1、阅读理解模拟试卷 5及答案与解析 0 The Discovery of Astronomers The discovery of planets around distant stars has become like space-shuttle launchesnewsworthy but just barely. With some 50 extrasolar planets under their belt, astronomers have to announce something reafly strange to get anyones attention. Last week
2、they did just that. Standing in front of colleagues and reporters at the American Astronomical Societys semiannual meeting in San Diego, the worlds premier planet-hunting team astronomer Geoffrey Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues presented not one but two remarkable
3、 finds. The first is a pair of planets, each about the mass of Jupiter, that whirl around their home star 15 light-years from Earth in perfect lockstep. One takes 30 days to complete an orbit, the other exactly twice as long. Nobody has ever seen such a configuration. But the second discovery is far
4、 stranger a solar system 123 light-years away, in the constellation Serpens, that harbors one “ ordinary“ planet and another so huge 17 times as massive as Jupiter that nobody can quitefigure out what it can be. It is, says Marcy, “a bit frightening. “ Whats frightening is that these discoveries mak
5、e it clear how little astronomers know about planets and they add to the dawning realization that our solar system and by implication Planet Earth may be a cosmic oddball. For years theorists figured that other stars would have planets more or less like the ones going around the sun. But starting wi
6、th the 1995 discovery of the first extrasolar planet a gassy monster like Jupiter but orbiting seven times as close to its star as Mercury orbits around our sun each new find has seemed stranger than the last. Searchers have found more “hot Jupi-ters“ like that first discovery. These include huge pl
7、anets that career around their stars not in circular orbits but in elongated ones; their gravity would send any Earthlike neighbors flying off into space. Says Princeton astronomer Scott Tremaine: “Not a single prediction for what wed find in other systems has turned out to be correct.“ Last weeks g
8、iant was the most unexpected discovery yet. Conventional theory suggests that it must have formed like a star, from a collapsing cloud of interstellar gas. Its smaller companion, only-seven times Jupiters mass, is almost certainly a planet, formed by the buildup of gas and dust left over from a star
9、s formation. Yet the fact that these two orbs are so close together suggests to some theorists that they must have formed together so maybe the bigger one is a planet after all. Or maybe astronomers will have to rethink their definition of “planet.“ Just because we put heavenly objects into categori
10、es doesnt mean the distinctions are necessarily valid. And as Tremaine puts it, “When your classification schemes start breaking down, you know youre learning something exciting. This is wonderful stuff.“ 1 The author believes that_. （ A） the discovery of planets is as important as the launch of spa
11、ce shuttles （ B） astronomers have been making a lot of discoveries of planets （ C） the public have no interest in astronomical discoveries （ D） there is little for astronomers to discover now 2 The two finds are remarkable in that_. （ A） the planets are far from our solar system （ B） the sizes of th
12、e plants are too huge （ C） astronomers have never seen similar orbiting pattern and size before （ D） scientists cannot figure out what they can be 3 By saying that our solar system “may be a cosmic oddball“ (Lines 56, Paragraph 3). the author intends to render the idea that_. （ A） other stars have p
13、lanets more or less like the one going around the sun （ B） the orbits of extrasolar planets around their stars are elongated ones （ C） the way planets orbiting around the sun in our solar system is quite unique （ D） planets in other systems are generally huger than the ones in ours 4 The case of the
14、 giant heavenly body demonstrates that_. （ A） conventional theory cannot explain such astronomical phenomenon satisfactorily （ B） it is either a star or a planet （ C） it was formed like a star and orbits like a planet （ D） theorists give a wrong definition of “planet“ 5 The best title for this passa
15、ge could be_. （ A） New Planetary Puzzlers （ B） Two Remarkable Finds （ C） A Redefinition of “Planet“ （ D） Hot Jupiters Challenging Conventional Theory 5 The Tapping of Automatic Intelligence Car Last year, Americas Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, thought it would be a good idea to o
16、rganize a robot race across the Nevada desert. The idea of the Grand Challenge, as DARPA dubbed it, was for autonomous robot vehicles to steer a 227km (142 mile) course and claim a $ 1 million jackpot. This would be a first step towards DARPAs ultimate goal of being able to build unmanned self-drivi
17、ng military vehicles and thus keep American troops out of harms way on the battlefield. This years crop of 23 entrants were offered an even greater incentive a $ 2 million prize for the winner. That, plus the intervening 18 months, seems to have done the trick. This time, five vehicles finished the
18、211 km course. The winner, a modified Volkswagen Touareg dubbed Stanley by its makers, a team from Stanford University, did it in a mere six hours and 54 minutes. Stanley was, of course, specially hardened by its designers for the rough terrain of the Nevada desert. The clever bit, however, was the
19、vehicles brain. This was designed and built by the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL). Stanleys brain consists of six top-of-the-range Pentium chips wired collaboratively together. It is programmed with special software that is able to learn from its mistakes. This software mastered
20、the tricks of collision-avoidance in a of desert test runs conducted before the race started. Like all brains, Stanleys has a range of sensory inputs to process. A global positioning system (GPS) receiver tells it where on the Earths surface it is. Television cameras, radar and four laser-based dist
21、ance monitors tell it what its surroundings are like. By comparing its GPS location with its pre-programmed destination (announced only a few hours before the race began), it knew which way it wanted to go. And, by studying its surroundings, it could work out what looked like the safest route that w
22、as also in approximately the right direction. Although Stanley carried off the laurels, the other four finishers did respectably. Sandstorm managed a time just ten minutes behind the winner while her sister vehicle Highlander came in ten minutes after that. GrayBot and TerraMax, the other two course
23、-completers, came in at seven hours 30 minutes and 12 hours 51 minutes, respectively. So smart, autonomous vehicles can, indeed, find their way across several hundred kilometres of desert. The question is, what next? DARPAs answer, of course, will be to go down the military route. But this sort of t
24、echnology has obvious civilian applications as well as Sebastian Thrun. the head of both SAIL and the Stanford racing team, is keen to emphasize. Dr. Thrun thinks that it could lead to self-driving road vehicles within 30 years andmore immediately to greatly improved collision-avoidance systems. Whe
25、ther the freeways of California will prove as easy to navigate as the gulches of Nevada, though, remains to be seen. 6 The purpose of holding a robot race is to_. （ A） adventure through the Nevada desert （ B） delevop unpiloted vehicles for military use （ C） win a $ 1 million jackpot （ D） keep Americ
26、an troops unharmed 7 Stanley won the race most probably because_. （ A） there were only 23 vehicles competing in the race （ B） it has 18 months to prepare for the race （ C） it is specially made for the desert （ D） the brain of the vehicle was delicate and intelligent 8 If put in new surroundings, Sta
27、nley may_. （ A） get totally lost （ B） need to be controlled by people （ C） study and work out its own way （ D） wait for orders to move 9 Dr.Thrun strongly hold that the autonomous vehicles_. （ A） play an important role in military field （ B） will be applied in daily transportation （ C） will soon be
28、more accessible to common people （ D） have great market value 10 From the passage we can conclude that the robot race_. （ A） was a waste of time and money （ B） attracted nationwide attention （ C） encouraged the development of autonomous vehicles （ D） will not be organized again 10 The Tapping of Cel
29、lular Phone Software Electronic gadgets have changed a great deal in the past few years. Most obviously, they have become smaller sleeker, smarter and more versatile. Billions of people now carry around tiny devices that are more powerful than the desktop computers of a few years ago. But these gadg
30、ets have also changed in a less obvious way. Once they were lumps of hardware brought to life by a layer of software; today they might be more accurately described as services in a box. It was ever thus with mobile phones, of course: the handset is useless without a network operator, and mobile phon
31、es are, in effect, the container in which operators sell their services. But the handset and the network service have hitherto come from different companies. Operators do not manufacture their own phones, and handset-makers are not operators. But now device-makers are increasingly providing the serv
32、ices that power their devices or, to look at things the other way around, building devices that encapsulate services they wish to offer. Apples iPod started off as a piece of hardware in 2001, but it really took off in 2003 when Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, a service that makes it easy for
33、 iPod owners to download music, video and games to their devices, and which is now the leading online music retailer. There are several motivations for the gadget-makers shift into services. First, margins on hardware are generally lower than margins on services. Second, saturated markets in many pa
34、rts of the world mean that hardware sales are slowing in some categories. Soon, everyone in western Europe who wants a satellite navigation will have bought one; what will the manufacturers do then? Make money from subscriptions and updates, of course. At least, thats the plan. Finally, services pro
35、vide a way to hold on to customers. If you have signed up for a service tied to a particular gadget-maker, the thinking goes, you are less likely to switch to a different manufacturers device in future. The worlds most successful gadget-makers are those that have been quickest to recognize the impor
36、tance of offering accompanying services. Makers of stand-alone music-players, such as Rio, have been unable to compete with Apple; and Motorola, once the top dog in mobile phones, let RIM, once an obscure Canadian start-up, grab the mobile e-mail market. With elaborate branding and advertising campa
37、igns, gadget-makers have long promoted the idea that they were selling something more than just a bundle of electronics in a snazzy case. Now, funnily enough, some of them really are. 11 What is the fundamental change of electronic gadgets? （ A） They have been improved in shape and appearance. （ B）
38、They have more powerful functions than the desktop. （ C） They have less hardware but more software now. （ D） They have been integrated with more services now. 12 According to the passage, which of the following can describe the relationship between the handset and network service best? （ A） They are
39、 independent but intertwined. （ B） They are collaborative partners. （ C） They are competitive rivals. （ D） They are of the mutual benefit. 13 According to the passage Apple launched the iTunes Music Store in 2003 to_ （ A） appeal to more potential customers who love music （ B） meet the infinite needs
40、 of its demanding customers （ C） power its devices in order to promote market shares （ D） make extra profit in new area such as online music retail 14 According to the author customers are likely to stick to a particular gadget-maker if_. （ A） they are satisfied with the services provided （ B） they
41、have used its former services （ C） they are hooked by the services provided （ D） they never try services tied to other gadget-makers 15 What can be inferred from the last paragraph? （ A） Branding and advertising are the main strategy for pushing sales. （ B） Gadget-makers have confronted difficulties
42、 in promoting their idea. （ C） Some gadget-makers fail to offer services as they have promised. （ D） Some gadget-makers are cheating the customers by inferior goods. 15 The United States Makes Use of Music to Develop Cultural Diplomacy In 1956, when the cold war was at its peak, America deployed a “
43、secret sonic weapon“, as a newspaper headline put it at the time.That weapon was Dizzy Gillespie, a famed jazz musician, who was given the task of changing the worldsview of American culture through rhythm and beat. Crowds poured into the street todance. Cultural diplomacy died down after the cold w
44、ar ended. But the attacks of September 11th 2001 convinced the State Department to send out Americas musicians once again to woo hearts and minds with melody. Rhythm Road, a program run by the State Department and a non-profit organization, Jazz at Lincoln Centre, has made informal diplomats out of
45、bothmusicians and audiences. Since it began in 2005, musicians have travelled to 96 countries. One band went to Mauritania, a country in northwestern Africa, after last years coup; many depart for countries that have strained relationships with America. The musicians travel to places where some peop
46、le have never seen an American. Jazz, so participants in the program, is well-suited to diplomacy. It is collaborative, allowing individuals both to harmonize and play solo much like a democracy, says Ari Roland, who plays bass for a band that left New York to tour the Middle East on March 31st. Jaz
47、z is also a reminder of musics power.lt helped break down racial barriers, as enthusiasts of all colors gathered to listen to jazz when segregation was still the law of the land. The State Department spent 10 million US dollars on cultural diplomacy programs in the year to September 30th 2008. But m
48、ost expect funding for the initiative to increase under Barack Obama, who pledged his support for cultural diplomacy during his campaign. Rhythm Road now sends out hip-hop and bluegrass bands as well. There are some dissenters. Nick Cull, the director of the Diplomacy Program at the University of So
49、uthern California, thinks that these diplomatic projects would be more productive if they were not administered by the same agency that oversees the countrys foreign-policy agenda. And there is also clamor for Mr. Obama to appoint a secretary of culture in his cabinet. What good, they ask, is sending American culture abroad, when the country is not giving it proper attention at home? 16 Why was Dizzy Gillespie regarded as a “secret sonic weapon“ in 1956? （ A）
