By 2050，the United Nations says，we're going to need 70 percent more food to feed the nine billion people living on Earth.Sara Menker says the problem may be even more urgent than the U.N.suggests.In 2017，she gave a TED talk in which she said a "tipping point，" beyond which global food markets become too overloaded to function effectively，could come in just a few years.
"We discovered tliat the world will be short 214 x1012 calories by 2027，she said.Or，in more familiar terms： "A single Big Mac has 563 calories.That means the world will be short 380 billion Big Macs in 2027.That is more Big Macs than McDonald's has ever produced."
Menker cannot change the world alone.But the firm she started，Gro Intelligence，is providing information that food companies，insurers，lenders and policymakers use to make food production more effective，and perhaps help protect against that tipping point.
Gro tracks 650 xl012 data points daily-from sources such as government and local food reports，satellite photos，long-term weather forecasts and greenhouse gas measurements-and creates computer models so that food companies，such as Unilever and Yum!Brands，can know how prices are likely to trend，calculate surpluses （過乘!））and shortages，and be more flexible when climate change makes food supplies harder to predict.
A type of artificial intelligence known as machine learning is key to dealing with the data because，as Allison Tepley of Gro's staff put it， "The best information is often local information，but it's often in local languages，in different forms and it all needs to be put together.55
Gro has sounded warnings on African swine fever in China （which cut pork production 30 percent in 2018）， locust infestation in East Africa in 2020 and global inflation （通貨膨脹） in food prices.
（1）What is the problem mentioned by Menker？ AA
A．Food shortage.
B．Overloaded markets.
C．Overpopulation.
D．Wrong prediction by the U.N.
（2）What does Menker mean by her words in paragraph 2？ AA
A．The problem is serious.
B．Her discovery is more accurate.
C．Big Macs contain too many calories.
D．McDonald's should increase productivity.
（3）What does Gro do to help food companies？ CC
A．Get resources.
B．Monitor greenhouse gases.
C．Analyse big data.
D．Assess surpluses and shortages.
（4）What might the underlined words "locust infestation" be in the last paragraph？ CC
A．A data-driven drug.
B．A language-based approach.
C．A food-related disaster.
D．A production-centered policy.
【答案】A；A；C；C
【解答】
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發(fā)布：2024/5/27 14:0:0組卷：2難度：0.5
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1．English Schools There's no substitute for taking an English course in a high quality language school in an English-speaking country.Esl-lounge Student has partnered with some of the best language schools in the UK.Choose a school from below.We can offer discounts on English courses!
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（1）What can we know about Burlington School？
A．It is open all year.
B．It is located in London.
C．It provides no accommodation.
D．It offers no social practice classes.
（2）Which school offers the biggest discounts？
A．Burlington School.
B．New School of English.
C．University of Liverpool.
D．Interactive English School.
（3）How is New School of English different from the others？
A．It sets a strict age limit.
B．Its accommodation is optional.
C．Its teachers are qualified and experienced.
D．It offers General and Specialist English courses.發(fā)布：2025/1/6 16:30:6組卷：0引用：1難度：0.6 -
2．Ever since I graduated from high school I've worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer.However，making the transformation between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier.For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be unacceptable，getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning is suffering.My friends never seem to understand why I'm so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.
There are few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world.People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge.In fact，all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant，which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.
The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear over night.Issues like being laid off and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico，where people would work for 60 cents an hour.
After working 12-hour shifts（輪班）in a factory，the other options have become only too clear. "This job pays well，but it's hell on the body，" said one co-worker. "Study hard and keep reading." she added.When I'm back at the university，skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school.All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale（陳腐的）now ring true.
My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.
（1）What does the author think of his summer holiday？
A．It was no holiday for him at all.
B．It brought him nothing but suffering.
C．It was a relief from his hard work at school.
D．It offered him a chance to make more friends.
（2）What can we infer about most college students？
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B．They are confident when they work.
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（3）What is the biggest pressure for blue-collar workers？
A．A low income.
B．The lack of security.
C．An unstable location.
D．Less break.
（4）How did the working experiences change the author？
A．He became responsible for his work.
B．He learned to be more practical at work.
C．He began to respect blue-collar workers.
D．He came to appreciate his college education.發(fā)布：2025/1/6 16:30:6組卷：0引用：1難度：0.5 -
3．The size of the British Isles often leads people to think that the languages spoken in its countries of England，Scotland，Wales and Northern Ireland are somewhat the same.At first，visitors are often surprised to find that they have difficulty in understanding the accents and dialects of certain regions.Even in England there are many different dialects.
Experts believe that for most English people，the places they come from are very important to them.Accents are clues to where people were born and where they grew up.Although some people may change the way they speak during their lifetime，most people carry at least some evidence of their accents and dialects throughout their lives.In addition to the regional accents of England，there can also be class differences among the accents.People are often able to make instant and unconscious judgments about a stranger's class by listening to his or her accent.Both the words and the pronunciation of an individual reflect his or her social position.
It is agreed that in England，the kind of English spoken by a person plays a leading role that generally is not important in North America.The importance of accents and their cultural and social relationships are well represented in films and on television in Britain.The film My Fair Lady based on George Bernard Shaw's 1912 play Pygmalion is often said to be a wonderful example of how social class and the accent were，and still are，linked in Britain.
（1）Most people carry some evidence of their accents and dialects in their lives to.
A．show they are different from others
B．show the places they are from
C．change the way they speak
D．show they don't like standard English
（2）Which statement is NOT TRUE according to the passage？
A．An Englishman's accent reflects his social position.
B．In Britain some films show us the importance of accents.
C．The English spoken by a person plays an important role in North America.
D．An Englishman's accent is a clue to where he was born and where he grew up.
（3）How do people in England know a person's class？
A．By speaking to him.
B．By guessing.
C．By showing something to him.
D．By judging from his appearance.
（4）What's the film My Fair Lady about？
A．It shows how a boy learned English.
B．It is a love story between two lovers with different accents.
C．It shows how social class and accent are linked in Britain.
D．It shows the relationship between people from different classes.發(fā)布：2025/1/6 16:30:6組卷：0引用：5難度：0.5
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