Question

    If nothing is done to stop rising sea levels, the homes of 200 million people could be underwater by the year 2100. That's according to a study published in the scientific magazine Nature Communications. The global sea level has been rising for more than a century, and more quickly over the last several decades. That's because climate change is melting glaciers (冰川）and ice sheets. Higher sea levels flood coastlines. If steps aren't taken to protect cities and towns, people could be forced to move inland.

One European country is especially vulnerable to flooding: the Netherlands. More than a quarter of the country already sits below sea level. But the Netherlands has developed tactics (策略）for dealing with water. For that reason, many experts believe that even though it's vulnerable to rising seas, the country is well-equipped to deal with them.

In the region that is now the Netherlands, people have been inventing ways to keep out water for at least 900 years. The country is famous for its dikes (堤坝），which are long walls that prevent flooding. But in recent years, experts there have developed new techniques that go far beyond dikes, some of which are high-tech.For example, the Maeslantkering is a massive storm-surge barrier that protects the city of Rotterdam from seawater. It's controlled by a supercomputer. It closes automatically when Rotterdam is threatened by floods.

Other projects look to nature for inspiration.The DakAkker is a farm located on top of an office building in Rotterdam. The building's roof holds rainwater to prevent runoff. Another example is the Floating Farm. Its designers wanted to make room for agriculture in a waterflooded city. More than 30 dairy cows live on the farm, which floats in Rotterdam's waterways.The farm generates (生产）its own energy using floating solar panels.

“It's not that our solutions are the best,” says Henk Ovink, who works on water issues for the Dutch government. “But we provide ideas for your country's solutions.”

1.What does the underlined word“vulnerable”in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A.Heavily independent. B.Easy to be attacked.

C.Experienced in solving. D.Totally unconcerned.

2.What can we learn about“the Maeslantkering”?

A.It's a tactic to deal with glaciers. B.It's a high-tech life-saving ship.

C.It's a computer-controlled dike. D.It's a high building for escape.

3.Where is the Floating Farm?

A.On the river. B.Under the water.

C.On the long dikes. D.On top of a building.

4.What does Henk Ovink think of Dutch's tactics to fight floods?

A.An outline. B.An instruction. C.An assumption. D.An inspiration.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】

本文是说明文。科学杂志“自然通讯”上发表的一项研究表明，如果不采取任何措施来阻止海平面上升，到2100年，2亿人的家园可能会被淹没。文章介绍了荷兰为应对这一现象采取的行动。

1.

词句猜测题。根据第一段最后一句If steps aren't taken to protect cities and towns, people could be forced to move inland.( 如果不采取措施保护城镇，人们可能会被迫搬到内陆。)可推断One European country is especially vulnerable to flooding: the Netherlands.句意是：一个欧洲国家特别容易受到洪水的攻击：荷兰。说明荷兰最有可能受到洪水的影响，“vulnerable”的意思是容易被攻击,划线词与B项意思相近。故选B。

2.

细节理解题。根据第三段的For example, the Maeslantkering is a massive storm-surge barrier that protects the city of Rotterdam from seawater. It's controlled by a supercomputer. It closes automatically when Rotterdam is threatened by floods.( 例如，Maeslantmeding是一个巨大的风暴扩张屏障，保护鹿特丹市免受海水的侵袭。它由一台超级计算机控制。当鹿特丹受到洪水威胁时，它会自动关闭。)可知，Maeslantkering是由一台超级电脑控制的堤坝。故选C。

3.

细节理解题。根据倒数第二段的More than 30 dairy cows live on the farm, which floats in Rotterdam's waterways.( 超过30头奶牛生活在农场上，农场漂浮在鹿特丹的水道上。)可知，漂浮农场在河上。故选A。

4.

推理判断题。根据最后一段“It's not that our solutions are the best,” says Henk Ovink, who works on water issues for the Dutch government. “But we provide ideas for your country's solutions.”(“我们的解决方案不是最好的，”致力于为荷兰政府处理水问题的Henk Ovink说。 “但我们为贵国的解决方案提供了想法。”)可推断，Henk Ovink认为荷兰应对洪水的策略是一个启发，是对未来的启发。故选D。