剑桥8真题阅读解析

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 1

You 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 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 bolt's

most inviting target. And there is damage to property too.

Lightning 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 with 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

to

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 power 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 voltages

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

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 wasn't supposed to go. '

And anyway, who would want to fire streams 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 themselves 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 generate 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 straight 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

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: it's 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 in the offing. He plans to test this more manageable system on live thunderclouds

next summer.

Bernstein says that Diels's 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 making the lasers yet smaller and cheaper. 'I cannot say I have money yet,

but

I'm

working

on

it,

'

says

Bernstein.

He

reckons

that

the

forthcoming

field

tests

will

be

the

turning

point

-

and

he's

hoping

for

good

news.

Bernstein

predicts

'an

avalanche

of

interest

and

support' if all goes well. He expects 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

forecasting

the

weather

but

controlling

it.

'If

we

could discharge clouds, we might affect the weather, ' he says.

And perhaps, says Diels, we'll 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 lightning 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 researchers could, for the first time, strike back.

Questions 1-3

Choose 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 lightning 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 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 techniques.

C

are employed by commercial companies.

D

are in opposition to each other.

Questions 4-6

Complete 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

of

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 7-10

Complete 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

method,

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 clouds

D

mirrors

E

technique

F

ions

G

rockets

H

conductors

I

thunder

Questions 11-13

Do 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 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 Diels's 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

< br>第

2

段：科研人员正在研究回击闪电的方法

第

< br>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< /p>

段：激光回击术的其他用途

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