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.
答案：B
答案句：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.
参考译文：无人机已经被用于检查高压电线。它们可以完全同样地用于检查铁路线路和铁路基础设施的其他重要方面，如铁轨和道岔的正确位置。
定位线索：题干“What makes the application of drones to rail lines possible”→答案句取自第2段“Drones are already being used to examine high-tension electrical lines”；文中“high-tension electrical lines”对应选项B“work at high altitudes”（高压电线通常在高空）。
解析：题干问无人机应用于铁路线路的可能性基础，答案句明确指出无人机已用于检查高压电线，且能做同样的事检查铁路，说明其在高空工作的能力已被验证，因此选项B正确。选项A“检查电线”是具体应用而非可能性基础，选项C、D在原文中无依据，属于无中生有。
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.
答案：C
答案句：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.
参考译文：这包括维护成本的大量节省和铁路人员安全的更好保护。据计算，仅欧洲铁路每年就花费约200亿欧元用于维护，包括派遣维护人员（通常在夜间）检查和修理铁路基础设施。
定位线索：题干“maintenance”→答案句取自第3段“maintenance costs”和“on maintenance”；文中“inspect and repair”对应选项C“Inspection and repair”。
解析：词义题需结合上下文，答案句中“including sending maintenance staff... to inspect and repair”直接解释了维护的具体内容，即检查和修理，因此选项C正确。选项A、B、D均与维护的实际含义不符，属于偷换概念。
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.
答案：A
答案句：With their ability to see ahead, they could signal any problem, so that fast-moving trains would be able to react in time.
参考译文：凭借它们向前看的能力，它们可以发出任何问题的信号，使高速行驶的列车能够及时做出反应。
定位线索：题干“What function is expected of the rail drones”→答案句取自第4段“With their ability to see ahead, they could signal any problem”；文中“signal any problem”对应选项A“provide early warning”（提供预警）。
解析：题干问铁路无人机的预期功能，答案句明确指出无人机能“signal any problem”，即提前发出问题信号，使列车及时反应，这正是早期预警功能，因此选项A正确。选项B“使列车自动运行”、C“为工作人员盈利”、D“加速运输”在原文中均未提及，属于无中生有。
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：D
答案句：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 t … 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.
参考译文：一小群无人机能否保证铁路的安全性和可靠性，同时帮助铁路运营商每年节省数十亿欧元？这很可能是将当今的“空中之眼”技术应用于确保全球数百万公里的铁轨和基础设施全天候安全运行的未来。… 无人机已经被用于检查高压电线。它们可以完全同样地用于检查铁路线路和铁路基础设施的其他重要方面。… 通过使用最新技术，无人机还可以开始为铁路提供更高价值的服务，在故障导致安全问题之前检测铁轨或道岔的故障。
定位线索：题干“most suitable title”→答案句取自首段“That is the very likely future of applying today's 'eyes in the sky' technology”、第2段“They could do precisely the same thing to inspect railway lines”、第4段“drones could also start providing higher-value services for railways”；文中“future of applying... technology to railways”对应选项D“How Drones Will Change the Future of Railways”。
解析：主旨题需概括全文，首段提出无人机应用于铁路的未来，第2段讲检查线路，第4段讲提供更高价值服务，全文围绕无人机如何改变铁路未来展开，因此选项D正确。选项A仅涉及故障检测，范围过窄；选项B、C分别讲无人机生产和开发困难，与文章内容无关，属于答非所问。