上海市八校2015届高三3月联合调研考试英语试题(8)

factories of Europe roared into production in the 19th and early 20th century, painting described a

steady increase in the red to green ratio. The ice cores recorded a steady rise in airborne particles

from industrial pollution during the same time.

74. The underlined word “hues”.

A. angles B. colors C. locations D. times

75. What do we know about Zerefos’ research from the passage?

A. Both modern and ancient artists describing sunset are involved in the research.

B. It confirmed an obvious increase in the ratio of green to red in sunset paintings.

C. The shift from green to red also existed in the records of ice cores trapped items.

D. The team used traditional techniques to confirm the earlier results of the research.

76. How did Zerefos’ team confirm that atmospheric records kept by painters were reliable?

A. By analyzing classical paintings

B. By connecting time to color

C. By comparing art with ice

D. By working with an artist

77. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A. A modern research of ancient art and ice with pollution.

B. Art Masterpiece and pollutants trapped in ice cores.

C. An increase in the ratio of red to green in paintings

D. Art Masterpiece Recorded Centuries of Pollution.

Section C

Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in

the fewest possible words.

Six thousand years ago, farmers in Mesopotamia dug a ditch to bring water from the Euphrates

River. With that successful effort to satisfy their thirsty crops, they went on to form the world’s first

irrigation(灌溉)-based civilization. Sumerian farmers harvested plentiful crops for some 2,000 years

thanks to the extra water brought in from the river, but the soil, when water evaporates(蒸发), was

eventually reduced to salinization, the poisonous buildup of salts and other substances left behind.

Far more people depend on irrigation in the modern world than did in ancient Sumeria. About

40 percent of the world’s food now grows in irrigated soils, which make up 18 percent of global

cropland. Farmers who irrigate can typically get in two or three harvests every year and get higher

crop yields. As a result. the spread of irrigation has a key factor behind the great increase in global

grain production since 1950. Done correctly, irrigation will continue to play a leading role in feeding

the world, but as history shows, dependence on irrigated agriculture also brings about significant

risks.

Fortunately, a great deal of room exists for improving the productivity of water used in

agriculture. A first line of attack is to increase irrigation efficiency. At present, most farmers irrigate

their crops by flooding their fields or channeling the water down parallel furrows(犁沟), relying on

gravity move the water across the land. The plants absorb only a small fraction of the water; the

rest drains into rivers or evaporates. In many locations this water but also degrades the land through water logging and salinization. More efficient and

environmentally sound technologies exist that could reduce water demand on farms by up to 50