选择性必修第四册　UNIT 12　INNOVATION(一).docxVIP

选择性必修第四册UNIT12INNOVATION(一)

Ⅰ.阅读理解

A(★)

(2022·全国乙，C)

Canasmallgroupofdrones(无人机)guaranteethesafetyandreliabilityofrailwaysand，atthesametime，helprailwayoperatorssavebillionsofeuroseachyear？Thatistheverylikelyfutureofapplyingtoday’s“eyesinthesky”technologytomakingsurethatthemillionsofkilometresofrailtracksandinfrastructure(基础设施)worldwidearesafefortrainsona24/7basis.

Dronesarealreadybeingusedtoexaminehigh-tensionelectricallines.Theycoulddopreciselythesamethingtoinspectrailwaylinesandothervitalaspectsofrailinfrastructuresuchasthecorrectpositionofrailwaytracksandswitchingpoints.Themoreregularlytheycanbeinspected，themorerailwaysafety，reliabilityandon-timeperformancewillbeimproved.Costswouldbecutandoperationswouldbemoreefficient(高效)acrosstheboard.

Thatincludeshugesavingsinmaintenancecostsandbetterprotectionofrailwaypersonnelsafety.ItiscalculatedthatEuropeanrailwaysalonespendapproximately20billioneurosayearonmaintenance，includingsendingmaintenancestaff，oftenatnight，toinspectandrepairtherailinfrastructure.Thatcanbedangerousworkthatcouldbeavoidedwithdronesassistingthecrews’efforts.

Byusingthelatesttechnologies，dronescouldalsostartprovidinghigher-valueservicesforrailways，detectingfaultsintherailorswitches，beforetheycancauseanysafetyproblems.Toperformthesetasks，dronesforraildon’tneedtobeflyingoverhead.Engineersarenowworkingonanewconcept：theraildronesofthefuture.Theywillbemovingonthetrackaheadofthetrain，andprogrammedtorunautonomously.VerysmalldroneswithadvancedsensorsandAIandtravellingaheadofthetraincouldguideitlikeaco-pilot.Withtheirabilitytoseeahead，theycouldsignalanyproblem，sothatfast-movingtrainswouldbeabletoreactintime.

1．Whatmakestheapplicationofdronestoraillinespossible?

A．Theuseofdrones