Question

    Technology is playing a vital role in preservation and ecology research. Drones (无人机) hold huge _______ in the fight to save the world’s remaining wildlife from extinction. So researchers can now track wild animals through dense forests and monitor whales in vast oceans. It’s estimated that up to five living species become extinct every day, making it urgent that universities develop new technologies to capture the data that can persuade _______ to act.

The British International Education Association hosted a conference in January to _______ the importance of technological solutions in protecting vulnerable (易受伤害的) species and ecosystems. Speakers underlined how technology can help _______: drones can circle high above the ocean to spot whales, while certain cameras can identify members of an individual species.

According to Claudio Sillero, biology professor at Oxford University, technology is changing how preservation research is done — but it’s in a(n) _______ way. As technology gets better and cheaper, researchers become better at doing what they were already doing. _______, remote sensing used to be a very technical tool but is now widespread, and everyone uses global positioning system (GPS) for surveying.

But teaching preservation and ecology courses in university _______. Some teach drone surveying methods in depth while others don’t even mention them. “The fact is, using drones is quite a(n) _______ to the interdisciplinary (跨学科的) ‘unknown’ of engineering, and potentially an area where lecturers may not feel confident to teach yet,” Serge Wich, an expert in primate biology says. “Students are taught about _______ technologies such as automatic sound recorders, but drones are often missing from university teaching. Consequently, drone use among researchers is still fairly ________ and focused on getting photos.”

Wich’s team of researchers used techniques to develop a fully automated drone technology system that ________ and monitors the health of endangered animals globally. It’s designed to be cheap, stable and simple to use, so that local communities in developing countries can operate it ________ without technical background. Yet it’s not more widely used on the grounds of researchers’ lack of skills to use this technology. In biology, where drones are used, few can program an algorithm (算法) specifically for their preservation or research problem. “There’s much that needs to be done to ________ those two worlds and to make AI more user-friendly so that people who can’t program can still use the technology,” Wich says.

________, the sad truth is that better technology alone will not save any more species from dying out, Greengrass warns. “As human populations increase, so do threats and pressure on wild places. Preservationists are ________ for not doing enough but it’s often an issue of people, conflict and governance.” Technology may help provide far greater knowledge, but governments still need to act.

1.A. shortage B. threats C. potential D. responsibilities

2.A. researchers B. authorities C. opponents D. professionals

3.A. highlight B. overlook C. assess D. calculate

4.A. education B. preparation C. preservation D. distinction

5.A. evolutionary B. flexible C. virtual D. dramatic

6.A. As a result B. In conclusion C. On the contrary D. For example

7.A. differs B. equals C. multiplies D. struggles

8.A. obstacle B. leap C. equivalent D. exception

9.A. ill-intentioned B. fully-prepared C. well-established D. narrowly-applied

10.A. definite B. vague C. simple D. limited

11.A. controls B. tracks C. supervises D. improves

12.A. earnestly B. independently C. secretly D. impersonally

13.A. bridge B. fix C. dismiss D. grasp

14.A. Therefore B. Moreover C. However D. Otherwise

15.A. fired B. insulted C. qualified D. criticized

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.C

5.A

6.D

7.A

8.B

9.C

10.D

11.B

12.B

13.A

14.C

15.D

【解析】

本文属于说明文，介绍了无人机技术在动物保护方面有着重要的意义，但是目前的大学课程跟不上，说明 技术的进步是不够的，还需要政府采取行动。

1.考查名词词义辨析。句意：无人机在挽救濒危野生动物免于灭绝方面有巨大的潜力。A. shortage缺点；B. threats威胁；C. potential潜力；D. responsibilities负责。根据后文So researchers can now track wild animals through dense forests and monitor whales in vast oceans.可知，研究人员可以借用无人机追踪丛林的野生动物和海洋中的鲸鱼，故可知，作用很大，故选C。

2.考查名词词义辨析。句意：据估计，每天多达5种生物灭绝，让大学机构更加紧迫发展新的技术来获取数据来说服当权机构采取行动。A. researchers研究人员；B. authorities当权机构；C. opponents对手；D. professionals专业人员。根据文章可知，保护濒临生物，政府责任最大，故选B。

3.考查动词词义辨析。句意：英国国际教育协会在一月份举办了一次会议来强调技术手段在保护濒临物种和生态系统方面的重要性。A. highlight强调；B. overlook俯瞰；C. assess评估；D. calculate计算。根据本段后文可知，该会议是让人们更关注技术手段，故选A。

4.考查名词词义辨析。句意：发言人强调了技术怎样保护生物免遭灭绝。A. education教育；B. preparation准备；C. preservation保护；D. distinction区分。根据后文drones can circle high above the ocean to spot whales, while certain cameras can identify members of an individual species可知，可以使用无人机在海洋上空盘旋来定位鲸鱼，其中一些相机确定数量，故可知技术在保护生物方面的重要性，故选C。

5.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：技术正在改变保护研究的方式，但是是以一种渐进性的方式改变。A. evolutionary渐进式的；B. flexible弹性的； C. virtual虚拟的；D. dramatic戏剧性的。根据后文As technology gets better and cheaper, researchers become better at doing what they were already doing可知，技术越来越好，因而方式也是渐进式的，故选A。

6.考查介词词义辨析。句意：例如，遥感在过去是一项技术性的工具，但是现在被广泛使用。A. As a result因此；B. In conclusion总之；C. On the contrary相反；D. For example比如。分析句子可知，前面陈述一个道理，后面举了一个遥感的例子，故选D。

7.考查动词词义辨析。句意：但是大学里教授保护和生态学的课程不一。A. differs使不同；B. equals相等；C. multiplies相乘；D. struggles挣扎。根据后文Some teach drone surveying methods in depth while others don’t even mention them可知，一些教师深度教授用无人机做调查的方法而另外一些根本就没有提及，故可知，课程标准不一致，故选A。

8.考查名词词义辨析。句意：事实是，使用无人机是工程学方面交叉学科的跳跃性一步，有可能是一个教师没有信心教授的一个领域。A. obstacle障碍；B. leap跳跃；C. equivalent对等物；D. exception例外。根据后文and potentially an area where lecturers may not feel confident to teach yet可知，由于教师没有信心教授，可能是跨度太大，故选B。

9.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：教授给学生的技术都是已经建立好的，比如自动录音机，但是无人机在大学教程里是欠缺的。A. ill-intentioned心术不正的；B. fully-prepared准备好的；C. well-established已为大家接受的；D. narrowly-applied应用狭窄的。根据本句such as automatic sound recorders可知，列举的自动录音机可知，教授的东西是已为大家接受的，故选C。

10.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：因此，研究人员使用无人机依然很有限，主要集中于用无人机拍照。A. definite限定的；B. vague模糊的；C. simple简单的；D. limited有限的。根据本句focused on getting photos可知，无人机目前主要用于拍照，说明使用很有限，故选D。

11.考查动词词义辨析。句意：Wich 研究团队使用技术来发展出全自动的无人机技术，可以追踪和监视全球濒危动物的健康状况。A. controls控制；B. tracks跟踪；C. supervises监督；D. improves提高。根据本句monitors the health of endangered animals可知，无人机可以跟踪动物，故选B。

12.考查副词词义辨析。句意：这项技术被设计出来简单易用，便宜稳定，因此发展中国家的当地毫无技术背景的社区人员可以独立操作它。A. earnestly正经地；B. independently独立地；C. secretly秘密地；D. impersonally公正地。根据前一句cheap, stable and simple to use可知，简单易操作，故可以独立操作，故选B。

13.考查动词词义辨析。句意：要把两个世界联系起来，让人工智能更容易被没有编程能力的人使用，还需要做很多事情。A. bridge联系；B. fix固定；C. dismiss解散；D. grasp掌握。根据本句宾语可知，把两个世界联系起来，故选A。

14.考查副词词义辨析。句意：但是，一个让人悲伤的真相就是，单纯的技术进步并不能挽救动物的灭绝。A. Therefore因此；B. Moreover此外；C. However然而；D. Otherwise否则。根据后文可知，本段讲述技术进步的不足，故为转折关系，故选C。

15.考查动词词义辨析。句意：保护主义者因为做的不够被批评，但是这通常是一个人类，冲突和管理的问题。A. fired解雇；B. insulted冒犯；C. qualified合格；D. criticized批评。根据本文可知，并不是做的不够，而是本身的问题，故选D。