1、雅思（阅读）模拟试卷 44 及答案与解析 一、 Reading Module (60 minutes) 0 Three dimensional films A In the theatre of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, 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 exhib
2、itors and press, but was subsequently not picked up for distribution and is now believed to be lost. The following three decades 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-
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 films 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
4、, but it is only in the last few years that 3-D appears to have firmly entered mainstream production. B Released worldwide in December 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 so
5、lar system, went on to become the only film to have earned US$2 billion world-wide, and is now approaching the $3 billion mark. 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
6、 effects. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times praised Avatars “powerful“ visual accomplishments, but suggested the dialogue 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 promotio
7、nal tool for blockbuster films, rather than as a mere niche or novelty experiment. “This is why all these 3-D venues were built“, 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
8、active “embodied“ layer of experience instead of the viewer passively receiving the film through eyes and ears only. A blogger 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 an
9、y fear of heights, the 3-D really adds to this element.“ Kevin Carr argues that the backlash against 3-D is similar to that which 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
10、frequently seen to be a “gimmick“ in its early days, pointing out that many commentators slapped the first “talkie“ films of the 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 f
11、or many viewers. Dr. Michael Rosenberg, a professor at Northwestern University, has pointed out that many people go through life with minor eye disturbances a slight muscular imbalance, for examplethat does not interrupt day-to-day activities. In the experience of a 3-D movie, however, this problem
12、can be exacerbated through the viewer trying to concentrate on unusual visual phenomena. Dr. Deborah Friedman, from the University 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. Eyestra
13、ins, headaches and nausea are therefore a problem for around 15% ofa 3-D film audience. E Film critic Roger Ebert warns that 3-D 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 e
14、xtra dimension with technology, instead of letting our minds do the work, can actually be counterpurposeful and make the over-all 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 ex
15、perience than they might otherwise be. Finally, Ebert suggests that 3-D encourages film-makers to undercut drama and narrative in 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 w
16、ill no longer make traditional films in favour of animation, franchises, and superheroes. F Whether or not 3-D becomes a powerful 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 fa
17、ding in the popularity stakes at the moment. Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon have all recently 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, studio
18、s are not prepared to back down. i Construction of special cinemas for 3-D ii Good returns forecast for immediate future iii The 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 defe
19、nce of 3-D ix 3-D is here to stay x Undesirable visual effects 1 Section A 2 Section B 3 Section C 4 Section D 5 Section E 6 Section F 7 READING PASSAGE 2 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below. Britains Canals-the Solution to Overcrowded Roa
20、ds? A Its hard to imagine that only a decade or so ago many of the nations canals were little more than the last resting place for abandoned shopping trolleys. Theres still work to be done, but their transformation has been remarkable. Projects such as Castlefield in Manchester and Brindley Place in
21、 Birmingham have transformed city-centre canals from stagnant reminders of a fading industrial past to the epitome of urban cool. However, 21st-century priorities dictate that the rehabilitation of this 18th-century motorway system cannot stop there. Canals and navigable rivers form a major transpor
22、t network, in need of only piecemeal investment, and with the spare capacity to take away the need for hundreds of thousands of lorry journeys. In the second half of the 18th century, canals drove the industrial revolution. Today, authorities want them to drive congestion off the roads. Last month,
23、for example, the European Commission proposed a seven-year plan to shift large amounts of freight from roads to inland waterways. B Europes enthusiasm comes as no surprise. Freight traffic is expected to grow by a third in the next decade. The cost of pollution and congestion is set to swallow one p
24、er cent of Europes entire GDP by 2010. “With a fleet of 11000 vessels and a capacity equalling 10000 trains or 440000 trucks, inland waterways can make transport in Europe more efficient, reliable and environmental friendly,“ says Jacques Barrot, vice-president of the European Commission in charge o
25、f transport. “Europe cannot afford to leave that potential untapped.“ C Mainland Europe has never, in fairness, left it completely untapped. The canals of the low countries and the rivers of central and eastern Europe buzzed with the sound of freight barges long after British industry had thrown in
26、its lot with railways and roads. Attempts to revive freight on British canals have been hampered by the fact that their heyday lasted barely 60 years, and they were first considered obsolete 150 years ago. For much of the intervening period, many have simply been left to rot. “Our network was in dec
27、line for a long time compared to much of Europe,“ says Eugene Baston of British Waterways. “Whereas other countries developed road and rail transport but carried on using their waterways as well, our canals were neglected. In fact many European countries actually enlarged their canals 100 years ago.
28、“ D That decline in Britain has been reversed, first by leisure seekers and more recently by industry. Boaters, anglers, walkers and cyclists now benefit from around 4000 miles of navigable waterways and the paths and trails that run alongside them. Waterside living is fashionable, and city-centre c
29、anals have been a focus for urban renewal, And, despite our obsession with road transport, environmental considerations are forcing government and business to mm the clock back 200 years and-at least in a minor way-get our waterways working again. E In fact, industrial goods such as coal, steel, agg
30、regates and petroleum have never completely disappeared from large rivers and designated commercial waterways. Barges on the river Severn have recently started carrying the equivalent of 34000 lorry loads of aggregates each year, the first freight traffic on the river for a decade. British Waterways
31、, which owns about half of the countrys navigable inland waterways, carded the equivalent of 64000 25-ten lorry loads of freight in 2004. The organisation says these figures are certain to increase as new schemes start, and environmentalists hope they will. Carrying freight by water uses about a qua
32、rter of the energy of an equivalent road journey. In comparison to lorries, barges produce low emissions, low noise and are visually unobtrusive. “We think that anything that can take freight off the roads needs to be fully explored,“ says Tony Bosworth, transport campaigner for Friends of the Earth
33、. “Canals can do that. They can help cut the pollution that causes climate change.“ F There is a limit to what canals can carry. The slow pace of water travel does not fit well with the limited shelf-life of fresh produce. If supermarkets wont trust their cherry tomatoes to water, they might trust t
34、he waste paper and plastic that protects them. Many of the proposals to utilise Britains waterways are based around waste management and recycling schemes. For example, a pilot scheme in Hackney, east London, has seen municipal waste collected by truck and transferred to barge for transportation to
35、a reprocessing plant. In the future, the scheme could remove 300000 dustcart miles from the boroughs streets every year. Current arrangements could be just the tip of the iceberg. G Planning permission has been given for a Powerday recycling plant at Willesden Junction, a site that sits on the inter
36、section of road, rail and canal networks. “The plant will have the capacity to handle a million and a half tons of waste every year, but the amount carried by road will be capped at 500000 tons,“ says Ed Fox of British Waterways London. “If they want to grow the business, they will have to work with
37、 us.“ Fox says getting freight back on the canals has been “a nice idea“ for 50 years, but until recently little more than an idea. “The Powerday project, on the other hand, is proof of what really can be done.“ H Though details have yet to be decided, British Waterways believes the most appropriate
38、 way to transport some of the building materials destined for Londons giant Olympic construction project is by the network of waterways that links the Thames and east London. The Olympic Delivery Authority says: “Its being looked at and the final solution could well involve some transportation by wa
39、ter. What exactly we do will be based on a range of factors, but one of those will be sustainability.“ Their gentle pace will always make canals a niche player in a busy world, but after 200 years of neglect, the tide is starting to turn. 7 Questions 14-17 The text has 8 paragraphs (A-H). Which para
40、graph does each of the following headings best fit? 7 Olympic transport 8 The decline of British canals 9 Modern leisure uses 10 Energy efficient 11 Questions 18-22 According to the text, FIVE of the following statements are true. Write the corresponding letters in answer boxes 18 to 22 in any order
41、. A Canals were important in the industrial revolution in Britain. B The use of canals in Europe is expected to grow by a third over the next ten years. C Britain was the only European country to let its canals decline. D Canals in Britain have become a focus for city-centre renewal. E Barges are le
42、ss polluting than lorries. F In London, most waste is transported on canals. G The amount of waste that can be taken to the Powerday plant by road is limited. H Canals will not become a major form of transport in the world. 11 【 18】 _ 12 【 19】 _ 13 【 20】 _ 14 【 21】 _ 15 【 22】 _ 16 Questions 23-26 Ac
43、cording to the information given in the text, choose the correct answer or answers from the choices given. 16 Canals will require _. （ A） relatively little investment. （ B） considerable investment. （ C） investment equal to 1% of Europes transport budget. 17 The European canal network _. （ A） transpo
44、rted most of Europes goods for 60 years. （ B） was built mostly about 150 years ago. （ C） has actually been expanded in some countries over the last hundred years. 18 Suitable products for transportation by canal include _. （ A） fresh fruit and vegetables. （ B） waste materials for recycling. （ C） fue
45、ls. 19 Waste can be transported to the Powerday project by _. （ A） lorry. （ B） train. （ C） barge. 19 Complete the summary below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 20-24 on your answer sheet. (20) is a series of actions leading to tensional os
46、cillation. Various components move back and forth from the force of the (21) Eventually the structure absorbs more (22) than it is able to disperse and the (23) increase in intensity until the structure collapses under the (24) . 24 In search of an immigration policy A As a rule, when a plan in Brus
47、sels makes little or no sense, there are two possible explanations. The first is that the whole idea is nonsense? The second is that the muddle is really a proxy for something more interesting: an ideological fight within the European Union that has not yet been resolved. With luck, .proxy fighting
48、explains the incoherence of the European Commissions latest ideas on immigration. These call for better management of flows into the EU, with the help of two ugly bits of jargon: “circular migration“ and “mobility partnerships“ between the EU and third countries. Leave aside the issue of whether gov
49、ernments can “manage“ this phenomenon at all. (Even America finds this hard and Italy this week had to rescue two dozen shipwrecked Africans clinging to a tuna pen in the Mediterranean, after Malta and Libya could not agree over who should save them.) It is bad enough trying to resolve the contradictions in the new plan. B Read the free print with the eyes of a liberal (in both the economic and social senses), and you might come away reassured. The union seems to view mi
