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.

C. To protect children’s health.

D. To encourage research in education.

13. 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.

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

A. Most alcoholic drinks.

B. Milk-based drinks.

C. Fruit juices.

D. Classic Coke.

15. 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】12. C 13. D 14. D 15. B

【解析】

【导语】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了英国政府对软饮料征收的糖税来解决儿童以及青少年的健康问题，同时该收入用于学校体育。

【12题详解】

细节理解题。根据文章第二段中的“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  .(该税于2016年4月首次宣布，适用于每100毫升含糖超过5g的软饮料，旨在帮助减少儿童肥胖。)”可知，征收糖税的目的是帮助儿童减少肥胖。故选C项。

【13题详解】

细节理解题。根据第四段中的“It comes after more than half of soft drinks sold in shops  have had their sugar levels cut by manufacturers so they can avoid paying the  tax.(此前，制造商已经降低了商店中销售的超过一半的软饮料的含糖量，以避免纳税。)”可知，一些饮料公司通过降低了产品的含糖量来避税。故选D项。

【14题详解】

细节理解题。根据第五段中的“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.(然而，一些高糖品牌，如经典可口可乐，已经接受了糖税，并拒绝改变，因为担心会惹恼消费者。果汁、以牛奶为原料的饮料和大多数酒精饮料是免税的，每年生产不到100万升的小公司也是免税的。)”可知，糖税主要来自经典可口可乐这些高糖品牌。故选D项。

【15题详解】

推理判断题。根据文章最后一段中“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 and healthier eating in  schools.(根据一位政府官员的说法，今天的数据显示了糖税的积极影响，它为学校的体育设施和健康饮食筹集了数百万英镑)”可推断，糖税政策的实施是一个成功的政策。故选B项。

第二节(共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分)