Reading Comprehension The fridge is considered a necessity. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food first appeared with the label. "store in the refrigerator." In my fridgeless fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily. The milkman came daily, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times a week. The Sunday meat would last until Wednesday and surplus bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years later food deliveries have ceased, and fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country. The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. A vast way of well-tried techniques already existed—natural cooling, drying, smoking salting, sugaring, bottling... What refrigeration did promote was marketing—marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the globe in search of a good price. Consequently, most of the world's fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the wealthy countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially heated house, while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge. The fridge's effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and turn off your fridge next winter. You may miss the hamburgers, but at least you'll get rid of that terrible hum.
1. The statement "In my fridgeless fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily." (Line 1, Para. 2) suggests that ______.
A.the author was well-fed and healthy even without a fridge in his fifties
B.the author was not accustomed to use fridges even in his fifties
C.there was no fridge in the author's home in the 1940s
D.the fridge was in its early stage of development in the 1940s
A B C D
C
[解析] 该句的意思是“在50年代，没有冰箱的童年时代，我吃得也很好，也很健康”。
2. Why does the author say that nothing was wasted before the invention of fridges? ______
A.People would not buy more food than was necessary.
B.Food was delivered to people two or three times a week.
C.Food was sold fresh and did not get rotten easily.
D.People had effective ways to preserve their food.
4. Which of the following phrases in the fifth paragraph indicates the fridge's negative effect on the environment? ______
A."Hum away continuously"
B."Climatically almost unnecessary"
C."Artificially-cooled space"
D."With mild temperatures"
A B C D
A
[解析] 根据文章第五段第二句和文章最后一句可知，冰箱连续发出的嗡嗡声应视为对环境的负面影响。
5. What is the author's overall attitude toward fridges? ______
A.Neutral.
B.Critical.
C.Objective.
D.Compromising.
A B C D
B
[解析] critical(批评的)。从文章第四段和第六段第一句，可以看出作者的态度。
6. What statement can be inferred from this article? ______
A.The fridge is quiet different from the refrigerator.
B.The fridge has more bad effects than good ones.
C.Despite its contribution to the environments, the fridge has still defects such as the noise.
D.People invented the fridge so as to live better.
A B C D
B
[解析] 只有B选项可以从最后一段中推理出来，其他选项不能从文章中推出。
The human brain contains 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to discourage us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with humanlike ability, but now that we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Quite soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain, and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the right software (软件) or by altering the architecture but that too will happen. I think it certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon (硅) will arise first to rival and then exceed their human ancestors. Once they exceed us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be able to reproduce themselves. Silicon will have ended carbon's long control. And we will no longer be able to claim ourselves to be the finest intelligence in the known universe. As the intelligence of robots increases to match that of humans and as their cost declines through economies of scale we may use them to expand our frontiers, first on earth through their ability to withstand environments, harmful to ourselves. Thus, deserts may bloom and the ocean beds be mined. Further ahead, by a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, man-created world in space, home to thousands or millions of people, will be within our power.
7. In what way can we make a machine intelligent? ______
A.By making it work in such environments as deserts, oceans or space.
B.By working hard for 10 or 20 years.
C.By either properly programming it or changing its structure.
D.By reproducing it.
A B C D
C
[解析] 文章第一段最后一句中的“loading in the right software”与“programming”表达的意思相同；“altering the architecture”与“changing its structure”相对应。
8. What does the writer think about machines with human-like ability? ______
A.He believes they will be useful to human beings.
B.He believes that they will control us in the future.
C.He is not quite sure in what way they may influence us.
D.He doesn't consider the construction of such machines possible.
10. A robot can be used to expand our frontiers when ______.
A.its intelligence and cost are beyond question
B.it is able to bear the rough environment
C.it is made as complex as the human brain
D.its architecture is different from that of the present ones
A B C D
A
[解析] 根据文章第三段第一句可得出机器人被用来拓展疆域的前提有两个：智能的提高和成本的降低。
11. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A.after the installation of a great number of cells and connections, robots will be capable of self-reproduction
B.with the rapid development of technology, people have come to realize the possibility of making a machine with human-like ability
C.once we make a machine as complex as the human brain, it will possess intelligence
D.robots will have control of the vast, man-made world in space
A B C D
B
[解析] 在文章开头作者提到由于人脑的复杂性无法制造出具有人一样智能的机器。但从第二句的“but now that...”开始出现转折。在第二段作者提到随着科技的飞速发展，有可能制造出具有人一样智能的机器人。
12. In last passage, the sentence of "the technology it will provide", "it" refers to ______.
A.the combination
B.the great wealth
C.this new age
D.the robot
A B C D
C
[解析] it指的是this new age，前面的the great wealth和the technology是并列的名词。后面分别跟着定语从句。
After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report. The damage and death toll could have been much worse. More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, an earthquake of similar intensity that shook America in 1988 claimed 25,000 victims. Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 a. m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city's highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes. Despite the good news, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints for improved quake-resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place. In the past, making structures quake-resistant meant firm yet flexible materials, such as steel and wood, that bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports, called smart buildings, and the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake's vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction. The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.
13. One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that ______?
A.new computers had been installed in the buildings
B.it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways
C.large numbers of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday
D.improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways
A B C D
D
[解析] 根据文章第三段第一句排除c，依据文章第三段第二句选D。
14. The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to ______.
A.counterbalance an earthquake's action on the building
B.predict the coming of an earthquake with accuracy
C.help strengthen the foundation of the building
D.measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations
A B C D
A
[解析] 相关句子在第五段最后一句。
15. The smart buildings discussed in the passage ______.
A.would cause serious financial problems
B.would be worthwhile though costly
C.would increase the complexity of architectural design
D.can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes
A B C D
B
[解析] 依据是文章最后一段。
16. It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing the damage caused by earthquakes attention should be focused on ______.
A.the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction
B.the development of flexible building materials
C.the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations
D.early forecasts of earthquakes
A B C D
C
[解析] 依据是文章第五段第二句。
17. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to ______.
A.compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the U. S.
B.encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers
C.outline the history of the development of quake-resistant building materials
D.report new developments in constructing quake-resistant building
A B C D
D
[解析] 选项A只涉及文章的一个方面，选项B、C范围大，包含了文中没有涉及的内容。
18. People began to add rubber and steel between the buildings and its base so as to ______.
A.make the building flexible
B.make the building firm
C.decrease the effects of the vibration
D.avoid the earthquake
A B C D
C
[解析] 只有C最合适，其他选项文中没有提及。
Even plants can run a fever, especially when they're under attack by insects or disease. But unlike humans, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away-straight up. A decade ago, adapting the infrared 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 40 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 Other 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 if Paley finds the financial backing which he failed to obtain 10 years ago.
19. 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
A B C D
C
[解析] 根据文章首段可知，“身体状况”不佳时才会散发热。
20. In order to apply pesticide spraying precisely, we can use infrared scanning to ______.
A scorching sun, an endless sea of sand and a waterless, forbiddingly lonely land—that is the image most people have of deserts. But how true is this picture? Deserts are dry lands where rainfall is low. This is not to say rain never falls in deserts: it may fall once or twice a year in a fierce torrent that fades almost as soon as it has begun, or which evaporates in the hot air long before it has got anywhere near the earth. It may fall in a sudden sweeping flood that carries everything in its path. Rains may only come once in five or six years or not fall for a decade or more. The Mojave desert in the United States remained dry for twenty-five years. Without water no living thing can survive, and one feature of the true desert landscape is the absence of vegetation. With little rain and hardly any vegetation the land suffers under the sun. There are virtually no clouds or trees to protect the earth's surface and it can be burning hot. Under the sun, soils break up and crack. Wind and torrential rain sweep away and erode the surface further. Eight million square kilometers of the world's land surface is desert. Throughout history deserts have been expanding and retreating again. Cave paintings show that parts of the Sahara Desert were green and fertile about 10,000 years ago, and even animals like elephants and giraffes roamed the land. Fossil and dunes found in fertile and damp parts of the world show that these areas were once deserts. But now the creation of new desert areas is happening on a colossal scale. Twenty million square kilometers, an area twice the size of Canada, is at a high a very high risk of becoming desert. With a further 1.25 million square kilometers under moderate risk, an area covering 30% of the earth's land surface is desert, becoming desert, or in danger of becoming desert. The rate of growth of deserts is alarming. The world's dry lands which are under threat include some of the most important stock-rearing and wheat-growing areas and are the homes of 600～700 million people. These regions are becoming deserts at the rate of more than 58,000 square kilometers a year or 44 hectares a minute. In North Africa at least 100,000 hectares of cropland are lost each year. At this rate there is a high risk that we will be confined to living on only 50% of this planet's land surface within one more century unless we are able to do something about it.
25. What does the passage tell us about rainfall in the desert? ______
A.It never rains.
B.It rains so little that nothing can live.
C.It rains unexpectedly.
D.It rains very infrequently.
A B C D
D
[解析] 根据第一段的最后两句“Rains may only come once in five or six years or not fall for a decade or more. The Mojave desert in the United States remained dry for twenty-five years.”可知，沙漠地区五六年或十多年下一次雨，即很少降雨，但不是不降雨。infrequently意为“罕见地，稀少地”，因此D项为正确答案。
26. Desert soils break up and crack because of ______.
A.the effects of wind and rain
B.the lack of protection from the sun
C.the tropical location of deserts
D.the absence of rain
A B C D
B
[解析] 根据第二段第三、四句“There are virtually no clouds or trees to protect the earth's surface and it can be burning hot. Under the sun, soils break up and crack.”可知，在沙漠地区没有云、没有树保护地面，地面很容易遭到曝晒，因此裂开。B项说地面缺乏保护，符合句意。
27. What do we learn about deserts from this text? ______
A.Deserts can change into green and fertile areas.
B.Certain areas have always been desert.
C.Deserts were once the home of elephants and giraffes.
D.Deserts have been growing since the beginning of the world.
A B C D
A
[解析] 答案在文章第二段第七句“Throughout history deserts have been expanding and retreating again.”由此可知，一些肥沃的地方以前曾经是沙漠，而现在的沙漠以前也曾经是沃土和绿洲，所以A项正确。
28. How much of the world's land surface is at risk of becoming desert? ______
A.Less than ten million square kilometers.
B.Twenty million square kilometers.
C.More than twenty million square kilometers.
D.30% of the world's land surface.
A B C D
C
[解析] 文章第二段q-间提到“Twenty million square kilometers, an area twice the size of Canada, is at a high a very high risk of becoming desert. With a further 1.25 million square kilometers under moderate risk...”经分析可知，2000万平方公里的土地面临着成为沙漠的高危险，而125万平方公里的土地面临着中度危险，因此C项为正确答案。
29. What does the writer think about the creation of new desert areas? ______
A.It is a natural development.
B.The problem is not very serious.
C.It is a very worrying problem.
D.The situation will improve in time.
A B C D
C
[解析] 文章的最后一句话“At this rate there is a high risk that we will be confined to living on only 50% of this planet's land surface within one more century unless we are able to do something about it”，大意为“如果我们不采取措施我们将会面临很严重的危机”。所以C项“这是一个非常令人担忧的问题”符合文意。
30. In the sentence "an area covering 30% of the earth's land surface is desert, becoming desert, or in danger of becoming desert", the part of "is desert, becoming desert, or in danger of becoming desert" can be best replaced with ______.
A.is becoming desert, has become desert, or will becoming into desert
B.has been desert, is becoming desert, or will become into desert
C.is becoming desert, will become desert, or becomes into desert
D.has been desert, is becoming desert, or will become into desert
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