细节理解题。根据倒数第二段“A hair-raising section concerns the building of the  railroads, which entailed drilling through the Rockies, often in blinding  snowstorms.(令人毛骨悚然的一段与铁路建设有关，这涉及到在令人眩目的暴风雪中钻穿落基山脉。)”可知，Wickenden的作品中涉及落基山脉的铁路建设这一部分是令人毛骨悚然的。故选C项。

【7题详解】

推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“The book ends with Rosamond and Dorothy’s return to  Auburn.(这本书以Rosamond和Dorothy回到奥本结束。)”以及最后一段“Wickenden is a very good  storyteller. The sweep of the land and the stoicism of the people move her to  some beautiful writing.(  Wickenden是个很好的讲故事的人。大地的辽阔和人们的坚忍使她创作出了一些美丽的作品。)”可知，本文简要介绍了Wickenden的书籍内容，并对其进行了评价，所以文本是一篇书评。故选B项。

C

Can a small group of drones(无人机)guarantee the safety and reliability of  railways and, at the same time, help railway operators save billions of euros  each year? That is the very likely future of applying today’s “eyes in the sky”  technology to making sure that the millions of kilometres of rail tracks and  infrastructure(基础设施)worldwide are safe for trains on a 24/7 basis.Drones are  already being used to examine high-tension electrical lines. They could do  precisely the same thing to inspect railway lines and other vital aspects of  rail infrastructure such as the correct position of railway tracks and switching  points. The more regularly they can be inspected, the more railway safety,  reliability and on-time performance will be improved. Costs would be cut and  operations would be more efficient(高效)across the board.That includes huge  savings in maintenance costs and better protection of railway personnel safety.  It is calculated that European railways alone spend approximately 20 billion  euros a year on maintenance, including sending maintenance staff, often at  night, to inspect and repair the rail infrastructure. That can be dangerous work  that could be avoided with drones assisting the crews’ efforts.By using the  latest technologies, drones could also start providing higher-value services for  railways, detecting faults in the rail or switches, before they can cause any  safety problems. To perform these tasks, drones for rail don’t need to be flying  overhead. Engineers are now working on a new concept: the rail drones of the  future. They will be moving on the track ahead of the train, and programmed to  run autonomously. Very small drones with advanced sensors and AI and travelling  ahead of the train could guide it like a co-pilot. With their ability to see  ahead, they could signal any problem, so that fast-moving trains would be able  to react in time.

8. What makes the application of drones to rail lines possible?

A. The use of drones in checking on power lines.

B. Drones’ ability to work at high altitudes.

C. The reduction of cost in designing drones.

D. Drones’ reliable performance in remote areas.

9. What does “maintenance” underlined in paragraph 3 refer to?

A. Personnel safety.

B.Assistance from drones.

C. Inspection and repair.

D.Construction of infrastructure.

10. What function is expected of the rail drones?

A.To provide early warning. B.To make trains run automatically.

C.To earn profits for the crews.

D. To accelerate transportation.

11. Which is the most suitable title for the text?

A. What Faults Can Be Detected with Drones

B. How Production of Drones Can Be Expanded

C. What Difficulty Drone Development Will Face

D.How Drones Will Change the Future of Railways

【答案】8. A 9. C 10. B 11. D

【解析】

【导语】本文是一篇说明文。应用今天的“空中之眼”的技术，无人机能在保证铁路安全可靠的同时又能帮助铁路运营商每年节省数十亿欧元。

【8题详解】

细节理解题。根据文章第二段“Drones are already being used to examine high-tension  electrical lines. They could do precisely the same thing to inspect railway  lines and other vital aspects of rail infrastructure such as the correct  position of railway tracks and switching  points.(无人机已经被用于检查高压电线。他们完全可以做同样的事情来检查铁路线路和铁路基础设施的其他重要方面，如铁路轨道和换乘点的正确位置)”可知使用无人机检查电力线路使无人机应用于铁路线路成为可能。故选A。

【9题详解】

词义猜测题。根据后文“It is calculated that European railways alone spend  approximately 20 billion euros a year on maintenance, including sending  maintenance staff, often at night, to inspect and repair the rail  infrastructure.  (据统计，仅欧洲铁路公司每年在铁路维护上的花费就约为200亿欧元，其中包括经常在夜间派遣维修人员检查和维修铁路基础设施)”可知花在maintenance上的费用是用于“inspect  and repair the rail infrastructure (检查和维修铁路基础设施”，由此可知“That includes huge savings  in maintenance costs and better protection of railway personnel  safety”是指大幅节省检修成本和更好地保护铁路人员安全，划线词和 C项：Inspection and repair(检修)含义相近。故选C。

【10题详解】

推理判断题。根据文章最后一段“Engineers are now working on a new concept: the rail drones  of the future. They will be moving on the track ahead of the train, and  programmed to run  autonomously(工程师们现在正在研究一个新概念:未来的铁路无人机。它们将在列车前方的轨道上运行，并被设定为自动运行)”可知铁路无人机有望让火车自动运行。故选B。

【11题详解】

主旨大意题。根据文章主题段第一段“Can a small group of drones(无人机)guarantee the safety and  reliability of railways and, at the same time, help railway operators save  billions of euros each year? That is the very likely future of applying today’s  “eyes in the sky” technology to making sure that the millions of kilometers of  rail tracks and infrastructure(基础设施)worldwide are safe for trains on a24/7  basis.(一小群无人机能否在保证铁路安全可靠的同时，帮助铁路运营商每年节省数十亿欧元?这很可能是应用今天的“空中之眼”技术的未来，以确保全球数百万公里的铁路轨道和基础设施全天候安全运行。)”以及后文第二段讲到了使用无人机检查电力线路使无人机应用于铁路线路成为可能;第三段讲到了使用无人机大幅节省维护成本和更好地保护铁路人员安全;第四段讲到了通过使用最新的技术，无人机还可以开始为铁路提供更高的价值，可知文章主要讲述了无人机将如何改变铁路的未来，所以D项“无人机将如何改变铁路的未来。”符合文章中心思想，适合作为本文的最佳标题。故选D。

D

The Government's sugar tax on soft drinks has brought in half as much money  as Ministers first predicted it would generate, the first official data on the  policy has shown.First announced in April, 2016, the tax which applies to soft  drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, was introduced to help reduce  childhood obesity(肥胖). It is believed that today's children and teenagers are  consuming three times the recommended level of sugar, putting them at a higher  risk of the disease.Initially the sugar tax was expected to make ?520m a year  for the Treasury. However, data of the first six months showed it would make  less than half this amount. At present it is expected to generate ?240m for the  year ending in April 2019, which will go to school sports.It comes after more  than half of soft drinks sold in shops have had their sugar levels cut by  manufacturers(制造商)so they can avoid paying the tax. Drinks now contain 45  million fewer kilos of sugar as a result of manufacturers' efforts to avoid the  charge, according to Treasury figures. Since April drinks companies have been  forced to pay between 18p and 24p for every litre of sugary drink they produce  or import, depending on the sugar content.However, some high sugar brands, like  Classic Coca Cola, have accepted the sugar tax and are refusing to change for  fear of upsetting consumers. Fruit juices, milk-based drinks and most alcoholic  drinks are free of the tax, as are small companies manufacturing fewer than 1m  litres per year.Today's figures, according to one government official, show the  positive influence the sugar tax is having by raising millions of pounds for  sports facilities(设施)and healthier eating in schools. Helping the next  generation to have a healthy and active childhood is of great importance, and  the industry is playing its part.

12. Why was the sugar tax introduced?

A. To collect money for schools.

B. To improve the quality of drinks.