剑桥雅思 阅读理解解析含翻译.docx

1、剑桥雅思 阅读理解解析含翻译剑桥雅思8-第三套试题-阅读部分-PASSAGE 1-阅读真题原文部分:READING PASSAGE 1You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below. Striking Back at Lightning With Lasers Seldom is the weather more dramatic than when thunderstorms strike. Their electrical fury inflicts

2、 death or serious injury on around 500 people each year in the United States alone. As the clouds roll in, a leisurely round of golf can become a terrifying dice with death - out in the open, a lone golfer may be a lightning bolts most inviting target. And there is damage to property too. Lightning

3、damage costs American power companies more than $100 million a year. But researchers in the United States and Japan are planning to hit back. Already in laboratory trials they have tested strategies for neutralising the power of thunderstorms, and this winter they will brave real storms, equipped wi

4、th an armoury of lasers that they will be pointing towards the heavens to discharge thunderclouds before lightning can strike. The idea of forcing storm clouds to discharge their lightning on command is not new. In the early 1960s, researchers tried firing rockets trailing wires into thunderclouds t

5、o set up an easy discharge path for the huge electric charges that these clouds generate. The technique survives to this day at a test site in Florida run by the University of Florida, with support from the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI), based in California. EPRI, which is funded by pow

6、er companies, is looking at ways to protect the United States power grid from lightning strikes. We can cause the lightning to strike where we want it to using rockets, says Ralph Bernstein, manager of lightning projects at EPRI. The rocket site is providing precise measurements of lightning voltage

7、s and allowing engineers to check how electrical equipment bears up. Bad behaviour But while rockets are fine for research, they cannot provide the protection from lightning strikes that everyone is looking for. The rockets cost around $1, 200 each, can only be fired at a limited frequency and their

8、 failure rate is about 40 per cent. And even when they do trigger lightning, things still do not always go according to plan. Lightning is not perfectly well behaved, says Bernstein. Occasionally, it will take a branch and go someplace it wasnt supposed to go. And anyway, who would want to fire stre

9、ams of rockets in a populated area? What goes up must come down, points out Jean-Claude Diels of the University of New Mexico. Diels is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI, to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely - and safety is a basic requirement since no one wants to put themsel

10、ves or their expensive equipment at risk. With around $500, 000 invested so far, a promising system is just emerging from the laboratory. The idea began some 20 years ago, when high-powered lasers were revealing their ability to extract electrons out of atoms and create ions. If a laser could genera

11、te a line of ionisation in the air all the way up to a storm cloud, this conducting path could be used to guide lightning to Earth, before the electric field becomes strong enough to break down the air in an uncontrollable surge. To stop the laser itself being struck, it would not be pointed straigh

12、t at the clouds. Instead it would be directed at a mirror, and from there into the sky. The mirror would be protected by placing lightning conductors close by. Ideally, the cloud-zapper (gun)would be cheap enough to be installed around all key power installations, and portable enough to be taken to

13、international sporting events to beam up at brewing storm clouds. A stumbling block However, there is still a big stumbling block. The laser is no nifty portable: its a monster that takes up a whole room. Diels is trying to cut down the size and says that a laser around the size of a small table is

14、in the offing. He plans to test this more manageable system on live thunderclouds next summer. Bernstein says that Dielss system is attracting lots of interest from the power companies. But they have not yet come up with the $5 million that EPRI says will be needed to develop a commercial system, by

15、 making the lasers yet smaller and cheaper. I cannot say I have money yet, but Im working on it, says Bernstein. He reckons that the forthcoming field tests will be the turning point - and hes hoping for good news. Bernstein predicts an avalanche of interest and support if all goes well. He expects

16、to see cloud-zappers eventually costing 100, 000 each. Other scientists could also benefit. With a lightning switch at their fingertips, materials scientists could find out what happens when mighty currents meet matter. Diels also hopes to see the birth of interactive meteorology - not just forecast

17、ing the weather but controlling it. If we could discharge clouds, we might affect the weather, he says. And perhaps, says Diels, well be able to confront some other meteorological menaces. We think we could prevent hail by inducing lightning, he says. Thunder, the shock wave that comes from a lightn

18、ing flash, is thought to be the trigger for the torrential rain that is typical of storms. A laser thunder factory could shake the moisture out of clouds, perhaps preventing the formation of the giant hailstones that threaten crops. With luck, as the storm clouds gather this winter, laser-toting res

19、earchers could, for the first time, strike back. Questions 1-3Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet. 1 The main topic discussed in the text is A the damage caused to US golf courses and golf players by lightning strikes. B the effect of l

20、ightning on power supplies in the US and in Japan. C a variety of methods used in trying to control lightning strikes. D a laser technique used in trying to control lightning strikes. 2 According to the text, every year lightning A does considerable damage to buildings during thunderstorms. B kills

21、or injures mainly golfers in the United States. C kills or injures around 500 people throughout the world. D damages more than 100 American power companies. 3 Researchers at the University of Florida and at the University of New Mexico A receive funds from the same source. B are using the same techn

22、iques. C are employed by commercial companies. D are in opposition to each other. Questions 4-6Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 4-6 on your answer sheet. 4 EPRI receives financial support from. 5 The advantage o

23、f the technique being developed by Diels is that it can be used .6 The main difficulty associated with using the laser equipment is related to its. Questions 7-10Complete the summary using the list of words, A-I, below. Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet. In this metho

24、d, a laser is used to create a line of ionisation by removing electrons from 7 . This laser is then directed at 8 in order to control electrical charges, a method which is less dangerous than using 9 . As a protection for the lasers, the beams are aimed firstly at 10. A cloud-zappers B atoms C storm

25、 clouds D mirrors E technique F ions G rockets H conductors I thunder Questions 11-13Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet write YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts

26、the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 11 Power companies have given Diels enough money to develop his laser. 12 Obtaining money to improve the lasers will depend on tests in real storms. 13 Weather forecasters are intensely interested in Diel

27、ss system.READING PASSAGE 1 篇章结构 体裁 说明文 主题 用激光回击闪电 结构 第1段：闪电带来的危害第2段：科研人员正在研究回击闪电的方法第3段：先前的闪电回击术介绍第4段：火箭回击术的缺陷第5段：更安全的激光回击术第6段：激光回击术的技术原理第7段：激光回击术的缺陷第8段：通过实地实验改进激光回击术第9段：激光回击术对其他学科也有益处第10段：激光回击术的其他用途解题地图难度系数：解题顺序：按题目顺序解答即可友情提示：烤鸭们注意：本文中的SUMMARY题目顺序有改变，解题要小心；MULTIPLE CHOICE的第三题是个亮点，爱浮想联翩的烤鸭们可能会糊掉。必背词

28、汇1. inflict v. 造成The strikes inflicted serious damage on the economy. 罢工给经济造成了重大损失。2. inviting adj. 吸引人的The log fire looked warm and inviting. 篝火看上去温暖而诱人。3. property n. 财产；属性The hotel is not responsible for any loss or damage to guests personal property. 酒店不承担宾客的任何个人财产的丢失或损坏。a herb with healing prop

29、erties具有治疗效果的草药physical/chemical properties物理特性/化学特性4. fund v. 资助，投资The project is jointly funded by several local companies. 这个项目得到了当地几家公司的联合资助。government-funded research政府资助的研究5. back v. 支持，帮助The scheme has been backed by several major companies in the region. 这个项目得到了该地区几家大公司的支持。Some suspected tha

30、t the rebellion was backed and financed by the US. 有人怀疑这次叛乱是由美国主使并资助的。6. discharge v. 放电；排出Both forms are readily gasified by electrical discharge without leaving any tangible residue. 两种形态都易被放电气化而不剩任何可触察的残余。7. emerge v. 出现，浮现The sun emerged from behind the clouds. 太阳从云朵中探出头来。Eventually the truth em

31、erged. 真相最终浮出水面。8. reveal v. 展现，显示；揭示，泄露He may be prosecuted for revealing secrets about the security agency. 他可能会因为泄露国安局机密而遭检控。He revealed that he had been in prison twice before. 他透露说他曾经坐过两次牢。9. generate v. 使产生The program would generate a lot of new jobs. 这项计划会创造很多新职位。Tourism generates income for local communities. 旅游业给当地社区带来了收入。10. surge n. 涌流：猛增a surge of excitement一阵兴奋a surge of refugees into the country 涌入该国的难民潮a surge in food costs食品价格猛涨11. install