuclear plants than from coal plants.
The future of nuclear power has been seriously hurt by the combination of high risks and costs. Most countries in North America and Western Europe have curtailed construction of new plants. Sweden, which received nearly half of its electricity from nuclear power in the t980s, plans to begin’ shutting plants by 1995 and to abandon its nuclear power plants completely by the year 2010. [br] The best title for this passage can be ______.
选项
A、The Advantages of Developing Nuclear Power
B、The Disadvantages of Developing Nuclear Power
C、How to Obtain Nuclear Power
D、Nuclear Bombs: the Past, Present and Future
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3265053.html
相关试题推荐
Justasrelaxationisanimportantpartofourlivesandsoisstress.and一/as引导的
Althoughthewaitinggamehasbecomeoneofthemoststressfultimesformanyse
Insomecountrieswhereracialprejudiceisacute,violencehassocometo
Insomecountrieswhereracialprejudiceisacute,violencehassocometo
Insomecountrieswhereracialprejudiceisacute,violencehassocometo
Insomecountrieswhereracialprejudiceisacute,violencehassocometo
Becomeaskilledphotographer,apersonshouldhavebothmanualdexterityagood
Whileearlyliteracyskillsareimportantforachild’sgrowth,thereareso
Whileearlyliteracyskillsareimportantforachild’sgrowth,thereareso
Whileearlyliteracyskillsareimportantforachild’sgrowth,thereareso
随机试题
Collisionbetweenanaircraftandoneormorebirdsistermedabird-strike.
WhatdoesDramadonprevent?____________________.[br]WhyCan’tapersondrivea
【B1】[br]【B11】[originaltext]LudwigvanBeethovenwasoneofthegreatestco
排水管有坡度是促使有力排放。
对待患者知情同意权的做法中,错误的是A.做到有效同意 B.无家属承诺,即使患者
不能作为判断消化道出血量大小的指标是A、黑便次数 B、心率 C、尿量 D、
特非那定属于A.抗生素 B.抗病毒药 C.抗过敏药 D.非甾体类抗炎药
药品在库检查的时间间隔是A.每周 B.每半个月 C.每月 D.每季度 E
颈椎病的基本原因是颈椎间盘的A:感染 B:肿瘤 C:化脓性炎症 D:结构性
李老师带领一组实习医生到某市郊区县进行口腔健康调查,大家认真讨论了调查方案和步骤
最新回复
(
0
)