Even plant can run a fever, especially when they’re under attack by insects or disease. But unlike human, plants can have their temperature taken from 3, 000 feet away straight up. A decade ago, adopting the infrared (红外线)scanning technology developed for military purposes and other satellites, physicist Stephen Paley came up with a quick way to take the temperature of crops to determine which ones are under stress. The goal was to let farmers precisely target pesticide (杀虫剂)spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which invariably includes plants that don’t have pest (害虫)problems.
Even better, Paley’s Remote Scanning Services Company could detect crop problems before they became visible to the eye. Mounted on a plane flown at 3, 000 feet at night, an infrared scanner measured the heat emitted by crops. The data were transformed into a color-coded map showing where plants were running“fevers”. Farmers could then spot-spray, using 50 to 70 percent less pesticide than they otherwise would.
The bad news is that Paley’s company closed down in 1984, after only three years. Farmers resisted the new technology and long - term backers were hard to find. But with the renewed concern about pesticides on produce, and refinements in infrared scanning, Paley hopes to get back into operation. Agriculture experts have no doubt the technology works. “This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States, ” says George Oerther of Texas A & M. Ray Jackson , who recently retired from the Department of Agriculture, thinks remote infrared crop scanning could be adopted by the end of the decade. But only ff Paley finds the financial backing which he failed to obtain 10 years ago. Plants will emit an increased amount of heat when they are______________.
A.sprayed with pesticides |
B.facing an infrared scanner |
C.in poor physical condition |
D.exposed to excessive sun rays |
.In order to apply pesticide spraying precisely, we can use infrared scanning to____________.
A.estimate the damage to the crops |
B.measure the size of the affected area |
C.draw a color-coded map |
D.locate the problem area |
Farmers can save a considerable amount of pesticide by______________.
A.resorting to spot-spraying |
B.consulting infrared scanning experts |
C.transforming poisoned rain |
D.detecting crop problems at an early stage |
The application of infrared scanning technology to agriculture met with some difficulties
_______________.
A.the lack of official support |
B.its high cost |
C.the lack of financial support |
D.its failure to help increase production |
Infrared scanning technology may be brought back into operation because of_____________.
A.the desire of farmers to improve the quality of their produce |
B.growing concern about the excessive use of pesticides on crops |
C.the forceful promotion by the Department of Agriculture |
D.full support from agricultural experts |
第三部分:阅读理解(共15题,每题2分,共30分)
If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows that. Yet many people do not seem to know that memory works in the same way.
When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by using it. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.
If a friend says that his arms and legs are weak, we know that it is his fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame(责备), and few of us know that it is just his own fault.
Have you ever found that some people can't read or write but they have better memories? This is because they cannot read or write and they have to remember things; they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember days, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised.
So if you want to have a good memory, learn from the people: practise remembering.
56. The main reason for one's poor memory is that ______.
A. his memory is not often used
B. he does not use his arms or legs for some time
C. his father or mother may have a poor memory
D. he can't read or write
57. If you do not use your arms or legs for some time, ______.
A. you can't use them any more
B. they will become stronger
C. they become weak and won't become strong until you use them again
D. they become weak but they slowly become strong again
58. Some people can't read or write, but they usually have better memories, because ______.
A. they have saved much trouble
B. they have saved much time to remember things
C. they can't write everything in a little notebook
D. they have to use their memories all the time
59. Which is the best title of the passage?
A. Don't Stop Using Your Arms Or Legs B. How To Have A Good Memory
C. Strong Arms And Good Memories D. Learn From The People
I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought that I would never have that sort of career.
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too hard at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I have got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career even if you aren’t top of the class at school.
47. What is the author’s present job?
A. Working part-time in a college. B. Taking care of children in a family.
C. Helping children with their schoolwork. D. Looking after children at a kindergarten.
48. When staying with the two girls’ family, the author _______.
A. was paid for extra work B. often worked long hours
C. got much help from her boss D. took a day off every other week
49. What has the author learned from her own experiences?
A. Less successful students can still have a career.
B. Qualifications are necessary for a career.
C. Hard work makes an excellent student.
D. One must chose the job she likes.
50. What does the underlined sentence probably mean?
A. The boss didn’t go out to work very often.
B. The boss often failed to keep his agreement with the writer.
C. The writer couldn’t go out to find another job.
D. The writer seldom had any chance to work outside.
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a ‘territory’ is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting(筑巢)season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.
You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.
43. Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually________.
A. an expression of happiness B. a way of warning
C. an expression of anger D. a way of greeting
44. What is a bird’s ‘territory’?
A. A place where families of other species are not accepted.
B. A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice.
C. An area for which birds fight against each other.
D. An area which a bird considers to be its own.
45. Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
A. Because they want to invite more friends.
B. Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.
C. Because they want to find outsiders around.
D. Because their singing helps get rid of their fears.
46. How does the writer explain bird’s singing?
A. By comparing birds with human beings. B. By reporting experiment results.
C. By describing birds’ daily life. D. By telling a bird’s story.
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Future success depends on the ability to learn. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked by parents, teachers, business trainers and by students themselves. Read this book and learn:
* What the three barriers (障碍)to study are and what to do about them
* What to do if you get tired of a subject you are studying
* Twenty-six simple drills to help you learn how to study easily, rapidly and with full understanding
Buy and read the Basic Study Manual and use it to dramatically improve your ability to study.
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* How to find words in a dictionary * The different ways that words are used
* What the different marks and symbols that are used in a dictionary mean
* How to use a dictionary to correctly pronounce words
It includes a section for parents and teachers showing you how to use this book with children. Buy this book and give it to your children to unlock their education. What’s more, you’ll just pay 50% for it before May 1, 2006.
40. Some of the four books were illustrated in order to_________
A. help readers understand them B. persuade readers to buy them
C. reduce the cost of them D. make them suitable to different readers
41. If you buy the four books on April 1, 2006, your will have to pay_______ for them.
A. $129.38 B. $111.93 C. $64.69 D. $34.90
42. The purpose of the passage is to _______.
A. introduce the four books to readers B. help children to learn English
C. enrich students knowledge about nature D. sell the four books to students
三、阅读理解 (共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡
上将该项涂黑。
Let us begin by saying what causes our dreams. Our dreams do not come from another world. They are not messages from some outside source .They are not a look into the future, either.
All our dreams have something to do with our feelings, fears, longings, wishes, needs and memories. If a person is hungry, or tired, or cold , his dreams may include a feeling of this kind. If the covers on your body, such as a quilt or a blanket, have slipped off your bed, you may dream that you are sleeping on ice or in snow. The material for the dream you will have tonight is likely to come from the experience you have today.
So the subject of your dream usually comes from something that has effect on you while you are sleeping(feeling of cold, a noise, a discomfort, etc.)and it may also use your past experiences and the wishes and the interests you have now. This is why children are likely to dream of fairies, older children of school examinations, hungry people of food, home-sick soldiers of their families and prisoners of freedom.
To show you how this is happening while you are asleep and how your needs and wishes can all be joined together in a dream, here is the story of the experiment. A man was asleep and the back of his hand was rubbed with a piece of absorbed cotton. He would dream he was in hospital and his charming girlfriend was visiting him, sitting on the bed and feeling gently his hands!
There are some scientists who have made a special study of why we dream, what we dream and what those dreams mean. Their explanation of dreams, though a bit reasonable, is not accepted by everyone but it offers an interesting approach to the problem. They believe that dreams are mostly expressions of wishes that did not come true. In other words dreaming is a way of having your wishes carried out.
36. From the passage we know that our dreams .
A. are imagination of our daily life B. are man’s curious look into the future
C. have nothing to do with our feelings D. are to some degree connected with our feelings
37. In your dream when you feel like eating something it indicates(暗示)that .
A. you are in a state of being cold B. you are in a state of being tired
C. you are in a state of hunger D. you should have had your dinner that day
38. Older children often dream of examinations probably because .
A. they are interested in exams B. they are often worried about their studies
C. they hope for better life D. they show much interest in their studies
39. Some scientists’ explanation of dreams .
A. is not widely accepted though a bit reasonable B. gives an exact description of our life
C. provides us with information of dreams D. is of no use for us