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阅读理解。
Visitors to the dry, hot Sonoran Desert of the southern Arizona and northern Mexico are amazed at the manyarmed giants. They are the saguaro cacti (树形仙人掌), a giant which gives the landscape its _____________ appearance. In the dry desert the saguaro cacti can live for more than 200 years, grow to a ___________ of 60 feet, and have as many as 50 arms.
More __________， the saguaro cacti still persist despite the unbearable desert climate. Those that have grown to old age have ___________ droughts, freezes, flash floods, and bush fires as well as the ___________ caused by groups of rats that eat their seedlings (秧苗). Like all other desert ___________， these leafless giants can store water for use during the desert's long dry seasons by ____________ water through their long roots.
Naturally, the great saguaro cacti are a(n) __________ part of the desert life. Actually the giants may be ___________ to many animals, including woodpeckers, owls, doves, bats and insects. In addition, after a saguaro __________ the age of 50 or so, coldresistant flowers ___________ at the top of the plants once a year. These flowers ____________ birds, bats and bees, which come for the honey and for the tasty flowers with their black seeds.
___________ the splendid saguaros are plentiful in the Southwest, they are unfortunately ___________. These giant cacti have great value in landscape gardening, and the thieves can earn thousands of dollars by uprooting and __________ them to nurseries (苗圃). To protect these southwestern ___________， agents for the Arizona Department of Agriculture go around and __________ the desert. It's a most important job though a hard one. But without the saguaro cacti, many desert animals would suffer a lack of __________ and loss of nesting sites. The Southwest, too, would ____________ something of unique importance, since these desert giants have become a ____________ of the dry region.
1.A.general B．basic C．unique D．lovely
2.A.length B．height C．size D．width
3.A.pleasingly B．inspiringly C．interestingly D．amazingly
4.A.lived through B．broken through C．cut through D．got through
5.A.crisis B．damage C．destruction D．load
6.A.plants B．lives C．animals D．creatures
7.A.pouring B．squeezing C．pumping D．absorbing
8.A.independent B．vital C．original D．mysterious
9.A.spot B．field C．home D．camp
10.A.turns B．takes C．meets D．gains
11.A.come up B．come out C．show off D．show up
12.A.call B．trap C．fascinate D．stick
13.A.As B．But C．Although D．Yet
14.A.in danger B．in demand C．in need D．in control
15.A.exchanging B．trading C．offering D．selling
16.A.treasures B．decorations C．possessions D．creations
17.A.look over B．hand over C．watch over D．turn over
18.A.food B．scenery C．water D．flavor
19.A.affect B．abandon C．increase D．lose
20.A.signal B．sign C．mark D．symbol
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In the dry Namib Desert on the west coast of Africa, one type of beetle has found a special way of surviving. When the morning arrives, the Namib Beetle collects water drops on its bumpy(起伏不平的) back, then lets the water roll down into its mouth, allowing it to drink in an area without flowing water.
Shreerang Chhatre wants to use what nature has developed to help the world’s poor. Chhatre is an engineer at MIT who works on fog harvesting, the equipment that, like the beetle, attracts water drops. This way, poor villagers could collect clean water near their homes, instead of spending hours carrying water from distant wells or rivers.
Access to water is a serious global issue. According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, nearly 900 million people worldwide live without safe drinking water. The burden of finding and transporting water falls heavily on women and children. “As a middle-class person, I think it’s terrible that the poor have to spend hours a day walking just to obtain a basic necessity,” Chhatre says.
A fog-harvesting machine consists of a fence-like mesh panel(网状面板), which attracts drops, connected to containers into which water falls. Chhatre has improved the materials used in these machines. He is continuing his work at MIT Sloan and the Legaturn Center in order to develop a workable business plan for applying fog-harvesting machines.
Interest in fog harvesting dates back to the 1990s, and has increased since new research on the Namib Beetle became famous in 2001. A few technologists saw potential in the concept for people. One Canadian charitable organization, FogQuest, has tested projects in Chile and Guatemala.
But fog harvesting remains in its childhood, technologically and commercially, as Chhatre readily recognizes. “It still faces some open problems,” he says. “But it’s a work in progress.” After all, the water that fills our rivers and lakes comes from air.
1.Which of the following is TRUE of Shreerang Chhatre?
A. He is an African engineer.
B. He is researching on the Namib Beetle.
C. He has made the first fog-harvesting machines to use.
D. He is trying to put fog-harvesting machines to use.
2.Why is Namib Beetle mentioned in the passage?
A. To describe the severe conditions in Namib Desert.
B. To introduce the diversity of species in Namib Desert.
C. To inform how animal nature can be used to benefit people.
D. To raise the awareness of accessing clean drinking water in poor areas.
3.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to _________.
A. UNICEF B. the beetle
C. fog harvesting D. a Canadian charitable organization
4.The author’s main purpose in writing the text is to ________.
A. stress the importance of saving water
B. show the Namib Beetle’s special way of surviving
C. introduce a new machine for collecting water from air
D. inform people of the serious water problem in Africa
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Two-thirds of Australia kangaroos and ______ are native ______the area which_______ dry and desert.
A. dingoes; to, is B. dingos; on, are
C.dingoes; to ,are D. dingos; by, is
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In the mountainous southern Peru, Quechua women sit on the ground, chatting as they twist dry grass and shape it into long plaits (辫子). Every year for the past six centuries, each family contributes about 210 feet of plaints to build Q’eswachaka, the only surviving rope bridge that once connected the Inca Empire.
At approximately 100 feet, Q’eswachaka connects two mountains. It is rebuilt yearly by four Quechua communities who come together every second week of June to spend three days building the bridge and a fourth celebrating its completion. Before the work begins, one person asks for protection and permission. To people who gather to rebuild this structure, the bridge is a god. To build the new Q’eswachaka, one of the builders ties a rope around his waist and makes his way across last year’s structure. Once this connection is secure, the old bridge is cut loose. Then builders transport supplies and other ropes. They ride on the bridge’s cable and make its floor by hand. The skills for the bridge are communicated not through written instructions, but through apprenticeship (学徒期).
Nowadays, the bridge faces many challenges. Policy adjustments in the teaching field have caused the sharp fall in the number of Quechua speakers. Only 40% of the younger generation speaks the language of their ancestors. Since the ancestral language is necessary for the ceremony associated with Q’eswachaka, the decrease in the number of speakers will make it difficult for the tradition to continue. Besides, now Q’eswachaka is made of only one kind of plant, but it used to include other plant materials that have disappeared, which made it strong enough to serve the needs of the communities. These days, a nearby steel bridge satisfies the transport of cars and supplies, and Q’eswachaka’s construction is kept alive by tourism rather than function.
1.What’s the first step of rebuilding Q’eswachaka?
A.Use a rope to build a connection. B.Make the new bridge’s floor.
C.Destroy the old bridge. D.Transport materials.
2.What can we learn about Q’eswachaka?
A.It mainly aims to attract visitors now. B.It remains practical for local people.
C.It’s in the charge of local women. D.It’s approximately 100 feet long.
3.What can we infer from the text?
A.There are many rope bridges in Peru now.
B.Builders ask for permission from the government.
C.The new bridge is built when the old one gets fragile.
D.Quechua is important for the survival of Q’eswachaka.
4.Which can be the best title of the text?
A.Importance of Q’eswachaka. B.Development of Q’eswachaka.
C.Decrease of Quechua speakers. D.Challenges Q’eswachaka faces.
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The Arizona desert is really dry. Anyone stuck in it without water would die from dehydration（脱水）within three days. Unless, that is, they had one of Omar Yaghi’s next-generation water harvesters. Although daytime humidity（湿度）is only about 10 per cent, this rises to 40 per cent at night, which means there’s enough water in the atmosphere to support life — if it can be changed into liquid form.
That’s exactly what Yaghi’s device does. It’s a box about the size of a small microwave oven designed to suck the humidity from the air at night and turn it into drinking water the next day using only the heat of the sun as its power source. What makes it work is a powder called a metal-organic framework (MOF), which at normal temperatures attracts water molecules (分子) onto its surface. Warm it up and the water is released, each harvest producing one-third of a cup of pure drinking water. “With further improvements, a device, the size of a washing machine, could produce enough water for the basic needs of a household,” says Yaghi, a chemist at the University of California.
One-third of the world’s population lacks safe drinking water; for them such a device could be a lifesaver. But that’s not the limit of the MOF technology.
Just as MOFs can help solve the problem of water shortage, they offer a way of reducing a lot of greenhouse gases. In April this year, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit an 800,000-year high, contributing to climate change. Recent research suggests ways that MOFs might be able to help mitigate（缓解）this danger to the Earth’s ecosystem.
An international team led by chemists from the University of Manchester, UK, reported in 2018 that they had developed an aluminum (Al)-based MOF that can selectively and repeatedly remove another gaseous pollutant, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), from the surrounding atmosphere. This discovery could lead to air-related technologies that seize and change large quantities of other gases, such as carbon dioxide, to reduce air pollution.
In 2017, a MOF startup pioneer NuMat Technologies employed MOFs to safely store and deliver dangerous gases. For a given pressure, a tank containing a MOF holds more gas than one without. Or, to put it another way, if a gas tank has a MOF in it, then it does not need to be as highly pressurized in order to hold the same amount of gas, making it safer and less likely to explode, and possible less expensive.
Now, about two dozen companies in the past five years are known to be pursuing MOFs, from small startups to larger chemical and automobile companies. And QYResearch forecasts that the MOF market will grow from $70 million in 2017 to $750 million in 2025. “The potential here is just endless,” says Yaghi. “As cheaper materials come into focus, there will continue to be even more opportunities for commercialization.”
1.MOF changes the sucked humidity into water by ________.
A. lowering the temperature
B. collecting carbon dioxide
C. recycling dangerous gases
D. absorbing the heat of the sun
2.Aluminum-based MOF can be used to _______.
A. reduce greenhouse gases
B. produce household water
C. deliver dangerous gases
D. release water molecules
3.It can be learned that under the same pressure, a tank with a MOF will _______.
A. cost more money B. cause more explosions
C. hold more gases D. afford more crashes
4.The main purpose of this passage is to ______.
A. explain how to use MOF
B. describe the future of MOF
C. persuade people to buy MOF
D. introduce the functions of MOF
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How has the weather been recently?
A. Cold and rainy. B. Hot and dry. C. Windy and dry.
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阅读下面材料，在空白处填人适当的词（1个单词）或括号内单词的适当形式。
Welcome back to the hot topic of studying abroad！ Last time, we talked about the general "soft- ware" needed to have a 1.____(success) studying experience overseas, 2. refers to the ability to understand western culture, and problem solving skills when 3. (face) critical situations, etc.
Now,1 will dig deeper into the concept of software". Everyone is talking about culture shock nowa-days, but you may wonder what it actually 4. _(mean). Simply put: culture shock is the diffi-culty people may experience when being exposed and adjusting to a 【小5】 (remarkable) different new culture. Usually, people often go 5.._ four distinct phases: the honeymoon phase, the ne-gotiation phase, the adjustment phase and the mastery phase. Culture shock can happen immediately upon your 6.____(arrive) in the country.
For international students, perhaps the most direct impact of culture shock is the variety of accents, especially in multicultural countries 7. the U.S. Canada or Australia. There are two main reasons: Firstly, these countries have highly diversified groups of residents from different cultural8.___ _(background). Secondly, there are many international students from all around the world every year studying in these countries, so you shouldn't be surprised 9. (find) all kinds of unfamiliar accents around the university campus.
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---He looks very hot and dry.
--- So ________, if you had a temperature of 40℃.
A. will you B. you will C. would you D. do you
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听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What kind of area do Bill and Sally live in?
A.A hot area. B.A high area. C.A dry area.
2.What do Bill and Sally do?
A.They are gardeners. B.They are designers. C.They are builders.
3.What is used to protect the delicate plants now?
A.Trees. B.Glass houses. C.Fences.
4.How does the speaker describe Bill and Sally's work?
A.Successful. B.unsatisfactory. C.Impossible.
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We’d been flying for hours, deeper and deeper into the desert of southeastern Niger. The mission: to find what is probably the last wild population of the great Saharan antelope called the addax (旋角羚)—the most endangered animal of its size in Africa.
Pilot Peter Ragg flew our bright red helicopter low over two parallel dunes (沙丘). The pale sand below us was dotted by the black bushes, the plants that are favorite food for the addax. Then, almost as if the dune extruded (使突出) them, two perfect addaxes appeared. Their long tails swung from side to side as they ran, heads held high on thick necks, horns reaching for the sky. We made a few turns in the plane, then let them be. In just a few seconds they were swallowed again by the Sahara. Soon they could just as easily disappear from the planet.
In September 2004 the government of Niger and a small NGO called SOS Faune du Niger surveyed this last known pocket of wild addaxes. They counted 128 individuals. Since then, the number has dropped as hunters have taken more for meat. How many addaxes remain in the Sahara is anybody’s guess, but those that do survive could be considered the living dead: There may not be a viable (能生存的) population left to reproduce.
I’m now helping to make an emergency plan for the last wild addaxes. With a few hundred thousand dollars, some trucks, and a strong group with the local Toubou guides, we may just be able to save these guys from extinction.
36. What do the addaxes in the passage usually eat?
A. Vegetables. B. Black bushes. C. Grass. D. Fruits.
37. All of the following descriptions of the addax are true EXCEPT that ____.
A. its tail is long B. its neck is thick
C. its legs are short D. its horns are long
38. What does the writer probably mean by saying that “There may not be a viable population left to reproduce”?
A. Wild addaxes will die out soon unless effective measures are taken.
B. The number of wild addaxes will increase if they are not hunted.
C. Wild addaxes cannot support themselves any longer.
D. Humans cannot survive without enough addaxes.
39. It can be inferred that the writer of the passage might be ____.
A. a journalist B. an official C. an engineer D. a zoologist