Farthing is moving indoors,where the sun never shines,where rain never falls and where the weather is always proper. The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with controlled light, temperature,wetness,air quality and nutrition. It could be in a building in New York or in a desert in Sahara.

The world is already having trouble feeding itself. Half the people on Earth live in cities,and nearly half of those are hungry or ill﹣fed. Food prices are buffeted by,floods and the cost of energy required to plant, harvest and transport it. And prices will only get more changeable. Farmers in many parts of the world already are using water available to the last drop. And the world is getting more crowded by mid﹣century,the world's population will grow front 6. 8 billion to 9 billion.

To feed so many people may require more farmland , as a result , forests and wilderness(荒地)are becoming fewer and fewer.

Gertjan Meeuws has taken the idea of a greenhouse a step further, growing vegetables and houseplants in enclosed(封闭的)environments. In their research station , water flows into the fields when needed,and the temperature is kept the same. Lights go on and off, creating similar day and night,but according to the needs of the plants.

A building of 100 square meters and 14 layers(层)of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams of fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch, about 140,000 people. Their idea isn' t to grow foods that require much space,like corn or potatoes. Here sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful. Plants need only specific(特定地)light to grow. Their growth speed is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use about 90 percent less water than outdoor agriculture. And city farming means producing food near the citizens, and there's no need to transport it long distances.

1.The underlined word "buffeted" in Paragraph 2 means   

A.badly influenced

B.caused

C.divided

D.well achieved

2.Which of the following is TRUE of the environments in the research station?   

A.The temperature is often changed.

B.Sunshine is in great need for plants.

C.Day and night depends on plants.

D.Air quality is controlled by plants.

3.It can be inferred from the text that Gertjan Meeuws's farming   

A.is of great help to the people who live in the city

B.saves less water compared with outdoor agriculture

C.is completely different from greenhouse agriculture

D.requires much space and suits the production of corn

4.What is the passage mainly about?   

A.Disadvantages of outdoor farming

B.Development of greenhouse farming

C.The world's food problems

D.Sunless,rainless indoor farming

Many years ago,people depended on the sun,the moon and stars to find their way around. Later,the compass was introduced. And now,we have satnav(卫星导航)systems to guide us.

A satnav system uses groups of satellites to show the user's location. They send information to the receiver,such as a smart phone,to show us where we are.

The earliest built satnav system is the Global Positioning System(GPS),which belongs to the US. Then there is Russia's Global Navigation (导航) Satellite System(GLONASS),the European Union's Galileo and China's own satellite navigation system—BeiDou.

On October 14,2017,an ARJ21?700 plane,which was the first plane made in China,with the BeiDou navigation system,successfully completed a test flight. The results showed the performance of the system developed by China matches that of similar systems produced abroad,according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.

Since its introduction in 2000,the BeiDou navigation system has seen an increasing number of applications linked to everyday life,from shared bikes to farming. For example,smart locks with BeiDou chips make it easier to find a bike. Farmers can use BeiDou to help plow(犁)the soil and sow seeds. BeiDou's farming applications have spread to most parts of China.

With its many uses,the Beidou navigation system is even playing a big role in the Belt and Road Initiative(一带一路).“To date,the BeiDou system has covered most parts of the Asia-Pacific area”,said the main designer of the BeiDou system.

Today,there are more than 20 BeiDou satellites above the earth,and China plans to send even more this year to expand(扩展)the BeiDou network to better serve the Belt and Road Initiative. As BeiDou expands abroad,it will be increasingly popular in the logistics(物流)industry.

1.What is the purpose of the first three paragraphs?

A.To tell us something about GPS.

B.To show us the benefits of satnav systems.

C.To tell us how satnav systems were made.

D.To tell us about some satnav systems and how they work.

2.The underlined phrase “the system” refers to “______”.

A.the Global Positioning System

B.the Beidou navigation system

C.the European Union's Galileo

D.Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System

3.According to the article,the BeiDou navigation system is already widely used ______.

A.to help farmers with farming

B.to improve the speed of networks

C.in the international logistics industry

D.in the whole Asia-Pacific area

4.The writer thinks the future of the BeiDou system is ______.

A.worrying B.doubtful

C.hopeful D.surprising

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