[外语类试卷]雅思（阅读）模拟试卷38及答案与解析.doc

1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 38及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 0 A disaster of Titanic proportions At 11.39 p.m. on the evening of Sunday 14 April 1912, lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee on the forward mast of the Titanic sighted an eerie, black mass coming into view directly in front of the ship. Fleet

2、 picked up the phone to the helm, waited for Sixth Officer Moody to answer, and yelled “Iceberg, right ahead! ” The greatest disaster in maritime history was about to be set in motion. Thirty-seven seconds later, despite the efforts of officers in the bridge and engine room to steer around the icebe

3、rg, the Titanic struck a piece of submerged ice, bursting rivets in the ships hull and flooding the first five watertight compartments. The ships designer, Thomas Andrews, carried out a visual inspection of the ships damage and informed Captain Smith at midnight that the ship would sink in less than

4、 two hours. By 12.30 a.m., the lifeboats were being filled with women and children, after Smith had given the command for them to be uncovered and swung out 15 minutes earlier. The first lifeboat was successfully lowered 15 minutes later, with only 28 of its 65 seats occupied. By 1.15 a.m., the wate

5、rline was beginning to reach the Titanics name on the ships bow, and over the next hour every lifeboat would be released as officers struggled to maintain order amongst the growing panic on board. The closing moments of the Titanics sinking began shortly after 2 a.m., as the last lifeboat was lowere

6、d and the ships propellers lifted out of the water, leaving the 1,500 passengers still on board to surge towards the stern. At 2.17 a.m., Harold Bride and Jack Philips tapped out their last wireless message after being relieved of duty as the ships wireless operators, and the ships band stopped play

7、ing. Less than a minute later, occupants of the lifeboats witnessed the ships lights flash once, then go black, and a huge roar signaled the Titanics contents plunging towards the bow, causing the front half of the ship to break off and go under. The Titanics stern bobbed up momentarily, and at 2.20

8、 a.m., the ship finally disappeared beneath the frigid waters. What or who was responsible for the scale of this catastrophe? Explanations abound, some that focus on very small details. Due to a last minute change in the ships officer line-up, iceberg lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee were m

9、aking do without a pair of binoculars that an officer transferred off the ship in Southampton had left in a cupboard onboard, unbeknownst to any of the ships crew. Fleet, who survived the sinking, insisted at a subsequent inquiry that he could have identified the iceberg in time to avert disaster if

10、 he had been in possession of the binoculars. Less than an hour before the Titanic struck the iceberg, wireless operator Cyril Evans on the Californian, located just 20 miles to the north, tried to contact operator Jack Philips on the Titanic to warn him of pack ice in the area. “Shut up, shut up, y

11、oure jamming my signal“, Philips replied. “Im busy.“ The Titanics wireless system had broken down for several hours earlier that day, and Philips was clearing a backlog of personal messages that passengers had requested to be sent to family and friends in the USA. Nevertheless, Captain Smith had mai

12、ntained the ships speed of 22 knots despite multiple earlier warnings of ice ahead. It has been suggested that Smith was under pressure to make headlines by arriving early in New York, but maritime historians such as Richard Howell have countered this perception, noting that Smith was simply followi

13、ng common procedure at the time, and not behaving recklessly. One of the strongest explanations for the severe loss of life has been the fact that the Titanic did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone on board. Maritime regulations at the time tied lifeboat capacity to ship size, not to the number

14、 of passengers on board. This meant that the Titanic, with room for 1,178 of its 2,222 passengers, actually surpassed the Board of Trades requirement that it carry lifeboats for 1,060 of its passengers. Nevertheless, with lifeboats being lowered less than half full in many cases, and only 712 passen

15、gers surviving despite a two and a half hour window of opportunity, more lifeboats would not have guaranteed more survivors in the absence of better training and preparation. Many passengers were confused about where to go after the order to launch lifeboats was given; a lifeboat drill scheduled for

16、 earlier on the same clay that the Titanic struck the iceberg was cancelled by Captain Smith, in order to allow passengers to attend church.Questions 1-6 Complete the table below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the text for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.7 The

17、binoculars for the men on watch had been left in a crew locker in Southampton. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 8 The missing binoculars were the major factor leading to the collision with the iceberg. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 9 Philips missed notification about the ice from Evans beca

18、use the Titanics wireless system was not functioning at the time. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 10 Captain Smith knew there was ice in the area. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 11 Howell believed the captains failure to reduce speed was an irresponsible action. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NO

19、T GIVEN 12 The Titanic was able to seat more passengers in lifeboats than the Board of Trade required. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 13 A lifeboat drill would have saved more lives. （ A） TRUE （ B） FALSE （ C） NOT GIVEN 13 Three dimensional films A In the theatre of the Ambassador Hotel in Los A

20、ngeles, on the evening of 27 September 1922, a new form of film-making made its commercial debut: 3-D1. The film, The Power of Love, was then shown in New York City to exhibitors and press, but was subsequently not picked up for distribution and is now believed to be lost. The following three decade

21、s were a period of quiet experimentation for 3-D pioneers, as they adapted to new technologies and steadily improved the viewing experience. In 1952 the “ golden era “ of 3-D is considered to have begun with the release of Bwana Devil, and over the next several years audiences met with a string of f

22、ilms that used the technology. Over the following decades it waxed and waned within filmmaking circles, peaking in the 1970s and again in the 1990s when IMAX gained traction, but it is only in the last few years that 3-D appears to have firmly entered mainstream production. B Released worldwide in D

23、ecember 2009, the fantasy film Avatar quickly became the highest-grossing film ever made, knocking Titanic from the top slot. Avatar, set in 2154 on a planet in a distant solar system, went on to become the only film to have earned US$2 billion world-wide, and is now approaching the $3 billion mark.

24、 The main reason for its runaway popularity appears to be its visual splendour; though most critics praised the film, it was mostly on account of its ground-breaking special effects. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times praised Avatars “powerful“ visual accomplishments, but suggested the dialogue

25、was “flat“ and the characterisations “obvious“. A film analyst at Exhibitor Relations has agreed, noting that Avatar has cemented the use of 3-D as a production and promotional tool for blockbuster films, rather than as a mere niche or novelty experiment. “This is why all these 3-D venues were built

26、“, he said. “This is the one. The behemoth. The holy grail of 3-D has finally arrived“. C Those who embrace 3-D note that it spices up a trip to the cinema by adding a more active “embodied“ layer of experience instead of the viewer passively receiving the film through eyes and ears only. A blogger

27、on Animation Ideas writes, “.when 3-D is done well-like in the flying scenes in Up, How to Train Your Dragon and Avatar, there is an added feeling of vertigo. If you have any fear of heights, the 3-D really adds to this element.“ Kevin Carr argues that the backlash against 3-D is similar to that whi

28、ch occurred against CGI2 several years ago, and points out that CGI is now widely regarded as part of the film-makers artistic toolkit. He also notes that new technology is frequently seen to be a “gimmick“ in its early days, pointing out that many commentators slapped the first “talkie“ films of th

29、e early 1920s with this same label. D But not everyone greets the rise of 3-D with open arms. Some ophthalmologists point out that 3-D can have unsettling physical effects for many viewers. Dr. Michael Rosenberg, a professor at Northwestern University, has pointed out that many people go through lif

30、e with minor eye disturbancesa slight muscular imbalance, for examplethat does not interrupt day-to-day activities. In the experience of a 3-D movie, however, this problem can be exacerbated through the viewer trying to concentrate on unusual visual phenomena. Dr. Deborah Friedman, from the Universi

31、ty of Rochester Medical Center, notes that the perception of depth conjured through three dimensions does not complement the angles from which we take in the world. Eyestrains, headaches and nausea are therefore a problem for around 15% ofa 3-D film audience. E Film critic Roger Ebert warns that 3-D

32、 is detrimental to good film-making. Firstly, he argues, the technology is simply unnecessary; 2-D movies are “already“ 3-D, as far as our minds are concerned. Adding the extra dimension with technology, instead of letting our minds do the work, can actually be counterpurposeful and make the over-al

33、l effect seem clumsy and contrived. Ebert also points out that the special glasses dim the effect by soaking up light from the screen, making 3-D films a slightly duller experience than they might otherwise be. Finally, Ebert suggests that 3-D encourages film-makers to undercut drama and narrative i

34、n favour of simply piling on more gimmicks and special effects. “Hollywood is racing headlong toward the kiddie market,“ he says, pointing to Disneys announcement that it will no longer make traditional films in favour of animation, franchises, and superheroes. F Whether or not 3-D becomes a powerfu

35、l force for the film-makers vision and the film-going experience, or goes down in history as an over-hyped, expensive novelty, the technology certainly shows no signs of fading in the popularity stakes at the moment. Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon have all rece

36、ntly benefited at the box office due to the added sales that 3-D provides, and with Avatars record set to last some time as a totem of 3-Ds commercial possibilities, studios are not prepared to back down. i Construction of special cinemas for 3-D ii Good returns forecast for immediate future iii The

37、 greatest 3-D film of all time iv End of traditional movies for children v Early developments vi New technology diminishes the art vii The golden age of movies viii In defence of 3-D ix 3-D is here to stay x Undesirable visual effects 14 Section A 15 Section B 16 Section C 17 Section D 18 Section E

38、19 Section F 19 Mattch each statement with the correct person, A-G. Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet. NB You may use any letter more than once. NB Some options may not be used. List of People A Kenneth Turan B Exhibitor Relations analyst C Animation Ideas blogger D

39、Kevin Cart E Dr Michael Rosenberg F Dr Deborah Friedman G Roger Ebert 20 3-D conflicts with our mental construct of our surroundings. 21 3-D encourages an over-emphasis on quick visual thrills. 22 Effective use of 3-D technology may increase our sensation of elevation. 23 3-D viewing can worsen an e

40、xisting visual disorder. 24 Avatar is the most powerful example of 3-D yet to arrive in cinemas. 25 Avatars strength is found in its visual splendour, not in aspects of story. 26 People already have the mental capacity to see ordinary movies in three dimensions. 26 Does water have memory? The practi

41、ce of homeopathy was first developed by the German physician Samuel Hanuman. During research in the 1790s, Hahnemann began experimenting with quinine, an alkaloid derived from cinchona bark that was well known at the time to have a positive effect on fever. Hahnemann started dosing himself with quin

42、ine while in a state of good health, and reported in his journals that his extremities went cold, he experienced palpitations, an “infinite anxiety“, a trembling and weakening of the limbs, reddening cheeks and thirst“ in short“, he concluded, “all the symptoms of relapsing fever presented themselve

43、s successively.“ Hahnemanns main observation was that things which create problems for healthy people cure those problems in sick people, and this became his first principle of homeopathy: simila s/m/1/bus (with help from the same). While diverging from the principle of apothecary practice at the ti

44、mewhich was contraria contraries (with help from the opposite)the efficacy of simila similibus was reaffirmed by subsequent developments in the field of vaccinations. Hahnemanns second principle was minimal dosingtreatments should be taken in the most diluted form at which they remain effective. Thi

45、s negated any possible toxic effects of simila similibus. In 1988 the French immunologist Jacques Benefits took minimal dosing to new extremes when he published a paper in the prestigious scientific journal Nature in which he suggested that very high dilutions of the anti-leg antibody could affect h

46、uman basophile granulocytes, the least common of the granulocytes that make up about 0.01% to 0.3% of white blood cells. The point of controversy, however, was that the water in Benvenistes test had been so diluted that any molecular evidence of the antibodies no longer existed. Water molecules, the

47、 researcher concluded, had a biologically active component that a journalist later termed “water memory“. A number of efforts from scientists in Britain, France and the Netherlands to duplicate Benvenistes research were unsuccessful, however, and to this day no peer-reviewed study under broadly acce

48、pted conditions has been able to confirm the validity of “water memory“. The third principle of homeopathy is “the single remedy“. Exponents of this principle believe that it would be too difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the potential effects of multiple homeopathic remedies delivered simu

49、ltaneously. If it did work, they suggest, one could not know quite why it worked, turning homeopathy into an ambiguous guessing game. If it did not work, neither patient nor practitioner would know whether the ingredients were all ineffective, or whether they were only ineffective in combination with one another. Combination remedies are gaining in popularity, but classical homeopaths who rely on the single remedy approach warn these are not more potent, nor do they provide more treatment options. The availability