If you live in a desert, maintaining a supply of fresh water is a challenge. One answer is desalination, but that needs a source from which to get the salt away—which in turn requires that your desert be near the sea. The other is related to moisture. Even in inland deserts, though, moisture is often present in the air as water vapour (水蒸气).
The problem is how to get this vapour effectively and cheaply from the desert air. And that is what two groups of researchers have managed to do.
The ease with which water can be won from air depends on that air’s relative humidity. This is a measure of its current vapour content as a percentage of its maximum possible vapour content at its current temperature. A relative humidity of 100% means the air in question is holding as much water vapour as it possibly can. A good way to get air to give up some of its moisture is therefore to cool it to the point where its relative humidity is more than 100%. Sometimes this happens naturally at night, causing mist and dew to form. These can be collected in special traps in areas where liquid water is otherwise rarer. But, if night cooling does not bring air all the way up to 100% relative humidity, building water traps out of special materials might give nature a helping hand.
Adsorption (吸附) is a process which pulls water molecules from air that has less than 100% relative humidity by attaching them to the surface of a solid material. The molecules are held there by electrostatic (静电的) connections called Van der Waals forces that link them with the molecules of the related surface. To collect a lot of water this way therefore requires a material that has two features. One is a large surface area. The other is an appropriate Van der Waals response. Experimental traps that employ this principle have been made using substances called metal-organic frameworks. These are porous (多孔的) molecular networks through which air can circulate. Their porosity gives them a huge surface area. And by picking the right ingredients, such as zirconium, they can be given the necessary Van der Waals features. Zirconium is, however, costly. Moreover, once absorbed, the water must then be released. This means warming the absorptive material—the warmth being provided by the sun, once it has risen. Here, metal-organic frameworks present a problem. They tend to reflect sunlight rather than absorb it, and so don’t heat up well. To overcome this, engineers build a solid device made of copper into the system. This works, but adding such devices makes an already costly technology even dearer.
1.What is the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph 1?
A.The irrigation of sea water. B.The import of sea water.
C.The removal of salt in sea water. D.The purification of sea water.
2.Which factor can mainly affect people to get water from the air easily?
A.Air quality. B.Relative humidity.
C.Current vapour content. D.Current temperature.
3.What can we learn from the article?
A.Water drops are the major existence of moisture in the air.
B.Getting vapour in the air naturally usually happens when the relative humidity is below 100%.
C.The more holes a certain material has, the huger surface area it has.
D.Zirconium is chosen because it’s cheap.
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Maintaining-fresh water in the desert.
B.Introducing a way to get water in the air of the desert.
C.Promoting an experimental trap to get water in the air.
D.Offering a way to increase adsorption in the air.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
If you live in a desert, maintaining a supply of fresh water is a challenge. One answer is desalination, but that needs a source from which to get the salt away—which in turn requires that your desert be near the sea. The other is related to moisture. Even in inland deserts, though, moisture is often present in the air as water vapour (水蒸气).
The problem is how to get this vapour effectively and cheaply from the desert air. And that is what two groups of researchers have managed to do.
The ease with which water can be won from air depends on that air’s relative humidity. This is a measure of its current vapour content as a percentage of its maximum possible vapour content at its current temperature. A relative humidity of 100% means the air in question is holding as much water vapour as it possibly can. A good way to get air to give up some of its moisture is therefore to cool it to the point where its relative humidity is more than 100%. Sometimes this happens naturally at night, causing mist and dew to form. These can be collected in special traps in areas where liquid water is otherwise rarer. But, if night cooling does not bring air all the way up to 100% relative humidity, building water traps out of special materials might give nature a helping hand.
Adsorption (吸附) is a process which pulls water molecules from air that has less than 100% relative humidity by attaching them to the surface of a solid material. The molecules are held there by electrostatic (静电的) connections called Van der Waals forces that link them with the molecules of the related surface. To collect a lot of water this way therefore requires a material that has two features. One is a large surface area. The other is an appropriate Van der Waals response. Experimental traps that employ this principle have been made using substances called metal-organic frameworks. These are porous (多孔的) molecular networks through which air can circulate. Their porosity gives them a huge surface area. And by picking the right ingredients, such as zirconium, they can be given the necessary Van der Waals features. Zirconium is, however, costly. Moreover, once absorbed, the water must then be released. This means warming the absorptive material—the warmth being provided by the sun, once it has risen. Here, metal-organic frameworks present a problem. They tend to reflect sunlight rather than absorb it, and so don’t heat up well. To overcome this, engineers build a solid device made of copper into the system. This works, but adding such devices makes an already costly technology even dearer.
1.What is the meaning of the underlined word in Paragraph 1?
A.The irrigation of sea water. B.The import of sea water.
C.The removal of salt in sea water. D.The purification of sea water.
2.Which factor can mainly affect people to get water from the air easily?
A.Air quality. B.Relative humidity.
C.Current vapour content. D.Current temperature.
3.What can we learn from the article?
A.Water drops are the major existence of moisture in the air.
B.Getting vapour in the air naturally usually happens when the relative humidity is below 100%.
C.The more holes a certain material has, the huger surface area it has.
D.Zirconium is chosen because it’s cheap.
4.What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Maintaining-fresh water in the desert.
B.Introducing a way to get water in the air of the desert.
C.Promoting an experimental trap to get water in the air.
D.Offering a way to increase adsorption in the air.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
People have lots of problems living in the central Australian desert, ____ the lack of water is the most serious one.
| A．of which | B．which | C．for which | D．where |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
People have lots of problems living in the central Australian desert, ____ the lack of water is the most serious one.
A. of which B. which C. for which D. where
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
What do you do if your nation has a severe water shortage and happens to be located in a desert? If you have the resources, you turn to technology, which is what a company in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates (阿联酋) (UAE for short) is planning to do. The country, which gets less than four inches of rain per year, could solve its issue with water shortage by dragging icebergs from Antarctica to its shores. The first such attempt will begin in 2018.
Once the iceberg is at UAE shores, the ice above the waterline would be cut off and crushed into drinking water, which would then be stored in large water tanks. The iceberg would also have a broader impact, says Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi:
“Cold air out from an iceberg close to the shore of the Arabian Sea would cause rainstorms across the Arabian Gulf and the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula all year round. As the rising air expands, cools and condenses (冷凝) due to the decrease in air pressure, water vapor (水蒸气) is collected in the clouds, which becomes heavy and falls as rain.” More icebergs will bring more water vapor and clouds, creating a profound (巨大的)effect on the regional climate over a decade, turning the desert into “green meadows(草地)”. The melting iceberg would also add fresh water to the Arabian sea, returning biodiversity. There would also be a boost(兴旺) for tourism from all the people interested in looking at the icebergs. The Emirates Iceberg Project comes from a group of efforts by NABL called “Filling the Empty Quarter”. The project aims to dramatically influence the deserts of the “Empty Quarter”, the planet’s largest sand desert. The region is also the richest oil-producing area in the world, including parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE and Yemen.
1.What is the UAE planning to do according to the text?
A. To collect fresh sea water from Antarctica.
B. To drag icebergs from Antarctica to the country.
C. To make icebergs from Antarctica melt.
D. To get 20 billion gallons of fresh water from icebergs.
2.What Al Shehi said reflects the effect of icebergs on_______.
A. the weather B. the industry
C. the biodiversity D. the tourism
3.According to the text, the deserts of the “Empty Quarter” are______.
A. turning into green meadows
B. the resource of salt in the Arabian sea
C. the empty area without population
D. abundant in oil as a matter of fact
4.According to the text, icebergs to be dragged to UAE’ shores will _________.
A. bring water vapor and sand
B. add salt water to the Arabian sea
C. become “green meadows”
D. attract people interested in looking at the icebergs
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The Antarctic Icecap is the largest supply of fresh water，representing nearly 2％of the world’s total of fresh and salt water. As can be seen from the table below, the amount of water in our atmosphere is over 10 times as much as the water in all the rivers taken together. The fresh water actually available for human use in lakes and rivers and the accessible ground water amount to only about one-third of 1％of the world’s total water supply.
| Surface area(sq mi) | Volume(cu mi) | Percentage of total | ||
| Salt water | ||||
| The oceans | 139,500,000 | 317,000,000 | 97.2％ | |
| Inland seas and saline lakes | 270,000 | 25,000 | 0.008 | |
| Fresh water | ||||
| Freshwater lakes | 330,000 | 30,000 | 0.009 | |
| All rivers(average level) | － | 300 | 0.0001 | |
| Antarctic Icecap | 6,000,000 | 6,300,000 | 1.9 | |
| Arctic Icecap and glaciers | 900,000 | 680,000 | 0. 21 | |
| Water in the atmosphere | 197,000,000 | 3,100 | 0. 001 | |
| Ground water within half a mile from surface a mile from surface | － | 1,000,000 | 0. 31 | |
| Deep-lying ground water | － | 1,000,000 | 0. 31 | |
| Total (rounded) | － | 326,000,000 | 100.00 | |
1.What’s the best title of this passage?
A．Fresh Water in the World B．Water Supply of the World
C．Salt Water of the Earth D．Protection of the Water in the World
2.It can be seen from the table______.
A．humans will have to use sea water in the future
B．there is enough fresh water for man to use
C．Water in the atmosphere is the least
D．the sea water takes up 98％of the water on earth
3.The fresh water that humans can use is _________.
A．about 1,086,700 cu mi B．about 6,300,000 cu mi
C．about 680,000 cu mi D．about 2,000,000 cu mi
4.Where does the majority of fresh water exists?
A．In Arctic Icecap and glaciers. B．In Deep ground.
C．In the Antarctic Icecap. D．In the atmosphere.
5.What are the two places where equal amount of fresh water is stored?
A．Freshwater lakes and all rivers(average level)
B．Antarctic Icecap and water in the atmosphere
C．Ground water within half a mile from surface and Deep-lying ground water.
D．Deep-lying ground water and Arctic Icecap and glaciers
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Bad luck! Our water supply _______ while we were making our way in the desert.
| A．used up | B．gave out | C．went off | D．turned over |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
11．Bad luck! Our water supply _______ while we were making our way in the desert.
| A．used up | B．gave out | C．went off | D．turned over |
高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析
Due to a shortage of medical supplies in a severe epidemic situation, if you offer a mask to someone, you must be ______.
A.a Jonah B.a Judas C.a Scrooge D.a good Samaritan
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Living alone in the central desert in Australia has its problems,________obtaining water is not the least.
A. of which B. for what C. as D. whose
高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析
Clean water is ______ necessary than fresh air to [\people living in big cities．
A．no more B．not more C．no less D．not less
高三英语单项填空困难题查看答案及解析