To prevent the deserts coming near, China has planted billions of trees---to replace destroyed forests and as barriers against the sand. This isn’t a cure, though, say experts, as thirsty trees can make the problem worse by taking in groundwater.

“Planting tress is one way, but it isn’t that simple. It doesn’t solve the basic issue of water resources,” says Wu Bo, a professor. “We need to calculate how much water the trees will absorb, or else it could have a negative effect.”

Villagers in Zhengxin have taken on this challenge, with limited success. When the irrigation channels began to run dry, Lu Xianglin switched from wheat to cotton on his land. He also planted trees to protect his fields from sandstorms. He says he still gets good yields using flood irrigation and earns a good income for his family.

Other farmers haven’t stuck it out: About one in three have left Zhengxin in the past 10 years after their wheat crops died. Young people who can find jobs in the towns rarely return.

Last week, Mr Lu joined the other men in his village on a government-arranged trip to see the land that has been set aside for their relocation, nearly 40 miles to the south. The next day, he was back, shaking his head at the plan. The idea of uprooting his family troubles him, as does the idea of giving up the land that fed his forefathers. He prefers to stay and keep up the fight.

“With enough water, this problem can be solved,” Lu says. “We can plant trees and grass, and they will grow bigger. That will stop the desert.”

Experts say that farmers could switch to drip irrigation to lessen their water intake for growing crops. Elsewhere in the region, farmers have built brick greenhouses as part of a plan to grow vegetables using less water. Roadside signs urge farmers to “Save Water, Protect the Environment”.

 

49. The negative effect of planting trees in deserts is that __________.

   A. it can make groundwater become less

   B. it can prevent the sand moving freely

   C. it can stop crops growing well

   D. it can get the soil to become poor

50. Why did Mr Lu NOT accept the idea of relocation?

   A. Because the plan of relocation will cost him much money.

   B. Because his family had trouble moving away.

   C. Because he was reluctant to give up his land.

   D. Because he would rather stay than fight against the deserts.

51. What can we infer from the passage?

   A. The deserts drive more and more people to leave their homes for their lives.

   B People have no means to fight against the land becoming desert

   C. Water is the biggest barrier for people to stop the desert.

   D. Planting trees cannot solve the problem of desertification of farmland

52. What advice is given by experts to save water?

   A. To plant more trees         B. To build greenhouses

   C. To change crops             D. To use drip irrigation. 
練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源：2014屆四川省高二10月月考英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

“We do look very different; we’re older. Leo’s 38, I’m 37. We were 21 and 22 when we made that film. You know, he’s fatter now -- I’m thinner.” So says Kate Winslet, who is thrilled at the 3-D re-release of Titanic to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship’s demise. “It happens every time I get on any boat of any kind." She recalls. There are all the people who want her to walk to the front of the ship and re-create her famous pose, arms flung wide. Most people remember the tragedy: The British passenger ship—said to be unsinkable—hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, during its maiden voyage from England to New York City. More than 1,500 people died. But little known is what the world learned from the sinking to prevent future incidents.

Probably the greatest deficiency (不足) of the Titanic was that she was built 40 years before the widespread use of the wonderful invention radar (雷達(dá)). Her only defense against icebergs and hidden obstacles was to rely on manned lookouts. On that fateful night the eyesight of trained lookouts only provided 37 seconds of warning before the collision.

Traveling at nearly 30 miles an hour, the Titanic was moving far too fast to avoid the huge iceberg. The warning did prevent a head-on collision as the officer on the bridge managed to turn the ship slightly.

The last ship to which it could send an SOS message was the California. She was within ten miles of the Titanic during the disaster, but her radio operator went to bed at midnight and never received any of the SOS messages from the Titanic. That was one of the important lessons learned from the catastrophe, the need for 24-hour radio operators on all passenger liners.

Another lesson learned was the need for more lifeboats. The Titanic remained afloat (漂浮) for almost three hours and most of the passengers could have been saved with enough lifeboats.

1,500 passengers and workers died in the 28 degree waters of the Atlantic. Out of the tragedy, the sinking did produce some important maritime reforms. The winter travel routes were changed to the south and the Coast Guard began to keep an eye on the location of all icebergs. The new rules for lifeboats were obvious to all. There must be enough lifeboats for everybody on board.

The most important lesson learned was that no one would ever again consider a ship unsinkable—no matter how large or how well constructed. Never again would sailors place their faith in a ship above the power of the sea.

1.The text mainly tells us ______.

A．the reason why the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean

B．how the unsinkable ship of Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean

C．the lessons that we could learn from the accident of the Titanic

D．the things we should do to protect the lives on the ship

2.According to the passage, which of the following could we infer?

A．If the captain had been more careful, he could have had the chance to save the Titanic.

B．If radar had existed 40 years ago, the Titanic would have never disappeared from the world.

C．If the lookout had had much more experience, he could have had the time to save the Titanic.

D．If there had been enough lifeboats on the Titanic, the Titanic would not have sunk in the Atlantic.

3.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Lessons from the Titanic                  B．Technology is Important

C．Demands of Passengers                   D．Power of Sea

4.What’s the sailors’ attitude towards the ships after the tragedy?

A．They think there really exists the unsinkable ship.

B．They think ships could eventually defeat the sea.

C．They think there is no power that could control the sea.

D．They think the bigger the ship is, the safer it is.

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：甘肅省2010屆高三下學(xué)期第二次診斷測(cè)試英語試卷 題型：閱讀理解

E

Teenagers who drink alcohol are at higher risk of becoming victims of violence, a Cardiff University study has found.

A team from the School of Dentistry' s Violence Research Group studied drinking habits in

children aged | 1-16 in England. They found not only a link between drink and violence but also

that children who drank were more likely to be hit, even if they weren' t violent themselves.

The researchers are now calling for measures to prevent alcohol misuse to reduce injury

risk. Current policy focuses on reducing aggression but this research shows that there should be

equal effort to reduce victimization(受害).

More than 4,000 children were surveyed at 13 schools at four local authorities in the North, the Midlands, London, and the South. The study found that 25% of 1 l-year-olds were drinking

monthly and 3.6% daily, with 12.8% admitting to getting drunk 3 to 5 times a year. By the age

of 16, 40% were drinking weekly and 6.2% were drinking every day. The research also showed

22.6% of 16-year-olds were getting drunk more than 21 times a year.

The study, which has just been published in the Journal of Adolescence, found a strong

link between frequency of drinking and frequency of hitting other people.

However, children who reported drinking monthly were also three times more likely to be

hit. Adolescents(青少年) who drank but didn't get into fights were more likely to be hit than

those who did fight.

Professor Jonathan Shepherd, who led the research, said a lot of previous alcohol-related

violence work had focused on the offenders rather than the victims. His team is calling for more pre-vention work from parents and teachers in the first two years of secondary school by taking advantage of the "teachable moment", that is, immediately after a student has missed school because of drunkenness.

Previous work by Professor Jonathan Shepherd has shown drinkers may be more at risk of vio-lence because of reduced physical co-ordinatlon ( 配合), poor decision-making in threatening situa-tions and isolation while out late at night.

He said,"This new study seems to be the first to show a direct link between alcohol misuses and victimization. There now needs to be much more effort put into reducing alcohol misuse in order to reduce injury. "

58. The underlined word "aggression" in the third paragraph probably means_____

A. violence         B. sad feelings     C. bad manners          D. drunkenness

59. Drinkers may be more at risk of violence because of all the following EXCEPT __

A. reduced the physical co-ordination

B. isolation while out late at night

C. a higher frequency of hitting other people

D. poor decision-making in threatening situations

60. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to Professor Shepherd' s research?

A. The frequency of children getting drunk increases with age.

B. His previous alcohol-related violence work had focused on the offendersl

C. Some children missed school because of drunkenness.

D. This new study shows a direct link between alcohol misuse and victimization.

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：甘肅蘭州市2010屆高三下學(xué)期模擬考試 題型：閱讀理解

B

Honesty may well be the policy, but it often deserts us when no one is watching, psychologists report today. Experiments with an honesty box to collect payments for hot drinks show that people are better at paying up when under the gaze(注視) of a pair of eyes. The surprise was that the eyes were not real, but photographed.

Researchers at Newcastle University set up the experiment in secret. They attached a poster to a cupboard of mugs above an-honesty box alongside a kettle, with tea, coffee and milk. Over 10 weeks, they alternated each week between images of eyes and pictures of flowers.

Dr. Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study, said that even though the eyes were not real they still seemed to make people behave more honestly. They effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival. Individuals had to co-operate for the good of the group, rather than act selfishly.

"If nobody is watching us it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we're being watched we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us, "Dr. Bateson said.

"We thought we'd get a slight effect with eyes, but it was quite striking how much difference they made. Even at a subconscious(潛意識(shí)的) level, it seems people respond to eyes, and that might be because eyes send a strong biological signal we have evolved(進(jìn)化) to respond to."

The finding, which researchers believe sheds light on our evolutionary past, could be turned to practical use. The psychologists say images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve monitor systems to prevent antisocial behavior.

45. This passage is mainly about _______________.

A. the policy of honesty            B. an honesty box to collect money

C. evolution on honesty              D. an experiment on honesty

46. The reason for doing the experiment secretly is that the researchers _____________.

A. wanted to get a comparatively more exact result

B. had known they wanted to do something illegally

C. meant to get the co-operation of their colleagues

D. intended to sell the hot drinks at a higher price

47. People behave honestly under watchful gaze of eyes because _____________.

A. they want to leave a good impression   B. they fear to be laughed at by others

C. they've got the nature through evolution D. they take the photo for a real pair of eyes

48. Images of a pair of eyes can be applied to all except _____.

A. tickets sales on public transport        B. cold drink sales in public places

C. places with “No spitting!” signs         D. Christmas decorations in one’s home

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：浙江省2009-2010學(xué)年度高一下學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷 題型：閱讀理解

D

Antarctica is the southernmost place on Earth, and it is larger than the United Sates and 95% of it is covered with ice. The ice is 5 kilometers thick at places and it never melts. At least that is what we thought, but let us keep it that way for now.

The ice seems to be alive as it works its way towards the seA． It forms an ice shelf over the water. The edge breaks away from the shelf and falls into the seA． From here it drifts. Now big pieces of ice become icebergs that can be 160 km long. They now drift north until they finally melt and become part of the ocean. This process is part of a bigger process which in turn forms a cooling system for Earth. This is so important that no country is allowed to control this areA． The treaty (agreement) signed by 12 countries at first and later joined by more, was to prevent any country harming the planet with irresponsible behavior.

The treaty basically states that:

Antarctica can be used for peaceful purposes only.

No country may build a military base there.

No country may do a nuclear test there.

No country may dump nuclear waste there.

Scientists working there will share their information.

Some other rules are there to protect the penguins and seals.

No dogs may run loose.

No planes may land near large groups of animals.

No guns, explosives, or tractors may be used near the animals.

Most important is that every member can inspect any of the other bases if he suspects that the treaty rules are being broken.

While the treaty is not foolproof（萬無一失的）, it does play a very important part in the protection of AntarcticA． The more people realize the effects that pollution has on this continent, the bigger the pressure will be on Governments to change the way they look at pollution.

69．Why was it important to sign a treaty for Antarctica?

A．Because the ice on Antarctica will finally melt into the ocean.

B．Because Antarctica is covered with 5 kilometers thick ice.

C．Because Antarctica balances the temperature of Earth.

D．Because there are many big icebergs in AntarcticA．

70．What is the process of the movement of ice in Antarctica?

A．Ice shelf---sea water---iceberg---ice.

B．Sea water---ice---iceberg---ice shelf.

C．Iceberg---ice shelf---ice---sea water.

D．Ice---ice shelf---iceberg---sea water.

71．What is included in the Antarctica treaty?

A．There is no secret research information in AntarcticA．

B．Dogs are not allowed to be raised in AntarcticA．

C．Waste can’t be thrown away in AntarcticA．

D．People can’t bring their guns to AntarcticA．

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：江蘇省淮安市2010屆高三下學(xué)期5月調(diào)研測(cè)試英語試卷 題型：閱讀理解

Custom tattooed fish (紋身魚) may be big sellers at markets, but an animal expert say it is a cruel and potentially lethal practice.

In Laitai Flower and Fish Market near the Lufthansa Center in Beijing, four of over 20 fish stores sell marine ornamental fish that are tattooed using laser (激光)  guns with beautiful images in order to make them more attractive to customers. Many people just love these kinds of fish, which gives them a unique visual impression. The price of these fish ranges from 50-100 yuan. Some customers are willing to pay an additional 100 yuan to have Chinese characters tattooed on to the fish. The most popular characters are “zhaocai” (attracting fortune) and “ill” (blessing).The color of tattooed fish won’t fade away, and the fish can be cared for as regular fishes:

But Ye Zhenjiang, a professor from the Ocean University of China, said “the practice would damage a fish’s mackerel scale, which is its protective layer Although I haven’t done any research on the impact of the laser on mackerel scale, it is obvious that the mackerel scale may be infected or even destroyed under the exposure of laser,” Ye said. “It’s like tattooing a human being’s body, and it breaks the physiological balance of the fish and damages: the skin’s protective surface, It may even cause death among fishes which have thin mackerel scale.”

A specialist in aquatic(永生的) animal study surnamed Xu from the Beijing Fisheries Research Institute, said, “We have no specific regulations to prevent fish from being tattooed. An official surnamed Bai from the Fishery Surveillance and Administration Bureau(FSAB), said there is no study showing that the laser threatened a fish’s health. He said a regulation on small animal protection, to be passed in the near future, doesn’t include regular aquatic animals. He said the institution is only responsible for aquatic animals that are on the verge of extinction. He said tattooed fish are mainly from south China’s Guangdong province because Beijing does not have the laser technology to tattoo a fish.

“It’s too brutal to tattoo pictures or characters on fishes, even if it makes them more beautiful,” many tropical fish buyers told METRO yesterday. “We would never buy fish like that and we prefer them with natural beauty.”

1. Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?

A. Tattooed fish look more attractive to customers.

B. Tattooed fish give people a unique visual impression

C. Tattooed fish can be harder to raise.

D. The color of tattooed fish will stay for ever

2. From Ye Zhenjiang’s talk, we know that _________.

A. It is illegal to tattoo fish by laser.

B. The mackerel scale offish is easy to destroy.

C. People can tattoo fish in other parts except mackerel scale

D. It may be a disaster for fish to be tattooed.

3. It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.

A. The price of tattooed fish is much higher than that of regular fish.

B. The FSAB will pass a regulation on tattooed fish.

C. Beijing did not have the laser technology to tattoo a fish.

D. The youth would buy tattooed fish the moment they see them.

4. This passage most probably comes from

A. a newspaper       B. a novel         C. a fairy tale      D. a magazine

 

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案