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Surrounded by the sea off the coast in Mid­Norway, there is an island called Myken. This small island has about ten permanent residents, and for more than 50 years has been supplied with electricity via a 32­kilometre undersea cable (µçÀÂ). A break that appeared in the cable last autumn resulted in two months without power, so the island community started looking into a better way of sourcing their electricity.

        “Myken is far out at sea, so as far as possible it should be taking care of things itself£¬” says Trude Tokle, who is the project manager of Myken's energy project. “This is why we want Myken to become entirely self­sufficient in energy. It is also important to take the environment into consideration£¬” she says.

     Many point to the idea that the solution may lie in a hydrogen (Çâ) plant, specifically tailored for small islands. The “raw materials” for hydrogen production come from nature itself in the form of the sun and wind, Researchers have calculated that energy costs will be lower by using hydrogen production than the undersea cable option. And it is possible to store energy in the form of hydrogen for longer periods. This means that supplies will not have to rely on a lot of expensive batteries or external energy sources, even during periods when the sun isn't shining, or the wind isn't blowing.

   The Myken project has attracted several technology companies. They are currently working on a pilot project. The project involves experiments on the feasibility (¿ÉÐÐÐÔ) of the hydrogen system in which electricity is generated from solar and wind sources. The electricity can be used immediately, but during periods when all the energy generated is not required, the spare energy can be used to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be stored in a tank, and used later to generate electricity. The pilot project will help researchers know more about how effectively the system will work in the hydrogen plant. Since the island has a distillery (Äð¾Æ³§), where the distillation (ÕôÁó) process relies on energy, a hydrogen plant on Myken offers an even greater environmental benefit. Spare heat from the hydrogen system can also be used for the heating part in the distillation process.

“In Norway alone there are about 300 islands inhabited all year round by small populations£¬” says Kyrre Sundseth, a hydrogen researcher in Norway. “All of these islands may be candidates for using this technology. In global terms we're talking about 10, 000 similar islands.”

1£®Why is a hydrogen plant suitable for Myken?

A£®It is perfect in size for small islands.

B£®It can send electricity to faraway places.

C£®It will restore local natural environment.

D£®It provides green and sustainable energy.

2£®What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 4?

A£®The study on the energy storage.

B£®The test on the hydrogen system.

C£®The experiment on the raw materials.

D£®The research on the innovation of the pilot project.

3£®According to the passage, a hydrogen plant will ________.

A£®produce purified seawater

B£®prove more effective work

C£®contribute in more than one way

D£®benefit from the distillation process

4£®What does Kyrre Sundseth think of the project?

A£®Promising.  B£®Systematic.

C£®Irreplaceable.  D£®Time saving.