明翰英语教学系列之雅思阅读篇V0.9（持续更新）
文章目錄
- 傳送門(mén)
- 6. 閱讀 READING
- 6.1 閱讀評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)
- 6.2 閱讀題型
- `6.2.1 閱讀填空題`
- `摘要填空題（Summary）`
- `無(wú)選項(xiàng)摘要填空`
- 1. 找定位詞
- 2. 確定答案詞的詞性
- 3. 原文定位
- 4. 對(duì)應(yīng)
- 5. 檢查
- 有選項(xiàng)摘要填空
- 圖表/流程圖/表格填空題（Diagram/Flowchart/Table，相對(duì)低頻、簡(jiǎn)單）
- 簡(jiǎn)答題（Short Answer，低頻）
- `6.2.2 閱讀判斷題（超高頻，較難）`
- TRUE/YES
- 同義表達(dá)
- `推斷歸納`
- FALSE/NO
- 反義抵觸
- `推斷歸納`
- `NOT GIVEN`
- `6.2.3 閱讀選擇題`
- `閱讀單選題`
- 閱讀多選題（低頻）
- 6.2.4 `閱讀搭配題`
- `閱讀[配對(duì)/歸類(lèi)]題（Match&Classify，高頻，無(wú)序）`
- 閱讀完成句子題（Sentence Completion，中頻，一般有序）
- 閱讀主旨題（List of Headings，無(wú)序，中頻）
- `閱讀段落題（Paragraph，無(wú)序，中頻，最難）`
- 6.3 閱讀技巧
- `6.3.1 如何備考閱讀`
- `6.3.2 閱讀解題思路`
- `看題順序`
- `找定位詞`
- 找特殊定位詞
- 找普通定位詞
- `閱讀原文&原文定位`
- 生詞
- 語(yǔ)法結(jié)構(gòu)
- 句子邏輯
- 隱藏的邏輯關(guān)系
- 相鄰題目&題干
- 順序題型排列
- 6.4 `雅思閱讀備考必讀文章`
- `動(dòng)植物（最高頻）`
- 《The Albatross》
- 《動(dòng)物研究》
- `《The effects of light on plant and animal species》`
- `《Let's Go Bats》`
- `生理（高頻）`
- 《Great Minds》
- 《肥胖與糖尿病》
- `《What's so funny?》`
- `《The meaning and power of smell》`
- 教育
- 《Education over the past 100 years》
- 《英國(guó)高等教育》
- `《These Misconceptions of Tropical Rainforests》`
- `《LAND OF THE RISING SUM》`
- 科技
- 《Techno-wizardry in the Home》
- 《地?zé)峁こ獭?/li>
- `《The Return of Artificial Intelligence》`
- `《Strking Back at Lightning With Lasers》`
- 環(huán)境/地理
- 《Terror in the Mountains》
- 《火山》
- `《Disappearing Delta》`
- `《THE LITTLE ICE AGE》`
傳送門(mén)
6. 閱讀 READING
閱讀考試一共3篇文章，每篇文章大約700-900個(gè)詞匯左右，總計(jì)2100-2700個(gè)詞匯，
第1篇文章最簡(jiǎn)單，第2、3篇文章較難，共計(jì)40道題，
每篇文章大約13-14道題，共計(jì)60分鐘。
文章中可能會(huì)出現(xiàn)表格、圖等等非文字信息。
閱讀是中國(guó)考生最容易提分的科目，同時(shí)也是聽(tīng)說(shuō)讀寫(xiě)四課里最簡(jiǎn)單的一科，
中國(guó)考生的閱讀平均分是6分+，考到7-8的同學(xué)也有很多，
中國(guó)學(xué)生從小學(xué)到大學(xué)，一直在學(xué)英語(yǔ)，做閱讀是家常便飯，爐火純青。
雅思閱讀考試中有大劑量的套路可以快速提升做題速度，
閱讀想拿高分除了套路外，那就是詞匯量的積累，
理論上，詞匯量越大的同學(xué)，做閱讀越快、越準(zhǔn)。
閱讀筆試考試不像口語(yǔ)筆試考試那樣有10分鐘寫(xiě)答題卡的時(shí)間，
要直接把答案寫(xiě)在答題卡上。
打錯(cuò)不扣分，所以所有答案都要寫(xiě)滿(mǎn)，不要空著。
閱讀的難點(diǎn)在于長(zhǎng)難句分析以及做題時(shí)間的把控。
本文鏈接：
https://yangminghan.blog.csdn.net/article/details/106534893
6.1 閱讀評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)
閱讀與聽(tīng)力一樣，都是客觀(guān)題，沒(méi)有主觀(guān)題。
39-40：9.0
37-38：8.5
35-36：8.0
33-34：7.5
30-32：7.0
27-29：6.5
23-26：6.0
6.2 閱讀題型
題型之間是有差距的，填空題只要文章內(nèi)容能看懂50%就可以，
不用花太多的時(shí)間與精力把所有的內(nèi)容都翻譯出來(lái)，
但如果是做搭配題，就必須100%去翻譯，
因?yàn)橐坏┻z漏了一點(diǎn)細(xì)節(jié)，就會(huì)答錯(cuò)。
閱讀題型包括：單選、多選、填空（句子填空、表格&圖標(biāo)填空）、對(duì)錯(cuò)、匹配等。
注意：原文的括號(hào)里會(huì)出題，不要忽略括號(hào)。
6.2.1 閱讀填空題
50%去翻譯文章即可，填空題有一半是復(fù)制粘貼的送分題，
做填空題切記不要逐字翻譯，這樣會(huì)非常非常非常浪費(fèi)時(shí)間，
填空題的答案詞必須是原文中的原詞，不能自己改動(dòng)。
做到可以隨時(shí)調(diào)整自己的閱讀速度，想快就快，想慢就慢。
感覺(jué)答案快要出現(xiàn)了，怕錯(cuò)過(guò)一些關(guān)鍵信息，就放慢速度。
答案詞千萬(wàn)不要因?yàn)槠磳?xiě)問(wèn)題而寫(xiě)錯(cuò)，
尤其是照抄原文的那種答案詞，要有檢查機(jī)制。
注意細(xì)節(jié)（拼寫(xiě)，單位）
對(duì)于一些專(zhuān)業(yè)術(shù)語(yǔ)，需要復(fù)雜的拼寫(xiě)，千萬(wàn)不要寫(xiě)錯(cuò)，
有的答案詞需要數(shù)字+單位，如果只寫(xiě)數(shù)字是不給分的，盡量保證答案的完整性。
例如：把fuelled錯(cuò)寫(xiě)成fulled。
答題思路：
1.認(rèn)真分析，尋找線(xiàn)索
題干認(rèn)真閱讀2-3次，挖掘一些找答案的線(xiàn)索：同義詞，詞性，邏輯關(guān)系，
去定位。
2.對(duì)比題干與原文（尋找同義轉(zhuǎn)換）
定位后，去對(duì)比題干與原文，看哪些內(nèi)容被轉(zhuǎn)換，轉(zhuǎn)換后又缺了哪部分成分。
3.難題合理推斷
遇到難題不要直接放棄，不要亂猜，要進(jìn)行合理的推斷：詞性，句意，順序，
將推斷出來(lái)的答案詞放到題干中讀一下，看看是否通順，是否合適。
如果發(fā)現(xiàn)自己讀的都別扭，那可能就不是答案。
實(shí)在找不到定位詞，可以先做后面的題，例如先做第四題，再做第三題。
摘要填空題（Summary）
Summary的意思是，題干本身就是從文章中已經(jīng)總結(jié)好的內(nèi)容，
可能是總結(jié)幾段內(nèi)容也可能是總結(jié)全文，這些內(nèi)容中有缺省部分，
是需要你來(lái)填空用的，中國(guó)考生對(duì)于這類(lèi)題非常熟悉，從小到大都在做。
無(wú)選項(xiàng)摘要填空
答案來(lái)自原文原詞，原詞重現(xiàn)，比較簡(jiǎn)單，答案有序，詞數(shù)限制（加粗加黑）。
閱讀中表示聲稱(chēng)或名稱(chēng)的方式：
called,named,known as,referred to as,單引號(hào),破折號(hào)。
1. 找定位詞
詳見(jiàn)6.3.2章節(jié)。
2. 確定答案詞的詞性
通過(guò)題干中填空前后的限定來(lái)判斷答案的詞性，
名詞？動(dòng)詞？副詞？形容詞？單復(fù)數(shù)？等等，
界定詞性后，出錯(cuò)的概率會(huì)大大的降低，
在前面詞性段落已經(jīng)有講解，不再贅述。
3. 原文定位
詳見(jiàn)6.3.2章節(jié)。
4. 對(duì)應(yīng)
把題干信息與原文做對(duì)比，從而確認(rèn)答案。
觀(guān)察題干中填空部分的前&后是否在原文中有相似的描述，
找到相似的地方（包括同義詞、語(yǔ)態(tài)、詞性、時(shí)態(tài)的替換等），
便可快速定位答案。
題干往往對(duì)應(yīng)著原文的幾句話(huà)，不要看漏。
在查找同義詞時(shí)，需要結(jié)合上下文的語(yǔ)境來(lái)分析，
而不是單純從單詞本身的意思來(lái)分析，尤其是不要用中文含義來(lái)分析。
這就需要我們有意譯的能力，而不僅僅是直譯，
例如"干燥"可以對(duì)應(yīng)的是"不下雨"。
4.1 找同義詞(邏輯關(guān)系)
通過(guò)一些題干中的邏輯關(guān)系可以快速定位答案，例如題干是并列關(guān)系，
那么原文中也是并列關(guān)系，分別去找并列詞就好了，
甚至不用去逐個(gè)翻譯每一個(gè)單詞，
有生詞也不怕，再通過(guò)泛讀&速讀節(jié)省大量時(shí)間。
邏輯關(guān)鍵詞列表詳見(jiàn)3.1.8.2。
【并列關(guān)系】
看到題干中存在and等表示邏輯的詞，則表示是并列關(guān)系，
在and前后有一個(gè)詞看不懂完全可以pass，可以理解成含義與詞性上是相近的。
Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer, thought the statues had been created by pre-Inca peoples from Peru. (C11-T2-P2)
ethnographer看不懂沒(méi)關(guān)系，看到adventurer知道這個(gè)人是一個(gè)探險(xiǎn)家就ok了。
題干：
The sense of smell may involve response to _____ which do not smell, in addition to obvious odours.
原文：
Researchers have still to decide whether smell is one sense or two - one responding to odours proper and the other registering odourless chemicals in the air.
in addition to為并列關(guān)系詞，并列關(guān)系的雙方是空格答案詞（先忽略定語(yǔ)從句）與odours，
那odours就是我們的定位詞，然后我們?nèi)ピ?#xff0c;發(fā)現(xiàn)了odours原詞重現(xiàn)，
在原文又發(fā)現(xiàn)了in addition to的同義替換and，
因此在原文中去找and后面的詞，但后面的詞太多了，答案只允許寫(xiě)一個(gè)單詞，
此時(shí)我們要知道，并列關(guān)系的兩邊詞性應(yīng)該是一致的，odour為氣味兒，是名詞，
所以答案是chemicals，其實(shí)不用整句翻譯也可以做對(duì)題。
【比較關(guān)系】
題干：
The discovery on one pyramid of an object which resembled a _____ suggests they may have experimented with flight.
原文：
A wooden artefact found on the step pyramid at Saqqara looks uncannily like a modern glider.
resembled與like是同義替換，空格里的內(nèi)容與pyramid為比較關(guān)系，
所以答案是modern glider。
【因果關(guān)系】
題干：
It developed again in the 19th century as a direct result of the _____.
原文：
However, in the 19th century scientific English again enjoyed substantial lexical growth as the industrial revolution created the need for new technical vocabulary, and new, specialised, professional societies were instituted to promote and publish in the new disciplines.
空格答案詞與19th century為因果關(guān)系，as后面接人一般翻譯成作為誰(shuí)誰(shuí)誰(shuí)，
否則翻譯成因?yàn)?#xff0c;答案是industrial revolution。
【否定關(guān)系】
題干：
Children of average ability seem to need more direction from teachers because they do not have _____.
原文：
There appears to be a qualitative difference in the way the intellectually highly able think,compared with more average-ability or older pupils, for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensate for lack of internal regulation.
空格答案詞與average ability、teacher為否定關(guān)系，原句中的lack是表示否定，
答案是internal regulation。
下面是一些例題。
題干：
Plants which do not respond to light are referred to as _____.
原文：
Plants which flower after a period of vegetative growth, regardless of photoperiod, are known as day-neutral plants.
答案：
day-neutral plants
題干：
It was noted that the music stimulated the brain's neurons to release a substance called _____.
原文：
The first thing they discovered is that music triggers the production of dopamine - a chemical with a key role in setting people’s moods - by the neurons in both the dorsal and ventral regions of the brain.
答案：
dopamine
題干：
In recent years, many of them have been obliged to give up their _____ liestyle, but they continue to depend mainly on _____ for their food and clothes.
原文：
Over the past 40 years, most have abandoned their nomadic ways and settled in the territory’s 28 isolated communities, but they still rely heavily on nature to provide food and clothes.
答案：
nomadic,nature
題干：
In fact, the sensation is more similar to the way in which pain from a _____ arm or leg might be felt.
原文：
Experiments showed that, in fact facial vision is nothing to do with touch or the front of the face, although the sensation may be referred to the front of the face like the referred pain in a phantom limb.
答案：
phantom
題干：
It is still worth doing higher studies in the UK because the gap in earning between university graduates and the people who do not have university degrees is greater than anywhere else (3) _____.
我們先分析這句話(huà)的句子成分，從because開(kāi)始分析即可，
the gap 是主語(yǔ)，從in earning一直到degrees都是在修飾主語(yǔ)，
相當(dāng)于是the gap is greater than anywhere else.
這句話(huà)其實(shí)是不缺主干結(jié)構(gòu)的，只缺修飾成分，
所以不能用名詞之類(lèi)的答案。
句子大意為比較上過(guò)大學(xué)與沒(méi)上過(guò)大學(xué)的人的薪資差異巨大。
原文：
International surveys continue to show the salary premium enjoyed by UK graduates over those who choose not to go to university as among the highest in the world.
我們嘗試去找題干中的earning收入做定位，
但發(fā)現(xiàn)原文找不到，卻被同意替換成了salary，
之后university graduates與UK graduates同義替換，
people who do not have university degrees與those who choose not to go to university是同意替換。
后面的is greater than anywhere else與as among the highest in the world做同義替換，
由于題干中缺少修飾成分，故推測(cè)出缺少一個(gè)表示范圍的狀語(yǔ)成分。
答案：
in the world
題干：
The consumption of ______ would be cut because agricultural vehicles would be unnecessary.
原文：
It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping.
答案：
fossil fuel
5. 檢查
有一些錯(cuò)誤通過(guò)1-2秒的檢查是可以看出來(lái)的，
可以花一點(diǎn)時(shí)間看一下答案詞是否有語(yǔ)法錯(cuò)誤，答案詞前后信息是否有遺漏等，
重新再做一遍這種檢查幾乎不可能。
比較高頻的閱讀填空題失誤是：
有選項(xiàng)摘要填空
此類(lèi)的填空題是帶選項(xiàng)詞（一般選項(xiàng)詞就是一個(gè)單詞）讓考生選，
讓考生在一定范圍內(nèi)進(jìn)行選擇，難度有所提升，
選項(xiàng)不一定是原文原詞，會(huì)有同義替換，
題目對(duì)應(yīng)原文不明顯，答案常有亂序，并不一定每場(chǎng)都考。
如果遇到：“NB You may use any letter more than once.”
則表示選項(xiàng)詞可以重復(fù)使用，一般是一個(gè)選項(xiàng)可以用2次，否則不可以。
我們可以：
不要立刻就去找原文，而是利用選項(xiàng)來(lái)預(yù)判一下答案。有的題可以縮小選擇范圍。
有的題甚至可以不看原文直接出答案，如果時(shí)間允許，
可以再去看一下原文做一下double check，要知道閱讀題的時(shí)間是很寶貴的。
通過(guò)題干我們可以通過(guò)空格前后相互搭配來(lái)猜到答案的詞性，然后再去看選項(xiàng)，
假設(shè)只有2個(gè)選項(xiàng)詞符合該詞性，那么把這2個(gè)選項(xiàng)詞分別代入題干中，
翻譯一下看哪個(gè)比較通順、合適，哪個(gè)就是答案。
詞性相關(guān)知識(shí)點(diǎn)可以詳見(jiàn)：3.1.7。
猜答案也是一種能力，是一種有效的提高答題速度的方法。
如果答案不夠要蒙答案的話(huà)，也不要都選一個(gè)答案，例如都選C，
因?yàn)檫@個(gè)提醒一般每個(gè)選項(xiàng)只能用一次。
其中1、3、4與無(wú)選項(xiàng)摘要填空一致。
圖表/流程圖/表格填空題（Diagram/Flowchart/Table，相對(duì)低頻、簡(jiǎn)單）
這三種題型差異性只存在于外形上，
這些題看上去比較復(fù)雜，越復(fù)雜的圖越簡(jiǎn)單，一般都是送分題，
這種題的出現(xiàn)就是來(lái)幫助大家節(jié)省時(shí)間的，把時(shí)間留給其他難題。
老套路，仍然是回到原文中去找答案詞填空，這些題中定位詞比較容易找，
一般會(huì)給一些生僻詞匯&專(zhuān)業(yè)術(shù)語(yǔ)，一般不用去同義替換，不用去理解其含義。
答案在原文中會(huì)體現(xiàn)的非常直接，一般定位詞旁邊挨著的就是答案，
一般不會(huì)亂序，如果亂序也是距離很近幾乎是上下句挨著的情況下。
答題技巧：
1.隱藏線(xiàn)索（并列、因果）
有的圖是不用去分析的，只靠文字便可解題，
但對(duì)于沒(méi)有空格前后沒(méi)有文字的場(chǎng)景，就需要看圖了。
2.小標(biāo)題可定位
如果圖中包含小標(biāo)題，小標(biāo)題可以幫助快速定位答案的起點(diǎn)。
表格例題：
| fix strong ______ to Greenland ice sheets | to prevent icebergs moving into the sea |
原文：
Scientists have also scrutinised whether it’s possible to preserve the ice sheets of Greenland with reinforced high-tension cables, preventing icebergs from moving into the sea.
答案：
cables
分析：
ice sheets與Greenland沒(méi)有被同義替換，可以做快速定位，
strong與reinforced做同義替換，要求答案數(shù)量只能是一個(gè)詞，故cables。
圖表例題（圖略）：
題干：
______ is taken out, enabling Wheel to rotate.
原文：
The water between the gates is then pumped out. A hydrulic clamp, which prevents the arms of the Wheel moving while the gondola is docked, is removed, allowing the Wheel to turn.
答案：
clamp
分析：
本題較難，看到題干有個(gè)taken out，原文中有pumped out，可以做同義替換，
在有時(shí)間壓力的前提下，可能就直接寫(xiě)答案是water了，那就錯(cuò)了。
但如果有一個(gè)check的機(jī)制的話(huà)，看完題干里的第2句話(huà)，
說(shuō)的是"什么東西被拿走，啟動(dòng)大輪轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)"，如果答案寫(xiě)water的話(huà)，
“門(mén)中的水被抽干”，感覺(jué)有些不妥，發(fā)現(xiàn)端倪后，接著看原文，
發(fā)現(xiàn)taken out與is removed可以做同意替換，
enabling Wheel to rotate與allowing the Wheel to turn做同義替換，
所以答案詞是被非限從句修飾的clamp。
題干：
Boat travels through tunnel beneath Roman ______.
原文：
The Wheel could not be constructed to elevate boats over the full 35-metre difference between the two canals, owing to the presence of the historically important Antonine Wall, which was built by the Romans in the second century AD. Boats travel under this wall via a tunnel, then through the locks, and finally on to the Union Canal.
答案：
wall
分析：
原文的內(nèi)容有點(diǎn)多，可以快速定位到Roman，之后看到了beneath與under的替換，
最后把答案鎖定在wall。
題干：
______ raise boat 11 m to level of Union Canal.
原文：
The remaining 11 metres of lift needed to reach the Union Canal is achieved by means of a pair of locks.
答案：
locks
分析：
通過(guò)數(shù)字11可以做快速定位，通過(guò)一個(gè)被動(dòng)語(yǔ)態(tài)鎖定到了locks。
題干：
______ to prevent hull being sucked into mud.
原文：
The problem of the hull being sucked back downwards into the mud was overcome by using 12 hydraulic jacks.
答案：
hydraulic jacks
題干：
______ used as extra protection for the hull.
原文：
The lifting cradle was designed to fit the hull using archaeological survey drawings, and was fitted with air bags to provide additional cushioning for the hull's delicate timeber framework.
答案：
air bags
簡(jiǎn)答題（Short Answer，低頻）
這種題型快消失了，考的越來(lái)越少了，這種題會(huì)用特殊疑問(wèn)句來(lái)問(wèn)考生問(wèn)題，
考生需要根據(jù)文章的內(nèi)容來(lái)回答問(wèn)題，同時(shí)必須使用文章中的原詞作答，
并且有序，較好定位，難度較低。
what…
where/what place…
why…
when/what time…
who…
which
how much…
how many…
how often…
how…
題干：
Which animal might ichthyosaurs have resembled?
原文：
Ichthyosaurs were reptilian contemporaries of the dinosaurs, with fins and streamlined bodies. The fossils look like dolphins and they surely lived like dolphins.
分析：
題干問(wèn)哪種動(dòng)物，原文中描述動(dòng)物的詞只有2個(gè)，dolphin與dinosaur，
resemble與like是同義詞，所以答案是dolphin。
題干：
What was the name finally used to refer to the first colour Perkin invented?
原文：
Perkin originally named his dye Tyrian Purple, but it later became commonly known as mauve.
分析：
題干第一句問(wèn)名字，第二句來(lái)了一個(gè)but表示轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系，所以真正的答案在第二句， 所以答案是mauve。
題干：
Which two processes are mentioned as those in which animals had to make big changes as they moved onto land?
Moving from water to land involved a major redesign of every aspect of life, including breathing and reproduction.
分析：
題干問(wèn)哪兩個(gè)過(guò)程，這是隱藏的并列關(guān)系，直接去原文找并列關(guān)系詞and，
所以答案是breathing and reproduction。
套路：
6.2.2 閱讀判斷題（超高頻，較難）
閱讀判斷題的出題概率是100%，并且題量還不少，有序，難度比較高。
分析對(duì)錯(cuò)時(shí)，如果題干與原文說(shuō)的是一件事，那還有可比性，選TRUE或FALSE，
如果說(shuō)的不是一件事，談不上對(duì)錯(cuò)，那就選NOT GIVEN。
就像不能用一個(gè)人的身高去衡量一個(gè)人的性格，
不能用外表去衡量一個(gè)人的人品。
我們所有的判斷都來(lái)源自題干與原文，不要添加主觀(guān)想法、過(guò)度推測(cè)、發(fā)散思維等。
需要注意題目要求，有的是讓寫(xiě)TRUE、FALSE，有的是讓寫(xiě)YES、NO，
如果寫(xiě)錯(cuò)則不給分，用T、F、NG或Y、N、NG是給分的。
一般情況下，中國(guó)教育普遍把大家培養(yǎng)出一種比較嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)哪Ｊ?#xff0c;
我們?cè)诜治鰧?duì)錯(cuò)時(shí)，只要發(fā)現(xiàn)跟標(biāo)準(zhǔn)不符就認(rèn)為是錯(cuò)的。
類(lèi)似于考試的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案為1，但我們寫(xiě)的是0.99，按照我們之前的理解，這就是錯(cuò)。
雅思考試中，我們寫(xiě)的是0.7，就算對(duì)，差不多就行了，很包容。
難點(diǎn)在于我們不太好把握這個(gè)度，什么算對(duì)，什么算錯(cuò)。
可能會(huì)出現(xiàn)題干內(nèi)容為拿兩個(gè)東西去做對(duì)比的情況，但這兩個(gè)東西在原文中的位置，
會(huì)隔得非常遠(yuǎn)的情況，這樣會(huì)導(dǎo)致大家誤選NOT GIVEN。
因此我們?cè)诎阉械念}干都分析完之后，在去原文做定位時(shí)，
至少同時(shí)帶2道題干內(nèi)容進(jìn)入原文，以防漏掉中間的大量題干所對(duì)應(yīng)的原文內(nèi)容。
先帶1、2去原文，找到1之后，再帶2、3進(jìn)原文，2找到，再帶3、4進(jìn)原文。
定位原文時(shí)遇到指代名詞后，去找它的上一句，找它代替的是誰(shuí)。
在考試時(shí)間不足的情況下，有一些規(guī)律可以拿來(lái)節(jié)省時(shí)間：
-
6個(gè)判斷題中，NOT GIVEN的出題概率較小，為1-2個(gè)；
-
80%的情況，題干出現(xiàn)表示絕對(duì)的詞多為FALSE，表達(dá)不留余地，把話(huà)說(shuō)死了，像must、only、every、any、all、totally、entirely、fully、completely、purely、solely、sole；
-
80%的情況，題干出現(xiàn)表示相對(duì)的詞多為T(mén)RUE，表達(dá)留余地，沒(méi)把話(huà)說(shuō)死了，像may、may not、not all、possible、likely、in general；
-
90%的情況，題干出現(xiàn)有明顯比較雙方的比較級(jí)，是兩個(gè)東西做對(duì)比，而不是自己跟自己比（類(lèi)似于"我比之前吃的更多了"），一般選NOT GIVEN；
TRUE/YES
同義表達(dá)
題干與原文描述同一事件且大意相似即可，不用做到100%完全一樣，
有差異是理所因當(dāng)?shù)?#xff0c;我們要放寬我們的評(píng)價(jià)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，差不多就行了。
例如：weather和nature force雖然含義不同，但也可以算差不多就行了這個(gè)范疇。
題干與原文都往一個(gè)方向上去描述就算TRUE，不要太摳細(xì)節(jié)，
例如題干說(shuō):“賺了很多錢(qián)”，原文說(shuō):“經(jīng)濟(jì)基礎(chǔ)穩(wěn)定”，
不要糾結(jié)要不要把"是否已經(jīng)買(mǎi)車(chē)買(mǎi)房"等因素考慮其中，這個(gè)就是TRUE。
題干：
Human beings are responsible for some of the destruction to food-producing land.
原文：
At present, through the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use. Some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices.
分析：
這道題有點(diǎn)難，差不多就行，因?yàn)楣芾硎韬鰧?dǎo)致15%的莊稼被糟蹋了，
那你說(shuō)人類(lèi)有責(zé)任嗎？責(zé)任是不是在人類(lèi)的疏忽？
雖然不是很?chē)?yán)格意義上的對(duì)，但也算對(duì)了。
題干：
Most countries continue to prefer to trade with nearby nations.
原文：
Countries still trade disproportionately with their geographic neighbours.
分析：
disproportionately是"不成比例的"，一般disproportionately一般表示過(guò)多，
所以答案是T。
題干：
From the beginning of the World Solar Challenge races, there were rules governing the effectiveness of the braking systems and the size of the cars.
原文：
Until 2007, apart from overall specifications concerning vehicle dimensions and brake efficiency, there were few restrictions on the design of the cars, which tended to be weird and wonderful.
分析：
同義替換，題干中描述比賽規(guī)則有兩項(xiàng)，分別為汽車(chē)尺寸和剎車(chē)有效性，
原文中對(duì)應(yīng)vehicle dimensions，dimension有尺寸的意思，所以答案是T。
題干：
Before the new design rules were introduced, the driver was allowed to be partly lying down in the car.
原文：
Thus, for the 2007 race, some new design rules were established. The driver now has to be in a normal sitting position, rather than reclining as had been the rule, and must be able to get in and out of the vehicle unaided.
分析：
本題較難，原文中描述在2007的比賽中新規(guī)則被建立，新規(guī)則是必須采用普通坐姿，
后面跟了一個(gè)rather than，rather than表示轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系，意為而不是，
那肯定代表著跟普通坐姿相反的一種狀態(tài)，就算reclining是生詞，
我們也可以大概猜出來(lái)其含義，
題干中的["部分躺下"與"普通坐姿"的反向狀態(tài)]在大方向上是一致的，
更何況還有had been the rule與before the new design rules做同義替換，
所以答案是T。
題干：
The way a child plays may provide information about possible medical problems.
原文：
Gibson adds: ‘Playful behaviour is also an important indicator of healthy social and emotional development. In my previous research, I investigated how observing children at play can give us important clues about their well-being and can even be useful in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.’
解析：
未完待續(xù)
推斷歸納
題干是根據(jù)原文的信息作出的推斷或總結(jié)，
并不是把原文中的內(nèi)容進(jìn)行翻譯或轉(zhuǎn)換。
題干：
Several species of wildlife in the British countryside are declining.
原文：
In Britain, for example, many of our best-loved farmland birds, such as the skylark, the grey partridge, the lapwing and the corn bunting, have vanished from huge stretches of countryside, as have even more wild flowers and insects.
分析：
答案是TRUE，鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)等都算是野生動(dòng)物，“消失"約等于"數(shù)量減少”，
不要在意時(shí)態(tài)、不要從語(yǔ)法角度挑毛病。
題干：
Some banned drugs do not actually improve sporting performance.
原文：
The list of banned substances includes various stimulants, hormones, chemicals and steroids, as well as blood doping and the use of substances to mask drug use.
分析：
答案是TRUE，原文內(nèi)容表示有一些藥物可以用來(lái)掩蓋服用興奮劑的作用，
可以先吃興奮劑，然后再吃某種藥物逃避尿檢，因此這種藥不是用來(lái)提高成績(jī)，
而是用來(lái)掩蓋吃藥的事實(shí)，與題干描述一致。
FALSE/NO
對(duì)于錯(cuò)誤的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，并不是題干與原文描述的不一致就算錯(cuò)，
反義抵觸
題干是原文的反義表達(dá)，互為對(duì)立面。
一個(gè)成立了，另一個(gè)就不能成立，只有這樣才能選FALSE。
題干：
Marie stopped doing research for several years when her children were born.
原文：
The birth of Marie’s two daughters, Irene and Eve, in 1897 and 1904 failed to interrupt her scientific work.
分析：
答案是FALSE，題干說(shuō)打斷了，原文說(shuō)沒(méi)有打斷，這種就叫"抵觸"。
題干：
The East German athletes were not greatly affected by the drug taking they experienced.
原文：
The opening of official secret police records in 1993 showed that doping had been a systematic state policy in East Germany for the past thirty years, often without the knowledge of the young athletes involved. Many still suffers from the effects, both physical and mental, of this extensive drug use.
分析：
答案是FALSE，題干說(shuō)不受影響，原文說(shuō)受影響。
推斷歸納
原文中沒(méi)有明確給出信息，根據(jù)原文信息可以推斷出題干表述錯(cuò)誤。
題干：
The study involved asking children a number of yes/no questions.
原文：
School children were asked to complete a questionnaire containing five open form questions.
分析：
原文中這個(gè)調(diào)查問(wèn)卷有5個(gè)開(kāi)放問(wèn)題，與"是/否"類(lèi)問(wèn)題不一致，
不要去發(fā)散思維，不要主觀(guān)臆想，所以答案是FALSE。
NOT GIVEN
NOT GIVEN是我們從小到大學(xué)英語(yǔ)都沒(méi)有接觸到的新概念，
表示題干中的描述在文章中沒(méi)有提及。
有的題會(huì)出現(xiàn)很多原詞重現(xiàn)，但其實(shí)是個(gè)陷阱，不要選TRUE，
而是選NOT GIVEN，做題不要看外觀(guān)。
生活常識(shí)是不能用到判斷題上的，只能用原文內(nèi)容來(lái)進(jìn)行判斷，
例如：原文中給出了中國(guó)戰(zhàn)車(chē)比羅馬戰(zhàn)車(chē)要大，但是不一定大的車(chē)裝的人就多。
題干：
Tourism contributes over six per cent of the Australian gross national product.
原文：
… producing over six per cent of the world’s gross national product.
分析：
答案是NOT GIVEN，題干與原文并沒(méi)有在一個(gè)對(duì)立面上，我們得知了世界的GNP，
但并不知道澳大利亞的GNP，既然判斷不出來(lái)澳大利亞的GNP，
那就沒(méi)辦法證明題干錯(cuò)了，就寫(xiě)NOT GIVEN。
題干：
There was some opposition to the design of the Falkirk Wheel at first.
原文：
Numerous ideas were submitted for the project, including concepts ranging from rolling eggs to tilting tanks, from giant see-swas to overhead monorails.
分析：
題干說(shuō)"相反的設(shè)計(jì)"，原文中說(shuō)"大量的設(shè)計(jì)"，沒(méi)有提到"相反"的相關(guān)概念，
因此是NOT GIVEN。
6.2.3 閱讀選擇題
閱讀單選題
單選題一般不會(huì)搞太多生詞也不會(huì)在定位上為難你，
單選選擇題的難度比較大，主要是由4個(gè)選項(xiàng)，其中只有1個(gè)正確答案，
其他3個(gè)都會(huì)有很強(qiáng)的干擾性，不僅僅考察英語(yǔ)水平，更多的時(shí)候是玩的一個(gè)心理。
不能有"差不多就行"的這種心態(tài)，因?yàn)槔锩鏁?huì)有很多陷阱。
不能根據(jù)選項(xiàng)中哪個(gè)說(shuō)的跟原文像就選誰(shuí)，要知道其他3個(gè)選項(xiàng)錯(cuò)哪了。
我們可以給每個(gè)選項(xiàng)去挑錯(cuò)，如果挑不出來(lái)錯(cuò)的，就可能是答案。
一般正確選項(xiàng)都需要進(jìn)行深層次的同義替換，
題干如果不好定位的話(huà)，可以直接拿選項(xiàng)來(lái)定位。
閱讀單選題的出題頻率較高，有順序，方便定位。
題干與4個(gè)選項(xiàng)基本上都在一個(gè)段落中挨著，不會(huì)分開(kāi)。
考官會(huì)讓每個(gè)錯(cuò)誤選項(xiàng)中的一小部分出現(xiàn)如下現(xiàn)象，只要遇到某一個(gè)就可以排除掉。
-
無(wú)
有一部分信息在原文中未提到，與問(wèn)題無(wú)關(guān)，所問(wèn)非所答，只是從文章中找到一個(gè)信息放到選項(xiàng)中，但并沒(méi)有考慮到文章在問(wèn)什么。（90%） -
反
與原文矛盾，類(lèi)似于判斷題中的FALSE。 -
露
與原文信息原詞對(duì)應(yīng)，恨不得每一個(gè)詞跟原文都是一模一樣，包括單詞+數(shù)字，
但其實(shí)是陷阱、干擾項(xiàng)。
題干：
The book Educating Psyche is mainly concerned with _____.
A. the power of suggestion in learning.
B. a particular technique for learning based on emotions.
C. the effects of emotion on the imagination and the unconscious.
D. ways of learning which are not traditional.
原文：
Educating Psyche by Bernie Neville is a book which looks at radical new approaches to learning, describing the effects of emotion, imagination and the unconscious on learning. One theory discussed in the book is that proposed by George Lozanov, which focuses on the power of suggestion.
分析：
題目問(wèn)這本書(shū)主要在講什么什么，原文說(shuō)的是"科學(xué)家提出一個(gè)理論，
這個(gè)理論是關(guān)于什么什么"，這個(gè)理論并不是書(shū)中的主要內(nèi)容，只是其中一部分，
which修飾的是theory，選項(xiàng)A偷換主語(yǔ)，選項(xiàng)A是符合文章，但不符合問(wèn)題。
B選項(xiàng)說(shuō)以"學(xué)習(xí)方法以情緒為基礎(chǔ)"，原文說(shuō)"情緒會(huì)影響學(xué)習(xí)"，與原文不符。
D選項(xiàng)說(shuō)"不傳統(tǒng)的學(xué)習(xí)方法"與原文中的"新學(xué)習(xí)方法"對(duì)應(yīng)。
題干：
The writer was surprised because the blind woman.
A. drew a circle on her own initiative.
B. did not understand what a wheel looked like.
C. included a symbol representing movement.
D. was the first person to use lines of motion.
原文：
and other surfaces in space. But pictures are more than literal representations. This fact was drawn to my attention dramatically when a blind woman in one of my investigations decided on her own initiative to draw a wheel as it was spinning. To show this motion, she traced a curve inside the circle Fig. 1). I was taken aback.
分析：
問(wèn)題是：“作者為什么會(huì)很驚訝”，原文中"有件事引起作者的極大關(guān)注，
就是他看到一個(gè)盲人在畫(huà)一個(gè)旋轉(zhuǎn)的輪子"，但這并沒(méi)有使作者驚訝，
讓作者驚訝的是"盲人在輪子里畫(huà)了一條曲線(xiàn)，表示輪子正在運(yùn)動(dòng)"，
take aback表示驚訝，如果不懂也可以用排除法來(lái)做題，所以答案選C。
A選項(xiàng)與原文太相似，所以排除。B選項(xiàng)與原文矛盾，
如果盲人不知道輪子長(zhǎng)什么樣的話(huà)她是怎么畫(huà)出來(lái)的？
D選項(xiàng)說(shuō)盲人是第一個(gè)用線(xiàn)表示運(yùn)動(dòng)的人，原文中并沒(méi)有提及。
題干：
According to the writer, the ‘displacement effect’ on the visitor is caused by.
A. the variety of works on display and the way they are arranged.
B. the impossibility of viewing particular works over a long period.
C. the similar nature of the paintings and the lack of great works.
D. the inappropriate nature of the individual works selected for exhibition.
原文：
The visitor may then be struck by the strangeness of seeing such diverse paintings, drawings and sculptures brought together in an environment for which they were not originally created. This ‘displacement effect’ is further heightened by the sheer volume of exhibits. In the case of a major collection, there are probably more works on display than we could realistically view in weeks or even months.
分析：
原文中描述：“參觀(guān)者去到博物館、展覽館中去看畫(huà)或雕塑，讓大家感到驚訝的是，這么多不同種類(lèi)的畫(huà)和雕塑被帶到一個(gè)環(huán)境中來(lái)展覽，而這個(gè)環(huán)境不不是它們最初被創(chuàng)作的地方，這種位移效應(yīng)會(huì)加重了展覽的數(shù)量，在一個(gè)大型展覽中，甚至大家要花上好幾個(gè)禮拜都不太可能看得完這么多的作品”，答案是A，未完待續(xù)。
在考試時(shí)間不足的情況下，有一些規(guī)律可以拿來(lái)節(jié)省時(shí)間：
-
80%的情況，選項(xiàng)出現(xiàn)表示絕對(duì)的詞多為錯(cuò)誤，表達(dá)不留余地，把話(huà)說(shuō)死了，像must、only、every、any、all、totally、entirely、fully、completely、purely、solely、sole；
-
80%的情況，選項(xiàng)出現(xiàn)表示相對(duì)的詞多為對(duì)的，表達(dá)留余地，沒(méi)把話(huà)說(shuō)死了，像may、may not、not all、not always、possible、likely、in general；
-
4個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，如果有2個(gè)非常相似&或者有2個(gè)非常相反，那么其中有一個(gè)是正確選項(xiàng)，通過(guò)這種規(guī)律可以快速排出另外2個(gè)沒(méi)有特點(diǎn)的選項(xiàng)。
閱讀多選題（低頻）
閱讀多選題有5選2，6選3，8選3等等，有序，多選題比單選題要更好做。
選項(xiàng)一起出現(xiàn)，通常都在一個(gè)段落中，有利于定位，
評(píng)分標(biāo)準(zhǔn)比較人性化，如果標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案是C、D、E，如果答成D、E、F，
那么C、D答對(duì)了是給分的，對(duì)于不太確定的答案也選上去，
一定要符合答案數(shù)量要求。
6.2.4 閱讀搭配題
搭配題是把2個(gè)不一樣的東西給到你，然后用某一種規(guī)則把這2個(gè)東西搭在一起。
做匹配題時(shí)，養(yǎng)成好習(xí)慣，讀完一段后，立即檢查一下有沒(méi)有能匹配到的匹配題。
閱讀[配對(duì)/歸類(lèi)]題（Match&Classify，高頻，無(wú)序）
[Match/Classify]題型的出題概率幾乎為100%，
近幾年Classify考的越來(lái)越少，幾乎都是考Match，但套路差不多，
Classify題型時(shí)，答案沒(méi)有限制，可以重復(fù)使用。
Match題型時(shí)，我們需要看是否有(NB)標(biāo)識(shí)，代表答案是否可以重復(fù)選擇。
“You may use any letter more than once.”
會(huì)給到考生兩組信息，其中一種信息用數(shù)字標(biāo)序號(hào)（題號(hào)），
另外一組用字母標(biāo)序號(hào)（選項(xiàng)），我們需要把數(shù)字與字母配成一對(duì)。
這種題一般定位比較簡(jiǎn)單，定位詞一般為人名、地名、時(shí)間、國(guó)家名等等，
需要注意題目是亂序的，要按照原文的順序去找，而不是按題目的順序。
萬(wàn)一沒(méi)有簡(jiǎn)單的定位詞，則需要一次性分析所有的題干，然后一起找定位詞，
可以拿選項(xiàng)定位也可以拿題干定位，看哪個(gè)方便，
一般拿個(gè)數(shù)少的來(lái)定位，題目個(gè)數(shù)少就用題目，選項(xiàng)個(gè)數(shù)少就用選項(xiàng)。
在做Match&Classify這類(lèi)題時(shí)，可以結(jié)合其他題型一起做，以便節(jié)省時(shí)間，
遇到簡(jiǎn)單的單詞需要做翻譯，遇到復(fù)雜單詞，則不用翻譯，加快閱讀速度。
例題1：
Match each city with the correct description, A-E
List of Descriptions
A. successfully uses a light rail transport system in hilly environment
B. successful public transport system despite cold winters
C. profitably moved from road to light rail transport system
D. hilly and inappropriate for rail transport system
E. heavily dependent on cars despite widespread poverty
F. inefficient due to a limited public transport system
例題2：
Match each event with the correct nationality, A-F
List of Nationalities
A. Babylonians
B. Egyptians
C. Greeks
D. English
E. Germans
F. French
例題3：
Classify the following descriptions as relating to
A.caloric-restricted monkeys
B.control monkeys
C.neither caloric-restricted monkeys nor control monkeys
Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 33-37 on your answer sheet.
33. Monkeys were less likely to become diabetic.
34. Monkeys experienced more chronic disease.
35. Monkeys have been shown to experience a longer that average lifespan.
36. Monkeys enjoyed a reduced chance of heart disease.
37. Monkeys produced greater quantities of insulin.
例題4：
本題較難，難度不在于定位，而是在于理解，在于同義替換，生詞太多，影響理解。
List of Scientists
A. Roger Angel
B. Phil Rasch
C. Dan Lunt
D. Martin Sommerkorn
原文：
And Dr Phil Rasch of the US-based Pacific Norrhwest National Laboratoru is equally guarded about the role of geo-engineering: ‘I think all of us agree that if we were to end geo-engineering on a given day, then the planet would return to its pre-engineered condition very rapidly, and probably within ten to twenty years. That’s certainly something to worry about.’
According to Dr Martin Sommerkorn, climate change advisor for the World Wildlift Fund’s International Arctic Programme, ‘Human-induced climate change has brought humanity to a position where we should’t exclude thinking thoroughly about this topic and its possibilities.’
To aviod such a scenario, Lunt says Angel’s project would have to operate at half strength; all of which reinforces his view that the best option is to avoid the need for geo-engineering altogether.
Angel says that his plan is ‘no substitute for developing renewable energy: the only permanent solution.’
答案：
閱讀完成句子題（Sentence Completion，中頻，一般有序）
長(zhǎng)得與[Match/Classify]很像，句首句尾匹配，給句子前半句，讓我們配后半句。
題干與正確的選項(xiàng)需要可以組成一句話(huà)，符合文章、符合語(yǔ)法、答案有序。
在時(shí)間不足的情況下，我們甚至可以不看原文，靠猜測(cè)的方式來(lái)選擇正確答案，
看哪些搭配可以在語(yǔ)法層面組成正確的句子，有的搭配是語(yǔ)法就錯(cuò)了，
語(yǔ)法正確的前提下，再檢查句意是否很完整、很通順，不能前言不搭后語(yǔ)。
把不是人話(huà)的選項(xiàng)先用排除法PASS掉，之后再用題干的關(guān)鍵詞進(jìn)行定位。
選項(xiàng)有多余干擾信息（一部分正確、一部分錯(cuò)誤），不要因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)單詞的對(duì)應(yīng)就直接選擇，
一個(gè)題目的答案可能會(huì)橫跨幾句話(huà)，不要見(jiàn)了逗號(hào)就停止。
先做好定位的句子，再通過(guò)往前推或往后推去做定位困難的句子。
例題1：
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.
A. be discouraged by difficulties.
B. travel on open land where they can look out for predators.
C. eat more than they need for immediate purposes.
D. be repeated daily.
E. ignore distractions.
F. be governed by the availability of water.
G. follow a straight line.
例題2：
Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-G below.
Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 24-27 on your answer sheet.
A. react to their own thoughts.
B. helped create language in humans.
C. respond instantly to whatever is happening.
D. may provide valuable information about the operation of the brain.
E. cope with difficult situations.
F. relate to a person’s subjective views.
G. led our ancestors to smile and then laugh.
為了節(jié)省時(shí)間，還沒(méi)看原文，因?yàn)檎Z(yǔ)法層面，24題的候選項(xiàng)可以排除3個(gè)：
選項(xiàng)B不行，因?yàn)閠o后面不能跟動(dòng)詞過(guò)去式，
選項(xiàng)G不行，同上，
選項(xiàng)D不行，因?yàn)閠o后面不能跟情態(tài)動(dòng)詞。
閱讀主旨題（List of Headings，無(wú)序，中頻）
有點(diǎn)像總結(jié)段落大意，在雅思閱讀主旨題中，會(huì)給出一個(gè)方框，
里面有若干小標(biāo)題作為選項(xiàng)，每個(gè)小標(biāo)題都叫heading，
我們需要把文章的每一段總結(jié)出一個(gè)段落大意之后，正好可以匹配到方框中的小標(biāo)題。
通常某一個(gè)段落的正確答案已經(jīng)給出，我們則需要把那個(gè)選項(xiàng)劃掉即可。
拿到題后，我們先看[題目/題干]中的小標(biāo)題，把標(biāo)題中的關(guān)鍵詞都劃出來(lái)，
之后讀文章原文中的的段落，先看段落主旨句，一般在開(kāi)頭第1句，
觀(guān)察是否剛才劃的定位詞在第1句中同義替換出現(xiàn)，
如果出現(xiàn)對(duì)應(yīng)的話(huà)，那可能是正確答案，
如果第1句沒(méi)有，再看第2句，先不要看第3句，可以再看一眼段落的最后1句，
如果再找不到？那就把整個(gè)段落都讀一遍吧。。。
如果遇到拿不準(zhǔn)的標(biāo)題，類(lèi)似于有2個(gè)段落都可以選， 遇到這種情況我們可以先放一下這道題，先做后面的題，
之后再回來(lái)，也許就能迎刃而解。
如果原文的段落中沒(méi)有同義替換，
而是需要我們自己來(lái)歸納的話(huà)，我們需要一些規(guī)律來(lái)快速抓住主旨。
建議先做細(xì)節(jié)題（填空、選擇等），對(duì)文章內(nèi)容有所了解之后，再做配對(duì)題，
就增加成功率。
標(biāo)題（正確答案）：
Mixed views on current changes to museum.
原文段落第一句：
Recently, however, attitudes towards history and the ways it should be presented have altered.
標(biāo)題（正確答案）：
Enough food at last.
原文段落最后一句：
The increased productivity from farmland made some countries self-sufficient in grain and livestock and offered effective protection against famine.
標(biāo)題（正確答案）：
A difficult landscape.
原文段落第一句：
The Canadian Arctic is a vast, treeless polar desert that’s covered with snow for most of the year.
閱讀段落題（Paragraph，無(wú)序，中頻，最難）
Which paragraph contains the following information?
翻譯過(guò)來(lái)是：“每個(gè)段落包含如下信息？”。
有的題干抽象性比較強(qiáng)，不好做定位，基本不用劃定位詞，需要培養(yǎng)歸納總結(jié)的能力，
需要先讀懂所有題干的準(zhǔn)確含義，然后進(jìn)段落中先找主旨（段落第1-2句以及結(jié)尾句），
如果發(fā)現(xiàn)主旨沒(méi)有關(guān)聯(lián)，那么可以直接pass掉這段，如果有的關(guān)聯(lián)的話(huà)，
再仔細(xì)讀中心部分，所謂的找到主旨后再遞進(jìn)細(xì)節(jié)。
因?yàn)槭莵y序，因此要按照原文的順序去做，而不是題干的順序。
先做細(xì)節(jié)題（選擇，填空等）獲得一些暗示，再做段落題，不要先做段落題。
我們需要找題干中的關(guān)鍵詞來(lái)做定位，看這個(gè)關(guān)鍵詞是來(lái)源于哪段，
一個(gè)題干中的定位詞可能會(huì)出現(xiàn)在不同段落中的多處位置，需要小心謹(jǐn)慎，
不要第一個(gè)定位詞所對(duì)應(yīng)的原文中沒(méi)有收獲就立刻放棄，
這種題比較難做，一般出3-6道題，是否有重復(fù)選項(xiàng)還需要看NB標(biāo)識(shí)。
答案無(wú)序，因此在審題階段就需要把這3-6道題都看一遍，然后緩存在大腦中，
原文每讀完一段，就停一下，check一下是否包含答案關(guān)鍵詞。
如果詞匯量不夠，導(dǎo)致題干與原文中有大量的生詞，很容易定位不到或做錯(cuò)題。
例題：
Reading Passage 1 has six sections, A-F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter. A-F in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
題干：
mention of a geo-engineering project based on an earlier natural phenomenon.
原文：
The idea is modelled on historic volcanic explosions, such as that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which led to a short-term cooling of global temperatures by 0.5 ℃.
分析：
題干中的定位詞為：“早期的自然現(xiàn)象”，如果不認(rèn)識(shí)phenomenon，可能會(huì)選錯(cuò)，
原文中提及"模仿歷史火山噴發(fā)"，所以選這句話(huà)所在的段落。
6.3 閱讀技巧
6.3.1 如何備考閱讀
閱讀能力的提升非常注重量變引起質(zhì)變，
我們提升閱讀量，閱讀量少肯定不行，此外還要了解文章背景，
閱讀需要每天持續(xù)不斷的訓(xùn)練，幾天不練閱讀，閱讀速度會(huì)下降。
劍5-15有70多篇雅思閱讀原文，
在讀懂這些文章之前不用看別的文章材料，
這70篇都搞定后，還可以通過(guò)BBC的原版新聞，《Economist》去練。
初學(xué)者在開(kāi)始練習(xí)題型的時(shí)候，不用給自己卡時(shí)間，
因?yàn)槭清憻捵约旱慕忸}思路，鍛煉結(jié)束后再卡時(shí)間做題，
先追求深度，再追求速度，25分鐘->20分鐘->18分鐘。
之后是做好時(shí)間管理，一般來(lái)說(shuō)閱讀的第1篇文章較簡(jiǎn)單，
花費(fèi)時(shí)間應(yīng)該控制在17-18分鐘，最后1篇文章較難，
時(shí)間應(yīng)控制在22-23分鐘。
在自己做模考或做劍雅真題的時(shí)候，需要摸清自己的閱讀速度，
從而做到心里有數(shù)，用有限的時(shí)間去做自己擅長(zhǎng)的事情，
不要給自己太大的任務(wù)量，欲速則不達(dá)。
如果實(shí)在做不完題，也不用太擔(dān)心，優(yōu)先把簡(jiǎn)單題做完做準(zhǔn)，
難的題放棄或蒙就好了，不要給自己太大心理負(fù)擔(dān)，
考試前就給自己心理暗示，閱讀題是肯定做不完的，
這樣壓力會(huì)小很多，自我發(fā)揮的也會(huì)更好。
先做題，之后看答案，分析自己錯(cuò)在哪里，
之后才是精讀，如何精讀？
先將[題目/題干]與原文中中非專(zhuān)業(yè)術(shù)語(yǔ)類(lèi)的生詞查一查，
自己抽空把這些生詞消化掉，可能認(rèn)識(shí)的單詞放到句子中感覺(jué)很奇怪，翻譯的不通順，那這種單詞我們也需要查，可能是我們不了解這個(gè)單詞的其他含義；
對(duì)照文章原文與[題目/題干]，尋找同義替換的套路，自己總結(jié)起來(lái)；
分析[題目/題干]中長(zhǎng)難句的語(yǔ)法結(jié)構(gòu)，例如：后置分詞起修飾作用，還有各種從句等等，補(bǔ)充一下自己不了解的語(yǔ)法知識(shí)點(diǎn)。
總結(jié)段落大意（可省略）。
不要每篇文章都做全文的精讀，浪費(fèi)時(shí)間，性?xún)r(jià)比低，
此外，這也跟真正考試的狀態(tài)不一樣，考點(diǎn)是短時(shí)間內(nèi)答對(duì)。
如果備考時(shí)間是1年或1年之上，則可以在備考前期句句精讀。
閱讀提分需要敢于突破舒適區(qū)，
去發(fā)現(xiàn)哪些地方讀不懂，哪些題會(huì)做錯(cuò)，
為什么做錯(cuò)，而不是反復(fù)的去做你本來(lái)就會(huì)的題。
建議每天60分鐘的精讀，60分鐘背單詞，30分鐘的泛讀&速讀。
6.3.2 閱讀解題思路
雅思閱讀考試的時(shí)間可謂是相當(dāng)?shù)木o張，閱讀考試有3篇文章，
只有60分鐘的時(shí)間，每篇文章大約20分鐘，
如果是筆考，還需要有寫(xiě)答題卡的時(shí)間。
中國(guó)考生做閱讀普遍的問(wèn)題是速度慢，時(shí)間不夠用，做不完題。
為什么慢？是因?yàn)槟銢](méi)有掌握有效節(jié)省時(shí)間的閱讀方法論。
找定位與詳略得等是雅思閱讀考試中最重要的能力，
快速做題節(jié)省時(shí)間，成為了我們答高分的致命武器。
雅思閱讀考試的特點(diǎn)是：
文章原文 -> 歸納總結(jié)、同義替換 -> [題目/題干]，
因此我們一定要先閱讀[題目/題干]內(nèi)容，再帶著問(wèn)題去閱讀原文。
看題順序
拿到卷子后，先看一眼文章的主標(biāo)題，
有利于自己快速理解文章大意，大腦有個(gè)初步認(rèn)知，
這篇文章大概是在講什么。
雅思閱讀有序題型，它們分別是：
填空題（除帶選項(xiàng)的摘要填空）、判斷題、選擇題、部分配對(duì)題（完成句子）。
對(duì)于這些順序題型，我們只要先看其中1-2個(gè)[題目/題干]就可以，
因?yàn)槎际菐ы樞虻?#xff0c;可以依次按照順序往下定位，比較簡(jiǎn)單。
如果一篇文章出了2-3套順序題，那我們需要使用平行法來(lái)做題，
因?yàn)檫@些題都是帶順序的，因此我們可以同時(shí)來(lái)做這2-3套題，
假如1-7題是填空題，8-13是判斷題，
那我們可以先把所有帶順序的題型都看完并劃出定位詞（或者只看前2個(gè)也可以），
大腦要緩存1、2、8、9這些題的定位詞，然后進(jìn)入原文，
同時(shí)去找這些題，否則會(huì)浪費(fèi)大量的時(shí)間來(lái)回反復(fù)回原文。
1先出現(xiàn)的話(huà)，那下面接著來(lái)找2、3、8、9，
2再出現(xiàn)的話(huà)，那下面接著來(lái)找3、4、8、9，
8再出現(xiàn)的話(huà)，那下面接著來(lái)找3、4、9、10，
隨時(shí)保持自己的目標(biāo)在持續(xù)更新的狀態(tài)。
對(duì)于其他亂序題型，就不能用這種平行法，
例如：匹配&歸類(lèi)、段落、帶選項(xiàng)的摘要填空（時(shí)亂時(shí)不亂），
我們則要提前都看一遍，
因?yàn)槲覀円膊淮_定到底在什么位置出題，
這些題型有很強(qiáng)的位置隨機(jī)性。
原文讀完一段，就看一下這些無(wú)序題，看哪個(gè)能做就做哪個(gè)。
段落的第1-2句一般是段落的主旨句，
段落的最后1句一般是段落的總結(jié)句，
一般情況下是符合"總-分-總"的結(jié)構(gòu)，當(dāng)然不是100%這樣。
不要?jiǎng)偵蟻?lái)就先做匹配題，要先做細(xì)節(jié)題（判斷、選擇等）。
找定位詞
根據(jù)[題目/題干]找文章原文的這個(gè)過(guò)程，就叫定位，
用于定位的單詞，我們就叫它：“定位詞”。
通過(guò)[題目/題干]定位詞快速定位到原文中找到相應(yīng)的同義替換，
我們需要有很強(qiáng)的定位能力，不然根本沒(méi)辦法做題，
會(huì)定位的話(huà)，可以快速找到答案，會(huì)節(jié)省大量時(shí)間。
一些定位規(guī)律：
如果[題目/題干]中含有下列詞匯，可以幫助快速定位，
例如：[題目/題干]中含有figure、number等詞，
則可以快速定位到原文某一段中含有數(shù)字的地方。
| figure, number, amount, statistics, statistical | 數(shù)字 |
| proportion,percentage | 分?jǐn)?shù)/百分?jǐn)?shù) |
| financial, income, economic, cost, fund, expenditure | 錢(qián) |
| time, period, century, past, recent | 時(shí)間 |
| processes, procedures, stages | 序數(shù)詞 |
| location, region, site, international, global | 地名 |
| overview, concept, early, origin, ancient, history, definition, cause, introduction, assumption, hypothesis | 文章開(kāi)頭1-2段 |
| impact, future, prospect, outlook, conclusion, result, consequence | 文章結(jié)尾 |
開(kāi)始做題后，先從[題目/題干]中找到若干定位詞（線(xiàn)索），
先找特殊定位詞，如果沒(méi)有找到，再找普通定位詞。
找特殊定位詞
有一些很難被替換的單詞可以很容易來(lái)做定位詞，詳見(jiàn)3.1.5章節(jié)。
找普通定位詞
如果題目&題干中找不到特殊定位詞，
那么可以按詞性去按順序找普通定位詞，
順序如下：名詞>動(dòng)詞>形容詞>副詞。
首先找[題干/題目]中的名詞，因?yàn)槊~不容易被換掉，
即使被換了也比較容易找到，例如一個(gè)名詞"女神"，
可以替換成"美女"、“女生”、"女性"等等，比較容易察覺(jué)。
最容易被換掉的是形容詞與副詞，
例如可以形容女神是"美麗的"，
那還可以替換成"大方的"、“超凡脫俗的”、“伶俐的”、"古靈精怪的"等等，
相對(duì)于名詞而言，比較難察覺(jué)。
有的定位詞出現(xiàn)的頻率比較高，
那就沒(méi)辦法有效定位，要排除高頻詞。
例如：你發(fā)現(xiàn)[題目/題干]中有個(gè)名詞"people"，
然后這個(gè)"people"在原文中出現(xiàn)了20多次。。。
通常不太常見(jiàn)的名詞可以做定位詞。
每個(gè)[題目/題干]不能只劃一個(gè)定位詞，
這樣可能在原文中突然被換掉你發(fā)現(xiàn)不了，
要多劃幾個(gè)，多重保險(xiǎn)，定位詞的數(shù)量上至少要>=2。
閱讀原文&原文定位
找到定位詞后，去閱讀原文，
通過(guò)定位詞+泛讀快速定位原文答案大體位置范圍，
定位到答案在哪一段哪一行，
同時(shí)別忘了讀一下原文中定位詞前面1-2句，
有可能答案詞在定位詞前面出現(xiàn)的情況。
千萬(wàn)千萬(wàn)千千萬(wàn)不要每一句話(huà)都精讀，
更不要去琢磨一些與答案沒(méi)有關(guān)系的生僻詞的含義或語(yǔ)法，
記住，我們每篇文章只有不到20分鐘的時(shí)間，
那為了節(jié)省時(shí)間，我們需要有略讀有精讀，
結(jié)合自己的定位方法，自己掌握自己的語(yǔ)感與閱讀速度。
不是[定位句/出題句]的句子可以泛讀，
如果是主旨題，則可以不去看例子之類(lèi)的句子，
副詞、形容詞、定語(yǔ)從句、狀語(yǔ)從句等都是起修飾作用，
可以選擇性pass掉，因?yàn)椴粫?huì)影響句子的主要含義，節(jié)省時(shí)間。
會(huì)有很多童鞋吐槽，
說(shuō)雅思閱讀原文有很多生詞、很晦澀、學(xué)術(shù)性強(qiáng)等等，
讀不懂原文很正常，主要是由生詞+語(yǔ)法結(jié)構(gòu)不熟悉導(dǎo)致。
生詞
詞匯量再多也不可能把3篇文章里的所有單詞都看會(huì)，
因?yàn)殚喿x文章中充斥了大量的學(xué)術(shù)性、專(zhuān)業(yè)性單詞，
這里可以取巧。
但如果生詞的數(shù)量在文章中出現(xiàn)很多，
甚至超過(guò)一半，那就是神仙難救了， 看見(jiàn)單詞的次數(shù)越多越熟，因此要多看多練。
其實(shí)閱讀文章對(duì)單詞的要求并不是很高，你只要認(rèn)識(shí)單詞即可，
你不用去把單詞完整的寫(xiě)下來(lái)，聽(tīng)出來(lái)、讀出來(lái)。
文章中的很多生詞是可以pass掉的，
閱讀題文章的內(nèi)容里有很多段落是不影響答題的，也就是說(shuō)，
文章中有大約1/3的部分看不懂是不會(huì)影響答題甚至不影響答滿(mǎn)分。
只有關(guān)鍵的句子段落才是出題的點(diǎn)，
很多生詞可以通過(guò)詞性、詞根詞綴、上下文語(yǔ)境去猜。
如果通過(guò)閱讀[題目/題干]得知需要在原文中尋找否定關(guān)系，
遇到不符合否定關(guān)系的生詞，快速pass掉，不要糾結(jié)，
我雖然不知道其含義，但我能確定這個(gè)生詞肯定不是否定。
我們?cè)谧鲅潘奸喿x模考或練習(xí)時(shí)，
遇到生詞的第一反應(yīng)不是先查詞典，而是通過(guò)上下文語(yǔ)境，
去猜其含義，之后再查詞典去確認(rèn)，
這樣會(huì)培養(yǎng)出一種猜單詞的能力，
這在閱讀考試中尤為重要。
答案的出題句很有限，把這些出題句都翻譯和解析一下。
再去看答案，對(duì)比一下自己的感覺(jué)哪里有誤解，
然后把誤解記下來(lái)，防止下次再犯。
遇到自己比較生疏的領(lǐng)域（例如：天文學(xué)），
會(huì)有一些場(chǎng)景詞匯需要掌握，
這些詞匯可以從做劍雅真題里摘出來(lái)，然后轉(zhuǎn)化成熟詞，
我們需要重點(diǎn)關(guān)注[題目/題干]與出題句的生詞。
文章中的專(zhuān)業(yè)詞匯有很多不用背，只背比較常見(jiàn)的生詞即可，
例如"細(xì)胞壁"、"納米科技"、"光合作用"之類(lèi)的。
閱讀考試比較注重詞匯的積累，每天不要先背單詞，
而是先做閱讀題，在做閱讀的時(shí)候發(fā)現(xiàn)高頻生詞，
記錄下來(lái)，之后再去背這些高頻生詞。
做練習(xí)的時(shí)候遇到生詞先PASS掉，
做完題之后，再去統(tǒng)一查詞典，
不要遇到一個(gè)查一個(gè)，
因?yàn)檫@樣就練不出來(lái)[測(cè)詞能力]與[閱讀速度]了。
做題的時(shí)候如果遇到某個(gè)以前認(rèn)識(shí)的單詞，
但是其含義是說(shuō)不通的，
那就需要查字典，這就代表句中使用的是該單詞的另一種含義，
之后再?gòu)?qiáng)化記憶，提升自己對(duì)熟詞僻義的認(rèn)知能力。
語(yǔ)法結(jié)構(gòu)
如果一句話(huà)中的所有單詞都認(rèn)識(shí)，
但還是看不懂，或者看的很別扭，
甚至做錯(cuò)題，那就是語(yǔ)法層面的問(wèn)題了。
有一些修飾成分是后置的，我們可以在原句中括出來(lái)，
把句子中的邏輯搞清楚，把陌生的語(yǔ)法結(jié)構(gòu)學(xué)一下。
句子邏輯
有一些單詞、詞組可以表達(dá)邏輯關(guān)系，詳見(jiàn)3.1.8.2章節(jié)，
原文中的邏輯關(guān)系一般也是換不掉的，
但表示關(guān)系的單詞、詞組是可以被同義替換的，
即使被換掉也比較容易被找到。
例如：
在題目&題干中說(shuō)了"因?yàn)椤浴?#xff0c;
那么原文中也大概率會(huì)出現(xiàn)"因?yàn)椤浴薄?/p>
如果題目&題干中存在"for example"，
后面的內(nèi)容是一般是從原文中摘出來(lái)的。
隱藏的邏輯關(guān)系
有的地方雖然沒(méi)有明顯的邏輯關(guān)系詞，但卻存在隱藏的邏輯關(guān)系。
例如：
- xxx
- yyy
表格題或填空題中的優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)對(duì)比，隱藏的是轉(zhuǎn)折關(guān)系。
像下面的這種括號(hào)，隱藏的是舉例關(guān)系。
專(zhuān)有名詞 +（xxx、yyy、zzz）
相鄰題目&題干
有些題干確實(shí)很難找到有價(jià)值的定位詞，不過(guò)沒(méi)關(guān)系，
填空題的順序是按題號(hào)來(lái)的，我們可以先做下一道題，之后再反推。
填空題、判斷題、選擇題，大部分順序出題，
方便定位，先找到2，再往回推1。
用2個(gè)題目&題干做雙保險(xiǎn)去原文定位，
不一定必須先找1，再找2，
可以先找2，再往前推，卡位，
在所有的順序題中都好用。
兩題卡位：
填空題中，在空格這句可能找不到，
可以繼續(xù)往前或往后找關(guān)鍵詞，縮小查找范圍。
順序題型排列
雅思閱讀考試有3篇文章，每篇文章有12-14道題目，2-4個(gè)題型。
假如1-7題是填空題，8-13是判斷題，
我們可以從題型來(lái)判斷讀原文的順序，
一般來(lái)說(shuō)，填空題所對(duì)應(yīng)的原文內(nèi)容靠前（也可能是從頭到尾），
判斷題所對(duì)應(yīng)的原文內(nèi)容靠后。
做判斷題的后道題時(shí)，
要從最后一段往前讀，而不是從第一段往后讀。
這種策略只能用于：填空題、判斷題、選擇題。
做定位的時(shí)候，要把上述的策略都用上，而不是單獨(dú)找一個(gè)策略。
6.4 雅思閱讀備考必讀文章
考試前需要準(zhǔn)備一些基礎(chǔ)文章，豐富自己的場(chǎng)景詞匯，
真正考試前，需要把下列20篇文章全部閱讀至少1-2遍。
不同分段對(duì)應(yīng)練習(xí)書(shū)籍：
- 5.5分：《IELTS READING 雅思閱讀》
- 6.0分：《Collins Reading for IELTS》
- 6.5分及以上：《劍雅真題4-15》
如果剛開(kāi)始基礎(chǔ)非常差，那么就從5.5分那本書(shū)開(kāi)始看，
那本書(shū)是最簡(jiǎn)單的，然后一路走來(lái)看到劍雅真題。
從劍雅真題4開(kāi)始看，一共有100多篇閱讀文章，
說(shuō)實(shí)話(huà)，夠你練了，在這些閱讀文章都搞定之前，
沒(méi)有必要再去看BBC、CNN之類(lèi)的課外讀物了。
大部分同學(xué)閱讀分?jǐn)?shù)至少要上6.5或7以上，
因?yàn)殚喿x這科本身就是中國(guó)學(xué)生拉分的法寶。
雅思閱讀基本上是學(xué)術(shù)性論文，因此需要提前背誦《AWL英語(yǔ)學(xué)術(shù)詞匯表》，只有570個(gè)單詞，你值得擁有。
動(dòng)植物（最高頻）
《The Albatross》
來(lái)自《IELTS READING 雅思閱讀》p34
Albatrosses are the largest seabirds in existence, with wingspans which extend to over three metres in width. They represent a small subset of the larger group known as tube-nosed petrels, which have strong, curved sharp beaks which they use for catching fish and squid on the surface of the ocean. While there is some debate about the exact taxonomy of the species, it is agreed that there are somewhere between 21 and 24 species of albatrosses.
Of these species, approximately half breed in New Zealand and about 80 per cent breed or fish within New Zealand’s territorial waters. Six species breed only in New Zealand or on its offshore islands. One of only two mainland nesting sites for these birds in the world, for the northern royal albatross, is on the Otago Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand; it is a popular tourist destination. Visitors can view the albatross colony from a special building which has been established beside the nesting ground and, while the site is closed during breeding season, at other times it is often possible to see parents and their chicks living and feeding only metres away from human observers.
Albatrosses spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land only to mate and raise their chicks. Male and female birds cooperate in raising their offspring. At the Taiaroa nesting site in New Zealand, eggs are laid in October or November each year. Incubation takes about 11 weeks, and during this time both parents take turns to sit on the eggs for periods of up to three weeks, while the other bird goes off to sea to eat. It takes the chicks up to five or six days to hatch from their tough shell. Once they are hatched, the parents take turns in looking after them for about five or six weeks. After this time, they are left alone except for regular feeding until they get their feathers and are ready to fly, at about eight months of age.
Once the young birds are ready to fly, they are off to sea. Albatrosses spend about 80 per cent of their lives at sea, soaring over the waves and feeding off surface fish and squid. Some albatrosses travel long distances over the pelagic, or deep, ocean, while others find food closer to land over areas of continental shelf. They can fly at great speed, at bursts of up to 140km/hour, and they can cover huge distances in one day, even as much as 1800 km.
The royal albatrosses at Taiaroa Head stay at sea for the first three years of their lives, after which they return to the colony once a year for several years before finding a mate and beginning to breed at around the age of eight. Albatrosses are faithful birds; they mate for life and raise one chick every two years on average. They are also long lived, and birds have been recorded still laying eggs into their 50s and even 60s. However, their relatively low reproductive rate is one of the factors which make them vulnerable to the threat of extinction.
There are also risks to albatross chicks on land. Natural predators such as seagulls can eat eggs and young birds, and in mainland areas there are also threats from dogs, cats and other land animals. On some offshore islands, sea lions have been observed raiding nests for eggs. It is thought that this is a new behaviour.
The main threats to the adult albatross occur at sea, and most of these are man-made. Albatrosses like to travel close to fishing boats, to eat the leftover scraps of fish that are dropped over the side of the boat. Sometimes, however, they also eat the bait and accidentally ingest fish hooks, or get dragged along on fishing lines and drown. The number of albatrosses that any one boat catches is small, but because there are so many fishing boats, this may have a long term impact on population numbers. It is estimated that at least 100,000 albatrosses die in this way each year. As for all sea bird species, there are other threats, such as drift nets, oil spills and rubbish such as plastic in the ocean. While there are international agreements and fishing conventions to try and protect sea birds, albatrosses are among the million or so sea birds that get caught in drift nets and die each year.
The albatross is a magnificent, beautiful and awe-inspiring creature. We need to work together to protect this bird and others from threats posed by human activity.
《動(dòng)物研究》
來(lái)自《Collins Reading for IELTS》p49
A scientist based in Scotland claims to have found the first evidence of a common language shared by different animal species. The calls, which are understood by monkeys and birds, were discovered by Klaus Zuberbuhler, a psychologist at St Andrews University. According to Zuberbuhler, animals and birds can communicate complex ideas not just to their peers but across species.
The findings have been heralded as a significant breakthrough in the quest to discover the origins of human language and proof that the ability to construct a complex form of communication is not unique to man. Zuberbuhler made the discovery after spending months observing the calls of Diana monkeys in the Tai Forest in Ivory Coast, in West Africa. He and his colleagues recorded thousands of monkey calls and spent hundreds of hours listening to the animals’ noises. They noticed that the monkeys adapted their calls to change the meaning to warn one another about different threats or opportunities. For example, the sight of a leopard prompted a ‘krack’ alarm call. However, when they merely repeated calls made by other monkeys they added an ‘oo’.
The researchers found that the calls could be understood by other species of monkey as well as by some birds. ‘What our discovery showed is that the alarm calls were far more complex than we had thought,’ said Zuberbuhler. ‘They were conveying information that was contextual, self-aware and intelligent. We then tried playing these calls back to other monkeys and they responded in ways that showed they knew the meaning. What’s more, the same calls would be recognised by other species, like Campbell’s monkeys. So they are communicating across species. And since then we have found that hornbill birds can understand these calls and they too can understand all the different meanings.’
Among scientists, the idea that animals and birds might be sentient has been around a long time. Chimpanzees are perhaps the most obvious species for comparisons with humans, but their abilities can still surprise, as when researchers at Georgia State University’s language research centre in Atlanta taught some to ‘speak’. They taught the animals to use voice synthesisers and a keyboard to hold conversations with humans. One chimp developed a 3,000-word vocabulary and tests suggested she had the language and cognitive skills of a four-year-old child.
Perhaps the most surprising signs of intelligence have been found in birds - whose tiny heads and small brains were long assumed to be a complete barrier to sentience. All that is changing fast, however, with many species showing powerful memories and reasoning power. A few years ago Irene Pepperberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology taught a parrot to recognise and count up to six objects and describe their shapes.
Last year that was topped by Alex Kacelnik, a professor of behavioural ecology at Oxford, who discovered that crows are capable of using multiple tools in complex sequences, the first time such behaviour had been observed in non-humans. In an experiment seven crows successfully reeled in a piece of food placed out of reach using three different lengths of stick. Crucially, they were able to complete the task without any special training, suggesting the birds were capable of a level of abstract reasoning and creativity normally associated only with humans.
Last week it emerged that researchers from Padua University in Italy had found that birds were able to read numbers from left to right, as humans do, and count to four even when the line of numbers was moved from vertical to horizontal. They also showed that birds performed better in tests after a good night’s sleep.
All this is powerful evidence against the idea that people are unique.
來(lái)自《Collins Reading for IELTS》p56
It is 50 years since Jane Goodall first dipped her toes in the waters of Lake Tanganyika, in what is now the Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Since then she has been responsible for the most comprehensive study of wild chimpanzees — and become an idol of contemporary women scientists around the world.
In 1962, at a time when no woman in the world held a PhD in primatology, Goodall started a PhD in ethology — the scientific study of animal behavior — at the University of Cambridge. Her resulting thesis, Nest Building Behavior in the Free Ranging Chimpanzee, included the observations that chimps use tools and eat meat. Goodall had redefined our understanding of the origins of Man. Louis Leakey, the famous paleontologist and Goodall’s mentor, said of her work: ‘Now we must redefine “tool”, redefine “Man”, or accept chimpanzees as humans.’ Goodall’s work, and that of two other female pioneers in primatology, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas, was made possible by the example of Leakey. Born to British missionaries in Kenya in 1903, he was the first white baby the Kikuyu people had seen and he spoke their language before he learnt English. He grew up to be an ardent paleontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist at the University of Cambridge and, later, with his wife Mary Douglas Nicol.
Leakey thought that the attributes that made a good field scientist were innate to women. Because women were pre—programmed to be mothers, he thought, they had three crucial traits: they were patient, they were better able to understand an animal’s desires by observing social non—verbal cues and they were less aggressive than men — all beliefs later echoed by Goodall. He also felt that men were more concerned with conquering nature than committing themselves to detailed field studies.
Goodall’s career began in the late 1950s, when she worked as secretary to Leakey at the Coryndon Museum in Nairobi, of which he was the director. In 1960, after the 26—year—old Goodall had assisted on a fossil dig at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, she was sent by her mentor to study chimpanzees in the wild. At the insistence of the British Government she arrived in Gombe with her mother, Vanne, in tow. Spending day after day among the primates, she became fascinated by their behavior and began informal studies. But at the insistence of Leakey, who warned that she would need to formalize her work to gain scientific credibility, she applied for a place at Cambridge.
Since then Goodall and her two sisters in science, Fossey and Galdikas, have paved the way in primatology, a field that is now dominated by women. Gombe is one of the longest running research studies of wild animals anywhere in the world: it has produced 35 PhD theses, more than 30 books and 200 research papers and nine films. Furthermore, according to Julie Des Jardins, the author of The Madame Curie Complex: the Hidden History of Women in Science, 78 per cent of all PhDs awarded in primatology in 2000 were awarded to women. Goodall, Fossey and Galdikas have helped to inspire generations of women to pick up their binoculars and take to the world’s fields and forests.
Goodall comes from a dynasty of strong women and describes her mother and grandmother as ‘those two amazing, strong women, undaunted’. Goodall’s mother did not laugh at her daughter when she said she was going to Africa. ‘My mother used to say: “If you really want something and you work hard and never give up, you find a way”,’ Goodall says. “She was definitely the greatest inspiration that I had.’
If only science’s old guard had had the same attitude. Today’s scientific community was formalised by men. As a consequence of the scientific ‘revolution’ of the 17th and 18th centuries, science moved from the home to laboratories, universities and hospitals, establishments to which women were denied access, irrespective of their aptitude or contribution. In most fields of scientific research, most of the big players continue to be men. According to the UKRC (the body responsible for advancing gender equality in science, engineering and technology). in the 2007—08 academic year, in STEM — science, technology, engineering and maths — subjects, about one third of researchers were women. But in the higher reaches of the academic world, the numbers fall away. About a quarter of lecturers and fewer than one in ten professors are female.
Perhaps this under—representation of women in science has in part been caused by a lack of prominent role models. The women who flourished under the guidance of Leakey, however, provide ample proof that if women are given opportunities, they can surpass all expectation. They can tread their own path through the forest and conduct credible research with far—reaching and long—lasting implications.
Jane Goodall still believes that her mother’s words about working hard to achieve a goal have the power to inspire young women who dream of becoming scientists. ‘I would say to them what Mum said to me,’ she says. Clearly, it works.
《The effects of light on plant and animal species》
來(lái)自《劍雅5》p94
Light is important to organisms for two different reasons. Firstly it is used as a cue for the timing of daily and seasonal rhythms in both plants and animals, and secondly it is used to assist growth in plants.
Breeding in most organisms occurs during a part of the year only, and so a reliable cue is needed to trigger breeding behaviour. Day length is an excellent cue, because it provides a perfectly predictable pattern of change within the year. In the temperate zone in spring, temperatures fluctuate greatly from day to day, but day length increases steadily by a predictable amount. The seasonal impact of day length on physiological responses is called photoperiodism, and the amount of experimental evidence for this phenomenon is considerable. For example, some species of birds’ breeding can be induced even in midwinter simply by increasing day length artificially (Wolfson 1964). Other examples of photoperiodism occur in plants. A short-day plant flowers when the day is less than a certain critical length. A long-day plant flowers after a certain critical day length is exceeded. In both cases the critical day length differs from species to species. Plants which flower after a period of vegetative growth, regardless of photoperiod, are known as day-neutral plants.
Breeding seasons in animals such as birds have evolved to occupy the part of the year in which offspring have the greatest chances of survival. Before the breeding season begins, food reserves must be built up to support the energy cost of reproduction, and to provide for young birds both when they are in the nest and after fledging. Thus many temperate-zone birds use the increasing day lengths in spring as a cue to begin the nesting cycle, because this is a point when adequate food resources will be assured.
The adaptive significance of photoperiodism in plants is also clear. Short-day plants that flower in spring in the temperate zone are adapted to maximising seedling growth during the growing season. Long-day plants are adapted for situations that require fertilization by insects, or a long period of seed ripening. Short-day plants that flower in the autumn in the temperate zone are able to build up food reserves over the growing season and over winter as seeds. Day-neutral plants have an evolutionary advantage when the connection between the favourable period for reproduction and day length is much less certain. For example, desert annuals germinate, flower and seed whenever suitable rainfall occurs, regardless of the day length.
The breeding season of some plants can be delayed to extraordinary lengths. Bamboos are perennial grasses that remain in a vegetative state for many years and then suddenly flower, fruit and die (Evans 1976). Every bamboo of the species Chusquea abietifolia on the island of Jamaica flowered, set seed and died during 1884. The next generation of bamboo flowered and died between 1916 and 1918, which suggests a vegetative cycle of about 31 years. The climatic trigger for this flowering cycle is not yet known, but the adaptive significance is clear. The simultaneous production of masses of bamboo seeds (in some cases lying 12 to 15 centimetres deep on the ground) is more than all the seed-eating animals can cope with at the time, so that some seeds escape being eaten and grow up to form the next generation (Evans 1976).
The second reason light is important to organisms is that it is essential for photosynthesis. This is the process by which plants use energy from the sun to convert carbon from soil or water into organic material for growth. The rate of photosynthesis in a plant can be measured by calculating the rate of its uptake of carbon. There is a wide range of photosynthetic responses of plants to variations in light intensity. Some plants reach maximal photosynthesis at one-quarter full sunlight, and others, like sugarcane, never reach a maximum, but continue to increase photosynthesis rate as light intensity rises.
Plants in general can be divided into two groups: shade-tolerant species and shade-intolerant species. This classification is commonly used in forestry and horticulture. Shade-tolerant plants have lower photosynthetic rates and hence have lower growth rates than those of shade-intolerant species. Plant species become adapted to living in a certain kind of habitat, and in the process evolve a series of characteristics that prevent them from occupying other habitats. Grime (1966) suggests that light may be one of the major components direrting these adaptations. For example, eastern hemlock seedlings are shade-tolerant. They can survive in the forest understorey under very low light levels because they have a low photosynthetic rate.
《Let's Go Bats》
來(lái)自《劍雅7》p18
Bats have a problem: how to find their way around in the dark. They hunt at night, and cannot use light to help them find prey and avoid obstacles. You might say that this is a problem of their own making, one that they could avoid simply by changing their habits and hunting by day. But the daytime economy is already heavily exploited by other creatures such as birds. Given that there is a living to be made at night, and given that alternative daytime trades are thoroughly occupied, natural selection has favoured bats that make ago of the night-hunting trade. It is probable that the nocturnal trades go way back in the ancestry of all mammals. In the time when the dinosaurs dominated the daytime economy, our mammalian ancestors probably only managed to survive at all because they found ways of scraping a living at night. Only after the mysterious mass extinction of the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago were our ancestors able to emerge into the daylight in any substantial numbers.
Bats have an engineering problem: how to find their way and find their prey in the absence of light. Bats are not the only creatures to face this difficulty today. Obviously the night-flying insects that they prey on must find their way about somehow. Deep-sea fish and whales have little or no light by day or by night. Fish and dolphins that live in extremely muddy water cannot see because, although there is light, it is obstructed and scattered by the dirt in the water. Plenty of other modern animals make their living in conditions where seeing is difficult or impossible.
Given the questions of how to man oeuvre in the dark, what solutions might an engineer consider? The first one that might occur to him is to manufacture light, to use a lantern or a searchlight. Fireflies and some fish (usually with the help of bacteria) have the power to manufacture their own light, but the process seems to consume a large amount of energy. Fireflies use their light for attracting mates. This doesn’t require a prohibitive amount of energy: a male’s tiny pinprick of light can be seen by a female from some distance on a dark night, since her eyes are exposed directly to the light source itself. However; using light to find one’s own way around requires vastly more energy, since the eyes have to detect the tiny fraction of the light that bounces off each part of the scene. The light source must therefore be immensely brighter if it is to be used as a headlight to illuminate the path, than if it is to be used as a signal to others. In any event, whether or not the reason is the energy expense, it seems to be the case that, with the possible exception of some weird deep-sea fish, no animal apart from man uses manufactured light to find its way about.
What else might the engineer think of? Well, blind humans sometimes seem to have an uncanny sense of obstacles in their path. It has been given the name ‘facial vision’, because blind people have reported that it feels a bit like the sense of touch, on the face. One report tells of a totally blind boy who could ride his tricycle at good speed round the block near his home, using facial vision. Experiments showed that, in fact, facial vision is nothing to do with touch or the front of the face, although the sensation maybe referred to the front of the face, like the referred pain in a phantom limb. The sensation of facial vision, it turns out, really goes in through the ears. Blind people, without even being aware of the fact, are actually using echoes of their own footsteps and of other sounds, to sense the presence of obstacles. Before this was discovered, engineers had already built instruments to exploit the principle, for example to measure the depth of the sea under a ship. After this technique had been invented, it was only a matter of time before weapons designers adapted it for the detection of submarines. Both sides in the Second World War relied heavily on these devices, under such code names as Asdic (British) and Sonar (American), as well as Radar (American) or RDF (British), which uses radio echoes rather than sound echoes.
The Sonar and Radar pioneers didn’t know it then, but all the world now knows that bats, or rather natural selection working on bats, had perfected the system tens of millions of years earlier; and their ‘radar’ achieves feats of detection and navigation that would strike an engineer dumb with admiration. It is technically incorrect to talk about bat ‘radar’, since they do not use radio waves. It is sonar. But the underlying mathematical theories of radar and sonar are very similar; and much of our scientific understanding of the details of what bats are doing has come from applying radar theory to them. The American zoologist Donald Griffin, who was largely responsible for the discovery of sonar in bats, coined the term ‘echolocation’ to cover both sonar and radar, whether used by animals or by human instruments.
生理（高頻）
《Great Minds》
來(lái)自《IELTS READING 雅思閱讀》p111
Emotional intelligence. Colour psychology. Personality according to place in the family. Do you hear references to issues such as these and wonder what they are about? Join the thousands who click on Google to satisfy their curiosity! Along with medical issues, psychology is one of the most popular topics researched on the Internet. Many people want to increase their knowledge and understanding of their own thought processes as well as the behaviour of other people. It is also a subject area with varied branches of study, such as cognitive, clinical, developmental and social psychology, just to name a few examples. In July 2002, a ranking of the 99 most important psychologists of the past 100 years was published in the Review of General Psychology. These rankings were developed on the basis of survey responses of 1,725 members of the respected American Psychological Association, as well as evidence the frequency with which other writers referred to them in journals and textbooks. The final position in the top 100 was left open as the reader’s choice. Today, we are going to consider a small group of these influential thinkers. They are all people who have made important contributions to the development of psychology as a significant field of study.
Top of the list was B,F. Skinner, who became a full professor at Harvard in 1948. His theories explained human and animal behaviour in terms of conditioning. He based his theory of ‘operant conditioning’ on experiments with rats, which learned to obtain more food by pressing a lever. In other word, he argued that what happens after we do something will affect how we behave in the future. If we do something and get a reward, we will repeat this action; however, if something bad happens, we will quickly stop. His theories dominated his peers’ thinking, and behaviourism underlies some therapy techniques still in use today. His theories influenced education as well as psychology, as he applied them to overcoming difficulties in learning.
Another very influential thinker was Sigmund Freud, writing in Austria in the early part of the 1900s. His most important insights related to his belief that not all mental illnesses can be traced back to physiological causes. He also investigated how cultural differences affect people’s psychology and behaviour. The work done by Freud has had a lasting influence on the areas of clinical psychology, human development and the study of abnormalities in psychology. He also contributed a great deal to our understanding of personality differences.
An eminent psychologist who expanded our knowledge of how children think and develop was a Swiss named Jean Piaget. his observations, which were truly original when first published in 1936, were described as being so obvious that it took a genius to think of then. His research provided evidence that a child thinks differently to an adult, and he identified stages in the development of children’s brains. His work contributed to various branches of psychology, such as cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and educational reform.
Next, consider Erik Erikson, who was born in Germany. He studied psychoanalysis with Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud, and later moved to the United States where he first published in 1950. He became renowned for his focus on psychosocial development, human development through the lifespan from childhood to adulthood to old age. His studies also added to the understanding of the development and shaping of personality over the course of people’s lives.
There are many other significant names in the history of psychology; we can only mention a few more. Ican Pavlov (Russia), who died mid 20th century, is remembered for his contribution to the development of behaviourism through his work on conditioned reflexes and his experiments with dogs. Albert Bandura (Canadian), who began his career at Stanford University in 1953, stressed the importance of observation, imitation and modeling in learning. Carl Rogers (American)', who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987, is renowned for his emphasis on human potential. Finally, there is Carl Jung, another Swiss, who studied under Freud; he focused on the unconscious, and is considered to be the founder of analytical psychology.
Even such a brief survery of some of the eminent thinkers in psychology shows the variety of approaches and perspectives in this field. None of these men has worked alone; as with any scholar, they can be said to have ‘stood on the shoulders of giants’. But these are some of the key names that have emerged in the field of psychology, and whose work has contributed so much to our current understanding of human thought processes, brain development and social organisation.
《肥胖與糖尿病》
來(lái)自《Collins Reading for IELTS》p22
The rising problem of obesity has helped to make diabetes treatments the biggest drug bill in primary care, with almost ￡600 million of medicines prescribed by doctors last year, according to the NHS Information Centre.
Analysts said that young people contracting the condition, which is often associated with obesity, were helping to push up costs as doctors tried to improve their long-term control of the disease and prevent complications.
A total of 32.9 million diabetes drugs, costing ￡599.3 million, were prescribed in the past financial year. In 2004-05 there were 24.8 million, costing ￡458 million. More than 90 per cent of the 2.4 million diabetics in England have type 2 diabetes, with the remainder suffering from type 1, the insulin-dependent form of the disease. There are thought to be 500,000 undiagnosed cases of diabetes.
While rates of type 1 have shown slight increases in recent years, type 2 has risen far more rapidly — a trend linked to the increasing number of people who are overweight or obese. Almost one in four adults in England is obese, with predictions that nine in ten will be overweight or obese by 2050. Obesity costs the NHS ￡4.2 billion annually. This year the Government started a ￡375 million campaign aimed at preventing people from becoming overweight by encouraging them to eat better and exercise more.
An NHS Information Centre spokeswoman who worked on the report, which was published yesterday, said that diabetes was dominating the primary care drug bill as better monitoring identified more sufferers and widely used medications for other conditions such as statins became cheaper. She said that the data suggested a growing use of injectable insulin in type 2 diabetes care, which was helping to push up costs.
Doctors agreed that more expensive long-acting insulin, which can cost about ￡30 per item, was being used more often, as well as more expensive pills and other agents.
The report, an update of the centre’s June publication Prescribing for Diabetes in England, shows that the number of insulin items prescribed last year rose by 300,000 to 5.5 million, at a total cost of ￡288.3 million. It marked an 8 per cent rise on the ￡267 million spent in the previous year. However, while the number of anti-diabetic drugs, which are mostly in tablet form, also rose, the cost dropped slightly to ￡168.1 million.
‘Type 2 is increasing. We are seeing it in younger people, and because it is a progressive disease, people are needing an increasing number of interventions as time goes by,’ the spokeswoman said, adding that long-acting insulins such as Glargine were now common. ‘For people who are struggling to control their type 2 diabetes it makes sense, but it is quite a big clinical change from five or ten years ago.’
Other anti-diabetic items, such as use of the subcutaneous injection exenatide, have also increased and cost ￡14.3 million. Laurence Buckman, chairman of the British Medical Association’s general practice committee, said that he had observed a trend with drugs such as exenatide, which costs ￡80 per item. He said that younger patients could start on cheaper tablets such as metformin, which costs ￡3.70 per box, but were needing increasingly sophisticated treatments to keep their condition in check.
‘You are talking about an ever larger number of people getting a large range of drugs to reduce long-term complications. Type 2 is a common chronic illness that is getting commoner. It’s in everyone’s interest to treat people early and with the most effective drugs, and these are the more expensive tablets and long-acting insulins,’ he said.
《What's so funny?》
來(lái)自《劍雅5》p43
The joke comes over the headphones: ‘Which side of a dog has the most hair? The left’. No, not funny. Try again. ‘Which side of a dog has the most hair? The outside’. Hah! The punchline is silly yet fitting, tempting a smile, even a laugh. Laughter has always struck people as deeply mysterious, perhaps pointless. The writer Arthur Koestler dubbed it the luxury reflex: ‘unique in that it serves no apparent biological purpose’.
Theories about humour have an ancient pedigree. Plato expressed the idea that humour is simply a delighted feeling of superiority over others. Kant and Freud felt that joke-telling relies on building up a psychic tension which is safely punctured by the ludicrousness of the punchline. But most modern humour theorists have settled on some version of Aristotle’s belief that jokes are based on a reaction to or resolution of incongruity, when the punchline is either a nonsense or, though appearing silly, has a clever second meaning.
Graeme Ritchie, a computational linguist in Edinburgh, studies the linguistic structure of jokes in order to understand not only humour but language understanding and reasoning in machines. He says that while there is no single format for jokes, many revolve around a sudden and surprising conceptual shift. A comedian will present a situation followed by an unexpected interpretation that is also apt.
So even if a punchline sounds silly, the listener can see there is a clever semantic fit and that sudden mental ‘Aha!’ is the buzz that makes us laugh. Viewed from this angle, humour is just a form of creative insight, a sudden leap to a new perspective.
However, there is another type of laughter, the laughter of social appeasement and it is important to understand this too. Play is a crucial part of development in most young mammals. Rats produce ultrasonic squeaks to prevent their scuffles turning nasty. Chimpanzees have a “play-face” - a gaping expression accompanied by a panting ‘a(chǎn)h, ah’ noise. In humans, these signals have mutated into smiles and laughs. Researchers believe social situations, rather than cognitive events such as jokes, trigger these instinctual markers of play or appeasement. People laugh on fairground rides or when tickled to flag a play situation, whether they feel amused or not.
Both social and cognitive types of laughter tap into the same expressive machinery in our brains, the emotion and motor circuits that produce smiles and excited vocalisations. However, if cognitive laughter is the product of more general thought processes, it should result from more expansive brain activity.
Psychologist Vinod Goel investigated humour using the new technique of ‘single event’ functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). An MRI scanner uses magnetic fields and radio waves to track the changes in oxygenated blood that accompany mental activity. Until recently, MRI scanners needed several minutes of activity and so could not be used to track rapid thought processes such as comprehending a joke. New developments now allow half-second ‘snapshots’ of all sorts of reasoning and problem-solving activities.
Although Goel felt being inside a brain scanner was hardly the ideal place for appreciating a joke, he found evidence that understanding a joke involves a widespread mental shift. His scans showed that at the beginning of a joke the listener’s prefrontal cortex lit up, particularly the right prefrontal believed to be critical for problem solving. But there was also activity in the temporal lobes at the side of the head (consistent with attempts to rouse stored knowledge) and in many other brain areas. Then when the punchline arrived, a new area sprang to life - the orbital prefrontal cortex. This patch of brain tucked behind the orbits of the eyes is associated with evaluating information.
Making a rapid emotional assessment of the events of the moment is an extremely demanding job for the brain, animal or human. Energy and arousal levels may need to be retuned in the blink of an eye. These abrupt changes will produce either positive or negative feelings. The orbital cortex, the region that becomes active in Goers experiment, seems the best candidate for the site that feeds such feelings into higher-level thought processes, with its close connections to the brain’s sub-cortical arousal apparatus and centres of metabolic control.
All warm-blooded animals make constant tiny adjustments in arousal in response to external events, but humans, who have developed a much more complicated internal life as a result of language, respond emotionally not only to their surroundings, but to their own thoughts. Whenever a sought-for answer snaps into place, there is a shudder of pleased recognition. Creative discovery being pleasurable, humans have learned to find ways of milking this natural response. The fact that jokes tap into our general evaluative machinery explains why the line between funny and disgusting, or funny and frightening, can be so fine. Whether a joke gives pleasure or pain depends on a person’s outlook.
Humour may be a luxury, but the mechanism behind it is no evolutionary accident. As Peter Derks, a psychologist at William and Mary College in Virginia, says: M like to think of humour as the distorted mirror of the mind. Its creative, perceptual, analytical and lingual. If we can figure out how the mind processes humour, then we’ll have a pretty good handle on how it works in general.’
《The meaning and power of smell》
來(lái)自《劍雅8》p50
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is powerful. Odours affect us on a physical, psychological and social level. For the most part, however, we breathe in the aromas which surround us without being consciously aware of their importance to us. It is only when the faculty of smell is impaired for some reason that we begin to realise the essential role the sense of smell plays in our sense of well-being.
A survey conducted by Anthony Synott at Montreal’s Concordia University asked participants to comment on how important smell was to them in their lives. It became apparent that smell can evoke strong emotional responses. A scent associated with a good experience can bring a rush of joy, while a foul odour or one associated with a bad memory may make us grimace with disgust. Respondents to the survey noted that many of their olfactory likes and dislikes were based on emotional associations. Such associations can be powerful enough so that odours that we would generally label unpleasant become agreeable, and those that we would generally consider fragrant become disagreeable for particular individuals. The perception of smell, therefore, consists not only of the sensation of the odours themselves, but of the experiences and emotions associated with them.
Odours are also essential cues in social bonding. One respondent to the survey believed that there is no true emotional bonding without touching and smelling a loved one. In fact, infants recognise the odours of their mothers soon after birth and adults can often identify their children or spouses by scent. In one well-known test, women and men were able to distinguish by smell alone clothing worn by their marriage partners from similar clothing worn by other people. Most of the subjects would probably never have given much thought to odour as a cue for identifying family members before being involved in the test, but as the experiment revealed, even when not consciously considered, smells register.
In spite of its importance to our emotional and sensory lives, smell is probably the most undervalued sense in many cultures. The reason often given for the low regard in which smell is held is that, in comparison with its importance among animals, the human sense of smell is feeble and undeveloped. While it is true that the olfactory powers of humans are nothing like as fine as those possessed by certain animals, they are still remarkably acute. Our noses are able to recognise thousands of smells, and to perceive odours which are present only in extremely small quantities.
Smell, however, is a highly elusive phenomenon. Odours, unlike colours, for instance, cannot be named in many languages because the specific vocabulary simply doesn’t exist. 'It smells like … ', we have to say when describing an odour, struggling to express our olfactory experience. Nor can odours be recorded: there is no effective way to either capture or store them over time. In the realm of olfaction, we must make do with descriptions and recollections. This has implications for olfactory research.
Most of the research on smell undertaken to date has been of a physical scientific nature. Significant advances have been made in the understanding of the biological and chemical nature of olfaction, but many fundamental questions have yet to be answered. Researchers have still to decide whether smell is one sense or two - one responding to odours proper and the other registering odourless chemicals in the air. Other unanswered questions are whether the nose is the only part of the body affected by odours, and how smells can be measured objectively given the nonphysical components. Questions like these mean that interest in the psychology of smell is inevitably set to play an increasingly important role for researchers.
However, smell is not simply a biological and psychological phenomenon. Smell is cultural, hence it is a social and historical phenomenon. Odours are invested with cultural values: smells that are considered to be offensive in some cultures may be perfectly acceptable in others. Therefore, our sense of smell is a means of, and model for, interacting with the world. Different smells can provide us with intimate and emotionally charged experiences and the value that we attach to these experiences is interiorised by the members of society in a deeply personal way. Importantly, our commonly held feelings about smells can help distinguish us from other cultures. The study of the cultural history of smell is, therefore, in a very real sense, an investigation into the essence of human culture.
教育
《Education over the past 100 years》
來(lái)自《IELTS READING 雅思閱讀》p3
The education of our young people is one of the most important aspects of any community, and ideas about what and how to teach reflect the accepted attitudes and unspoken beliefs of society. These ideas change as local customs and attitudes change, and these changes are reflected in the curriculum, teaching and assessment methods and the expectations of how both students and teachers should behave.
Teaching in the late 1800s and early 1900s was very different from today. Rules for teachers at the time in the USA covered both the teacher’s duties and their conduct out of class as well. Teachers at that time were expected to set a good example to their pupils and to behave in a very virtuous and proper manner. Women teachers should not marry, nor should they ‘keep company with men’. They had to wear long dresses and no bright colours and they were not permitted to dye their hair. They were not allowed to loiter downtown in an ice cream store, and women were not allowed to go out in the evenings unless to a school function, although men were allowed one evening a week to take their girlfriends out if they went to church regularly. No teachers were allowed to drink alcohol. They were allowed to read only good books such as the Bible, and they were given a pay increase of 25c a week after five years of work for the local school.
As well as this long list of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’, teachers had certain duties to perform each day. In country schools, teachers were required to keep the coal bucket full for the classroom fire, and to bring a bucket of water each day for the children to drink. They had to make the pens for their students to write with and to sweep the floor and keep the classroom tidy. However, despite this list of duties, little was stipulated about the content of the teaching, nor about assessment methods.
Teachers would have been expected to teach the three ‘r’s—reading, writing and arithmetic, and to teach the children about Christianity and read from the Bible every day. Education in those days was much simpler than it is today and covered basic literacy skills and religious education. They would almost certainly have used corporal punishment such as a stick or the strap on naughty or unruly children, and the children would have sat together in pairs in long rows in the classroom. They would have been expected to sit quietly and to do their work, copying long rows of letters or doing basic maths sums. Farming children in country areas would have had only a few years of schooling and would probably have left school at 12 or 14 years of age to join their parents in farm work.
Compare this with a country school in the USA today! If you visited today, you would see the children sitting in groups round large tables, or even on the floor. They would be working together on a range of different activities, and there would almost certainly be one or more computers in the classroom. Children nowadays are allowed and even expected to talk quietly to each other while they work, and they are also expected to ask their teachers questions and to actively engage in finding out information for themselves, instead of just listening to the teacher.
There are no rules of conduct for teachers out of the classroom, and they are not expected to perform caretaking duties such as cleaning the classrooms or making pens, but nevertheless their jobs are much harder than they were in the 1900s. Teachers today are expected to work hard on planning their lessons, to teach creatively and to stimulate children’s minds, and there are strict protocols about assessment across the whole of the USA. Corporal punishment is illegal, and any teacher who hit a child would be dismissed instantly. Another big difference is that most state schools in western countries are secular, so religious teaching is not part of the curriculum.
These changes in educational methods and ideas reflect changes in our society in general. Children in western countries nowadays come from all parts of the globe and they bring different cultures, religions and beliefs to the classroom. It is no longer considered acceptable or appropriate for state schools to teach about religious beliefs. Ideas about the value and purpose of education have also changed and with the increasing sophistication of workplaces and life skills needed for a successful career, the curriculum has also expanded to try to prepare children for the challenges of a diverse working community. It will be interesting to see how these changes continue into the future as our society and culture grows and develops.
《英國(guó)高等教育》
來(lái)自《Collins Reading for IELTS》p67
The recession has brought about an abrupt change of mood on university campuses up and down the country. A five-year boom in the graduate job market has been stopped in its tracks and salary expectations, which hit record levels last year, are heading southwards. No wonder only one in five of 16,000 final year students questioned for a recent survey by High Flyers Research said that they expected to get a job for which they are qualified by the time they graduate this summer.
Despite the gloom, the financial case for going to university remains compelling. International surveys continue to show the salary premium enjoyed by UK graduates over those who choose not to go to university as among the highest in the world. In the post-recession world, a university degree is likely to be even more of an advantage to job-seekers than before.
But choosing the right degree course and the right university will also be more important than ever. This does not necessarily mean that students should go only for job-related degrees, but it will put a premium on marketable skills. And it may mean that more universities can be expected to follow the lead of Liverpool John Moores University, which puts all of its undergraduates through a World of Work (WoW) course designed to give them the problem-solving and communications skills they will need at work.
The Times Good University Guide 2010, published by HarperCollins, offers a wealth of essential information to help candidates to navigate the maze of university choice, as well as advice on student life. It is the most authoritative guide to universities in the UK and is an essential and comprehensive tool for students and parents.
The online version of the Guide allows students and parents to create their own individual university rankings and to compare the strengths and weaknesses of different institutions by sorting universities according to one of eight criteria - from student satisfaction to research quality and degree results. The table sees Oxford maintain its leadership, despite coming below Cambridge in most of the
subject tables. Cambridge has the better record on student satisfaction, research, entry standards, completion and graduate destinations, but Oxford’s lead in staffing levels, degree classifications and particularly in spending on libraries and other student facilities makes the difference.
The biggest climbers at the top of the table include Liverpool (up from 43 to 28), Leeds (up from 31 to 27), Sheffield (up from 22 to 18), Edinburgh (up from 18 to 14] and Exeter (up from 13 to 9). St Andrews remains the top university in Scotland, while Cardiff is well clear in Wales.
The key information is contained in the 62 subject tables, which now cover every area of higher education. The number of institutions in this year’s tables has increased by only one because a fourth university - the West of Scotland - has instructed the Higher Education Statistics Agency not to release its data. It joins Swansea Metropolitan, London Metropolitan and Liverpool Hope universities in blocking the release of data to avoid appearing in league tables.
《These Misconceptions of Tropical Rainforests》
來(lái)自《劍雅4》p18
Adults and children are frequently confronted with statements about the alarming rate of loss of tropical rainforests. For example, one graphic illustration to which children might readily relate is the estimate that rainforests are being destroyed at a rate equivalent to one thousand football fields every forty minutes – about the duration of a normal classroom period. In the face of the frequent and often vivid media coverage, it is likely that children will have formed ideas about rainforests – what and where they are, why they are important, what endangers them – independent of any formal tuition. It is also possible that some of these ideas will be mistaken.
Many studies have shown that children harbor misconceptions about ‘pure’,curriculum science. These misconceptions do not remain isolated but become incorporated into a multifaceted, but organized, conceptual framework, making it and the component ideas, some of which are erroneous, more robust but also accessible to modification. These ideas may be developed by children absorbing ideas through the popular media. Sometimes this information may be erroneous. It seems schools may not be providing an opportunity for children to re-express their ideas and so have them tested and refined by teachers and their peers.
Despite the extensive coverage in the popular media of the destruction of rainforests, little formal information is available about children’s ideas in this area,the aim of the present study is to start to provide such information, to help teachers design their educational strategies to build upon correct ideas and to displace misconceptions and to plan programs in environmental studies in their schools.
The study surveys children’s scientific knowledge and attitudes to rainforests. Secondary school children were asked to complete a questionnaire containing five open-form questions. The most frequent responses to the first question were descriptions which are self-evident from the term ‘rainforest’. Some children described them as damp, wet or hot. The second question concerned the geographical location of rainforests. The commonest responses were continents or countries: Africa(given by 43% of children), South America (30%), Brazil (25%). Some children also gave more general locations, such as being near the Equator.
Responses to question three concerned the importance of rainforests. The dominant idea, raised by 64% of the pupils, was that rainforests provide animals with habitats. Fewer students responded that rainforests provide plant habitats, and even fewer mentioned the indigenous populations of rainforests. More girls (70%) than boys (60%) raised the idea of rainforest as animal habitats.
Similarly, but at a lower level, more girls (13%) than boys (5%) said that rainforests provided human habitats. These observations are generally consistent with our previous studied of pupils’ views about the use and conservation of rainforests, in which girls were shown to be more sympathetic to animals and expressed views which seem to place an intrinsic value on non-human animal life.
The fourth question concerned the causes of the destruction of rainforests. Perhaps encouragingly, more than half of the pupil (59%) identified that it is human activities which are destroying rainforests, some personalizing the responsibility by the use of terms such as ‘we are’. About 18% of the pupils referred specifically to logging activity.
One misconception, expressed by some 10% of the pupils, was that acid rain is responsible for rainforest destruction; a similar proportion said that pollution is destroying rainforests. Here, children are confusing rainforest destruction with damage to the forests of Western Europe by these factors. While two fifths of the students provided the information that the rainforests provide oxygen, in some cases this response also embraced the misconception that rainforest destruction would reduce atmospheric oxygen, making the atmosphere incompatible with human life on Earth.
In answer to the final question about the importance of rainforest conservation, the majority of children simply said that we need rainforests to survive. Only a few of the pupils (6%) mentioned that rainforest destruction may contribute to global warming. This is surprising considering the high level of media coverage on this issue. Some children expressed the idea that the conservation of rainforests is not important.
The results of this study suggest that certain ideas predominate in the thinking of children about rainforests. Pupils’ responses indicate some misconceptions in basic scientific knowledge of rainforests’ ecosystems such as their ideas about rainforests as habitats for animals, plants and humans and the relationship between climatic change and destruction of rainforests.
Pupils did not volunteer ideas that suggested that they appreciated the complexity of causes of rainforest destruction. In other words, they gave no indication of an appreciation of either the rage of ways in which rainforests are important or the complex social, economic and political factors which drive the activities which are destroying the rainforests. One encouragement is that the results of similar studies about other environmental issues suggest that older children seem to acquire the ability to appreciate value and evaluate conflicting views. Environmental education offers an arena in which these sills can be developed, which is essential fore these children as future decision –makers.
《LAND OF THE RISING SUM》
來(lái)自《劍雅8》p89
Japan has a significantly better record in terms of average mathematical attainment than England and Wales. Large sample international comparisons of pupils’ attainments since the 1960s have established that not only did Japanese pupils at age 13 have better scores of average attainment, but there was also a larger proportion of ‘low’ attainers in England, where, incidentally, the variation in attainment scores was much greater. The percentage of Gross National Product spent on education is reasonably similar in the two countries, so how is this higher and more consistent attainment in maths achieved?
Lower secondary schools in Japan cover three school years, from the seventh grade (age 13) to the ninth grade (age 15). Virtually all pupils at this stage attend state schools: only 3 per cent are in the private sector. Schools are usually modern in design, set well back from the road and spacious inside. Classrooms are large and pupils sit at single desks in rows. Lessons last for a standardised 50 minutes and are always followed by a 10-minute break, which gives the pupils a chance to let off steam. Teachers begin with a formal address and mutual bowing, and then concentrate on whole-class teaching.
Classes are large - usually about 40 - and are unstreamed. Pupils stay in the same class for all lessons throughout the school and develop considerable class identity and loyalty. Pupils attend the school in their own neighbourhood, which in theory removes ranking by school. In practice in Tokyo, because of the relative concentration of schools, there is some competition to get into the ‘better’ school in a particular area.
Traditional ways of teaching form the basis of the lesson and the remarkably quiet classes take their own notes of the points made and the examples demonstrated. Everyone has their own copy of the textbook supplied by the central education authority, Monbusho, as part of the concept of free compulsory education up to the age of 15. These textbooks are, on the whole, small, presumably inexpensive to produce, but well set out and logically developed. (One teacher was particularly keen to introduce colour and pictures into maths textbooks: he felt this would make them more accessible to pupils brought up in a cartoon culture. ) Besides approving textbooks, Monbusho also decides the highly centralised national curriculum and how it is to be delivered.
Lessons all follow the same pattern. At the beginning, the pupils put solutions to the homework on the board, then the teachers comment, correct or elaborate as necessary. Pupils mark their own homework: this is an important principle in Japanese schooling as it enables pupils to see where and why they made a mistake, so that these can be avoided in future. No one minds mistakes or ignorance as long as you are prepared to learn from them. After the homework has been discussed, the teacher explains the topic of the lesson, slowly and with a lot of repetition and elaboration. Examples are demonstrated on the board; questions from the textbook are worked through first with the class, and then the class is set questions from the textbook to do individually. Only rarely are supplementary worksheets distributed in a maths class. The impression is that the logical nature of the textbooks and their comprehensive coverage of different types of examples, combined with the relative homogeneity of the class, renders work sheets unnecessary. At this point, the teacher would circulate and make sure that all the pupils were coping well.
It is remarkable that large, mixed-ability classes could be kept together for maths throughout all their compulsory schooling from 6 to 15. Teachers say that they give individual help at the end of a lesson or after school, setting extra work if necessary. In observed lessons, any strugglers would be assisted by the teacher or quietly seek help from their neighbour. Carefully fostered class identity makes pupils keen to help each other - anyway, it is in their interests since the class progresses together.
This scarcely seems adequate help to enable slow learners to keep up. However, the Japanese attitude towards education runs along the lines of ‘if you work hard enough, you can do almost anything’. Parents are kept closely informed of their children’s progress and will play a part in helping their children to keep up with class, sending them to ‘Juku’ (private evening tuition) if extra help is needed and encouraging them to work harder. It seems to work, at least for 95 per cent of the school population.
So what are the major contributing factors in the success of maths teaching? Clearly, attitudes are important. Education is valued greatly in Japanese culture; maths is recognised as an important compulsory subject throughout schooling; and the emphasis is on hard work coupled with a focus on accuracy.
Other relevant points relate to the supportive attitude of a class towards slower pupils, the lack of competition within a class, and the positive emphasis on learning for oneself and improving one’s own standard. And the view of repetitively boring lessons and learning the facts by heart, which is sometimes quoted in relation to Japanese classes, may be unfair and unjustified. No poor maths lessons were observed. They were mainly good and one or two were inspirational.
科技
《Techno-wizardry in the Home》
來(lái)自《IELTS READING 雅思閱讀》p93
Techno-wizardry sounds like something for the future, but actually homes with advanced technological ability are already in existence. If you want a home that is not only convenient but far safer than a conventional one, then a techno-savvy home is for you. A techno-savvy house is basically a network of appliances, light switches and various assorted items which inter-communicate, so that the whole house operates a lot more efficiently and smoothly.
Cutting edge technology is being integrated into homes everywhere. In simple terms, a techno-savvy house has a ‘brain’. Techno-savvy systems rely on a control panel, switches or a touch screen to access the desired function. The connections are made using cabling within walls, ceilings and under floors of the house, or an internal wireless system or a combination of both of these.
In order for the system to meet the needs of the home’s occupants, it should not be too complex; it must be both convenient and time saving. This means the architect, developer and home owner have to co-plan very carefully in order to achieve a truly integrated, easy-to-use system. An integrated house system operates and manages all the electrical equipment in a home to increase comfort, flexibility, communication, safety and security, and also to reduce energy consumption.
A techno-savvy home can have a tremendous impact on the occupants’ lives. Many chores or jobs can be done more simply, as it allows all sorts of electronic gadgets and appliances to perform a variety of tasks. For example, an alarm clock can be programmed to send a message to the coffee maker to begin brewing the morning coffee. In another example, the refrigerator can suggest what could be eaten as a snack based on what it has inside. It then communicates with the microwave or oven to suggest a cooking time. It seems hard to believe that these types of refrigerators already exist. They can talk to the Internet and download recipes; they can ever order new groceries as required, because they are able to scan and log bar codes of food items taken from inside.
Although there are many smart appliances available on the market and many more becoming available, probably one of the first aspects that is fully automated in a home is the entertainment system. While it is not necessarily making the lives of the occupants easier or making them any safer, it is fun being able to change channels by speaking to the TV, and to use the Internet in conjunction with the television.
A techno-savvy house can save energy by lowering the temperature setting and switching off appliances and lights that are not required. It can also manage heaters, the air conditioning and fans in such a way as to save energy. For example, if the outside temperature is only slightly more than the setting on the thermostat then a smart home will use fans instead of the air conditioner, which uses a lot more energy. Also, if the television is not in use, then it will completely turn off the energy outlet, which also saves a small amount of energy. Over an extended period of time these actions can mean a considerable saving.
Being able to monitor security from a central system makes the home a safe haven for all occupants. With a single push of a button an alarm system puts the entire home into security mode. All the windows and doors close and lock, and the security systems are activated. Absent owners can check their security system via the Internet, due to hidden surveillance cameras around the house which send information. A further useful feature is that lights can be programmed to go on and off at random times when nobody is at home to make it look like somebody is there. This feature acts as a major deterrent to criminals.
In an emergency, people can panic and not react in the best possible manner. However, a techno-savvy house can help here. For example at the time of a fire, the fire alarm would activate and the techno-savvy house’s ‘brain’ immediately calls the fire brigade. It would also turn on the lights that lead to an exit and unlock all the windows and doors to make the escape route easier.
However, any techno-savvy home has a major vulnerability; it relies on a power supply. If this were to be interrupted, chaos would prevail. Being connected to a battery system is essential, so there is a back up energy supply should there be a power cut. It is essential, that safe entry and exit points to the home are always available. Provided the system is safe, it will save power and increase security and pleasure for house occupants of the future.
《地?zé)峁こ獭?/h4>
來(lái)自《Collins Reading for IELTS》p41
In the coming months, a 170-foot-high drilling rig will transform wasteground near Redruth into a new landmark. The drill belongs to a group that is planning to develop Britain’s first commercial- scale geothermal plant on the site. Geothermal Engineering has chosen this part of Cornwall - once renowned for its tin and copper - because of its geology. It sits on a bed of granite whose temperature can reach 200°C. Water will be pumped deep underground and will return to the surface as steam, which will power turbines to generate electricity.
'Cornwall is a real hotspot. It is like someone has put a power station below ground and you are simply tapping into it,-said Ryan Law, founder and managing director of Geothermal Engineering.
Law, a former consultant to the geothermal industry, plans to have three wells at the plant, which together he estimates will produce 10MW of electricity, enough to power 20,000 homes, and 55MW of thermal energy, capable of heating ten hospitals 24 hours a day. The challenge is that the rock is 4.5 kilometres below the earth’s surface, meaning that months of precise drilling will be required before any energy is produced. The company has a head start. In 1976, the government-funded Hot Dry Rock Research Project began deep drilling to study the area’s geology. Law plans to use the detailed maps the team produced over fifteen years to direct his efforts.
Geothermal energy is not new. The world’s first conventional geothermal power station, in southern Tuscany, has been producing electricity for almost 100 years. In Iceland, a quarter of the country’s electricity comes from geothermal power. Investment in geothermal projects in Australia is expected to reach $2 billion (￡1.3 billion) by 2014. The industry is also well established in America and Germany. In Britain, schemes are under way in Southampton and Newcastle.
Conventional geothermal power relies on naturally occurring steam pockets near the earth’s surface so it tends to be confined to volcanically active regions or areas close to fault lines. Law claims the process his company uses removes this limitation, making the industry viable almost anywhere in the world.
However, despite billions of pounds in public and private investment and a raft of big projects, the industry has so far failed to demonstrate it can fulfil its promise. Critics argue it is costly, reliant on high-risk, time-consuming drilling and struggles to produce large amounts of energy capable of making a real contribution to the world’s needs. Law refuses to let such doubts dampen his ambitions. ‘What other renewable energy gives you 24-hour supply? The potential is enormous
and we are planning another 25 plants.’
《The Return of Artificial Intelligence》
來(lái)自《劍雅5》p71
After years in the wilderness, the term 'artificial intelligence’ (AI) seems poised to make a comeback. AI was big in the 1980s but vanished in the 1990s. It re-entered public consciousness with the release of AI, a movie about a robot boy. This has ignited public debate about AI, but the term is also being used once more within the computer industry. Researchers, executives and marketing people are now using the expression without irony or inverted commas. And it is not always hype. The term is being applied, with some justification, to products that depend on technology that was originally developed by AI researchers. Admittedly, the rehabilitation of the term has a long way to go, and some firms still prefer to avoid using it. But the fact that others are starting to use it again suggests that AI has moved on from being seen as an over-ambitious and under-achieving field of research.
The field was launched, and the term ‘a(chǎn)rtificial intelligence’ coined, at a conference in 1956 by a group of researchers that included Marvin Minsky, John McCarthy, Herbert Simon and Alan Newell, all of whom went on to become leading figures in the field. The expression provided an attractive but informative name for a research programme that encompassed such previously disparate fields as operations research, cybernetics, logic and computer science. The goal they shared was an attempt to capture or mimic human abilities using machines. That said, different groups of researchers attacked different problems, from speech recognition to chess playing, in different ways; AI unified the field in name only. But it was a term that captured the public imagination.
Most researchers agree that AI peaked around 1985. A public reared on science-fiction movies and excited by the growing power of computers had high expectations. For years, AI researchers had implied that a breakthrough was just around the corner. Marvin Minsky said in 1967 that within a generation the problem of creating ‘a(chǎn)rtificial intelligence, would be substantially solved. Prototypes of medical-diagnosis programs and speech recognition software appeared to be making progress. It proved to be a false dawn. Thinking computers and household robots failed to materialise, and a backlash ensued. There was undue optimism in the early 1980s’, says David Leake, a researcher at Indiana University. Then when people realised these were hard problems, there was retrenchment. By the late 1980s, the term AI was being avoided by many researchers, who opted instead to align themselves with specific sub-disciplines such as neural networks, agent technology, case-based reasoning, and so on’.
Ironically, in some ways AI was a victim of its own success. Whenever an apparently mundane problem was solved, such as building a system that could land an aircraft unattended, the problem was deemed not to have been AI in the first place. ‘If it works, it can’t be AI’, as Dr Leake characterises it. The effect of repeatedly moving the goal-posts in this way was that AI came to refer to ‘blue-sky’ research that was still years away from commercialisation. Researchers joked that AI stood for ‘a(chǎn)lmost implemented’. Meanwhile, the technologies that made it onto the market, such as speech recognition, language translation and decision-support software, were no longer regarded as AI. Yet all three once fell well within the umbrella of AI research.
But the tide may now be turning, according to Dr Leake. HNC Software of San Diego, backed by a government agency, reckon that their new approach to artificial intelligence is the most powerful and promising approach ever discovered. HNC claim that their system, based on a duster of 30 processors, could be used to spot camouflaged vehicles on a battlefield or extract a voice signal from a noisy background - tasks humans can do well, but computers cannot. ‘Whether or not their technology lives up to the claims made for it, the fact that HNC are emphasising the use of AI is itself an interesting development’, says Dr Leake.
Another factor that may boost the prospects for AI in the near future is that investors are now looking for firms using clever technology, rather than just a clever business model, to differentiate themselves. In particular, the problem of information overload, exacerbated by the growth of e-mail and the explosion in the number of web pages, means there are plenty of opportunities for new technologies to help filter and categorise information - classic AI problems. That may mean that more artificial intelligence companies will start to emerge to meet this challenge.
The 1969 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, featured an intelligent computer called HAL 9000. As well as understanding and speaking English, HAL could play chess and even learned to lip-read. HAL thus encapsulated the optimism of the 1960s that intelligent computers would be widespread by 2001. But 2001 has been and gone, and there is still no sign of a HAL-like computer. Individual systems can play chess or transcribe speech, but a general theory of machine intelligence still remains elusive. It may be, however, that the comparison with HAL no longer seems quite so important, and AI can now be judged by what it can do, rather than by how well it matches up to a 30-year-old science-fiction film. ‘People are beginning to realise that there are impressive things that these systems can do’, says Dr Leake hopefully.
《Strking Back at Lightning With Lasers》
來(lái)自《劍雅8》p65
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 ‘a(chǎn)n avalanche of interest and support’ if all goes well. He expects to see cloud-zappers eventually costing $50, 000 to $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.
環(huán)境/地理
《Terror in the Mountains》
來(lái)自《IELTS READING 雅思閱讀》p70
What is incredibly beautiful, yet absolutely terrifying and deadly at the same time? For anyone above the snowline in the mountains, there is little doubt about the answer. Avalanche—the word strikes fear into the heart of any avid skier or climber. For those unfortunate enough to be caught up in one, there is virtually no warning or time to get out of danger and even less chance of being found. The ‘destroyer’ of the mountains, avalanches can uproot trees, crush whole buildings and bury people metres deep under solidified snow. Around the world, as more and more people head to the mountains in winter, there are hundreds of avalanche fatalities every year.
A snow avalanche is a sudden and extremely fast-moving ‘river’ of snow which races down a mountainside (there can also be avalanches of rocks, boulders, mud or sand). There are four main kinds. Loose snow avalanches, or sluffs, form on very steep slopes. These usually have a ‘teardrop’ shape, starting from a point and widening as they collect more snow on the way down. Slab avalanches, which are responsible for about 90% of avalanche-related deaths, occur when a stiff layer of snow fractures or breaks off and slides downhill at incredible speed. This layer may be hundreds of metres wide and several metres thick. As it tends to compact and set like concrete once it stops, it is extremely dangerous for anyone buried in the flow. The third type is an isothermal avalanche, which results from heavy rain leading to the snowpack becoming saturated with water. In the fourth type, air mixes in with loose snow as the avalanche slides, creating a powder cloud. These powder snow avalanches can be the largest of all, moving at over 300 kmh, with 10,000,000 or more tonnes of snow. They can flow along a valley floor and even a short distance uphill on the other side.
Three factors are necessary for an avalanche to form. The first relates to the condition of the snowpack. Temperature, humidity and sudden changes in weather conditions all affect the shape and condition of snow crystals in the snowpack which, in turn, influences the stability of the snowpack. In some cases, weather causes an improvement in avalanche conditions. For example, low temperature variation in the snowpack and consistent below-freezing temperatures enable the crystals to compress tightly. On the other hand, if the snow surface melts and refreezes, this can create an icy or unstable layer.
The second vital factor is the degree of slope of the mountain. If this is below 25 degrees, there is little danger of an avalanche. Slopes that are steeper than 60 degrees are also unlikely to set off a major avalanche as they ‘sluff’ the snow constantly, in a cascade of loose powdery snow which causes minimal danger or damage. This means that slabs of ice or weaknesses in the snowpack have little chance to develop. Thus the danger zone covers the 25 to 60 degree range of slopes, with most avalanches being slab avalanches that begin on slopes of 35 to 45 degrees.
Finally, there is the movement or event that triggers the avalanche. In the case of slab avalanches, this can be a natural trigger, such as a sudden weather change, a falling tree or a collapsing ice or snow overhang. However, in most fatal avalanches, it is people who create the trigger by moving through an avalanche-prone area. Snowmobiles are especially dangerous. On the other hand, contrary to common belief, shouting is not a big enough vibration to set off a landslide.
Anyone moving through snow in the mountains should understand the danger signals and follow some basic rules. Taking an approved avalanche safety course is an essential first step. Skiers and climbers should be up-to-date with local warning systems and check any avalanche forecast hotline or website. They should also be aware of their surroundings, avoid areas that have signs of previous avalanche activity and monitor the weather conditions carefully. Basic equipment should include a rescue beacon with fresh batteries, an inexpensive inclinometer to measure the angle of slopes and an avalanche probe.
Beautiful but deadly, avalanches kill increasingly numbers of winter sports enthusiasts every year as more and more people enjoy the mountains in winter. As it is easier to avoid an avalanche than to survive one, it is vital for snow enthusiasts to recognise the three basic factors which contribute to avalanches. An awareness of the condition of the snowpack, the angle of the slope and the ways in which an avalanche may be triggered can be the difference between life and death in the mountains.
《火山》
來(lái)自《Collins Reading for IELTS》p58
Holidaymakers faced disruption yesterday because of new plumes of ash from an Icelandic volcano, which forced the closure of airports in Spain and Portugal.
The cancellations - which mainly affected Ryanair and easyJet services operating out of Stansted and Gatwick - came as scientists produced the first internal map
of Eyjafjallajokull’s network of magma chambers, which extend 12 miles below the ground.
A new ash cloud has risen 30,000ft into the air and drifted south after a pulse of meltwater and ice poured into the Eyjafjallajokull volcano last week. The water caused huge explosions as it hit the hot lava, generating more ash plumes. European aviation regulators have imposed a maximum safe limit of 0.002 grammes of ash per cubic metre of air, meaning that if levels rise above this, flights cannot enter that airspace.
The map shows how the volcano’s tubes plunge deep down through the earth’s crust to the start of the mantle, which is made of semi-molten rock. It reveals the huge scale of the eruption and the potential for a far greater one. This is because the magma chamber of Eyjafjallajokull is dwarfed by the much larger one under Katla, a volcano 15 miles to the east. Two of Katla’s eruptions, in 1612 and 1821, are thought to have been triggered by those of its neighbour. While Katla is not part of the same underground network of magma channels and chambers, it is close enough to be affected by changes in pressure in Eyjafjallajokull’s system. There is also a chance that a horizontal sheet of magma, known as a dike, beneath Eyjafjallajokull could stretch out far enough to penetrate a magma chamber beneath Katla. Hitting the roots of its neighbour would almost certainly trigger an eruption. The three eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull on record have each been associated with a subsequent eruption
of Katla. There have, so far, been no signs of turbulence beneath Katla’s surface but, having last erupted in 1918, vulcanologists say that a new blast is overdue.
The workings of the volcanoes have been provisionally drawn up by Professor Erik Sturkell, a geologist at the Nordic Volcanological Centre, University of Iceland. Sturkell suggests the Eyjafjallajokull eruption has been building since 1994, when new lava began rising, forming two reservoirs three miles beneath the volcano. A surge of earthquakes under Katla mean it has experienced a similar influx of lava, Sturkell said. ‘This suggests the volcano is close to eruption.’
《Disappearing Delta》
來(lái)自《劍雅5》p67
The fertile land of the Nile delta is being eroded along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast at an astounding rate，in some parts estimated at 100 metres per year. In the past, land scoured away from the coastline by the currents of the Mediterranean Sea used to be replaced by sediment brought down to the delta by the River Nile, but this is no longer happening.
Up to now, people have blamed this loss of delta land on the two large dams at Aswan in the south of Egypt, which hold back virtually all of the sediment that used to flow down the river. Before the dams were built, the Nile flowed freely carrying huge quantities of sediment north from Africa’s interior to be deposited on the Nile delta. This continued for 7,000 years, eventually covering a region of over 22,000 square kilometres with layers of fertile silt. Annual flooding brought in new, nutrient-rich soil to the delta region, replacing what had been washed away by the sea, and dispensing with the need for fertilizers in Egypt’s richest food-growing area. But when the Aswan dams were constructed in the 20th century to provide electricity and irrigation, and to protect the huge population centre of Cairo and its surrounding areas from annual flooding and drought, most of the sediment with its naturaI fertilizer accumulated up above the dam in the southern, upstream half of Lake Nasser, instead of passing down to the delta.
Now, however, there turns out to be more to the story. It appears that the sediment-free water emerging from the Aswan dams picks up silt and sand as it erodes the river bed and banks on the 800-kilometre trip to Cairo. Daniel Jean Stanley of the Smithsonian Institute noticed that water samples taken in Cairo, just before the river enters the delta, indicated that the river sometimes carries more than 850 grams of sediment per cubic metre of water — almost half of what it carried before the dams were built. ‘I’m ashamed to say that the significance of this didn’t strike me until after I had read 50 or 60 studies’, says Stanley in Marine Geology. ‘There is still a lot of sediment coming into the delta, but virtually no sediment comes out into the Mediterranean to replenish the coastline. So this sediment must be trapped on the delta itself’.
Once north of Cairo, most of the Nile water is diverted into more than 10,000 kilometres of irrigation canals and only a small proportion reaches the sea directly through the rivers in the delta. The water in the irrigation canals is still or very slow-moving and thus cannot carry sediment, Stanley explains. The sediment sinks to the bottom of the canals and then is added to fields by farmers or pumped with the water into the four large freshwater lagoons that are located near the outer edges of the delta. So very little of it actually reaches the coastline to replace what is being washed away by the Mediterranean currents.
The farms on the delta plains and fishing and aquaculture in the lagoons account for much of Egypt’s food supply. But by the time the sediment has come to rest in the fields and lagoons it is laden with municipal, industrial and agricultural waste from the Cairo region, which is home to more than 40 million people. ‘Pollutants are building up faster and faster’, says Stanley.
Based on his investigations of sediment from the delta lagoons, Frederic Siegel of George Washington University concurs. ‘In Manzalah Lagoon, for example, the increase in mercury, lead, copper and zinc coincided with the building of the High Dam at Aswan, the availability of cheap electricity, and the development of major power-based industries’, he says. Since that time the concentration of mercury has increased significantly. Lead from engines that use leaded fuels and from other industrial sources has also increased dramatically. These poisons can easily enter the food chain, affecting the productivity of fishing and farming. Another problem is that agricultural wastes include fertilizers which stimulate increases in plant growth in the lagoons and upset the ecology of the area, with serious effects on the fishing industry.
According to Siegel, international environmental organisations are beginning to pay closer attention to the region, partly because of the problems of erosion and pollution of the Nile delta, but principally because they fear the impact this situation could have on the whole Mediterranean coastal ecosystem. But there are no easy solutions. In the immediate future, Stanley believes that one solution would be to make artificial floods to flush out the delta waterways, in the same way that natural floods did before the construction of the dams. He says, however, that in the long term an alternative process such as desalination may have to be used to increase the amount of water available. ‘In my view, Egypt must devise a way to have more water running through the river and the delta’, says Stanley. Easier said than done in a desert region with a rapidly growing population.
《THE LITTLE ICE AGE》
來(lái)自《劍雅8》p46
This book will provide a detailed examination of the Little Ice Age and other climatic shifts, but, before I embark on that, let me provide a historical context. We tend to think of climate - as opposed to weather - as something unchanging, yet humanity has been at the mercy of climate change for its entire existence, with at least eight glacial episodes in the past 730,000 years. Our ancestors adapted to the universal but irregular global warming since the end of the last great Ice Age, around 10,000 years ago, with dazzling opportunism. They developed strategies for surviving harsh drought cycles, decades of heavy rainfall or unaccustomed cold; adopted agriculture and stock-raising, which revolutionized human life; and founded the world’s first pre-industrial civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Americas. But the price of sudden climate change, in famine, disease and suffering, was often high.
The Little Ice Age lasted from roughly 1300 until the middle of the nineteenth century. Only two centuries ago, Europe experienced a cycle of bitterly cold winters; mountain glaciers in the Swiss Alps were the lowest in-recorded memory, and pack ice surrounded Iceland for much of the year. The climatic events of the Little Ice Age did more than help shape the modern world. They are the deeply important context for the current unprecedented global warming. The Little Ice Age was far from a deep freeze, however; rather an irregular seesaw of rapid climatic shifts, few lasting more than a quarter-century, driven by complex and still little understood interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean. The seesaw brought cycles of intensely cold winters and easterly winds, then switched abruptly to years of heavy spring and early summer rains, mild winters, and frequent Atlantic storms, or to periods of droughts, light northeasterly winds, and summer heat waves.
Reconstructing the climate changes of the past is extremely difficult, because systematic weather observations began only a few centuries ago, in Europe and North America. Records from India and tropical Africa are even more recent. For the time before records began, we have only ‘proxy records’ reconstructed largely from tree rings and ice cores, supplemented by a few incomplete written accounts. We now have hundreds of tree-ring records from throughout the northern hemisphere, and many from south of the equator, too, amplified with a growing body of temperature data from ice cores drilled in Antarctica, Greenland the Peruvian Andes, and other locations. We are close to knowledge of annual summer and winter temperature variations over much of the northern hemisphere going back 600 years.
This book is a narrative history of climatic shifts during the past ten centuries, and some of the ways in which people in Europe adapted to them. Part One describes the Medieval Warm Period, roughly 900 to 1200. During these three centuries, Norse voyagers from Northern Europe explored northern seas, settled Greenland, and visited North America. It was not a time of uniform warmth, for then, as always since the Great Ice Age, there were constant shifts in rainfall and temperature. Mean European temperatures were about the same as today, perhaps slightly cooler.
It is known that the Little Ice Age cooling began in Greenland and the Arctic in about 1200. As the Arctic ice pack spread southward, Norse voyages to the west were rerouted into the open Atlantic, then ended altogether. Storminess increased in the North Atlantic and North Sea. Colder, much wetter weather descended on Europe between 1315 and 1319, when thousands perished in a continent-wide famine. By 1400, the weather had become decidedly more unpredictable and stormier, with sudden shifts and lower temperatures that culminated in the cold decades of the late sixteenth century. Fish were a vital commodity in growing towns and cities, where food supplies were a constant concern. Dried cod and herring were already the staples of the European fish trade, but changes in water temperatures forced fishing fleets to work further offshore. The Basques, Dutch, and English developed the first offshore fishing boats adapted to a colder and stormier Atlantic. A gradual agricultural revolution in northern Europe stemmed from concerns over food supplies at a time of rising populations. The revolution involved intensive commercial farming and the growing of animal fodder on land not previously used for crops. The increased productivity from farmland made some countries self-sufficient in grain and livestock and offered effective protection against famine.
Global temperatures began to rise slowly after 1850, with the beginning of the Modern Warm Period. There was a vast migration from Europe by land-hungry farmers and others, to which the famine caused by the Irish potato blight contributed, to North America, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa. Millions of hectares of forest and woodland fell before the newcomers’ axes between 1850 and -1890, as intensive European farming methods expanded across the world. The unprecedented land clearance released vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, triggering for the first time humanly caused global warming. Temperatures climbed more rapidly in the twentieth century as the use of fossil fuels proliferated and greenhouse gas levels continued to soar. The rise has been even steeper since the early 1980s. The Little Ice Age has given way to a new climatic regime, marked by prolonged and steady warming. At the same time, extreme weather events like Category 5 hurricanes are becoming more frequent.
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