题目内容

Agricultural experts met in Ethiopia last week to discuss ways to help sub-Saharan Africa become a major producer of wheat. The area traditionally produced little wheat, while North Africa was the grain basket.

Wheat production fell sharply in sub-Saharan countries during the 1980s. In the 1960s, attempts were made to grow wheat in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa and Zimbabwe. But those countries found it was less costly to import wheat from Europe and the United States. Another problem is that Africa's wheat farms were often far from population centers. There also were transportation issues. And some lowlands were not a good place to grow wheat.

Hans Joachim Braun ,one of the experts, says now is a good time to increase wheat production. In the last four years we have seen three major price hikes, where the wheat price and other staple process (主食加工)exploded. And that puts a big, big bill on countries which are depending on wheat imports, and Africa is the biggest wheat importer.

He also says demand for wheat in sub-Saharan Africa is growing faster than for any other crop. With higher income people would like to have more diversified(多样化)food. But that is possible not the most important one. The most important one is that there is a tremendous migration(移民)of in particular male labor to the cities. And wheat products are convenient food because you can easily buy it. It's easy to process and you also can store it for a few days, which is different from some of the maize and rice products.

There are three possible challenges for growing more wheat in Africa: climate change, disease and pests, like insects. Mr. Braun says rising temperatures should not have a major effect on wheat. In fact, he says, it could help wheat grow in areas with high rainfall totals. As for fighting disease and pests, experts suggest growing more resistant crops. In addition, railroads and roads would have to be improved so large amounts of wheat could be moved to large markets.

1.What does the word "hikes" in Paragraph 3 probably refer to?

A. big changes B. large increases C. long trips D. big bills

2.Wheat price exploding indicates_____.

A.sub-Saharan countries need to increase wheat production badly

B.sub-Saharan countries have to issue more money

C.sub-Saharan countries should grow more Corn

D.importing much wheat is urgent

3.Why is there a higher demand for wheat in sub-Saharan Africa?

A.Because the number of hungry people there is increasing.

B.Because higher income people have the diversified need of food.

C.Because male labor are crowding into the cities.

D.Because the wheat price is lower.

4.According to Mr. Braun the main challenges for growing more wheat in Africa are_____.

A.climate change and disease

B.resistant crops and climate change

C.rising temperatures and disease and pests

D.disease and pests and inconvenient transportation

 

【答案】

 

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题分析: 农业专家上一周在埃塞尔比亚会面讨论帮助次撒哈拉沙漠地区的非洲成为一个小麦主产区。这一地区传统上生产的小麦很少而北非曾经是谷类粮仓。次撒哈拉国家的小麦产量锐减。一方面从欧洲和美国进口小麦费用更少;另一方面非洲的农场离人口中心区很远,运输是个问题,还有一些低洼地区不宜种小麦。现在是时候增加小麦生产了。在四年的时间里小麦价格就暴涨了三次。进口小麦费用就会大大增加。到了自己生产小麦的时候了。

1.词意猜测题。hikes是熟词新意,原意是爬山,在这里是价格上的“爬山“,结合后面的where the wheat price and other staple process (主食加工)exploded.(小麦价格和其他主食加工的暴涨。)判断,选B。

2.推理判断题。文章第二段的大意:次撒哈拉国家的小麦产量锐减。一方面从欧洲和美国进口小麦费用更少;另一方面非洲的农场离人口中心区很远,运输是个问题,还有一些低洼地区不宜种小麦。现在是时候增加小麦生产了。下一段开头提到:在四年的时间里小麦价格就暴涨了三次。进口小麦费用就会大大增加。故选A。

3.细节理解题。文章第四段提到:一方面收入提高了,人民想要食物的多样化;更重要的是有大量的人员尤其是男劳动力移民到城市;还有小麦产品方便购买、加工和储存。再分析四个选项判断,最佳选C。

4.细节理解题。文章最后一段提到:在影响小麦生产的三个主要原因中,Mr. Braun说:气温上升不应该对小麦有主要影响。在降雨量大的地区这还有助于小麦的生长。至于疾病和病虫害,专家建议多种抗虫小麦。另外铁路和道路必须要改善这样大量的小麦才有可能被运到大市场去。故选D。

考点:政治经济文化类短文阅读。

 

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Urbanization

(2013·高考北京卷)Until relatively recentlythe vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city.The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago.__ 1.__In factnearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages.It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history—a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.

Britain was only the beginning. 2.__The process of urbanization—the migration (迁徙) of people from the countryside to the city—was the result of modernizationwhich has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.

In 1990fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas.Todayover 82% of Americans live in cities.Only about 2% live on farms.__ 3.__

Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized.Even in advanced agricultural societiesit took about ninety?five people on farms to feed five people in cities._ 4._Until modern timesthose living in cities were mainly the ruling elite(精英) and the servantslaborers and professionals who served them.Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.

Over the past two centuriesthe Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 5._Todayinstead of needing ninety?five farmers to feed five city peopleone American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred non?farmers.

AThat kept cities very small.

BThe rest live in small towns.

CThe effects of urban living on people should be considered.

DSoon many other industrial nations became urban societies.

EBut even 200 years agoonly a few people could live in cities.

FModernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.

GModern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.

 

Technology is making life easier for some dairy farmers.They use robotic systems to milk their cows.Cows are trained to follow a series of paths that lead to milking stations.Only one cow at a time can enter a station.

Once inside,the cow is rewarded with food.As the cow eats,a  robotic arm cleans and connects the animal to the milking machine.A few minutes later,milking is complete.The gate is opened,the cow is released and the next cow enters.

The robotic systems are designed to operate 24 hours a day.The cows get to decide when they want to be milked.Cows are milked an average of about three times a day.Some are milked four to six times a day.

The cows wear collars around their necks that identify them to the system.A computer keeps records on their eating and milking.A cow is released from the station if the computer decides it should not be milked.

The automated system also measures the temperature and color of freshly produced milk.Milk is thrown away if it does not pass the tests.

Professor Plaut believes the systems will appeal(吸引) especially to the next generation of farmers.She means young people who are more interested in technology and less interested in working all the time on the farm.Still,she says the price of robotic milking systems will continue to limit their use.

Doug and Tina Suhr have more than 100 cows on their family farm.Last year it became the fourth farm in southeast Minnesota to get a robotic milking system.A recent story in a local agricultural newspaper said the first robot cost 175 000 dollars.The second cost 150 000.

Doug told AgriNews that wages that would have been paid for one employee in five years will pay for one robot.He says the increase in milk production reaches a high of more than six kilograms per cow per day.

1.From the first paragraph,we can infer________.

A.the robotic system is designed to reduce labor

B.cows can be raised by robots in the future

C.robots direct cows into milking stations

D.cows are kept clean by robots on some farms

2.Besides milking cows,the robotic system also can______.

A.adjust the temperature of milking stations

B.judge the quality of fresh milk

C.improve the appetite of cows

D.keep fresh milk for two weeks

3.Why is the robotic system not popular now?

A.Because young people have no interest in it.

B.Because it is difficult to learn how to use it.

C.Because people can’t afford to buy it.

D.Because it usually causes the waste of milk.

4.According to Doug,what is the wage of an employee?

A.150 000~170 000.                    B.750 000.

C.150 000~30 000.                     D.30 000—32 000

5.The best title for the passage may be_________.

A.Letting robot milk your cow               B.Milking cows by hand

C.Improving the quality of milk               D.Drinking fresh milk every day

 

Neatly putting an emphasis on his storytelling skill is how writer Mo Yan began his Nobel Lecture in Literature speech, “Storyteller”, on Friday (Saturday, Beijing time) in Stockholm.

For 40 minutes he talked about his mother’s   36  on him as a person and a writer, his literary inspirations, and how he   37  with the controversy(争论)that followed the announcement of his Nobel victory.

He told his audience that as a boy he told stories to cheer up his mother, and   38  that poverty and loneliness fueled his imagination as a writer after he grew up.   39 , authors such as William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez   40  him, he said, especially their bold and unlimited writing style.

“A person should be   41  in daily life, but follow one’s instinct(本能)and take control when it   42  to literary creation.”

He said the soul of   43  all of his works is the boy in Transparent Carrot who has an almost superhuman ability to bear   44 . He added that he also tried to make his hometown of Gaomi in Shandong Province a microcosm(缩影)of China and even the   45 .

His greatest challenge, he said, was writing novels that deal with   46  realities.

“In writing about the dark aspects of society there is a(n)  47  that emotions and anger allow politics to limit literature.”

He said literature must be   48  on real life but go beyond it.

He also mentioned the   49  surrounding his selection as Nobel winner, saying he was showered with many flowers.   50  he was a target for “stone throwers”.

“At first I thought I was the   51  of the controversies, but over time I’ve come to realize that the real target was a person who had   52  to do with me.”

Mo   53  his lecture by saying he was made to feel like an actor in a play with all the attention he was   54 , but he had decided that the best way to communicate his thoughts was to   __55  writing.

1.                A.affection        B.influence       C.occasion  D.position

 

2.                A.agreed         B.fought          C.dealt D.did

 

3.                A.added          B.warned         C.reminded D.imagined

 

4.                A.However       B.Otherwise       C.Therefore D.Besides

 

5.                A.preserved      B.inspired        C.entertained   D.taught

 

6.                A.confident       B.certain         C.comfortable   D.modest

 

7.                A.goes           B.comes          C.turns D.gets

 

8.                A.nearly          B.hardly          C.scarcely  D.always

 

9.                A.danger         B.suffering        C.relieving  D.happiness

 

10.               A.city            B.village          C.world D.province

 

11.               A.social          B.economical      C.agricultural D.cultural

 

12.               A.encouragement  B.danger         C.advantage D.event

 

13.               A.insisted        B.spent          C.based D.passed

 

14.               A.contradiction    B.contest         C.contrary   D.controversy

 

15.               A.Meanwhile      B.Otherwise      C.However  D.Instead

 

16.               A.goal           B.intention       C.target D.purpose

 

17.               A.somebody      B.anything        C.nothing   D.anybody

 

18.               A.adopted        B.concluded      C.admitted  D.concerned

 

19.               A.throwing       B.accepting       C.offering   D.receiving

 

20.               A.carry on        B.take on         C.bring out  D.put out

 

 

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