Question

The basics of infrastructure design

It is rightly pointed out various intellectuals that the lifestyle of today is vastly different from that of the earlier times especially in terms of its pace. Lifestyle of today is remarkably fast paced and so in order to catch up with such a pace of life, the adoption of smart and time saving methods is of real significance. Well, the highways have certainly contributed in this direction and have made our lives a lot easier. Thanks to the modern flyovers and expressways, a single route can be accessed by twice the number of vehicles at the same time.

These facilities and supplies have made our lives double free but it needs to be realized that designing and constructing it is a very complex and a long process. You have to hold fast to the various rules of designing, government standards and most importantly, their safety and usability for the people. In the end it is a joint effort of a number of skilled engineers, scientists and statisticians. The material that is used in the construction is finalized after it undergoes certain tests for evaluating their qualities like hardness, roughness, thickness and all that is required. 

Some of the points you have to take care of while laying an infrastructure design are as follows:

The basic layout (布局) of the road — At this level of planning, various civil engineers have meetings to figure out the basic requirements of the road like thickness of the asphalt (沥青), the size of lanes, distance to be covered, degree of curves and much more. These fundamental points help them decide the further line of action.

The prior steps — Before any work is stated over the basic plan layout, there are various preparations to be made like placing road signs, the removal of trees that may prove to be dangerous in the event of a storm or other natural causes, the positioning of fire hydrants (消防栓) based on special designs to be useful when required, etc.

Inclusion of safety barriers — The safety barriers are placed on almost all roads and highways that are made over or near to rivers and cliffs. These barriers keep the vehicles from moving into the traffic in instances of accidents. These should also be designed in advance of placing them on a road and the design should be such that it makes minimum impact upon the people sitting in the car. These include supplies like side rails and light poles.

Asphalt pavement marking — It is the process of using a reflective material to indicate various important points on the road like lanes, turns, passing areas, two way and one way roads.

Though the smooth and wide highways constructed in big cities seem to be very attractive for the drivers, the ease of use is also the cause of accidents. Cars rushing at extremely high speeds and insecure change of lanes are a common sight on the highways. With the help of novel infrastructure design engineers, we can make the best possible use of highways. If these are designed properly and sign boards are placed at the required points, a number of road accidents can be avoided.

 

The basics of infrastructure design
Reason for construction of infrastructure	Infrastructure must1._________ the demands of today’s fast-paced lifestyle.
Challenges of design and 2._________	Various rules, standards, safety and usability should be taken into careful consideration.
Skilled engineers, scientists and statisticians have to work hard 3._________.
Materials must be4._________ to ensure their qualities.
Points to follow	Various engineers meet to make sure about fundamental 5._________ of the road.
Things like 6.__________ trees that are potentially dangerous must be done before construction.
Safety barriers should be carefully7._________ before being placed to prevent accidents.
Material that can 8._________ light should be used to marks on the pavement.
Possible problems and solutions	Smooth and wide highways may 9._________accidents.
Highways should be designed properly and sign boards 10._________ at the required points.

 

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.meet / satisfy

2.construction

3.together

4.tested

5.requirements

6.removing

7.designed

8.reflect

9.cause

10.placed

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了关于基础设施的计划，首先叙述了由于社会节奏的加快，促进了基础设施的建设的发展步伐；第二叙述了对于设计和建设的面临的挑战；三是给出了一些关于建设的一些建议；四是可能存在的一些潜在的问题及解决的方法。

1.根据Lifestyle of today is remarkably fast paced and so in order to catch up with such a pace of life 为了满足现在的生活步伐，meet / satisfy the demands of sth满足需要。

2.根据These facilities and supplies have made our lives double free but it needs to be realized that designing and constructing it is a very complex and a long process.设计和建筑的挑战，construction建筑。

3.根据In the end it is a joint effort of a number of skilled engineers, scientists and statisticians. 最后需要许多有技术的工程师科学家和统计人员一起工作，故用together一起。

4.根据The material that is used in the construction is finalized after it undergoes certain tests for evaluating their qualities like hardness, roughness, thickness and all that is required. 各种建筑材料必须经得住测试合格，故用tested测试。

5.根据various civil engineers have meetings to figure out the basic requirements of the road like thickness of the asphalt (沥青), the size of lanes, distance to be covered, degree of curves and much more.土木工程师召开会议来确保符合公路的要求，故用 requirements要求。

6.根据the removal of trees that may prove to be dangerous in the event of a storm or other natural causes, 在建筑前砍掉一些有危险妨害的一些树，故用removing消除，除去。

7.根据The safety barriers are placed on almost all roads and highways that are made over or near to rivers and cliffs. These should also be designed in advance of placing them on a road 在施工前设计放一些安全障碍以防事故的发生，故用designed设计。

8.根据It is the process of using a reflective material to indicate various important points on the road like lanes, turns, passing areas, two way and one way roads.利用一些能反射光的材料在人行道上，故用reflect反射。

9.根据Though the smooth and wide highways constructed in big cities seem to be very attractive for the drivers, the ease of use is also the cause of accidents.光滑和宽阔的路面也有可能引起交通事故，故用cause 引起。

10.根据If these are designed properly and sign boards are placed at the required points, a number of road accidents can be avoided.高速公路应该被设计在合适的地方，并且在需要的地方放一些路标，故用placed放。

考点：社会类短文阅读。