大学英语四级考试阅读笔记(25)

Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

36. 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

注：when /as/ if 为条件句引导词，定位条件句

37. 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 area

D) estimate the damage to the crops

38. Farmers can save a 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

39. 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

注：考因果关系

40. 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

注：back into operation 重操旧业

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.

注：1.文章首句提出问题：植物受到病虫害侵扰会发烧

2.straight up 高空

3.adapt 使用，适用

4.come up with 提出（方案、计划）

5.precisely 准确的、精确的

6.spray 喷射

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.

注：1.Mounted on 安装在……之上

2.transform 转变 = trans 变化 + form 形式

3.spot-spray 点喷

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.

注：1.第一句为现象，后面跟着原因和解释

2.with 因为，因果关系

3.renew 恢复

4.工业产品：product；农业产品：produce

5.refinement 提炼、精炼

This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States， says George Qerther 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.

36. 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

注：第一段首句的同义改写when句：受到病虫害侵扰的时候

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.

37. 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 area

D) estimate the damage to the crops

注：B选项在第二段出现，C选项测量区域不对

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.

38. Farmers can save a 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

注：考得是二段末句

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.

39. 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

注：考得是三段的第二句，因果关系due to ，B项为错误推理

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.

40. 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

注：因果关系词 because of

This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States， says George Qerther 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.