题型:阅读理解 题类:模拟题 难易度:普通
河北省秦皇岛市2021届高三英语第二次模拟考试卷
Every four or five years, vast quantities of warm water build up along the west coast of South America. This phenomenon, El Nino, creates storms that cause destructive floods. The result is costly.
Modern farmers come to terms with El Nino. They use money saved in good years to rebuild in bad ones. But history suggests it need not be like that. In a paper published recently, Ari Caramanica, an archaeologist at University of the Pacific, in Lima, shows how it used to be done. And the answer seems to be, "better".
Dr Caramanica and her colleagues have been studying the Pampa de Mocan, a coastal desert plain in northern Peru. Pampa de Mocan is not suitable for farming. Its soil contains little organic matter and the annual rainfall in non-Nino years is usually less than two centimeters. Today's farmers therefore depend on canals to carry water from local rivers to their fields.
It had been assumed that ancient farmers had a similar arrangement — and so they did. But Dr Caramanica also found eight canals that could carry water far beyond the range of modern farms. She thinks that they were intended to guide the floodwaters arriving during Nino years. Around a quarter of the ancient agricultural infrastructure of this area seems to have been built only for managing Nino-generated floodwaters.
Evidence from pollen supports this theory, revealing that Pampa de Mocan produced lots of crops in some years, while remaining nearly barren in others. The team also uncovered two cisterns in the area serviced by the extended canals. These, probably, were used to store extra flood-water.
These findings suggest that, rather than resisting El Nino, early farmers in Pampa de Mocan were ready to make use of it when it arrived. Modern farmers might do well to learn from them.
Mill 180 Park is truly a park for the 2lst century, designed to copy all of the great urban parks -Central Park in New York City, Hyde Park in London and Ueno Park in Tokyo. Through the use of computerized sound and some other modern systems, we've brought the outside in, surrounding our visitors with green space and a remarkable sense of the natural world.
We spent a lot of time trying to learn why these parks are so beloved, what makes them work so well for their sponsors, and how they provide a place of rest for so many.
A wake up call for the senses |
These parks are beautiful. They provide much needed relief from the daily stress of city living in any particular moment. But with the good, every one of these parks suffer from the same shortcoming-they are not fit to live when the weather is bad. What this means is that our parks are only really available to us some of the time. |
Change in the air |
Enjoying Mill 180 Park is not weather dependent. We used modern building techniques and technology to create a park that can be enjoyed in every season, during every type of weather. |
Our focus |
While imagining the possibilities for Mill 180 Park, we focused our design process on five characteristics that were common in all of our favorite urban parks: BEAUTY: Including natural and man-made qualities, delighting the senses of visitors. GREENERY: Bringing nature to the city, with a variety of plants and green spaces. MINGLING: Providing a place for people who wouldn't normally come into contact to meet and share experiences. TRANQUILITY: Offering a place away from the noise, waste, and excitement of city life. PROGRAMMING: Serving as a site for artistic, cultural, and amusement events that bring the community together. When you visit, you'll be aware on an intellectual level that you are not in an expansive outdoor space, but your senses will tell you otherwise. |
Opening time and price |
All months of the year. Admission is free from Jan .I to Nov.30. |
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