Passage 4
Even plants can run a fever, especially when they're under attack by insects or disease. But unlike humans, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away-- straight up. A decade ago,
adapting the infrared 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 spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which invariably includes plants that don't have pest 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 form 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.
46. Plants will emit an increased amount of heat when they are _____.
[A] sprayed with pesticides
[B] in poor physical condition
[C] facing an infrared scanner
[D] exposed to excessive sun rays.
47. In order to apply pesticide spraying precisely ,we can use infrared scanning to _____.
[A] locate the problem area
[B] draw a color-coded map
[C] measure the size of the affected arm
[D] estimate the damage to the crops
48. Farmers can save considerable amount of pesticide by _______.
[A] transforming poisoned rain
[B] consulting infrared scanning experts
[C] resorting to spot-spraying
[D] detecting crop problems at an early date
49. The application of infrared scanning technology to agriculture met with some difficulties due to ______.
[A] the lack of official support
[B] its high cost
[C] its failure to help increase production
[D] the lack of financial support
50. Infrared scanning technology may be brought back into operation because of _______.
[A] growing concern about the excessive use of pesticides on crops
[B] the desire of farmers to improve the quality of their produce
[C] the forceful promotion by the Department of Agriculture
[D] full support from agriculture experts
Passage 5
The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists. Descriptions like “ Palaeolithic Man”, “Neolithic Man”, etc., neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label “Legless Man”. Histories of the time will go something like this: 'in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and escalators in all large buildings to prevent people from walking.
This situation was forced upon earth dwellers of that time because of their extraordinary way of life. In those days, people thought nothing of traveling hundreds of miles each day. But the surprising thing is that they didn't use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were marred by the presence of large car parks. 'The future history books might also record that we were deprived of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird's-eye view of the world-or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the countryside constantly smears the windows.
Car drivers, in particular, are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. Is it the lure of the great motorways, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: “I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.”The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says “I've been there” You mention the remotest, most evocative place-names in the world like El Dorado, Kabul, Irkutsk and someone is bound to say “I've been there'-meaning, I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else. ”
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness. He knows that sound. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travellers.
51.Anthropologists label nowaday's men “Legless” because _____.
[A] people forget how to use his legs
[B] people prefer cars, buses and trains
[C] lifts and escalators prevent people from walking
[D] there are a lot of transportation devices
52.Travelling at high speed means _____.
[A] people's focus on the future [B] a pleasure
[C] satisfying drivers' great thrill [D] a necessity of life
53.Why does the author say “we are deprived of the use of our eyes”?
[A] People won't use their eyes.
[B] In traveling at high speed, eyes become useless.
[C] People can't see anything on his way of travel.
[D] People want to sleep during travelling.
54.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
[A] Legs become weaker.
[B] Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
[C] There is no need to use eyes.
[D] The best way to travel is on foot.
55. What does 'a bird's-eye view' mean?
[A] See view with bird's eyes.
[B] A bird looks at a beautiful view.
[C] It is a general view from a high position looking down.
[D] A scenic place.
