The earth’s most rich resource—water has become one of the most precious resources in the United States as rivers, lakes, and freshwater reservoirs are increasingly exploited for human use. Consequently, using precise farming techniques to refine “irrigation scheduling” is a research area of particular interest to Susan Moran, a researcher with the US department of Agriculture. She explains that in the southwest, irrigation is both difficult and expensive. There, she says, farmers have a tendency to over irrigate, spending both more time and money than is necessary.
“I’m trying to provide new information that could be used by farmers to schedule irrigations to improve their profitability and use less water,” Moran says. “Farmers often look at weather changes and then schedule irrigation based on that information. But if they had better information, they could use scientific models to compute more precisely how much water their crop is using. ”
Rather than guessing their crop’s potential need for water based upon weather changes, farmers can use remote sensors to measure how much water their crop is actually using. This would give them a more accurate measure of how much more water it needs.
Moran believes that if farmers are getting good and timely measurements of plant and air temperature, then they can program when and how much water to give each crop through an irrigation system. No more water would be used than needed, thus saving cost and conserving water.
Moran introduces one study she conducted in Arizona to investigate the use of remote sensing data for scheduling cotton irrigations. Typically, those farmers irrigate ten times per growing season, but evidence showed that some of those farmers could achieve basically the same harvest with only nine irrigations.
“In those cases, one less irrigation saved more than all the cost of remote sensing data,” she states. “Both irrigation and satellite remote sensing data are expensive. But then again many farmers are used to wording together as a group. They are used to sharing. I’m hoping they could do the same with remote sensing data—purchase one scene over a large area to cover many farms, which would further reduce the cost. ”
46. What does Moran think is the problem with farmers?
A. Over-used reservoirs. B. Precision farming.
C. Irrigation researches. D. Over-irrigation.
47. How can farmers get the new information about their crop?
A. To reschedule irrigation as required.
B. To watch weather changes regularly.
C. To use remote sensors as researchers suggest.
D. To use scientific models since computing is more reliable.
48. What do farmers check upon when they decide how much water each crop needs?
A. Profitability. B. Remote sensors. C. The cost. D. Air temperature.
49. What’s the purpose of Moran introducing the study she carried out in Arizona?
A. To investigate the use of remote sensing data.
B. To support her viewpoint in the previous paragraph.
C. To show how farmers can reap a harvest.
D. To criticize those farmers who used too much water.
50. What is among the best possible ways to help save farmers’ money?
A. Changing irrigation. B. Sharing sensing data.
C. Buying one computer. D. Extending the farms.
名校课堂系列答案科目：高中英语 来源：2012届重庆市渝北中学高三（上）第三次月考英语试卷 题型：阅读理解
LONDON: What could possibly be wrong with planting trees? The benefits are obvious; they firm the soil, soak up (摄取) extra water and take carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) out of the atmosphere.
However, it now turns out that planting trees could add to global warming.
Tree roots do a great job of keeping soil firmly on the ground and out of the wind’s power. The problem is that some of those dust clouds play an important part in taking in carbon dioxide.
Huge dust storms blow out over the oceans from dry parts of North Africa and central Asia. Tons of dust are lifted and left as a thin film over the ocean surface. The dust fuels oceanic life.
Dust from China is carried east and left in the Pacific Ocean. If a tree-planting programme there is successful and the dust supply reduced, the final result may be that less carbon dioxide gets locked away in the ocean.
Andy Ridgwell, an environmental scientist from the University of East Anglia, has spent the past few years studying dust and says his work “shows clearly the complexity of the system and the importance of not tinkering(粗劣地修补) with it without understanding the results. For this reason the need is to focus(集中) on cutting carbon dioxide giving off rather than monkeying (瞎弄) about with the land surface.”
An American scientist, Robert Jackson, has shown that when native grassland areas are invaded(侵入) by trees, carbon is lost from the soil. “We are studying why the soil carbon disappears, but one theory is that trees do a lot more of their growing above ground compared to grasses, so less carbon goes directly into the soil from trees, ” says Jackson.
In wet areas of the world, the gain from trees absorbing carbon dioxide above ground seems to be outweighed(超过) by the loss of carbon from the soil below ground. Countries that plan to combat global warming by planting trees may have to think again.
Solutions to environmental problems are often more complex than they first appear, and understanding the Earth’s climate is a very great challenge.
【小题1】People usually hold the opinion that_____________.
| A．huge dust storms can destroy carbon dioxide |
| B．huge dust storms can destroy the oceans on the earth |
| C．huge dust storms can’t do anything beneficial for man |
| D．planting trees is the only way to control huge dust storms |
| A．dust plays a more important part than trees |
| B．trees shouldn’t have been planted in dry places |
| C．carbon dioxide is harmful to everything on the earth |
| D．environmental problems are more complex than expected |
| A．grassland areas should be covered by forests |
| B．trees hold more carbon than grasses |
| C．carbon can turn grass into dust |
| D．less carbon can make trees grow faster |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年江西省高安中学高一上学期期末考试英语试卷（带解析） 题型：阅读理解
Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth’s surface, but earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much.
The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set (坚立架), it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir was not strong, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. If a building is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earthquakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result.
There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caused by seismic (地震的) sea waves, or tsunamis (海啸). These are often called tidal waves, but the name is incorrect. They had nothing to do with tides. In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them “tsunamis” meaning “harbor waves”, because they reach a sizable (相当大的) height only in harbors.
Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An earthquake warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground: There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.
【小题1】Which of the following can NOT be concluded from the passage?
| A．The number of earthquakes is closely related to the depth. |
| B．Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year. |
| C．Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles. |
| D．Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surface. |
| A．faulty building construction |
| B．an earthquake’s strength |
| C．widespread panic in earthquakes |
| D．ineffective instruments |
| A．their high speed |
| B．the wide shores |
| C．their silent movements |
| D．their long wave length |
| A．help reduce fear |
| B．find ways to stop them |
| C．be warned early enough |
| D．develop warning systems |
| A．two | B．five | C．four | D．three |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2012-2013学年内蒙古包头三十三中高二上学期期中考试英语试卷（带解析） 题型：阅读理解
Will life in the future be better, worse or the same as now? Futurologists（未来学家）predict that life will probably be very different in 2050.
First of all, it seems that TV channels will have disappeared by 2050. A computer will send the program directly to the television. On TV screen appear holograms（全息图）, which are pictures with certain height, width and depth. We will be able to see, smell and touch the things that we see on television.
Water has become one of our most serious problems. Agriculture is changing and people are growing more fruit and vegetables to export. Demand for water will increase ten times in 2050. Some futurologists predict that water will be the cause of war if we don’t act now.
In transport, cars will run on new fuels and go very fast. A car will have computers to control its speed and there won’t be any accidents. On the other hand, space planes will take people around the earth in about three hours. People will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo by space plane in just half an hour.
In the field of technology, robots will have replaced people in factories. By 2050, we will see robots everywhere. They do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day.
Medicine technology will have conquered many diseases by 2050; we will be able to help blind and deaf people see again and hear again. Scientists have discovered how to control genes. They have already produced clones of animals and will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have. If you want all this to come true, you should study science and technology hard.
【小题1】What is the main difference between today’s and 2050’s TV?
| A．We can use a computer to turn off the TV set. |
| B．We can talk with the characters appearing on TV. |
| C．We can choose whatever we like to see on TV. |
| D．We can touch the things we see on TV. |
| A．Technology. | B．Medicine. | C．Movies. | D．Agriculture. |
| A．The lack of water. | B．The less farmland. |
| C．The shortage of robots. | D．The more space planes. |
| A．people will spend less time in studying |
| B．more and more people needn’t go to school |
| C．people will have more time to relax or rest |
| D．no patients will be found in the world |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2011届湖北省武汉市武昌区高三上学期元月调研测试英语卷 题型：阅读理解
Scientists who try to predict earthquakes have gotten some new helpers recently—animals.
That’s right, animals. Scientists have begun to understand what farmers have known for thousands of years. Animals often seem to know in advance that an earthquake is coming, and they show their fear by acting in strange ways. Before a Chinese quake in 1975, snakes awoke from their winter sleep early only to freeze to death in the cold air. Cows broke their halters (缰绳) and tried to escape. Chickens refused to enter their cage. All of this unusual behavior, as well as physical changes in the earth, warned Chinese scientists of the coming quake. They moved people away from the danger zone and saved thousands of lives.
One task for scientists today is to learn exactly which types of animal behavior predict quakes. It’s not an easy job. First of all not every animal reacts to the danger of an earthquake. Just before a California quake in 1977, for example, an Arabian horse became very nervous and tried to break out of his enclosure. The Australian horse next to him, however, remained perfectly calm. It’s also difficult at times to tell the difference between normal animal restlessness and “earthquake nerves”. A zoo keeper once called earthquake researchers to say that his cougar had been acting strangely. It turned out that the cat had an upset stomach.
A second task for scientists is to find out exactly what kind of warnings the animals receive. They know that animals sense far more of the world than humans do. Many animals can see, hear, and smell things that people do not even notice. Some can sense tiny changes in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of Earth. This extra sense probably helps animals predict quakes.
A good example of this occurred with a group of dogs. They were shut in an area that was being shaken by a series of tiny earthquakes. (Several small quakes often come before or after a large one.) Before each quake a low booming sound was heard. Each boom caused the dogs to bark wildly. Then the dogs began to bark during a silent period. A scientist who was recording quakes looked at his machine. It was acting as though there were a loud noise too. The scientist realized that the dogs had reacted to a booming noise. They also sensed the tiny quake that followed it. The machine recorded both, though humans felt and heard nothing.
In this case there was a machine to monitor what the dogs were sensing. Many times, however, our machines record nothing extraordinary, even though animals know a quake is coming. The animals might be sensing something we measure but do not recognize as a warning. Discovering what animals sense, and learning how they know it is a danger signal, is a job for future scientists.
【小题1】Through the passage the writer hopes to explore __________.
| A．why animals send a danger signal before an earthquake |
| B．how animals know when an earthquake is coming |
| C．why animals not men have good sense of danger |
| D．how much animals know about an earthquake |
| A．chickens refused to go out of their cage |
| B．snakes were frozen to death in their caves |
| C．snakes awoke from their winter sleep earlier |
| D．cows broke their halters and escaped from their sheds |
| A．An Arabian horse tried to escape from his enclosure. |
| B．A cougar had an upset stomach unexpectedly. |
| C．An Australian horse was perfectly calm. |
| D．A cat acted very strangely in a zoo. |
| A．find out that the machine could record unusual happenings |
| B．compare the reactions of animals and those of humans |
| C．prove that animals could sense more than humans |
| D．find out what exact warnings animals sent |
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科目：高中英语 来源：2010年长春外国语学校高一下学期期末考试英语卷 题型：填空题
单词拼写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
61. Yuan Longping is quite s_______ ( 满意的 )with his life.
62. Dr Yuan searched for a way to increase rice harvest without e______ (伸展，使变大)the area of the fields.
63. She spent her life c______ (参加运动)for women’s rights.
64. I love roast pork and f______ rice (炒饭)
65. You must ask for p______(允许) before taking pictures in the church.
66. She was so afraid of being laughed at by her friends that she did not c______(咨询) a doctor.
67. We missed the first few s______ (幕, 场) of the play because we were caught in the heavy rain.
68. Dinosaurs laid eggs too and e______ (存在)on the earth for more than 140 million years.
69. Swap summaries with your partner and give each other c_______(评论).
70. It is so wet there that the trees are extremely tall, some m______(测量) over 90 meters.
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