科技英語閱讀理解

目錄Contents

1"MaeJemison〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃"〃“，，，，”〃〃〃〃(2)

2.CanaComputerThink?”〃〃〃〃〃〃"〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃"〃〃〃〃(4)3.Black

HOIeS〃〃n〃nn??nnn〃〃〃ann〃〃〃〃〃〃，，〃〃，，//ititn{6)

4.EducationMayProtectagainstEffectsofShrinkingBrain”〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃(9)

5.Radioactivity，，(1\)6.UsesofUItrasound

u〃Haaaaa〃,,aaaHa〃aa〃aaaaa〃na(14)

7.ChallengesforaWebbedSociety”(16)

8.TheWorldofRobots〃〃〃，，〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃””“〃〃〃〃〃(19)

9.TheScientificExplorationofSpace,,????????????H?????(21)10.ImprovingIndustrial

EfficiencythroughRobotics”〃〃〃〃〃,,〃〃〃〃〃(24)

11.HeatLossfromtheHumanBody〃〃，,,,〃，，，，，，〃“〃〃，，“〃，，〃，，，，，，八26)12.EnergyandPublicSafety

iiiiiiniinitiiiiiiiiniiiiiiHiiuiiiiiiiiii(28)

13.EarthResourcesTechnologySatellites1,,(32)

14.CanStressMakeYouSick?(35)

15.CanItReallyHappen?〃〃〃〃〃,/〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃，/〃〃〃/,(37)

16.AnUltrasonicTorch〃〃…，〃…,〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃,,〃(40)17.Miracleofthe

Brain”〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃“〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃，，，，〃(42)

18.AllOverinaFlash〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃/,〃〃〃〃〃“〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃(45)

19.ControlEarthquakes,,?????????????????????????(48)20.SmokingandCancer

2LHowWellDoYouSee?〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃“，，，，〃〃〃(54)

22.AKillerIsBorn〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃，，，，〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃(56)

23.ItMayBeEasyToLiveLonger-JustStopEating〃〃〃(59)

24.StudyiT.RexNoSpeedster

25.ModernExamination〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃"〃〃〃〃〃(64)

26.ECOIOgyIIaIIaaIIIInriHitIIIIuitIIIIIIfiitnitIIn11nnn//////(68)

27.AppearancesCanBeImportant”〃〃〃〃…〃〃〃"〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃(70)

28.AnimalSenses〃〃〃，/“〃，，〃，，〃"〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃“，，，，，，〃〃〃(74)

29.TelecommunicationsSatelliteSpinsOutofControl^???????????(76)

30.BuildingBetterUltralightComputers

31.NASAOksSecondSpaceTourist????????〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃(81)

32.Drinkto-andfor-YourHealth〃〃〃〃…?????????????(84)

33.ThreeThingsThatWillChangeYourLife”(86)

34.Bye-byeCreditCards&HelloDigitalMoney”(88)

35.GenderDetector”〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃〃(90)

1.MaeJemison

Imagineyouarelyingonyourback,strappedintoachair,withyourkneesbentinfrontof

you.Youfeelyourheartbeatingwithexcitementasyouhearavoiceontheearphoneinsideyour

helmetcountingdownslowly/'Three,two,one/'Then,beneathyou,adeeprumblestartas

rocketfuelignitesinthehugeengines.You

①feelalurchasthedockingmechanismsletgo,andyourrocketbeginstorise.This

isthemomentMaeJemisonhasbeenwaitingandworkingforsince1987.Thefirst

African-Americanfemaleastronaut-in-trainingattheNationalAeronauticsandSpace

②

Administration(NASA),Jemisonisscheduledto"fly"inSeptember1992.Sheistoserveasa

specialistonSpacelab—J,ajointJapanese—Americanresearchproject.

MaeJemisonwasthirty-threewhenshewasselectedforNASA'sastronauttrainingprogram.

Astronautcandidatesmusthavesciencedegree.Theymustbefitandhealthywithnormalblood

pressureandgoodeyesight.Theymuststandbetweenfivefeetandsixfeetfourinchestall.They

mustcompleteaone-yeartrainingprogramthatincludeswater-survivallessonsandweightless

walksinahugeantigravitytank.Onthe1991mission,astronautJemisonsaysthather

//responsibilityaretobefamiliarwiththeshuttleandhowitoperates,todotheexperiments

onceyouget

③intoorbit,tohelplaunchthepayloadsor

satellites,andalsotodoextra-vehicularactivities,orspacewalks.n

HowdidMaeJemisongrowuptobecomesuchaspecialperson?Science—especially

astronomy—fascinatedherfromchildhood.

Shealsohadastrongdesiretohelpotherpeople.BorninAlabama,butraisedinChicago,

shestudiedchemicalengineeringandAfrican—AmericancultureandhistoryatStanford

University.Tohelpothers,shedecidedtobecomeadoctor.Whilestillamedicalstudent,she

wenttoCubaandKenyaonstudytrips,thenworkedin

④

arefugeecampinThailand.ShespentthreeyearsinWestAfricaasadoctorwiththePeace

Corps.WhenDr.JemisonfinallyreturnedtotheUnitedStates,shesettledinCaliforniatopractice

medicine.Anditwasthenthatshedecidedtoreachforthestars.

MaeJemison*sfirstapplicationtoNASAwasnotsuccessful.Then,in1986,the

⑤

Challengerspaceshuttleexploded,killingallaboard.NASAdidnottakeinanynewastronautsfor

aboutayear.Whenitfinallyreopeneditsapplicationprocess,MaeJemisonwasready,andso

wasNASA.Afterbeingselectedasaminorityastronaut,MaeJemisonreceivedagooddealof

attentionfromnewspaperandtelevision.Sheexplainedtoreportersthatthespaceprogramand

otherfieldsinhightechnologyofferpromisingcareersforAfrican-Americansandotherminorities

whostudyhard

⑥

andmakethemostoftheiropportunities.

1.Thefirstparagraphisabout.

A.howexcitedMaeJemisonwaswhenshebecameanastronautB.howMaeJemison

becameanastronaut

C.howthepeopleusuallyfeelwhentherockettheytakebeginstorise

D.whatMaeJemisondidaftershewasabletoflyarocket

2.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?

A.MaeJemisonhadastrongdesiretobecomefamous.

B.MaeJemisonwasbroughtupinAlabama.

C.MaeJemisonstudiedastronomyatStanfordUniversity.

D.MaeJemisonstudiedmedicine.

3.WhendidtheChallengerspaceshuttleexplode?A.BeforeMaeJemisonbecameadoctor.

B.ShortlyafterMaeJemisongraduatedfromStanfordUniversity.

C.AboutayearbeforeMaeJemisonwasselectedasanastronaut.

D.AboutayearafterMaeJemisonbecamefamousallovertheworld.

4.MaeJemisonbelievedthat.

A.menandwomenwerenotequal

B.womenwerebetterpaidthanmenwere

C.Americanblackswereunabletofindsatisfactoryjobsnomatterhowhardtheystudied

D.Americanblackswereabletofindsatisfactoryjobsiftheystudiedhardandmadegood

useoftheirchance

5.WhatistheattitudeofthewritertowardsMaeJemisonzsachievements?

A.Jealous

B.UpsetC.NegativeD.Positive

Notes:

①lurchv.:Torollorpitchsuddenlyorerratically.突然傾斜,突然地或者無規(guī)則地傾斜或墜落。

②theNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA)美國國家航空航天局。

③payloadn.:Thetotalweightoftheinstruments,crew,andlife-supportsystemsthata

spacecraftcarriesorcancarry.飛船有效負(fù)荷。

④refugeen.Onewhofleesinsearchofrefuge,asintimesofwar,politicaloppression,or

religiouspersecution.難民在戰(zhàn)爭、政治壓迫或宗教迫害的時(shí)候?yàn)閷で蟊茈y而逃出的人。

（5）theChallengerspaceshuttleexploded,killingallaboard,killingallaboard是現(xiàn)在分詞短語作

伴隨狀語。

⑥Sheexplainedtoreporters,,themostoftheiropportunities.句中that弓|導(dǎo)一

個(gè)賓語從句作explained的直接賓語。who引導(dǎo)一個(gè)定語從句先行詞是

African-Americans和minorities。

譯文女宇航員梅?杰美森

設(shè)想你正仰面躺在椅子里系著安全帶膝蓋蜷在身前。你感到自己的心臟因興奮而跳動(dòng)頭

盔里的耳機(jī)響起慢慢數(shù)著"三、二、一"的聲音接著在你下面當(dāng)巨型引擎里的火箭燃料點(diǎn)燃

一陣沉悶的隆隆聲響起。當(dāng)對(duì)接裝置放開時(shí)你突然感到傾斜然后你的火箭開始升空。

這就是梅?杰美森自從1987年就開始等待并為此而工作的一刻。在美國國家宇航局作為

首位女性非裔美國受訓(xùn)宇航員杰美森被安排在1992年9月飛行。她擔(dān)任一項(xiàng)日美聯(lián)合研究計(jì)

劃一J太空試驗(yàn)室的專家。

在被遴選參加美國宇航局的宇航員訓(xùn)練時(shí)她33歲。宇航參選人必須有理科學(xué)位。他們必須健

壯血壓正常視力良好身高在五英尺和六英尺四英寸之間。他們必須完成為期一年的訓(xùn)練項(xiàng)目

其中包括落水求生技巧課和在一個(gè)巨大的反引力容器中進(jìn)行失重行走。在1991年的任務(wù)中宇

航員杰美森說她的"責(zé)任是熟悉火箭及其運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)一旦進(jìn)入軌道就開始實(shí)驗(yàn)幫助發(fā)射火箭的有效

負(fù)重或者火箭也進(jìn)行一些艙外活動(dòng)或者太空行走。"梅?杰美森是怎樣成長為這樣一位特殊人

物的呢科學(xué)尤其是天文學(xué)自從少年時(shí)代就深深地吸引著她。

她還有一顆強(qiáng)烈的幫助他人的理想。出生在阿拉巴馬州但是在芝加哥長大她在斯坦福大學(xué)學(xué)

習(xí)了化學(xué)工程和非裔美國人文化和歷史。為了幫助他人她決定成為一名醫(yī)生。當(dāng)還是一位醫(yī)

科實(shí)習(xí)生時(shí)她就去過古巴和肯尼亞旅行實(shí)習(xí)然后在泰國的一個(gè)難民營工作。在西非她作為一

名醫(yī)生與和平隊(duì)度過了三年時(shí)光。杰美森醫(yī)生最后返回美國她定居在加利福尼亞作執(zhí)業(yè)醫(yī)師。

那時(shí)她決定要去星空。

梅?杰美森向美國宇航局的第一次申請(qǐng)沒有成功。然后在1986年挑戰(zhàn)者號(hào)航天飛機(jī)爆炸全部

成員遇難。大約有一年國家宇航局沒有招募新的宇航員。申請(qǐng)程序最終再次開放此時(shí)杰美森

準(zhǔn)備好了宇航局也是如此。被選為T立少數(shù)民族宇航員后杰美森受到報(bào)紙電視的廣泛關(guān)注。

她向記者解釋說太空項(xiàng)目和其他高科技領(lǐng)域?yàn)榉且崦绹撕推渌贁?shù)民族提供大有作為的工

作只要他們努力學(xué)習(xí)充分利用他們的機(jī)會(huì)。

Answers:1.C2.D3.C4.D5.D

2.CanaComputerThink?

Canacomputerthink?Thatdependsonwhatyoumeanby“think”.Ifsolvinga

mathematicalproblemisnthinking"',thenacomputercan“think”anddosomuchfaster

thanaman.Ofcourse,mostmathematicalproblemscanbesolvedquitemechanicallyby

repeatingcertainstraightforwardprocessoverandoveragain.Eventhesimplecomputersof

todaycandothat.

Itisfrequentlysaidthatcomputerssolveproblemsonlybecausetheyare"programmed"todo

so.Theycanonlydowhatmenhavethemdo.Onemustrememberthathumanbeingsalsocan

onlydowhattheyare“programmed"todo.Ourgene'

①s"program"ustheinstantthe

fertilizedovumisformed,andourpotentialitiesarelimitedbythat“program".

Our“program"issomuchmoreenormouslycomplex,though,thatwemightliketo

define“thinking"intermsofthecreativitythatgoesintowritingagreat

②

symphony,inconceivingabrilliantscientifictheoryoraprofoundethicaljudgment.Inthat

sense,computerscertainlycan,tthinkandneithercanmosthumans.

Surely,though,ifacomputercanbemadecomplexenough,itcanbeascreativeaswe.Ifit

couldbemadeascomplexasahumanbrain,itcouldbetheequivalentofahumanbrainanddo

whateverahumanbraincando.

Tosupposeanythingelseistosupposethatthereismoretothehumanbrain

③thanthematterthatcomposesit.Thebrainismade

upofcellsinacertainarrangement.Ifanythingelseisthere,nosignsofithaveeverbeen

detected.To

④duplicatethematerialcomplexityofthebrainis

thereforetoduplicateeverythingaboutit.

Buthowlongwillittaketobuildacomputercomplexenoughtoduplicatethehumanbrain?

Perhapsnotaslongassomethink.Longbeforeweapproachacomputerascomplexasourbrain,

wewillperhapsbuildacomputerthatisatleastcomplexenoughtodesignanothercomputer

morecomplexthanitself.Thismorecomplexcomputercoulddesignonestillmorecomplexand

soonandsoonandsoon.

Inotherwords,oncewepassacertaincriticalpoint,thecomputerstakeover

⑤andthereisa"/complexityexplosion”.Inavery

shorttimethereafter,computersmayexistthatnotonlyduplicatethehumanbrainbutfar

surpassit.

1.Inwhatsensedoesthewriterthinkthathumansareprogrammed?

A.Theircharacteristics,powers,etc.arefixedbeforebirth.

B.Hethinksaman*sabilitiesarenotlimited,asacomputer'sare.

C.Inthesensethathumanswillalwaysbesuperiortocomputers.

D.Computersmustbeoperatedbymen,butmancanoperatebyhimself.

2.Thewritermentionstwokindsof“thinking”.Theyare.

A.mathematicalthinkingandlanguagethinking

B.mechanicalthinkingandcreativethinking

C.writingthinkingandcomposingthinking

D.noneoftheabove

3.Inwhatsenseistheaveragehumanbeingunableto'think'?A.Itisnottrue.Allhumans

can'think'inallsense.

B.It'sonlyaquestionofspeed.Weareunabletothinkfast.

C.Mostpeopledon'thavegreatcreativeability.

D.Theaveragehumanbeinghasfaultsinhisorherprogram,andthat'swhyheorshe

can*tthink.

4.Whatisthe"criticalpoint'mentionedinthelastparagraph?

A.Thepointatwhichacomputerisanexactcopyofahumanbrain.

B.Whenacomputercanbemadeascreativeasweare.

C.Whenonecomputerisitselfcleverenoughtodesignabetterone.

D.Whenthecomputersdestroyeachotherinanexplosion.

5.Theword/explosion*mentionedinthelastparagraphmeans.A.greatdamage

B.aterrificnoise

C.giantleapsforward

D.excitement

Notes:

①thefertilizedovum受精卵。

②Our"program"is?writingagreatsymphony,so“that〃引導(dǎo)結(jié)果狀語從句。Intermsof

以〃的觀點(diǎn)就〃而說，按照。Thatgoesintowriting〃是修飾creativity的定語從句。

③Tosupposeanything?thatcomposesit.第一個(gè)引導(dǎo)賓語從句第二個(gè)引導(dǎo)定語從句。

④duplicatev.:Tomakeanexactcopyof;Tomaketwofold;double.使重復(fù)復(fù)制

(5)thereafteradv.:Fromaspecifiedtimeonward;fromthenon.此后從某一特定時(shí)間開始從那

時(shí)起。

譯文計(jì)算機(jī)會(huì)思考嗎

計(jì)算機(jī)會(huì)思考嗎那取決于你所說的〃思考〃的含義如果解決一個(gè)數(shù)學(xué)難題是〃思考〃的

話那么計(jì)算機(jī)就會(huì)〃思考〃并且做的遠(yuǎn)比人快得多。當(dāng)然絕大多數(shù)數(shù)學(xué)難題可以通過機(jī)械地

重復(fù)特定的程序直接解出。即使是最簡單的電腦今天也可以做到。

經(jīng)常有人說計(jì)算機(jī)解決難題僅僅是因?yàn)樗麄兪窃O(shè)計(jì)好了〃程序〃才那樣作它們只能作人類讓

它們作的。人們也必須記住人類也是只能作〃程序〃設(shè)計(jì)好了的事情。我們的基因在受精卵

形成那一霎那就為我們?cè)O(shè)定好了"程序〃我們的潛力受那個(gè)〃程序〃的限制。我們的〃程序〃

如此復(fù)雜以至于我們常按照創(chuàng)作一部偉大的戲劇或者編寫一部壯麗的交響樂或者是構(gòu)思一個(gè)

高深的科學(xué)原理或者一個(gè)深?yuàn)W的倫理判斷的創(chuàng)造性來定義〃思考〃在那個(gè)意義上計(jì)算機(jī)當(dāng)然

不能思考但是絕大部分人類也不能。如果一個(gè)計(jì)算機(jī)被設(shè)計(jì)的足夠復(fù)雜它也能夠像我們一樣

有創(chuàng)造性。如果它能被制造的像人腦一樣復(fù)雜它就能等同于人類并能作任何人腦可以作的。

思考其他事情是思考那些不止是構(gòu)成大腦物質(zhì)的事情。大腦是由特定的細(xì)胞組成而細(xì)胞是由

特殊排列的原子和分子組成。還沒有任何跡象表明還有別的什么在大腦里。復(fù)制物質(zhì)大腦的

復(fù)雜性就是復(fù)制有關(guān)它的一切。

但是要花多長時(shí)間才能制造一臺(tái)復(fù)雜的足夠來復(fù)制人腦的計(jì)算機(jī)呢也許不像有些人想的那么

長。

在我們接近制造一臺(tái)象人腦一樣復(fù)雜的電腦之前很長的一段時(shí)間里我們也許可以建造一臺(tái)

復(fù)雜的電腦足夠來設(shè)計(jì)一臺(tái)更加復(fù)雜的電腦依此類推下去。換句話說一旦我們跨越了某一

個(gè)臨界點(diǎn)電腦就接替人類出現(xiàn)一個(gè)“復(fù)雜性大爆炸”

然后電腦就不僅僅因復(fù)制人類大腦而存在而要遠(yuǎn)超于此。

Answers:1.A2.B3.C4.C5.C

3.BlackHoles

Whatisablackhole?Astronomersandscientiststhinkthatablackholeisaregionofspace

(notathing)intowhichmatterhasfallenandfromwhichnothing

①canescape-notevenlight.Sowecan'tseeablackhole.Ablack

holeexertsastronggravitationalpullandyetithasnomatter.Itisonlyspace-orsowethink.

Howcanthishappen?

Thetheoryisthatsomestarsexplodewhentheirdensityincreasestoa

②③particularpoint;they'collapse'andsometimesasupernova

occurs.FromEarth,asupernovalookslikeaverybrightstarinthesky,whichshineseveninthe

daytime.Supernovaewerereportedbyastronomersintheseventeenthandeighteenthcenturies.

④

SomepeoplethinkthattheStarofBethlehemcouldhavebeenasupernova.Thecollapseofa

starmayproducea'WhiteDwarf'ora'neutronstar*-astarwhosematterissodensethatit

continuallyshrinksbytheforceofitsowngravity.Butifthestarisverylarge(muchbiggerthan

oursun)thisprocessofshrinkingmaybesointensethatablackholeresults.Imaginetheearth

reducedtothesizeofamarble,butstillhavingthesamemassandastrongergravitationalpull,

andyouhavesomeideaoftheforceofablackhole.Anymatterneartheblackholeissuckedin.

Itisimpossibletosaywhathappensinsideablackhole.Scientistshavecalledtheboundaryarea

aroundtheholethe*eventhorizon'.Weknownothingabouteventsthathappenonceobjects

passthisboundary.Butintheory,mattermustbehaveverydifferentlyinsidethehole.

Forexample,ifamanfellintoablackhole,hewouldthinkthathereached

⑤the

centerofitveryquickly.However;anonlookeratthe'eventhorizon'wouldthinkthattheman

neverreachedthecenteratall.Ourspaceandtimelawsdon'tseemtoapplytoobjectsinthe

areaofablackhole.Einstein'srelativitytheoryistheonlyonethatcanexplainsuchphenomena.

Einsteinclaimedthatmatterandenergyareinterchangeable,sothatthereisno'absolute'time

andspace-theyarerelative.Wedonotyetfullyunderstandtheimplicationsofrelativitytheory;

butitisinterestingthatEinstein'stheoryprovidedabasisfortheideaofblackholesbefore

astronomersstartedtofindsomeevidencefortheirexistence.

Thestoryofblackholesisjustbeginning.Speculationsaboutthemareendless.Theremight

beamassiveblackholeatthecenterofourgalaxyswallowingupstarsataveryrapidrate.

Mankindmayonedaymeetthisfate.Ontheotherhand,

⑥scie

ntistshavesuggestedthatveryadvancedtechnologycouldonedayharnesstheenergyofblack

holesforman'suseonearth.Butthetheoryofblackholesinspaceisacceptedbymanyserious

scientistsandastronomers.Theyshowusaworldwhichoperatesinatotallydifferentwayfrom

ourownandtheyquestionourmostbasicexperienceofspaceandtime.

1.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrueaccordingtothepassage?A.Astronomersand

scientistsknowblackholeswell.

B.Ablackholehasmatter;soithasstronggravitationalpull.

C.Ablackholeisregardedasaregionofspace.

D.Nothingcanescapefromablackholeexceptlight.

2.AllofthefollowingstatementsaboutthesupernovaareNOTtrueexceptthat.

A.asupernovaneverlooksbrightinthedaytimeB.supernova

werenotreporteduntilrecentyears

C.thematterofasupernovaisverydenseD.a

supernovacomesintobeingnaturally

3.Whatistherelativitytheory?

A.Thematterandenergyareinterferedwitheachother.

B.Thereisabsolutelynotimeandspace.

C.Theobserver'spositiondecidesthelawsoftimeandspace.

D.Therearenoconstantsatall.

4.Howisablackholeformedaccordingtothetheory?

A.Thematterofastarissodensethatthecollapsetakesplaceandablackholeresults.

B.Theexplosionofastarincreasesthedensityofthemattersothatthecollapseandshrinking

occurandacenterofintensegravityisformed.

C.Somestarsexplodesoviolentlythattheycollapseandthenproduceasupernovathatisthe

resultofablackhole.

D.Theoccurrenceofsupernovaecausestheformationofa"WhiteDwarf"whichresultsina

holeofpowerfulstrength.

5.Fromthepassage,weknowthat.

A.astronomersandscientistshaveprovedwhatablackholeis

B.ablackholemustbehavedifferently

C.wecanhaveanapplicationofspaceandtimelawsintheareaofablackhole

D.ablackholeisstillinspeculation

Notes:

①Whatisablackhole,,notevenlight.句中的兩個(gè)which都是引導(dǎo)定語從句它們的先行詞都

是region都在各自的從句中作介詞賓語。

②Thetheoryis,,toaparticularpoint.此句含有—that引導(dǎo)的表語從句when引導(dǎo)的時(shí)間

狀語從句。

③supernovan.:Ararecelestialphenomenoninvolvingtheexplosionofmostofthematerialin

astar,resultinginanextremelybright,short-livedobjectthatemitsvastamountsofenergy.

超新星

④theStarofBethlehemAtownintheWestBanksouthofJerusalemItisthebirthplaceof

Jesus.伯利恒，耶路撒冷南面西岸地區(qū)一城鎮(zhèn),為基督耶穌誕生地。他出生時(shí)天空中有一顆

亮星。

⑤eventhorizon視界

⑥harnessv.:Tobringundercontrolanddirecttheforceof.統(tǒng)治管理支配控制住和指揮”的力

量。

譯文黑洞之謎

什么是黑洞天文學(xué)家和科學(xué)家認(rèn)為黑洞是一片空間不是物質(zhì)物質(zhì)墜落其中任何物質(zhì)甚至光都

不能從其中逃逸出來。所以我們看不到黑洞。黑洞發(fā)揮著一種強(qiáng)大的吸引力但是它不含有任

何物質(zhì)。它只是真空——我們認(rèn)為大概就是如此。怎么會(huì)發(fā)生這樣的事呢原理就是當(dāng)某些星

體的密度增長到一個(gè)特定的點(diǎn)它就會(huì)爆炸他們"坍塌"有時(shí)一顆"超新星"就誕生了。從地

球上看一顆超新星就像天空中一個(gè)非常明亮的星星即使在白天也閃爍。在十七和十八世紀(jì)天

文學(xué)家們都曾報(bào)道過超新星。有些人認(rèn)為那顆伯利恒之星可能就是一顆超新星。一個(gè)星體的

坍塌可能產(chǎn)生白矮星或者一個(gè)中子星。它們自身物質(zhì)密度如此大以至于在它自身的重力下繼

續(xù)收縮。但是如果這顆星非常大遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)大于我們的太陽這種收縮過程如此強(qiáng)烈結(jié)果就產(chǎn)生了一

個(gè)黑洞。設(shè)想地球縮小到一個(gè)彈球大小但是仍然有相同的質(zhì)量并更大的萬有引力那么你就對(duì)

一個(gè)黑洞的強(qiáng)力就有印象了。任何在黑洞附近的物質(zhì)都被吞沒。說出在黑洞內(nèi)部發(fā)生著什么

是不可能的?？茖W(xué)家已經(jīng)把黑洞的臨界區(qū)域命名為"視界"。我們不知道一旦物體穿越這一

臨界線會(huì)發(fā)生什么。但是理論上在黑洞里物質(zhì)一定表現(xiàn)地很異常。例如如果一個(gè)人掉入了黑

洞中他認(rèn)為會(huì)很快地到達(dá)黑洞的中心。然而一個(gè)旁觀者會(huì)認(rèn)為這個(gè)人將永遠(yuǎn)到不了中心。

我們空間和時(shí)間的規(guī)律似乎對(duì)于黑洞地帶并不適用。愛因斯坦的相對(duì)論是唯一可以解釋這一

現(xiàn)象的理論。愛因斯坦稱物質(zhì)和能量是可以互相轉(zhuǎn)換的所以不存在“絕對(duì)的"時(shí)間和空間一

一它們是相對(duì)的。我們還不完全理解相對(duì)論的內(nèi)涵但是有趣的是在天文學(xué)家開始發(fā)現(xiàn)它們存

在的證據(jù)之前愛因斯坦的理論就為黑洞的猜想提供了基礎(chǔ)。

關(guān)于黑洞的故事才剛剛開始。關(guān)于它們的推測是無盡的。在我們的銀河系中可能存在著一個(gè)

龐大的黑洞正在以相當(dāng)高的速率吞噬著星體。人類可能有一天也面對(duì)這樣的命運(yùn)。另一方面

科學(xué)家已經(jīng)猜測非常發(fā)達(dá)的技術(shù)有一天將使黑洞的能量為地球上的人類所用。但是黑洞的原

理正在被許多嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)目茖W(xué)家和天文學(xué)家所接受。他們展示給我們一個(gè)與我們的世界運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)方式

截然不同的世界并且質(zhì)疑我們最基本的時(shí)間和空間的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

Answers:!.C2.C3.D4.B5.D

4.EducationMayProtectagainstEffectsofShrinkingBrain

Researchersinvestigatingbrainsizeandmentalabilitysaytheirworkoffersevidencethat

educationprotectsthemindfromthebrain'sphysicaldeterioration

??

Itisknownthatthebrainshrinksasthebodyages,buttheeffectsonmentalabilityare

differentfrompersontoperson.Interestingly,inastudyofelderlymenandwomen,thosewho

hadmoreeducationactuallyhadmorebrainshrinkage.

“Thatmayseemlikebadnews/'saidstudyauthorDr.EdwardCoffey,aprofessor

??ofpsychiatryandofneurologyatHenry

FordHealthSysteminDetroit.However,he

explained,thefindingsuggeststhateducation

allowspeopletowithstandmorebrain-tissueloss

beforetheirmentalfunctioningbeginstobreak

down.

Thestudy,publishedintheJulyissueofNeurology,isthefirsttoprovide

④biologicalevidence

tosupportaconceptcalledthe“reverse“hypothesis,accordingtotheresearchers.Inrecent

years,investigatorshavedevelopedtheideathatpeoplewhoaremoreeducatedhavegreater

cognitivereservestodrawuponasthebrainages;inessence,theyhavemorebraintissueto

spare.

Examiningbrainscansof320healthymenandwomenages66to90,researchersfoundthat

foreachyearofeducationthesubjectshad,therewasgreatershrinkage

⑤ofouterlayerof

thebrainknownasthecortex.Yetontestofcognitionandmemory,allparticipantsscoredinthe

rangeindicatingnormal.

Everyonehassomedegreeofbrainshrinkage,〃Coffeysaid."Peoplelose(onaverage)

2.5percentperdecadestartinginadulthood.

Thereis,however,anremarkablerange"ofshrinkageamongpeoplewhoshownosignsof

mentaldecline,Coffeynoted.Overallhealth,hesaid,accountsforsomedifferencesinbrainsize.

Alcoholordruguse,aswellasmedicalconditionssuchasdiabetesandhighbloodpressure,

contributetobrain-tissuelossthroughoutadulthood.

Intheabsenceofsuchmedicalconditions,Coffeysaid,educationlevelhelpsexplainthe

rangeofbrainshrinkageexhibitedamongthementally-fitelderly.Themore-educatedcan

withstandgreaterloss.

⑥

Coffeyandcolleaguesgaugedshrinkageofthecortexbymeasuringthe

?cerebrospinalfluidsurroundingthebrain,thegreatertheamountoffluid,the

greaterthecorticalshrinkage.

1.Whatwillnothappenifpeoplereceivemoreeducation?

A.Theirfluidinbrainismorethantheonewhohaslesseducation.

B.Theywilldieearlierthanpeoplewhoreceivelesseducation.

C.Thegreaterthecorticalshrinkagetheywillhave.

D.Theycanwithstandgreaterlossofcortex.

2.Whatistrueaboutthebrainofmoreeducatedpeople?

A.Theyhavegreatercognitivereservestodrawuponastheirbrainages.

B.Theirbrainhaslesstissuetosparebecauseofmuchshrinkage.

C.Theircognitionandmemoryarelessnormalbecauseofmoreshrinkage.

D.Becauseofmoreeducation,theirbraincortexwouldshrinkslowly.

3.Whatinfluencesourbrainaccordingtothearticle?

a.educationb.diabetesc.alcohold.X-rayse.cerebrospinalfluidA.adeB.abdC.cdeD.

abc

4.Whatshouldwedoafterreadingthisarticle?

A.Toreceivelesseducationsothatourbraincortexwillshrinkless.

B.Tocheckhowmuchshrinkageofourbraininthehospital.

C.Toreceiveevenmoreeducation.

D.Totakecertainmedicinetopreventourbrainfromshrinking.

5.Whowillsurelyhavecorticalshrinkage?A.Onlyagedpeople.

B.Studentsorpeoplewhoworkwiththeirintelligence.

C.Unhealthypeople.

D.Alladults.

Notes:

①Researchersinvestigating,,physicaldeterioration.句中investigatingbrainsizeand〃是現(xiàn)在分

詞短語作后置定語。that引導(dǎo)的是同位語從句與evidence同作offers的賓語。

(2)psychiatryn.Thebranchofmedicinethatdealswiththediagnosis,treatment,andprevention

ofmentalandemotionaldisorders.精神病學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)的一支專門從事精神和情感疾病的診斷、

治療和預(yù)防。

③neurologyn.:Themedicalsciencethatdealswiththenervoussystemanddisordersaffecting

it.神經(jīng)病學(xué)，研究神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)和影響其紊亂的醫(yī)學(xué)。

(4)hypothesisn.:Somethingtakentobetrueforthepurposeofargumentorinvestigation;an

assumption.假設(shè);為了爭論或調(diào)查而被認(rèn)為是真實(shí)的事物一個(gè)假想

(5)cortexn.:Theouterlayerofgraymatterthatcoversthesurfaceofthecerebralhemisphere.

皮質(zhì)，大腦表層覆蓋的灰質(zhì)外層.

⑥gaugev.:Tomeasureprecisely.精確地測量。

(7)cerebrospinaladj.:Oforrelatingtothebrainandspinalcord.腦脊髓的,屬于或關(guān)于腦和脊

髓的。

譯文接受教育和大腦萎縮

調(diào)查大腦體積和智力的人員稱他們研究提供的證據(jù)表明接受教育能保護(hù)智力免受

大腦自然衰退的影響。

大腦隨著年齡的增長而萎縮是眾所周知的事實(shí)但是這對(duì)智力的影響因人而異。有趣

的是一項(xiàng)有關(guān)老人的研究表明實(shí)際上接受過較多教育的人大腦萎縮得較多。

研究報(bào)告的作者底特律的亨利?福特健康中心的精神病學(xué)和神經(jīng)學(xué)教授愛德華?科菲醫(yī)生說

"這個(gè)消息似乎使人感到不愉快。"然而他解釋說這項(xiàng)研究成果表明接受過教育的人在大腦

功能開始崩潰之前更能經(jīng)受住大腦組織的喪失。

據(jù)研究人員說這份發(fā)表在7月份的《神經(jīng)病學(xué)》雜志上的研究報(bào)告第一次提供了生物學(xué)

上的證據(jù)來支持“后備"假說。近年來調(diào)查人員確立了這種假說即接受過較多教育的人在大

腦衰老時(shí)擁有更大的認(rèn)識(shí)上的儲(chǔ)備可以利用實(shí)際上這部分人的大腦中有更多的腦組織處于閑

置狀態(tài)。

研究人員對(duì)320名年齡在66歲到90歲的身體健康的男子和女子的腦部掃描X光片研究

后發(fā)現(xiàn)受試者的受教育經(jīng)歷每多一年其大腦外層叫做腦皮層的部位就多一份萎縮。然而所有

受試者的認(rèn)知能力和記憶能力的測試分?jǐn)?shù)均在正常范圍以內(nèi)。

科菲說"每個(gè)人都有某種程度的大腦萎縮。人成年后每十年平均萎縮2.5。"然而科菲

指出在沒有智力衰退跡象的人中有"很明顯的"大腦萎縮現(xiàn)象。他說整體的健康水平說明大

腦體積存在著某些差別。嗜酒或吸毒以及象糖尿病和高血壓之類的疾病都影響到整個(gè)成年期

大腦組織的喪失。

科菲稱排除掉這類疾病方面的因素教育水平的高低有助于解釋在智力健康的老年

人中出現(xiàn)大腦萎縮的程度。接受過較多教育的人能承受較多的腦組織萎縮。

科菲和同事們通過測量大腦周圍腦脊液的體積而測算出腦皮層萎縮的程度。腦脊液越

多腦皮層萎縮得越多。

Answers:1.B2.A3.D4.C5.D

5.Radioactivity

①Whatis

radioactivity?

Radioactivityconsistsofraysdifferingfromthoseoflightinbeinginvisible,andabletopass

notonlythroughglassbutalsothroughthinmetaldiscsandlayersofcelltissueinhumanand

animalbodies.Raysofthiskindwerefirstdiscoveredin1895bythephysicist,WilhelmRoentgen

ofMunich,andnamedafterhim.

In1896theFrenchphysicistHenryBecquereldemonstratedthatraysofthiskind

②occurinnature.

Theyareemittedfromuranium,anelementknownsince1786.

③

In1898PierreCurieandhiswifediscoveredinthemineralpitchblende,whichisauranium

ore,thestronglyradioactiveelementradium.

Thejoythatsuchrayswereatthedisposalofhumanitywasatfirstunmixed.Fortherays

appearedtodestroythefast-growingcellsofterriblegrowthsinbody.Butafteratimeitwas

foundthatthedestructionofthesecellsdoesnotalwaysmeanacure,andthatthenormalcells

of