Even plant can run a fever, especially when they’re under attack by insects or disease. But unlike human, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away straight up. A decade ago, adopting the infrared (红外线)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 sent out by crops. The data were transformed into a color-coded map showing where plants were running “fevers”. Farmers could then spot-spray, using 50 to 70 percent less pesticide that 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(改进)ininfrared 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 Oerther of Texas A& M, 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.

In what situation will plants have a fever?(No more than 8 words)(2marks)

How can we apply pesticide spraying precisely?(No more than 10 words)(2 marks)

Why may infrared scanning technology by brought back into operation?(No more than 13 words)(3 marks)

What is the biggest problem that might prevent bringing infrared scanning technology back?(No more than 7 words)(3 marks)

Several recent studies have found that being randomly (随机地) assigned to a roommate of another race can lead to increased tolerance but also to a greater likelihood (可能性)of conflict.
Recent reports found that lodging with a student of a different race may decrease prejudice and force students to engage in more ethnically diverse friendships.
An Ohio State University study also found that black students living with a white roommate saw higher academic success throughout their college careers. Researchers believe this may be caused by social pressure.
In a New York Times article, Sam Boakye – the only black student on his freshman year floor -said that "if you're surrounded by whites, you have something to prove."
Researchers also observed problems resulting from pairing interracial students in residences.
According to two recent studies, randomly assigned roommates of different races are more likely to experience conflicts so strained that one roommate will move out.
An Indiana University study found that interracial roommates were three times as likely as two white roommates to no longer live together by the end of the semester.
Grace Kao, a professor at Penn said she was not surprised by the findings. "This may be the first time that some of these students have interacted, and lived, with someone of a different race," she said.
At Penn, students are not asked to indicate race when applying for housing.
"One of the great things about freshman housing is that, with some exceptions, the process throws you together randomly," said Undergraduate Assembly chairman Alec Webley. "This is the definition of integration."
"I've experienced roommate conflicts between interracial students that have both broken down stereotypes(模式化形象) and strengthened stereotypes," said one Penn resident advisor (RA). The RA of two years added that while some conflicts "provided more multicultural acceptance and melding (融合)," there were also "jarring cultural resistance."
The RA said that these conflicts have also occurred among roommates of the same race.
Kao said she cautions against forming any generalizations based on any one of the studies, noting that more background characteristics of the students need to be studied and explained.
【小题1】What can we learn from some recent studies?

A.Conflicts between students of different races are unavoidable.
B.Interracial lodging may have diverse outcomes.
C.Students of different races are prejudiced against each other.
D.Interracial lodging does more harm than good.
【小题2】What does the Indiana University study show?
A.Few white students like sharing a room with a black peer.
B.Roommates of different races just don't get along.
C.Interracial roommates are more likely to fall out.
D.Assigning students' lodging randomly is not a good policy.
【小题3】What does Alec Webley consider to be the "definition of integration"?
A.The school randomly assigns roommates without regard to race.
B.Students of different races are required to share a room.
C.Interracial lodging is arranged by the school for freshmen.
D.Lodging is assigned to students of different races without exception.
【小题4】What can be inferred from Grace Kao’s saying about interracial lodging?
A.Schools should be cautious when making decisions about student lodging.
B.Students' racial background should be considered before lodging is assigned.
C.Experienced resident advisors should be assigned to handle the problems.
D.It is unscientific to make generalizations about it without further study.

I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people        I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a        person.

I think my        started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my       and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever         to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really        . It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a (n)        . I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I        to help. That was really a big        for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of        are still my best friends today. 

A bigger cause of my new        , however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my         . Every time I came into her room, she was so        because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never        her, so I took her place. She let me        that making others feel good make me feel good, too, when she died, I was        , but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much        person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not        these experiences. They have         me to care about other people more than about myself. I        who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

1.A. since          B. before          C. or         D. unless

2.A. famous       B. simple   C. different       D. skilled

3.A. education          B. career  C. tour     D. change

4.A. balance      B. homework    C. degree D. interest

5.A. talked        B. wrote   C. lied       D. reported

6.A. careful       B. lonely   C. curious D. guilty

7.A. argument B. game    C. experiment   D. defense

8.A. dared        B. offered C. hesitated      D. happened

9.A. dream       B. problem        C. duty      D. step

10.A. us    B. which   C. them    D. whom

11.A. attitude   B. hobby   C. hope    D. luck

12.A. friend       B. partner C. guide   D. guest

13.A. polite       B. happy C. strange         D. confident

14.A. bothered         B. answered     C. visited D. trusted

15.A. explain     B. guess    C. declare D. see

16.A. homeless B. heartbroken C. bad-tempered      D. hopeless

17.A. quieter    B. busier C. better D. richer

18.A. forget      B. face       C. improve        D. analyze

19.A. forced      B. preferred      C. ordered        D. taught

20.A. miss B. like       C. wonder         D. expect

 

Every year, as Spring Festival draws near, most Chinese people will get excited to make preparation for the most important festival and make plan for the winter break. It is a little like Christmas in the United States, but there are some differences between the two festivals.

Both the major Chinese and the major Western holidays come during the cold season, and special food is expected. In western countries, cookies and cakes begin just after Thanksgiving in November and show up everywhere. Turkey, potatoes and other food come later. Similar thing happens in China. Entering lunar December, most families will make shopping plans for the coming big day and food is certainly one of the most important things to be considered. At the end of the month, both parents in each family will be very busy---the father is busy buying food while the mother is busy cooking.

A deeper similarity (相似处) is tradition. Christmas, as the letters “Christ” suggests, began as a holiday to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Many people pray (祈祷) on this day. In China, people living in cities or towns, though they don’t plan to sow seeds(播种) this month, still celebrate on the big day for farmers.

Followers of both holidays are also different from each other. While Chinese people travel to the homes of elder relatives, Americans usually call or send cards. Westerners prefer Christmas carols to fireworks. In Christmas, many family gifts come together instead of one by one, since adults may have only one day free to celebrate.

But the most curious difference is about students. Chinese students going home for Spring Festival sometimes report that they get bored by the end of vacation, yet American students seldom get bored around Christmas and western New Year.

Not everyone enjoys classic holiday traditions. Students in western countries may get upset, as too much homework, travel or bad family relations may destroy the short holiday season. In China, more and more college students choose to travel or work during the winter holiday instead of going home to stay with their families. It’s against the tradition but many people accept it.

1.What does “the coming big day” (Paragraph 2) refer to?

A.Christmas                             B.Thanksgiving Day

C.the New Year’s Day                     D.the Spring Festival

2.The second and the third paragraphs mainly talk about ________.

A.the similarities between Christmas and the Spring Festival

B.the differences between Christmas and the Spring Festival

C.the preparations for Christmas and the Spring Festival

D.the history of Christmas and the Spring Festival

3.What does the writer mainly want to tell us in this passage?

A.Food in different festivals.

B.Differences between two festivals.

C.Festivals in China and western countries.

D.Traditional celebrations in different countries.

 

WASHINGTON — It is announced Friday that White House visitor records will be opened up on a regular basis for the first time in modern history, providing the public an unusually detailed look at who gets the opportunity to help shape American policy at the highest levels.

“Americans have a right to know whose voices are being heard in the policymaking process,” the president said in a written statement issued by the White House while he vacationed with his family at Camp David.

By the end of the year, the White House will begin posting online every month the names of the people who visited in the last 90 to 120 days. Each person’s full name will be listed, along with the date and time they entered and left and the name of the person they visited. About 70,000 to 100,000 people visit the White House each month, and the records will include tourists as well as people conducting business.

The White House pointed out several exceptions to the policy: “purely personal guests” of the Obama family; those cases in which the disclosure(透露) of visitors’ names “would threaten national safety interests”; and those who come for “particularly sensitive meetings,” like candidates for a Supreme Court nomination(提名). Officials said only a “small number” will fit in the latter category(类别), and their names would eventually be disclosed after they are no longer secret, like after a nomination is publicly announced. Moreover, they said, the number of undisclosed visitors will be disclosed, to make clear how few they are.

1.Why will the White House visitor records be open to the public?

A.To attract more visitors to the White House.

B.To allow people to know more about the life of the Obama family.

C.To let the public know who are influencing the policies.

D.To ask the public help correct the policies made by the government.

2.From the passage we can learn that ________.

A.All the visitors’ names will be posted online soon after their visits

B.Not all visitors are allowed to visit the White House

C.Some visitors’ names can be found online until they’re not secret

D.The records of the visitors will be kept for at least 4 months

3.According to the passage, whose name might be kept secret for some time?

A.A tourist.          B.A businessman.     C.A foreign student.   D.A foreign minister.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A.The White House will open the records of the visitors to the public.

B.In America more and more people are becoming policy makers.

C.The Americans have a right to know who are making policies.

D.President Obama has announced a new policy while on holiday.

 

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