必修第二冊UNIT5HUMANSANDNATURE(一)Ⅰ.閱讀理解A(★)ThecottonharvestisabouttogetunderwayintheTexasHighPlains，thenation’stopcotton-producingregion.ButBarryEvans，likemanyothers，hasalreadywalkedawayfrommorethan2,000acresofhisbone-dryfields.“Itjustdidn’tcomeup.Wehardlyhadanything，”saidEvans，athird-generationcottongrower.“AlthoughcottonvarietiesgrowninthispartofTexasareparticularlydevelopedandcontinuouslyimprovedtosurvivedryconditions，westillhavetohavealittlebitofhelpfromMotherNaturesincemuchofthecottongrownintheregionisrainfed.”Extremeheatandadearthofrainfallhaveseverelydamagedmuchofthisyear’scottonharvestintheUS，whichproducesabout35%oftheworld’scrop.TheUSDepartmentofAgriculture(DOA)forecastthatmorethan40%ofwhatUSfarmersplantedinthespringwouldbeabandonedbecauseofdrought.Nowhereismoreapparentthantheflat，drystretchoftheTexasHighPlains，whichnormallyreceivesaround46to51cmofrainperyear，butsawlessthan7cmofrainfromAugustthroughthesummer.Theregion’soverallrecoveryfromeconomiclossescouldtakeafewyears.Itisparticularlytrueforfactoriesthataredependentoncotton-processing.ToddStraleyownsacottonfactoryintheregion.Itnormallyprocessesaround100,000bagsofcottoneachharvest.Thisyear，heisexpectingtoprocess12,000.Asaresult，hehasnoneedtorunthefactory24hoursadayashenormallywouldforthethreemonthsaftertheharvest.“FarmershaveabandonedcropsatsuchhighlevelsthatIjustneedaround18full-timeandseasonalworkersthisyear，comparedto50inyears，whilemanyfactoriesjustwentoutofbusiness，”Straleysaid.“Thelossesthisyearwillamountto$1millionforme.Butprofitsfromastrongharvestlastyearwouldhelpmetosurvivealittlebitlonger.”1．WhatdidBarryEvansmeaninparagraph2?A．Bettercottonvarietieshadtobedeveloped.B．MotherNaturecouldbedefeatedbytechnology.C．Humanbeingsshouldliveinharmonywithnature.D．Cottoncropsintheregionweredependentonnature.2．WhatcanwesayabouttheTexasHighPlains?A．Itsufferedextremeheatwavesanddrought.B．Itproducesabout35%oftheworld’scotton.C．Itisunsuitabletoplantdrought-resistantcotton.D．Thefarmsareirrigatedwithundergroundwater.3．Whatarethelasttwoparagraphsmainlyabout?A．Thecottonfarmers’losses. B．Thedrought’sconsequences.C．ToddStraley’sdifficulties. D．Theprofitsofcotton-processing.4．Whereisthetextmostprobablytakenfrom?A．Aninterview. B．Adisasterassessment.C．ADOAforecast. D．Anagriculturalreport.B(★)(2024·福建廈門雙十中學(xué)期中)Earthquakeforecastingisoneofthemostancientskillsknowntomankind.FromancientGreecetothepresentday，countlessscientistshavetriedtodeveloptoolstopredictearthquakes.Theirattemptsusuallyfocusedonsearchingforreliableevidenceofcomingquakes.However，therearemanyreasonswhypredictingquakesissohard.“Wedon’tunderstandsomebasicphysicsofearthquakes，”saidEgill，aresearchprofessorattheCaliforniaInstituteofTechnology.Scientistshavealsoattemptedtocreatemathematicalmodelsofmovement，butpreciselypredictingwouldrequiregreatmappingandanalysisoftheEarth’scrust.Otherchallengesincludealackofdataontheearlywarningsigns，giventhatthesewarningsignsarenotyetentirelyunderstood.Actually，realearthquakepredictionisverysimilartothediagnosisofpotentialhumanillnessesbasedonobservingandanalyzingeachpatient’ssignsandsymptoms.Asitturnsout，quakepredictionisextremelydifficult.ManysourcesshowthatearthquakeforecastingwasrecognizedscienceinancientGreece.AncientGreekslivedveryclosetonatureandwereabletodetectunusualphenomenaandforecastearthquakes.ThefirstknownforecastwasmadebyPherecydesofSyrosabout2,500yearsago：hemadeitashescoopedwaterfromawellandnoticedthatusuallyverycleanwaterhadsuddenlybecomemuddy.Indeed，anearthquakeoccurredtwodayslater，makingPherecydesfamous.Nowadays，seismicandremote-sensingmethodsareconsideredtohavethegreatestpotentialintermsofsolvingtheearthquakepredictionproblem.Currently，TerraSeismiccanidentifyaforthcomingearthquakewithahighlevelofconfidence.Generally，TerraSeismicdoesnotpredictaquakeiftheearthquake’sepicenterislocatedbeyondadepthof40km.Fortunately，suchquakesarealmostalwaysharmless，sincequake’senergyreducesbeforereachingtheEarth’ssurface.“Scientistshavetriedeverypossiblemethodtotrytopredictearthquakes，”Bruneausaid.“Nobodyhasbeenabletocrackitandmakeabelievableprediction.”5．Whatdoweknowaboutearthquakeforecasting?A．Scientistshavebeenpassionateaboutaccuratelypredictingearthquakes.B．Aslongasenoughdataiscollected，earthquakescanbepredicted.C．Mathematicalmodelsofmotioncansimulateandpredictearthquakes.D．Scientistshavenotyetfullystudiedthestructureofearthquakes.6．HowdidPherecydessuccessfullypredictthatearthquake?A．Byseismicandremote-sensingmethods.B．Byobservingunusualnaturalphenomena.C．Bylivinginseismiczonesthroughouttheyear.D．Bylookingintodataontheearlywarningsigns.7．WhatwasBruneau’sopinionaboutthecurrentmethodsofearthquakeprediction?A．HestronglybelievedtheTerraSeismiccansolvethedifficultproblem.B．Hewassurethathumanscouldaccuratelypredictearthquakesinthefuture.C．Heconsidereditharmlesstohumansforanearthquakedeeperthan40km.D．Hethoughtthatscientistshadnoreliablemethodtopredictearthquakes.8．Whatisthetextmainlyabout?A．Whydohumanspredictearthquakes.B．Howtoprotectoneselfduringanearthquake.C．Whatmethodscanbeusedtoforecastearthquakes.D．Whentoachieveaccurateearthquakeforecasting.C(2024·福建福州檢測)FeelingahugfromeachotherviatheInternetmaybeapossibilityinthenearfuture.AresearchteamledbyCityUniversityofHongKongrecentlydevelopedawireless，softe-skinthatcanbothdetectanddeliverthesenseoftouch，andformatouchnetworkallowingone-to-multiuserinteraction.Itoffersgreatpotentialforimprovingthedistancetouchcommunication.Whiletherearenumerousdevicesinthemarkettosimulate(模擬)thesenseoftouchinthevirtualworld，theyprovideonlytouchsensingortouchresponse.Theuniquenessofthenovele-skinisthatitcanperformself-sensingandtouchreproducingfunctionsonthesameinterface.Thee-skinisa7cm×10cm,4.2mm-thickdevicecontaining16flexibleactuators(驅(qū)動器)，amicrocontrollerunit，aBluetoothmodule，andotherelectronicsonaflexiblecircuitboard.Theactuatorservesasthecorepartofthee-skin.Oncetheactuatorispressedandreleasedbyaforce，acurrentisproducedtoprovideelectricalsignalsthatareturnedintodigitalsignalsbyaconverter(轉(zhuǎn)換器)andthensenttoanothere-skinviaBluetooth.Whenthesignalsarereceived，acurrentiscausedtoreproducethetouchresponseonthereceiver’se-skinthroughmechanicalvibration(振動)．Theprocesscanbereversedtodelivervibrationsfromthereceiver’se-skintothecorrespondingactuatorofthesender’s.Thee-skincancommunicatewithBluetoothdevicesandsenddatathroughtheInternetwithsmartphonesandcomputerstoperformlong-distancetouch，andtoformatouchInternetofThings(IoT)system，whereone-to-oneandone-to-multipletouchdeliverycouldberealized.Friendsandfamilyindifferentplacescoulduseitto“feel”eachother.Thisformoftouchovercomesthelimitationsofspaceandgreatlyreducesthesenseofdistanceinhumancommunication.Next，theresearchteamwillfocusonpracticalapplicationsforpeoplewithvisualdisability，whocouldwearthee-skintogainremotedirectionalguidanceandreadBraillemessages.9．Whatistheuniquefeatureofthee-skin?A．Itprovideshugsforusers.B．Itbuildsasocialnetwork.C．Itprovidestouchsensingandcopying.D．Itmonitorstheprocessofself-sensing.10．Whatdoestheunderlinedword“reversed”inparagraph3mean?A．Started.B．Disturbed.C．Completed.D．Exchanged.11．Whatcanwelearnaboute-skin?A．Itstrengthensbondsacrossdistance. B．Itsconvertervibrateswhenworking.C．Itsendselectricalsignalstoreceivers. D．Itssystemdeliverstouchwithphones.12．Whatwouldbethebesttitleofthetext?A．ASignal-sendingApplication B．AnInventionfortheDisabledC．ADeviceforVirtualInteraction D．ALong-distanceCommunicationⅡ.七選五Youmayfeelyourbackbreakingandlow-paidpart-timesummerjobisn’tworthyoureffort.1Herearesomeyoucanenjoy.Whenlandingajob，you’llputyourselfintounfamiliarterritoryandlearnhowtosurviveanddevelopthere.2Whetherit’slearninganewskillordealingwithatoughboss，youmustrelyonyourselfforsolutions，throughwhichyoucanbuildupyourself-belief.Hangingaroundallsummerisagreatwaytorelax，butitwon’tcontributetoyourtimemanagementskill.3Thisskillhelpsyoudecidewhatshouldbeaccomplishedinadayandlearnhowtohandlethosethingstomakeithappen，whichinvolvesprioritizing，planningandjudginghowmuchyoucanrealisticallyfinish.Thebestwaytodevelopthisskillisth