C. To earn profits for the crews.

D. To accelerate transportation.

31. 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】28. A 29. C 30. A 31. D

【解析】本文为说明文，从多方面介绍了无人机将如何改变铁路的未来。

28. 细节理解题。根据第二段前两句中的“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...”可知，无人机在已经被用于检查高压电线。它们完全可以做同样的事情来检查铁轨和铁路基础设施的其他重要方面，所以是无人机在检查电线的使用使得无人机成为在铁轨上的应用成为可能，故选A。

29. 词义猜测题。根据划线词后一句中的“...20 billion euros a year on maintenance, including  sending maintenance staff, often at night, to inspect and repair the rail  infrastructure.”可知，仅欧洲铁路公司一年就在铁路维护上花费了大约200亿欧元，包括经常在夜间派遣维修人员检查和维修铁路基础设施，所以无人机在铁轨的使用能大大降低维修成本，故选C。

30. 细节理解题。根据最后一段的最后两句“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.”可知，配备了先进传感器和人工智能的小型无人机可以像副驾驶员实时监测，并发出问题的信号，所以铁轨无人机的作用是提供早期预警。故选A。

31. 标题归纳题。通读全文，文章从降低铁轨维修成本，协助员工危险作业以及提供预警等方面介绍了无人机将如何改变铁路的未来，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.

32. Why was the sugar tax introduced?

A. To collect money for schools. B. To improve the quality of drinks.

C. To protect children’s health. D. To encourage research in education.

33. How did some drinks companies respond to the sugar tax?

A. They turned to overseas markets. B. They raised the prices of their  products.

C. They cut down on their production. D. They reduced their products’ sugar  content.

34. From which of the following is the sugar tax collected?

A. Most alcoholic drinks. B. Milk-based drinks. C. Fruit juices. D. Classic  Coke.

35. What can be inferred about the adoption of the sugar tax policy?

A. It is a short-sighted decision. B. It is a success story.

C. It benefits manufacturers. D. It upsets customers.

【答案】32. C 33. D 34. D 35. B

【解析】本文是一篇说明文，讲述政府通过征收饮料糖税来控制儿童的摄糖量从而帮助减少肥胖，并且达到了很好的效果。

32. 细节理解题。根据第二段第一句中的“the tax...was introduced to help reduce childhood  obesity”可知，糖税政策被引进的作用是为减少儿童肥胖，即C项“保护儿童健康”符合题意，故选C。

33. 细节理解题。根据第四段第一句“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.”可知一些饮料公司减少了产品的含糖量来应对糖税，故选D。

34. 细节理解题。根据第五段第一句中的“However, some high sugar brands, like Classic Coca  Cola, have accepted the sugar tax”以及第五段第二句中的“Fruit juices, milk-based drinks and  most alcoholic drinks are free of the tax”可知，Classic Coca Cola需要缴纳糖税，故选D。

35. 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段第一句中的“Today’s figures, according to one government  official, show the positive influence the sugar tax is  having”可知，糖税政策有积极的影响，故选B。

第二节(共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分)

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Friendship needs care and attention to keep it in good health. Here are  five ways to sustain (保持) long-distance friendships.