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 emitted 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 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 Oerther 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 ff Paley finds the financial backing which he failed to obtain 10 years ago.

　56．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

　57．In order to apply pesticide spraying precisely, we can use infrared scanning to________.

　　A. estimate the damage to the crops    B. measure the size of the affected area

　　C. draw a color -coded map          D. locate the problem area

　58．Farmers can save a considerable amount of pesticide by________.

　　A. resorting to spot – spraying   B. consulting infrared scanning experts

　　C. transforming poisoned rain    D. detecting crop problems at an early stage

　59．The application of infrared scanning technology to agriculture met with some difficulties________.,

　　A. the lack of official support        B. its high cost

　　C. the lack of financial support      D. its failure to help increase production

　60．Infrared scanning technology may be brought back into operation because of________.

　　A. the desire of farmers to improve the quality of their produce

　　B. growing concern about the excessive use of pesticides on crops

　　C. the forceful promotion by the Department of Agriculture

　　D. full support from agricultural experts

The 2012 London Olympics had enough problems to worry about. But one more has just been added -- a communications blackout caused by solar storms.

　　After a period of calm within the Sun, scientists have detected the signs of a flesh cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2012, just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London.

　　Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth, causing strong solar storms that could jam the telecommunications satellites and interact links sending five Olympic broadcast from London.

　　"The Sun's activity has a strong influence on the Earth. The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites," said Professor Richard Harrison, head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

　　At the peak of the cycle, violent outbursts called coronal mass ejections (日冕物质抛射) occur in the Sun's atmosphere, throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged matter. "A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million kilometres per hour. Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount, can disable satellites, cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications," Professor Harrison added. The risk is the greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots.

　　Next week in America, NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available.

　　The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory helped to make the high-tech cameras that will capture images of the solar flares (太阳耀斑) and explosions as they occur.

　　Professor Richard Harrison, the lab's director, said that the SDO should be able to provide early warning of a solar flare or explosion big enough to affect satellite communications on Earth "If we have advanced warning, we'll be able to reduce the damage. What you don't want is things switching off for a week with no idea of what's caused the problem," he said.

1.The phrase "communications blackout" in paragraph 1 most probably refers to____________ during the 2012 Olympics.

2.According to the passage, scientists are convinced that __________.

3.What can be inferred about the solar activity described in the passage?

4.According to the passage, NASA will launch a satellite to _________.

5.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods door to door found that he only had one dime (一角银币) left. He was hungry so he decided to 　 1　 for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. 　 2　 a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked 　 3　 so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I　 4　 you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied, “Mother has taught me never to accept 　 5　 for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger 　 6　 , but it also increased his faith in God and the human race. He was about to give up and 　 7　 before this point. Years later the young woman became critically ill. The 　 8　 doctors were baffled (阻挡). They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists can be called in to study her 　 9　 disease. Dr. Howard Kelly, now 　 10 was called in for the consultation (会诊). When he heard the name of the town she came from, a(an) 　 11 light filled his eyes. 　 12 , he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He 　 13 her at once. He went back to the 　 14 room and determined to do his best to save her life. From that day on, he gave special 　 15 to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was 　 16 . Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it and then 　 17 something on the side. The bill was sent to her room. She was 　 18 to open it because she was sure that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill 　 19 her attention. She read these words…

“Paid in full with a glass of 　 20 .”

(Singed) Dr. Howard Kelly

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as she prayed silently: “Thank you, God. Your love has spread through human hearts and hands.”

46.A. ask B. beg　　 C. wait　 D. look

47. A. Because of　 B. In front of C. In case of　 D. Instead of

48. A. upset　 B. thirsty C. hungry　　　 D. sad

49. A. owe　　 B. cost　 C. lend　 D. own

50. A. offer　　 B. pay　　 C. help　 D. thanks

51. A. quickly B. mentally　　 C. physically　 D. warmly

52. A. quit　　 B. continue　　 C. retire　 D. surrender

53. A. local　　 B. poor　 C. kind　 D. cruel

54. A. common　　 B. ordinary　　 C. rare　 D. scarce

55. A. old　　　 B. famous　　　 C. unknown　 D. retired

56. A. strange B. special C. poor　 D. angry

57. A. Suddenly　　 B. Generally　 C. Unfortunately　　 D. Immediately

58. A. called　　　　 B. recognized C. remembered　　 D. found

59. A. waiting B. treating　　　 C. information D. consultation

60. A. interest B. food　 C. attention　　　　　 D. effort

61. A. defeated　　　 B. won　 C. lost　　 D. completed

62. A. changed　　　 B. read　 C. crossed　　 D. wrote

63. A. excited B. afraid C. nervous　　 D. surprised

64. A. caught B. called C. paid　 D. caused

65. A. water　　　　　　　　 B. coffee　　　　　　　　　　 C. milk　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. ice cream