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2002年6月大学英语四级考试阅读真题及答案解析C

考研英语  时间: 2019-04-08 14:11:29  作者: 匿名 

  It is hard to track the blue whale, the ocean’s largest creature, which has almost been killed off by commercial whaling and is now listed as an endangered species. Attaching radio devices to it is difficult, and visual sightings are too unreliable to give real insight into its behavior. 
  So biologists were delighted early this year when, with the help of the Navy, they were able to track a particular blue whale for 43 days, monitoring its sounds. This was possible because of the Navy’s formerly top-secret system of underwater listening devices spanning the oceans. 
  Tracking whales is but one example of an exciting new world just opening to civilian scientists after the cold war as the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system built over the decades to track the ships of potential enemies. 
  Earth scientists announced at a news conference recently that they had used the system for closely monitoring a deep-sea volcanic eruption (爆发) for the first time and that they plan similar studies. 
  Other scientists have proposed to use the network for tracking ocean currents and measuring changes in ocean and global temperatures. 
  The speed of sound in water is roughly one mile a second—slower than through land but faster than through air. What is most important, different layers of ocean water can act as channels for sounds, focusing them in the same way a stethoscope (听诊器) does when it carries faint noises from a patient’s chest to a doctor’s ear. This focusing is the main reason that even relatively weak sounds in the ocean, especially low-frequency ones, can often travel thousands of miles. 

  31. The passage is chiefly about ________. 
  A) an effort to protect an endangered marine species 
  B) the civilian use of a military detection system 
  C) the exposure of a U.S. Navy top-secret weapon 
  D) a new way to look into the behavior of blue whales

  32. The underwater listening system was originally designed ________. 
  A) to trace and locate enemy vessels 
  B) to monitor deep-sea volcanic eruptions 
  C) to study the movement of ocean currents 
  D) to replace the global radio communications network 

  33. The deep-sea listening system makes use of ________. 
  A) the sophisticated technology of focusing sounds under water 
  B) the capability of sound to travel at high speed 
  C) the unique property of layers of ocean water in transmitting sound 
  D) low-frequency sounds traveling across different layers of water

  34. It can be inferred from the passage that ________. 
  A) new radio devices should be developed for tracking the endangered blue whales 
  B) blue whales are no longer endangered with the use of the new listening system 
  C) opinions differ as to whether civilian scientists should be allowed to use military technology 
  D) military technology has great potential in civilian use
 
  35. Which of the following is true about the U.S. Navy underwater listening network? 
  A) It is now partly accessible to civilian scientists. 
  B) It has been replaced by a more advanced system. 
  C) It became useless to the military after the cold war. 
  D) It is indispensable in protecting endangered species.

  这篇材料讲的是美国军用技术的民用化。开头用追踪蓝鲸的例子来引出一个问题,即水下跟踪技术的难度颇高。这就不免引起人们对问题解决方法的关注,而第二段就顺理成章地介绍最近发生的一件事,此事给第一段的问题提供了解决办法:科学家成功地追踪了一条蓝鲸43天,并监听了它的声音。成功的关键就是应用了美国海军曾经的水下监听绝密设备(because of the Navy’s formerly top-secret system of underwater listening devices spanning the oceans)。 
  这样,文章的核心论题就出现了:美国军用技术——水下监听技术的民用化。此后,作者开始详细地阐述与论题有关的信息。 
  首先是事情的原委。冷战以后,美国海军即开始与民间科学家分享其水下监听系统(after the cold war as the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system)。这一系统最初的用途是追踪潜在敌人的船只。(track the ships of potential enemies)。 
  而后是水下监听技术民用化的又一事例。科学家们应用这一系统第一次细致地监控一次深水火山爆发的过程(used the system for closely monitoring a deep-sea volcanic eruption)。 
  另有科学家打算使用这一系统来追踪洋流,分析海洋变化和全球温度变化(use the network for tracking ocean currents and measuring changes in ocean and global temperatures)。 
  最后一段简单解释了这一系统的工作原理。声音在水中的传播速度大约是每秒一英里,介于在陆地和空气之间(The speed of sound in water is roughly one mile a second—slower than through land but faster than through air)。这是水下追踪声音的基本条件。海洋的不同水层可以作为声音传播的不同通道,这些通道可以使声音更为集中,其原理等同于听诊器将病人胸部的声音集中加强传给医生。这就使得非常微弱的声音也能在海水中传播上千英里(can often travel thousands of miles),从而被这一系统所监测到。这是水下追踪声音的重要条件。
 
  31. B 
  题目问这篇文章主要内容是关于什么的。这是一道全文总结性的题目,这种题出现在第一道的情况并不多见。 
  A,保护一种海上濒危生物的努力。这里的海上濒危生物指的是第一段提到的蓝鲸(blue whale),不过关于蓝鲸的描述仅仅局限于第一段,其余部分就不再出现保护蓝鲸的内容,因此A的说法过于片面。 
  B,一种军事探测技术的民用化。前四段举出的事例都可以归为军事探测技术民用化,最后一段讲解了这一探测技术的原理,总体来看,文章主要内容是军事探测技术的民用化,B的说法正确。 
  C,一种美国海军绝密武器的曝光。这里的绝密武器指的是水下监听系统,文中提到Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system,这里有uncover一词,可以算是exposure的注脚,不过,仅仅曝光是不够的,文中的诸多例子都是科学家把曝光后的技术用于民用的 例子,因此文章主体还是在讲述绝密武器在民间的应用,而不仅仅是曝光。 
  D,一种观察蓝鲸行为的新的方式。这个选项的错误和A一样,把内容局限于蓝鲸。除了蓝鲸之外,文中还提到了火山爆发、洋流等等现象,A的说法过于片面了。
 
  32. A 
  题目问水下监听系统最初设计是用来…… 
  A,跟踪定位敌方船只。 
  B,监听深海火山爆发。 
  C,研究洋流运动。 
  D,取代全球无线电传播系统。 
  题目中需要注意的一个单词是originally,意为最初,指水下监听设备在被美军最初设计时的用途。文中有一句话对此作了交代:the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system built over the decades to track the ships of potential enemies,这句话的宾语是global network of underwater listening system,而后的built可以还原为which was built,其引导的句子可视为一个定语从句,是对这一系统的修饰。Over the decades,表示时间追溯到几十年前。To表示目的,track the ships of potential enemies,跟踪潜在敌人的船只。由此可见水下监听系统最初设计是用来跟踪潜在敌人的船只的,答案是A。
 
  33. C 
  题目问深海监听系统应用了…… 
  A,采集水下声音的尖端技术。 
  B,声音高速传播的特性。 
  C,海洋的不同水层传播声音的特性。 
  D,低频声波可在不同水层传播。 
  从四个选项来看,这道题考查的是深海监听系统的技术原理。根据篇章分析可知,对原理的说明是在最后一段,那么答案需要到最后一段去找。值得注意的是最后一 句话:This focusing is the main reason that even relatively weak sounds in the ocean, especially low-frequency ones, can often travel thousands of miles,这里提到了main reason,表明声音的加强(focusing)是声音得以传播上千英里的主要原因。而声音能够传播上千英里意味着什么呢?意味着深海监听系统可以监测 到上千英里外的声音,这就是监听系统的最重要条件,而声音得以加强的原因又是什么呢?是different layers of ocean water can act as channels for sounds,这应该是题目所问的make use of……的宾语。应该选择C。A的说法在最后一段没有提到。B的说法在最后一段中有所论述,但属于前提条件,不是main reason。D所说的低频声音只是作者举的一个例子——既然低频声音也能传播很远,那么中高频的声音传播得就更远,更容易被监听系统捕捉到了——还是说 明了通道的作用。
 
  34. D 
  题目问从文章中可以推断出什么。 
  A,应该发展新的无线电技术来追踪濒临灭绝的蓝鲸。 
  B,因为新的监听技术的使用,蓝鲸不再是濒临灭绝动物。 
  C,关于民间科学家是否应被允许使用军事技术,尚存在不同观点。 
  D,军事技术的民用化潜力很大。 
  A和B都与蓝鲸有关。关于蓝鲸的内容只在前两段,我们来看这两段的内容。第一段开头首先说明了蓝鲸濒临灭绝的状况,指出追踪蓝鲸存在较大的困难,而后解释了存在困难的原因。第二段讲述科学家们终于成功追踪了一条蓝鲸,而其背后的原因是军事技术的应用。 
  从这里可知,科学家应用现有技术已经能够追踪蓝鲸,A说的应该发展新的技术是无从推理的。新的监听技术到底对保护蓝鲸起到多大的作用?文章所述甚少,原因是本文论述的主题是军事技术的民用化,不是蓝鲸保护,所以作者把着眼点放在了军事技术得以应用于民间研究的角度上。文中只提到一句monitoring its sounds,表明应用军事技术所起到的作用仅是监测了蓝鲸的声音,这距离拯救蓝鲸种群于灭绝应该还差很远。由此可见,B的推论也是不对的。 
  从全文来看,并没有提及反对军事技术民用化的观点,因此C的说法不正确。 
  前三个选项全部排除,D自然是正确答案。从文章的逻辑结构来看,文章先是指出在没有军事技术帮助时,从事民间科学研究的困难,而后举出几个军事技术民用化的成功例子,显然是对此持肯定态度,对其未来持乐观态度,D的说法与此相符。 

  35. A 
  本题问下列关于美国海军水下监听网络的叙述,哪一项是正确的。 
  A,目前已经部分对民间科学家开放。这一说法可以在文中找到对应点。第三段the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system一句中提到partly uncover,“部分公开”,与A说法一致。 
  B,已经被更先进的系统所取代。不能在文中找到有关“更先进的系统”的任何直接描述或间接描述,因此B不对。 
  C,冷战以后就失去了军事用途。第三段提到了“冷战以后”,但冷战以后发生的事情只是opening to civilian scientists,向民间科学家开放技术。开放技术不代表该技术失去了军事用途,从后文又知这种开放只是部分开放(partly uncover),可见该技术没有失去军事用途。即便无法直接做出此推断,但至少不能像C所说那样推出已经失去军事用途。 
  D,在保护濒危物种上是不可缺少的。在蓝鲸保护问题上,该技术目前所显现的作用只是monitoring its sounds,即监听其声音,文中没有关于其作用不可或缺的描述。

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