A. A news report.

B. A book review.

C. A children’s story.

D.A diary entry.

【答案】4. A 5. D 6. C 7. B

【解析】

【导语】这是一篇书评。本文简要介绍了Dorothy Wickenden的书籍并对其进行了评价。

【4题详解】

细节理解题。根据第一段“In 1916, two girls of wealthy families, best friends from  Auburn, N.Y.-Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood -traveled to a settlement  in the Rocky Mountains to teach in a one-room schoolhouse.  (1916年，来自纽约奥本市的两个富裕家庭的女孩——Dorothy Woodruff和Rosamond  Underwood——来到落基山脉的一个定居点，在一间只有一个房间的学校教书。)”可知，Dorothy和Rosamond去落基山脉是为了去学校里教书。故选A项。

【5题详解】

推理判断题。根据第三段“They moved in with a local family, the Harrisons, and like  them, had little privacy, rare baths, and a blanket of snow on their quilt when  they woke up in the  morning.(他们和一个当地家庭，哈里森一家一起搬进去，和他们一样，几乎没有隐私，很少洗澡，早上醒来时被子上覆盖着一层雪。)”以及“In spring,  the snow was replaced by mud over  ice.(在春天，雪被泥替代覆盖在冰上。)”可知，女孩们的生活条件非常艰苦，她们饱受磨难。故选D项。

【6题详解】

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】