Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again．They want to brin
题型：不详难度：来源：
Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again．They want to bring water to the deserts，so people can live and grow food．They are learning a lot about the deserts．But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time．Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time．
Why is more and more land becoming desert？Scientists think that people make deserts．People are doing bad things to the earth．
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain． But they still don’t become deserts． This is because some green plants are growing there． Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places． Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier． Plants do not let the wind blow the dirt away． When a bit of rain falls， the plants hold the water． Without plants， the land can become desert more easily．
小题1:Deserts ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ． | A．never have any plants or animals in them | | B．can all be turned into good land before long | | C．are becoming smaller and smaller | | D．get very little rain |
小题2:Small green plants are very important to dry places because ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ． | A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier | | B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away | | C．they hold water | | D．All of the above． |
小题3:Land is becoming desert little by little because ＿＿＿＿＿＿． | A．plants can’t grow there | | B．there is not enough rain | | C．people haven’t done what scientists wish them to do | | D．scientists know little about the deserts |
小题4:Why is more and more land becoming desert according to this passage？| A．Earthquakes make deserts. | B．Wind makes deserts. | | C． Lack of water makes deserts. | D．People make deserts． |
|
答案
小题1:D
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:D |
解析
试题分析：本文讲述的是树木对土壤的重要性。呼吁人们多种树，保护树木，防止土地沙漠化。
小题1:细节题：从第一句话：They want to bring water to the deserts， so people can live and grow food. 可知沙漠的水很少。选D
小题2:细节题;文章第三段提到ABC，所以选D。
小题3:细节题：从文章第一段看出，是人们没有按照科学家所的做。可知C正确
小题4:细节题：从文章第二段Scientists think that people make deserts．科学家认为是人导致沙漠的。选D
考点; 考查环保类短文
点评：文章内容比较简单，只需要读懂文章的即可，以细节题为主。主要在于正确的审题，带着重要信息到文章里面到出处，答案往往就在这些句子中。 |
举一反三
For thousands of years, man has enjoyed the taste of apples. Apples, which are about 85 percent water, grow almost everywhere in the world but the hottest and coldest areas. Among the leading countries in apple production are China, France and the United States.
There are various kinds of apples, but a very few make up the majority of those grown for sale. The three most common kinds grown in the United States are Delicious, Golden Delicious, and McIntosh..
Apples are different in color, size and taste. The color of the skin may be red, green or yellow. They have various sizes, with Delicious apples being among the largest. The taste may be sweet or tart(酸的). Generally, sweet apples are tasted fresh while tart apples are used to make applesauce(果酱).
Apple trees may grow as tall as twelve meters. They do best in areas that have very cold winters. Although no fruit is yielded during the winter, this cold period is good for the tree.
小题1:It can be learned from the text that Delicious apples are_______.| A．grown in France | B．sold everywhere | C．very big | D．quite sweet |
小题2:Cold winter weather is good for________.| A．the growth of apple trees | B．producing large apples | | C．improving the taste of apples | D．the increase of water in apples |
小题3:China, France and the United States are considered to_______.| A．be small producers of apples | | B．be large producers of applesauce | | C．have the longest history in apple production | | D．have the coldest winter among apple production |
小题4:The word yielded in the last sentence means________.| A．improved | B．increased | C．produced | D．sold |
|
If cars had wings, they could fly and that just might happen, beginning in 2012．The company Terrafugia, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, says it plans to deliver its carplane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2012．
“ It"s the next ’wow’ vehicle,” said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh．“Anybody can buy a Ferrari, but as we say, Ferraris don"t fly．”
The car plane has wings that unfold for flying－a process the company says takes one minute-and fold back up for driving． A runway is still required to take off and land．
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies, although it is both．The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations, and with the National High way Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations．
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly．They say it saves you the trouble of trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports: You drive the car to the airport and then you"re good to go．When you land, you fold up the wings and hit the road．There are no expensive parking fees because you don"t have to store it at an air port-you park it in the garage at home．
The carplane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet．It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds, including fuel and passengers．Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under bad weather instead of flying into marginal（临界） conditions．
The Transition"s price tag: $ 194,000．But there may be additional charges for options like a radio, transponder or GPS．Another option is a fullplane parachute．
“If you get into a very awful situation, it is the necessary safety option,”Gersh said．
So far, the company has more than 70 0rders with deposits． “We"re working very closely with them,
but there are still some remaining steps, ” Brown said．
小题1:We can learn from the first paragraph that ．| A．carplanes will be popular in 2012 | | B．people might drive a carplane in 2012 | | C．both Transition and Ferrari can take off and land | | D．Richard Cersh is the vice president of Massachusetts |
小题2:It takes the carplane one minute to ．| A．fold and- unfold its wings | B．unfold wings for flying | | C．land in the airport | D．meet flying safety regulations |
小题3:According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A．The carplane needs a runway to take off and land．
B．To meet aircraft regulations, the company has been working with FAA．
C．The carplane may fly as high as normal planes．
D．People can park the carplane in the garage at their home．
小题4:The underlined word "it" in the last but one paragraph refers to ．| A．the radio | B．the transponder | | C．the GPS | D．the fullplane parachute |
小题5:What"s the best title for the passage?| A．Cars With Wings May Be Just Around The Comer | | B．Which To Choose: A Ferrari Or A CarPlane? | | C．A More Convenient And Cheaper Way To Fly | | D．Cars With Wings Can Fly As Fast As Plane |
|
Since the 1990s, education has been required for all South Africans from age seven to fifteen. Last December, the government announced that 70% of students passed their final examination to finish high school. In 2008, the pass rate was about 63%. There have been increases each year since then.
Professor Shireen Motala says basic education is no longer a problem in South Africa. Most children stay in school until they are about sixteen. The problem is that large numbers of them leave without completing high school.
Students take an examination known as the “matric”(高考) in Grade Twelve. Professor Motala says, “Less than half of the children who started school in 2000 sat for the matric last year. Many dropped out of school, so only around 45% took the matric. And the worry is where those students actually go.” Those who drop out have to compete with better educated people for jobs.
Educational researchers also point to another problem. South African schools do not produce enough students with the skills for higher education in maths and science. Many schools are not well-equipped. Children do not see laboratories, and, as a result, their science marks are not very good. They do not have libraries at school. Also, many teachers do not have the skills or training to do their jobs.
In South Africa, a number of teachers were poorly trained before. Secondly, teachers have been confused by the many educational reform efforts in the last fifteen years. Finally, language differences in the classroom have not got as much attention as they should, which is a huge problem. Subjects such as maths and science are taught in English starting at about the age of ten. But South Africa has eleven official languages.
South Africa’s minister of basic education promises a number of improvements. Angie Motshega says teacher development efforts will focus on subject and content knowledge, making sure that the correct teachers are in the correct jobs.
小题1:From the first paragraph we can learn that ______.| A．South Africans are badly in need of education | | B．South African teenagers do very well at school | | C．the South African government takes education seriously | | D．South African teenagers have become more clever |
小题2:What is the real concern of Shireen Motala?| A．Something is wrong with the country’s basic education system. | | B．Most children have to find a job at an early age. | | C．The final exam is too difficult for most children. | | D．Most children cannot complete high school until they are 16. |
小题3:South African students perform poorly in science for all of the following reasons, EXCEPT ______.| A．they don’t work hard enough | | B．their schools do not have laboratories | | C．they cannot get help from libraries | | D．there are not enough skilled teachers |
小题4:With which of the following would Shireen Motala most probably agree?| A．Schools should focus more on maths and science than any other subject. | | B．More educational reforms should be carried out in South African schools. | | C．The more teachers teach maths and science, the better marks students may get. | | D．More attention should be paid to language differences in maths and science classes. |
|
What would you think if someone suggested knocking down St Paul’s Cathedral to widen the road? Or pulling down Big Ben to make way for a car park? It would be ridiculous, right? But when it comes to devastation (毁灭) of the natural world, we aren’t so easily shocked. But we should be…or we’ll be in a lot of trouble.
Nature is shrinking by the day. Ancient forests are destroyed. Wetlands are becoming dry. Woodland is disappearing, and all in the name of progress. This is bad in itself, but it’s devastating for biodiversity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals and other living things that are all interconnected. The ecological services provided by biodiversity are vital to everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis (光合作用) by green plants. Insects, worms and bacteria break down waste and make soils rich. And tiny organisms clean the water in rivers and sea. In fact, all life on the earth exists thanks to the benefits of biodiversity. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. And 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals. Maintaining a wide diversity of species in each ecosystem is necessary to preserve all living things.
The loss of biodiversity could be devastating. “It is wrong to think that biodiversity can be reduced indefinitely without threatening humans,” said Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson, known as the “father of biodiversity”. He warned, “We are about to reach a critical point beyond which biodiversity loss will become irreversible (不可挽回的).”
But what can we do? The present problem is that the concept of biodiversity is so vague (含糊的). People might care about giant pandas, but it is much harder to excite them about the fate of tiny sea creatures which are being boiled to death in the cooling systems of power stations along coastlines. The Guardian newspaper is trying to help. It has launched the Biodiversity 100 campaign to try to convince governments around the world to take action to deal with the widespread concerns about biodiversity. This includes persuading the UK government to create a series of marine reserves to reserve the decrease in the sea-life caused by industrial fishing, stopping fishing sharks by the Japanese fishermen and banning the killing of dingoes (wild dogs) in Australia, among many other things.
There is a lot to do. And we’d better act quickly if we don’t want to end up with a planet that can’t sustain life!
小题1:The writer thinks it ________ to pull down Big Ben to make way for a car park.| A．unreasonable | B．necessary | C．difficult | D．reasonable |
小题2:The underlined sentence “Nature is shrinking by the day.” means that ________.| A．nature is badly polluted by humans | | B．species are becoming fewer and fewer day by day | | C．rainforests are being cut down every day | | D．nature is full of mysteries |
小题3:Edward O. Wilson thinks that ________.| A．it doesn’t matter to reduce biodiversity | | B．people have done enough to preserve biodiversity | | C．the situation of biodiversity is very serious | | D．biodiversity loss has become irreversible |
小题4:When it comes to biodiversity, the present problem is that ________.| A．people might not clearly know what is biodiversity and what should be protected | | B．people are not aware that giant pandas are endangered | | C．people don’t realize that biodiversity is vital to everyday life | | D．people hunt sea creatures for food |
小题5:What does the underlined word “It” in paragraph 5 refer to?| A．The UK government. | B．The concept of biodiversity. | | C．The action to deal with the problem. | D．The Guardian newspaper. |
|
“Get your hands off me, I have been stolen,” the laptop, a portable computer, shouted. That is a new solution to laptop computer theft (the crime of stealing): a program that lets owners give their property a voice when it has been taken.
The program allows users to display alerts (warning) on the missing computer’s screen and even to set a spoken message. Tracking software for stolen laptops has been on the market for some time, but this is thought to be the first that allows owners to give the thief a piece of their mind.
Owners must report their laptop missing by visiting a website, which sends a message to the model: a red and yellow “lost or stolen” sign appears on its screen when it is started. Under the latest version of the software, users can also send a spoken message.
The message can be set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes it. “One customer sent a message saying, ‘You are being tracked. I am right at your door’,” said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the company which produces the program, Retriever.
In the latest version, people can add a spoken message. For example, the laptop’s speakers will say: “Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, report me now.”
The Retriever software package, which costs $29.95 but has a free trial period, has the functions of many security software programs. Owners can remotely (远程地) switch to an alternative (可替换的) password immediately if they fear that the thief has also got hold of the access (进入, 使用) details.
If a thief accesses the Internet with the stolen laptop, Retriever will collect information on the Internet service provider in use, so that the police can be alerted to its location.
Thousands of laptops are stolen every year from homes and offices, but with the use of laptops increasing, the number stolen while their owners are out and about has been rising sharply.
Other security software allows users to erase data remotely or lock down the computer.
小题1:The underlined expression “to give the thief a piece of their mind” in Paragraph 2 can be understood as “_______”. | A．to give the thief an alert mind | | B．to express the owners’ anger to the thief | | C．to remind the thief of his conscience (良心) | | D．to make the thief give up his mind |
小题2:Different from other security software, Retriever can _______.| A．record the stealing process | | B．help recognize the lost laptop | | C．lock down the computer remotely | | D．send a spoken message |
小题3:One function of the program is that it allows the owner to _______ at a distance. | A．change some access details for switching on the laptop | | B．turn on the laptop by using the original password | | C．operate the laptop by means of an alternative password | | D．erase the information kept in the stolen laptop |
小题4:Which of the following can best sum up the main idea of the passage?| A．With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year. | | B．A new software provides a means to reduce laptop theft. | | C．Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers. | | D．A new program offers a communication platform with the thief. |
小题5:What does the word “it” in Paragraph 4 refer to?| A．the alert message | B．the computer | | C．the program | D．the laptop |
|
最新试题
热门考点