剑桥雅思7test4阅读passage1真题解析

剑桥雅思

7 Test4

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< br>Passage1

真题解析

剑桥雅思

7

，第四套试题，阅读部分< /p>

Passage 1

，阅读真题原文部分：

READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on

Reading Passage 1below.

Pulling stings to build pyramids

No one knows exactly how the pyramids were built. Marcus Chown reckons

the answer could be hanging in the air.

The pyramids of Egypt

were built more

than three thousand

years ago, and

no one knows how. The conventional picture is that tens of thousands of

slaves dragged stones on sledges. But there is no evidence to back this

up. Now a Californian software consultant called Maureen Clemmons has

suggested that kites might have been involved. While perusing a book on

the

monuments

of

Egypt,

she

noticed

a

hieroglyph

that

showed

a

row

of

men

standing in odd postures. They were holding what looked like ropes that

led, via some kind of mechanical system, to a giant bird in the sky. She

wondered if perhaps the bird was actually a giant kite, and the men were

using it to lift a heavy object.

Intrigued, Clemmons contacted Morteza Gharib, aeronautics professor at

the California Institute of Technology. He was fascinated by the idea.

Coming from Iran, I have a keen interest in Middle Eastern science, he

says.

He

too

was

puzzled

by

the

picture

that

had

sparked

Clemmonss

interest.

The object in the sky apparently had wings far too short and wide for a

bird. The possibility

certainly

existed that it

was a kite,

he says. And

since he needed a summer project for his student Emilio Graff,

investigating

the

possibility

of

using

kites

as

heavy

lifters

seemed

like

a good idea.

Gharib

and

Graff

set themselves

the

task

of

raising

a stone

column

from

horizontal

to

vertical,

using

no

source

of

energy

except

the

wind.

Their

initial calculations and scale-model wind-tunnel experiments convinced

them

they

wouldn’t

need

a

strong

wind

to

lift

the column.

Even

a

modest

force,

if

sustained

over

a

long

time,

would

do.

The

key

was

to

use

a

pulley

system that would magnify the applied force. So they rigged up a

tent-shaped

scaffold

directly

above

the

tip

of

the

horizontal

column,

with

pulleys suspended from the scaffolds apex. The idea was that as one end

of the column rose, the base would roll across the ground on a trolley.

Earlier this year, the team put Clemmonss unlikely theory to the test,

using

a

40-square-metre

rectangular

nylon

sail.

The

kite

lifted

the

column

clean

off

the

ground.

We

were

absolutely

stunned,

Gharib

says.

The

instant

the sail opened into the wind, a huge force was generated and the column

was raised to the vertical in a mere 40 seconds.

The

wind

was

blowing

at

a

gentle

16

to

20

kilometres

an

hour,

little

more

than

half

what

they

thought

would

be

needed.

What

they

had

failed

to

reckon

with

was

what

happened

when

the

kite

was

opened.

There

was

a

huge

initial

force- five times larger than the steady state force, Gharib says. This

jerk meant that kites could lift huge weights, Gharib realised. Even a

300-tonne

column

could

have

been

lifted

to

the

vertical

with

40

or

so

men

and

four

or

five

sails.

So

Clemmons

was

right:

the

pyramid

builders

could

have

used

kites

to

lift

massive

stones

into

place.

Whether

they

actually

did is another matter, Gharib says. There are no pictures showing the

construction of the pyramids, so there is no way to tell what really

happened. The evidence for

using

kites to

move large stones

is no better

or worse than the evidence for the brute force method, Gharib says.

Indeed, the experiments have left many specialists unconvinced. The

evidence for kite-lifting is non-existent, says Willeke Wendrich, an

associate professor of Egyptology at the University of California, Los

Angeles.

Others feel there is more of a case for the theory. Harnessing the wind

would

not

have

been

a

problem

for

accomplished

sailors

like

the

Egyptians.

And

they

are

known

to

have

used

wooden

pulleys,

which

could

have

been

made

strong

enough

to

bear

the

weight

of

massive

blocks

of

stone.

In

addition,

there

is

some

physical

evidence

that

the

ancient

Egyptians

were

interested

in flight. A wooden artefact found on the step pyramid at Saqqara looks

uncannily like a modern glider. Although it dates from several hundred

years

after

the

building

of

the

pyramids,

its

sophistication

suggests

that

the

Egyptians

might

have

been

developing

ideas

of

flight

for

a

long

time.

And other ancient civilisations certainly knew about kites; as early as

1250

BC,

the

Chinese

were

using

them

to

deliver

messages

and

dump

flaming

debris on their foes.

The

experiments

might

even

have

practical

uses

nowadays.

There

are

plenty

of

places

around

the

globe

where

people

have

no

access

to

heavy

machinery,

but

do

know

how

to

deal

with

wind,

sailing

and

basic

mechanical

principles.

Gharib has already been contacted by a civil engineer in Nicaragua, who

wants to put up buildings with adobe roofs supported by concrete arches

on

a

site

that

heavy

equipment

cant

reach.

His

idea

is

to

build

the

arches

horizontally,

then

lift

them

into

place

using

kites.

Weve

given

him

some

design hints, says Gharib. Were just waiting for him to report back. So

whether they were actually used to build the pyramids or not, it seems

that kites may make

sensible construction

tools

in the 21

st century AD.

Questions 1-7

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading

Passage 1?

In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

1 It is generally believed that large numbers of people were needed to

build the pyramids.

2

Clemmons

found

a

strange

hieroglyph

on

the

wall

of

an

Egyptian

monument.

3 Gharib had previously done experiments on bird flight.

4 Gharib and Graff tested their theory before applying it.

5 The success of the actual experiment was due to the high speed of the

wind.

6 They found that, as the kite flew higher, the wind force got stronger.

7 The team decided that it was possible to use kites to raise very heavy

stones.

Questions 8-13

Complete the summary below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer

Write your answers in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet.

Additional evidence for theory of kite- lifting

The

Egyptians

had

8

…………

which

could

lift

large

pieces

of

9

…………

,

and they knew how to use the energy of the wind from their skill as

10 ………… . The discovery on

one pyramid of an object which resembled

a 11 ………… suggests they may have experimented with 12 ………… . In

addition,

over

two

thousand

years

ago

kites

were

used

in

China

as

weapons,

as well as for sending 13 ………… .

READING PASSAGE 1

篇章结构

体裁

说明文

主题

线牵金字塔

结构

引

言：引出

Marcus Chown

的新观点。

第一段：介绍

Marcus

关于金字塔修建的新观点。

第二段：该观点引起另一位科学家

M orteza

的兴趣。

第三段：为验证该观点提出的实验假设。

第四段：实验获得成功。

第五段：对实验结果的分析。

第六段：对该观点存在不同的声音。

第七段：对于该观点的其他解释及依据。

第八段：该实验在现实中的应用。

必背词汇

引

言

pyramid n.

金字塔

reckon v.

料想

第一段

conventional adj.

通常的，常规的

hieroglyph n.

象形文字，图画文字

slave n.

奴隶

odd adj.

古怪的

drag vt.

拖，拉

posture n.

姿势

sledge n.

雪橇

via prep.

经由

back up

支持

mechanical adj.

机械的

software n.

软件

giant adj.

巨大的

consultant n.

顾问

wonder v.

好奇

peruse vt.

翻阅，浏览

object n.

物体

monument n.

历史遗迹，遗址

第二段

intrigue v.

激起……的兴趣

keen adj.

强烈的，浓厚的

contact v.

联系

puzzled adj.

困惑的

aeronautics n.

航空学

spark v.

激发

institute n.

学院

apparently adv.

显然

fascinate v.

强烈地吸引

investigate v.

调查，研究

第三段

column n.

柱，圆柱

sustain v.

维持

horizontal adj.

水平的

pulley n.

滑车，滑轮

vertical adj.

垂直的

magnify v.

放大

source n.

来源

rig v.

装配

initial adj.

最初的

tent-shaped adj.

帐篷形状的

calculation n.

计算

scaffold n.

支架

wind-tunnel adj.

风洞的

suspend v.

悬挂

convince v.

说服，使……相信

apex n.

顶点，最高点

tonne n.

吨

roll v. (

使

)

滚动

modest adj.

温和的，适度的

trolley n.

手推车

第四段

rectangular n.

矩形

instant n.

立即，瞬间

nylon n.

尼龙

generate v.

产生

absolutely adv.

绝对地，完全地

mere adj.

仅仅的

stun v.

使目瞪口呆

第五段

gentle adj.

温和的；徐缓的

massive adj.

巨大的

steady adj.

稳定的，不变的

actually adv.

实际上

state n.

状态

construction n.

建设，建造

jerk v.

急拉

brute adj.

无理性的

realise v.

意识到

第六段

specialist n.

专家

no-existent adj.

不存在的

unconvinced adj.

不信服的

associate professor

副教授

第七段

harness v.

利用

uncannily adv.

异常地

accomplished adj.

熟练的，有造诣的

glider n.

滑翔机

Egyptian n.

埃及人

sophistication n.

精密性，复杂性

wooden adj.

木制的

civilisation n.

文明

block n.

大块

dump v.

倾卸，倾倒

physical adj.

物质的

flaming adj.

燃烧的

ancient adj.

古代的，古老的

debris n.

碎片，残骸

artefact n.

人工制品

foe n.

敌人

第八段

practical adj.

实际的

concrete adj.

水泥的

access n. (

使用或见到的

)

机会，权利

arch n.

拱顶

civil engineer

土木工程师

hint n.

建议，指点

adobe n.

泥砖，土坯

sensible adj.

切合实际的

难句解析

1.

And

since

he

needed

a

summer

project

for

his

student

Emilio

Graff,

investigating

the

possibility

of

using

kites

as

heavy

lifters

seemed

like

a good idea.

参考译文：因为他刚好需要给学生

Emilio Graff< /p>

布置一项暑假研究计划，

调查用风筝做起重器的可能性是一个好主 意。

语言点：

(1) investigate: v. to try to find out the truth about or the cause

of something