Question

On the school playground in Los Tomes, José, a lone child, plays a ball­and­cup game. The eight­year­old is the school's only pupil. His teacher, Nilda, herself a former pupil, says that enrolment(注册入学) has dropped from 65 when she started teaching 43 years ago. Drought has driven families away, she says, “Only the old remain.”

Los Tomes is an agricultural cooperative, one of 178 in Chile's Coquimbo region. Nineteen communities try to grow wheat and raise sheep and goats on 2,800 hectares. A decade­long drought has made that harder. Hilltop springs where the animals once drank have dried up. As the number of herds(畜群) decrease, farmers' children moved away to take jobs in cities or at copper mines.

①  Hope for Los Tomes comes in the form of three 60­square­metre nets stretched between poles on a ridge(山脊) above the community. These nets capture(捕捉)droplets(水珠) from the fog that rolls in from the sea 4 kilometers away. They flow down to two troughs(槽), from which animals drink. The nets can harvest 650 litres of water a day.

②  Chile has been investigating fog capture since the 1950s. The fog can be harvested with the help of a coastal mountain range and strong winds. Earlier attempts to turn the mist into usable water failed. In 1990 fog nets at a fishing village captured 8,000 litres a day. Villagers argued about how to share responsibility for maintaining the nets.

Climate change, which is expected to decrease rainfall in the region, has inspired a new search for sources of water. The project at Los Tomes is part of an attempt to capture fog. “The question is not whether the fog collectors work but who's going to provide and maintain them,” says Daniela.

At a community north of Los Tomes, three 150­square­metre fog catchers feed a plantation of young olive trees. When the trees mature, they will produce 750 litres of organic olive oil a year. The water source will be a big selling point. A privately owned brewery(啤酒厂)in Pena Blanca was quick to spot fog water's marketing appeal.

③  The development fund paid 5.6 million pesos each piece to put up the structures in Los Tomes；when the nets wear out, the villagers will have to replace them at a cost of 100,000 pesos each. Coquimbo has more than 40,000 hectares of land with the right conditions for putting up fog­catchers. If it were fully employed, the region could harvest 1,400 litres a second, enough to supply all its drinking water.

④  That might attract back educated young people from the cities. A chance to develop tourism near the Fray Jorge national park, a rainforest which has survived thanks to its own natural fog­collection mechanism, brought Salvador to his birthplace. “Roots, the land and the desire to start this brought me back, says Salvador.

1.The boy in the first paragraph is used as an example to show  .

A. the seriousness of drought    B. the poverty of the area

C. the trend of the move    D. the lack of teachers

2.The ideal place for nets should be .

A. in the rough sea    B. on a coastal ridge

C. over the sea    D. at the foot of the ridge

3.The concern of the fishing village's people is   .

A. whether the fog­catcher works

B. whether the fog­catcher can provide enough water

C. how to make the fog­catcher run well continuously

D. how to make use of the water

4.The sentence “It makes a profit, but most fog­harvesting projects require investment in their early stages.” should be put in   .

A. ①    B. ②    C. ③    D. ④

5.According to the passage, which of the following statement is right？

A. Water collected from fog can be sold as beer on the market.

B. Daniela suggests that olive trees should be planted in the plantation.

C. The products made with fog water will probably appeal to the consumers.

D. Part of temperate rainforest's survival is due to the use of man­made fog nets.

6.Salvador returning to his birthplace mainly wants to   .

A. protect the remaining forest    B. build more fog­catchers

C. sell handicrafts on the road stands    D. develop local tourism

Answer

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. C

5. C

6. D

【解析】

本文为说明文。LosTomes是一家农业合作社，是智利科昆博地区178家合作社之一。19个社区试图在2800公顷土地上种植小麦和饲养绵羊和山羊。长达十年的干旱使这变得更加困难。动物们曾经喝过的山顶泉已经干涸了。随着畜群数量的减少，农民的孩子们搬去城市或铜矿找工作。留在这里的人们正使用捕雾网获取所需的水。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中的enrolment(注册入学) has dropped from 65 when she started teaching 43 years ago. Drought has driven families away, she says, “Only the old remain.”可知，干旱赶走了许多家庭，只留下老人了，入学人数从43年前她开始教书时的65人下降到了一个人。这个独自在操场上玩的孩子，说明了这里的干旱是多么的严重。故A选项正确。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中的Hope for Los Tomes comes in the form of three 60­square­metre nets stretched between poles on a ridge(山脊) above the community. These nets capture(捕捉)droplets(水珠) from the fog that rolls in from the sea 4 kilometers away.和第四段中的The fog can be harvested with the help of a coastal mountain range and strong winds.可推知，雾网的理想位置应该是在沿海山脊上。故B选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第四段中的Villagers argued about how to share responsibility for maintaining the nets.（村民们争论如何分担维护雾网的责任）可知，渔民们关心的是如何让这些捕雾网持续不断地良好运转。故C选项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据第七段中的The development fund paid 5.6 million pesos each piece to put up the structures in Los Tomes；when the nets wear out, the villagers will have to replace them at a cost of 100,000 pesos each.（开发基金支付了560万比索用于在Los-Tomes建造这些捕雾网；当网用坏了时，村民们将不得不以每座10万比索的成本更换它们。）可推知，题干中的“它能盈利，但是在早期阶段，大多数捕雾项目需要投资。”符合此处语境。故C选项正确。

5.细节理解题。根据倒数第三段中的The water source will be a big selling point. A privately owned brewery(啤酒厂)in Pena Blanca was quick to spot fog water's marketing appeal.（水源将是一个很大的卖点。佩纳布兰卡的一家私人啤酒厂很快就发现了雾水的市场吸引力。）可知，用雾水制作的产品可能会吸引消费者。故C选项正确。

6.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的A chance to develop tourism near the Fray Jorge national park…brought Salvador to his birthplace. Roots, the land and the desire to start this brought me back.（乔治国家公园附近发展旅游业的机会，把萨尔瓦多带到了他的出生地。根、土地和开始这一事业的愿望把我带了回来。）可知，萨尔瓦多回到他的出生地主要是想发展当地旅游业。故D选项正确。