Central heating became popular only after the Civil War. Typically, coalburning furnacesfueled the early systems．Natural gas had developed into the leading fuel by 1960.Its acceptance resulted in part from its wide uses．Because it comes primarily from U．S．and Canadian fields，natural gas is also less vulnerablethan oil is to War．Oil remains the most important fuel in a few areas．such as New England．
Electric heating dominates most areas with mild winters and cheap electricity, including the South and the Northwest．It was made popular at least in the South by the low cost of adding electric heating to new houses built with air．conditioning．Bottled gas．which is somewhat more expensive than utility gas，is the fuel of choice in rural areas not served by utility pipelines．Wood is the leading heating fuel in just a few rural counties．
Home heating，which accounts for less than 7 percent of a11 energy consumed in the U．S．，has had a commendableefficiency record：from 1978 to 1997，the amount of fuel consumed for this purpose declined 44 percent despite a 33 percent increase in the number of housing units and an increase in house size．The U．S．Department of Energy。however, forecasts mat energy used in home heating will rise by 14 percent over the next two decades．That rise is small considering an expected 2 1 percent increase in the number of houses and the trend toward larger houses．
Natural gas and electricity will probably dominate the home heating market for the next two decades．Solarheating never became popular because of cost and limited winter sunlight in most areas；in 2000 only 47.000 homes relied on it．
36 Natural gas didnt become the leading fuel until
A 1978．
B 1960．
C 1997．
D 2000．
37 What fuel is the dominant fuel in New England?
A Gas．
B Electricity．
C Wood．
D Oil．
38 The word consumedin paragraph 3 could be best replaced by
A used．
B burned．
C delivered．
D pumped．
39 According to-paragraph 3，energy consumed in home heating over the next two decades will increase by
A 33 percent．
B 31 percent．
C 21 percent．
D 14 percent．
40 Which of the following statements is NOT true，according to the article?
A Natural gas comes partly from Canadian fields．
B Bottled gas is more expensive than utility gas．
C Equipment for home heating has been considerably improved．
D Solar heating dominated America in 2000．
答案解析
36．B 该题问的是：天然气到什么时候才变成主要的燃料?第一段中的第三句话是这么说的：天然气到1960年已经变成了主要的燃料。因此B是正确的答案。
37．D 该题问的是：在新英格兰什么燃料是最主要的?第一段的最后一句话是这么说的：在少数地区，如新英格兰，石油仍然是最主要的燃料。
38．A 该题问的是：第三段中的consumed，下面哪一个词替换它最为合适? consumed是用掉的意思。最佳选择是used。burned是烧掉， delivcrol是传送，pumped是用泵抽。
39．D该题问的是：根据第三段，在今后20年里用于家庭供暖的能源将增加多少?第三段有这么一句话：然而，美国能源部预测，在今后20年里用于家庭供暖的能源将增加40％。
40．D 该题问的是：根据本文，下面的哪一个陈述句是错的?文章的最后一句话是这么说的：由于太阳供暖的价格高并且大多数地区冬天阳光少，从来不为大家普遍使用；2000年里只有47 000个家庭依靠它。