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篇1:剑桥雅思阅读6原文(test2)及答案难度精讲
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 on the following pages.
Questions 1-5
Reading Passage 1 has five marked paragraphs, A-E.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-viii, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i Avoiding an overcrowded centre
ii A successful exercise in people power
iii The benefits of working together in cities
iv Higher incomes need not mean more cars
v Economic arguments fail to persuade
vi The impact of telecommunications on population distribution
vii Increases in travelling time
viii Responding to arguments against public transport
1 Paragraph A
2 Paragraph B
3 Paragraph C
4 Paragraph D
5 Paragraph E
Advantages of public transport
A new study conducted for the World Bank by Murdoch University’s Institute for Science and Technology Policy (ISTP) has demonstrated that public transport is more efficient than cars. The study compared the proportion of wealth poured into transport by thirty-seven cities around the world. This included both the public and private costs of building, maintaining and using a transport system.
The study found that the Western Australian city of Perth is a good example of a city with minimal public transport. As a result, 17% of its wealth went into transport costs. Some European and Asian cities, on the other hand, spent as little as 5%. Professor Peter Newman, ISTP Director, pointed out that these more efficient cities were able to put the difference into attracting industry and jobs or creating a better place to live.
According to Professor Newman, the larger Australian city of Melbourne is a rather unusual city in this sort of comparison. He describes it as two cities: ‘A European city surrounded by a car-dependent one’. Melbourne’s large tram network has made car use in the inner city much lower, but the outer suburbs have the same car-based structure as most other Australian cities. The explosion in demand for accommodation in the inner suburbs of Melbourne suggests a recent change in many people’s preferences as to where they live.
Newman says this is a new, broader way of considering public transport issues. In the past, the case for public transport has been made on the basis of environmental and social justice considerations rather than economics. Newman, however, believes the study demonstrates that ‘the auto-dependent city model is inefficient and grossly inadequate in economic as well as environmental terms’.
Bicycle use was not included in the study but Newman noted that the two most ‘bicycle friendly’ cities considered — Amsterdam and Copenhagen — were very efficient, even though their public transport systems were ‘reasonable but not special’.
It is common for supporters of road networks to reject the models of cities with good public transport by arguing that such systems would not work in their particular city. One objection is climate. Some people say their city could not make more use of public transport because it is either too hot or too cold. Newman rejects this, pointing out that public transport has been successful in both Toronto and Singapore and, in fact, he has checked the use of cars against climate and found ‘zero correlation’.
When it comes to other physical features, road lobbies are on stronger ground. For example, Newman accepts it would be hard for a city as hilly as Auckland to develop a really good rail network. However, he points out that both Hong Kong and Zurich have managed to make a success of their rail systems, heavy and light respectively, though there are few cities in the world as hilly.
A In fact, Newman believes the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is politics: ‘The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.’ He considers Portland, Oregon, a perfect example of this. Some years ago, federal money was granted to build a new road. However, local pressure groups forced a referendum over whether to spend the money on light rail instead. The rail proposal won and the railway worked spectacularly well. In the years that have followed, more and more rail systems have been put in, dramatically changing the nature of the city. Newman notes that Portland has about the same population as Perth and had a similar population density at the time.
B In the UK, travel times to work had been stable for at least six centuries, with people avoiding situations that required them to spend more than half an hour travelling to work. Trains and cars initially allowed people to live at greater distances without taking longer to reach their destination. However, public infrastructure did not keep pace with urban sprawl, causing massive congestion problems which now make commuting times far higher.
C There is a widespread belief that increasing wealth encourages people to live farther out where cars are the only viable transport. The example of European cities refutes that. They are often wealthier than their American counterparts but have not generated the same level of car use. In Stockholm, car use has actually fallen in recent years as the city has become larger and wealthier. A new study makes this point even more starkly. Developing cities in Asia, such as Jakarta and Bangkok, make more use of the car than wealthy Asian cities such as Tokyo and Singapore. In cities that developed later, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank discouraged the building of public transport and people have been forced to rely on cars — creating the massive traffic jams that characterize those cities.
D Newman believes one of the best studies on how cities built for cars might be converted to rail use is The Urban Village report, which used Melbourne as an example. It found that pushing everyone into the city centre was not the best approach. Instead, the proposal advocated the creation of urban villages at hundreds of sites, mostly around railway stations.
E It was once assumed that improvements in telecommunications would lead to more dispersal in the population as people were no longer forced into cities. However, the ISTP team’s research demonstrates that the population and job density of cities rose or remained constant in the 1980s after decades of decline. The explanation for this seems to be that it is valuable to place people working in related fields together. ‘The new world will largely depend on human creativity, and creativity flourishes where people come together face-to-face.’
Questions 6-10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
6 The ISTP study examined public and private systems in every city of the world.
7 Efficient cities can improve the quality of life for their inhabitants.
8 An inner-city tram network is dangerous for car drivers.
9 In Melbourne, people prefer to live in the outer suburbs.
10 Cities with high levels of bicycle usage can be efficient even when public transport is only averagely good.
Questions 11-13
Look at the following cities (Questions 11-13) and the list of descriptions below.
Match each city with the correct description, A-F.
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet.
11 Perth
12 Auckland
13 Portland
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
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
GREYING POPULATION STAYS IN THE PINK
Elderly people are growing healthier, happier and more independent, say American scientists. The results of a 14-year study to be announced later this month reveal that the diseases associated with old age are afflicting fewer and fewer people and when they do strike, it is much later in life.
In the last 14 years, the National Long-term Health Care Survey has gathered data on the health and lifestyles of more than 20,000 men and women over 65. Researchers, now analysing the results of data gathered in 1994, say arthritis, high blood pressure and circulation problems — the major medical complaints in this age group — are troubling a smaller proportion every year. And the data confirms that the rate at which these diseases are declining continues to accelerate. Other diseases of old age — dementia, stroke, arteriosclerosis and emphysema — are also troubling fewer and fewer people.
‘It really raises the question of what should be considered normal ageing,’ says Kenneth Manton, a demographer from Duke University in North Carolina. He says the problems doctors accepted as normal in a 65-year-old in 1982 are often not appearing until people are 70 or 75.
Clearly, certain diseases are beating a retreat in the face of medical advances. But there may be other contributing factors. Improvements in childhood nutrition in the first quarter of the twentieth century, for example, gave today’s elderly people a better start in life than their predecessors.
On the downside, the data also reveals failures in public health that have caused surges in some illnesses. An increase in some cancers and bronchitis may reflect changing smoking habits and poorer air quality, say the researchers. ‘These may be subtle influences,’ says Manton, ‘but our subjects have been exposed to worse and worse pollution for over 60 years. It’s not surprising we see some effect.“
One interesting correlation Manton uncovered is that better-educated people are likely to live longer. For example, 65-year-old women with fewer than eight years of schooling are expected, on average, to live to 82. Those who continued their education live an extra seven years. Although some of this can be attributed to a higher income, Manton believes it is mainly because educated people seek more medical attention.
The survey also assessed how independent people over 65 were, and again found a striking trend. Almost 80% of those in the 1994 survey could complete everyday activities ranging from eating and dressing unaided to complex tasks such as cooking and managing their finances. That represents a significant drop in the number of disabled old people in the population. If the trends apparent in the United States 14 years ago had continued, researchers calculate there would be an additional one million disabled elderly people in today’s population. According to Manton, slowing the trend has saved the United States government’s Medicare system more than $200 billion, suggesting that the greying of America’s population may prove less of a financial burden than expected.
The increasing self-reliance of many elderly people is probably linked to a massive increase in the use of simple home medical aids. For instance, the use of raised toilet seats has more than doubled since the start of the study, and the use of bath seats has grown by more than 50%. These developments also bring some health benefits, according to a report from the MacArthur Foundation’s research group on successful ageing. The group found that those elderly people who were able to retain a sense of independence were more likely to stay healthy in old age.
Maintaining a level of daily physical activity may help mental functioning, says Carl Cotman, a neuroscientist at the University of California at Irvine. He found that rats that exercise on a treadmill have raised levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor coursing through their brains. Cotman believes this hormone, which keeps neurons functioning, may prevent the brains of active humans from deteriorating.
As part of the same study, Teresa Seeman, a social epidemiologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, found a connection between self-esteem and stress in people over 70. In laboratory simulations of challenging activities such as driving, those who felt in control of their lives pumped out lower levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. Chronically high levels of these hormones have been linked to heart disease.
But independence can have drawbacks. Seeman found that elderly people who felt emotionally isolated maintained higher levels of stress hormones even when asleep. The research suggests that older people fare best when they feel independent but know they can get help when they need it.
‘Like much research into ageing, these results support common sense,’ says Seeman. They also show that we may be underestimating the impact of these simple factors. ‘The sort of thing that your grandmother always told you turns out to be right on target,’ she says.
Questions 14-22
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-Q, below.
Write the correct letter, A-Q in boxes 14-22 on your answer sheet.
Research carried out by scientists in the United States has shown that the proportion of people over 65 suffering from the most common age-related medical problems is 14 ..............and that the speed of this change is 15.............. . It also seems that these diseases are affecting people 16.............. in life than they did in the past. This is largely due to developments in 17.............., but other factors such as improved 18.............. may also be playing a part. Increases in some other illnesses may be due to changes in personal habits and to 19.............. . The research establishes a link between levels of 20.............. and life expectancy. It also shows that there has been a considerable reduction in the number of elderly people who are 21.............., which means that the 22.............. involved in supporting this section of the population may be less than previously predicted.
A cost B falling C technology
D undernourished E earlier F later
G disabled H more I increasing
J nutrition K education L constant
M medicine N pollution O environmental
P health Q independent
Questions 23-26
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-H, below.
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 23-26 on your answer sheet.
23 Home medical aids
24 Regular amounts of exercise
25 Feelings of control over life
26 Feelings of loneliness
A may cause heart disease.
B can be helped by hormone treatment.
C may cause rises in levels of stress hormones.
D have cost the United States government more than $200 billion.
E may help prevent mental decline.
F may get stronger at night.
G allow old people to be more independent.
H can reduce stress in difficult situations.
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
Numeration
One of the first great intellectual feats of a young child is learning how to talk, closely followed by learning how to count. From earliest childhood we are so bound up with our system of numeration that it is a feat of imagination to consider the problems faced by early humans who had not yet developed this facility. Careful consideration of our system of numeration leads to the conviction that, rather than being a facility that comes naturally to a person, it is one of the great and remarkable achievements of the human race.
It is impossible to learn the sequence of events that led to our developing the concept of number. Even the earliest of tribes had a system of numeration that, if not advanced, was sufficient for the tasks that they had to perform. Our ancestors had little use for actual numbers; instead their considerations would have been more of the kind Is this enough? rather than How many? when they were engaged in food gathering, for example. However, when early humans first began to reflect on the nature of things around them, they discovered that they needed an idea of number simply to keep their thoughts in order. As they began to settle, grow plants and herd animals, the need for a sophisticated number system became paramount. It will never be known how and when this numeration ability developed, but it is certain that numeration was well developed by the time humans had formed even semi-permanent settlements.
Evidence of early stages of arithmetic and numeration can be readily found. The indigenous peoples of Tasmania were only able to count one, two, many; those of South Africa counted one, two, two and one, two twos, two twos and one, and so on. But in real situations the number and words are often accompanied by gestures to help resolve any confusion. For example, when using the one, two, many type of system, the word many would mean, Look at my hands and see how many fingers I am showing you. This basic approach is limited in the range of numbers that it can express, but this range will generally suffice when dealing with the simpler aspects of human existence.
The lack of ability of some cultures to deal with large numbers is not really surprising. European languages, when traced back to their earlier version, are very poor in number words and expressions. The ancient Gothic word for ten, tachund, is used to express the number 100 as tachund tachund. By the seventh century, the word teon had become interchangeable with the tachund or hund of the Anglo-Saxon language, and so 100 was denoted as hund teontig, or ten times ten. The average person in the seventh century in Europe was not as familiar with numbers as we are today. In fact, to qualify as a witness in a court of law a man had to be able to count to nine!
Perhaps the most fundamental step in developing a sense of number is not the ability to count, but rather to see that a number is really an abstract idea instead of a simple attachment to a group of particular objects. It must have been within the grasp of the earliest humans to conceive that four birds are distinct from two birds; however, it is not an elementary step to associate the number 4, as connected with four birds, to the number 4, as connected with four rocks. Associating a number as one of the qualities of a specific object is a great hindrance to the development of a true number sense. When the number 4 can be registered in the mind as a specific word, independent of the object being referenced, the individual is ready to take the first step toward the development of a notational system for numbers and, from there, to arithmetic.
Traces of the very first stages in the development of numeration can be seen in several living languages today. The numeration system of the Tsimshian language in British Columbia contains seven distinct sets of words for numbers according to the class of the item being counted: for counting flat objects and animals, for round objects and time, for people, for long objects and trees, for canoes, for measures, and for counting when no particular object is being numerated. It seems that the last is a later development while the first six groups show the relics of an older system. This diversity of number names can also be found in some widely used languages such as Japanese.
Intermixed with the development of a number sense is the development of an ability to count. Counting is not directly related to the formation of a number concept because it is possible to count by matching the items being counted against a group of pebbles, grains of corn, or the counter’s fingers. These aids would have been indispensable to very early people who would have found the process impossible without some form of mechanical aid. Such aids, while different, are still used even by the most educated in today’s society due to their convenience. All counting ultimately involves reference to something other than the things being counted. At first it may have been grains or pebbles but now it is a memorised sequence of words that happen to be the names of the numbers.
Questions 27-31
Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-G, below.
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27 A developed system of numbering
28 An additional hand signal
29 In seventh-century Europe, the ability to count to a certain number
30 Thinking about numbers as concepts separate from physical objects
31 Expressing number differently according to class of item
A was necessary in order to fulfil a civic role.
B was necessary when people began farming.
C was necessary for the development of arithmetic.
D persists in all societies.
E was used when the range of number words was restricted.
F can be traced back to early European languages.
G was a characteristic of early numeration systems.
Questions 32-40
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 32-40 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
32 For the earliest tribes, the concept of sufficiency was more important than the concept of quantity.
33 Indigenous Tasmanians used only four terms to indicate numbers of objects.
34 Some peoples with simple number systems used body language to prevent misunderstanding of expressions of number.
35 All cultures have been able to express large numbers clearly.
36 The word ‘thousand’ has Anglo-Saxon origins.
37 In general, people in seventh-century Europe had poor counting ability.
38 In the Tsimshian language, the number for long objects and canoes is expressed with the same word.
39 The Tsimshian language contains both older and newer systems of counting.
40 Early peoples found it easier to count by using their fingers rather than a group of pebbles.
篇2:剑桥雅思阅读6原文(test2)及答案难度精讲
PASSAGE 1 参考译文:
Advantages of public transport
公共交通的优势
A new study conducted for the World Bank by Murdoch University’s Institute for Science and Technology Policy (ISTP) has demonstrated that public transport is more efficient than cars. The study compared the proportion of wealth poured into transport by thirty-seven cities around the world. This included both the public and private costs of building, maintaining and using a transport system.
默多克大学的科技政策研究所(ISTP)为世界银行做的最新研究表明,公共交通工具的效率髙于小汽车。该研究比较了全世界37座城市公共交通投人资金所占的比例。这其中包括修建、维护和使用公交系统时的政府投人和个人开销。
The study found that the Western Australian city of Perth is a good example of a city with minimal public transport. As a result, 17% of its wealth went into transport costs. Some European and Asian cities, on the other hand, spent as little as 5%. Professor Peter Newman, ISTP Director, pointed out that these more efficient cities were able to put the difference into attracting industry and jobs or creating a better place to live.
研究显示,西澳大利亚的首府珀斯是最低限度发展公交系统的典型例子。结果是,该市的交通成本竟占政府收人的17%。然而,某些欧洲和亚洲城市的交通成本则仅有5%。研究所主任彼得?纽曼教授指出,后面这些效率更高的城市能够将更多资金投人到发展工业、扩大就业和创造更好的生活环境中去。
According to Professor Newman, the larger Australian city of Melbourne is a rather unusual city in this sort of comparison. He describes it as two cities: ‘A European city surrounded by a car-dependent one’. Melbourne’s large tram network has made car use in the inner city much lower, but the outer suburbs have the same car-based structure as most other Australian cities. The explosion in demand for accommodation in the inner suburbs of Melbourne suggests a recent change in many people’s preferences as to where they live.
纽曼认为,如此进行比较的话,规模相对较大的澳大利亚城市墨尔本则显得格外与众不同。他将其形容为双层城市:“一座欧洲城市外面裹着另一座汽车代步城。”墨尔本规模庞大的有轨电车网络大大降低了市内的汽车使用率,但远郊地区则同大多数其他澳大利亚城市一样依赖汽车交通。而该市近郊住房需求的激增正显示出近年来人们在选择居住地点时观念的变化。
Newman says this is a new, broader way of considering public transport issues. In the past, the case for public transport has been made on the basis of environmental and social justice considerations rather than economics. Newman, however, believes the study demonstrates that ‘the auto-dependent city model is inefficient and grossly inadequate in economic as well as environmental terms’.
据纽曼教授称,这是一种更广泛考虑公共交通问题的新方式。过去在解决公共交通问题时,我们通常关心的是环境和社会的合理性,而不是经济情况。除此之外,纽曼教授认为该研究显示了“依赖汽车作为交通工具的城市发展模式不仅效率低下,而且在经济与环境发展方而也相当不足”。
Bicycle use was not included in the study but Newman noted that the two most ‘bicycle friendly’ cities considered — Amsterdam and Copenhagen — were very efficient, even though their public transport systems were ‘reasonable but not special’.
自行车没有包含在此项研究范围之内。然而,纽曼教授指出在考察研究的37座城市中,阿姆斯特丹和哥本哈根这两座自行车普及率最高的城市效率也非常高,即便他们的公共交通系统“特色全无,相当一般”。
It is common for supporters of road networks to reject the models of cities with good public transport by arguing that such systems would not work in their particular city. One objection is climate. Some people say their city could not make more use of public transport because it is either too hot or too cold. Newman rejects this, pointing out that public transport has been successful in both Toronto and Singapore and, in fact, he has checked the use of cars against climate and found ‘zero correlation’.
公路网的拥护者们普遍反对以发达的公共交通系统为标志的城市发展模式。他们坚持认为该系统在个别城市并不适用。气候是反对的理由之一。有些人说他们的城市要么夏天太热,要么冬天太冷,以至于无法充分利用公交系统。纽曼教授则否定了这一观点,他指出公交系统的发展在多伦多和新加坡地区均获得了巨大成功。事实上,他调查过是否天气糟糕人们就会使用汽车,结果发现两者之间毫无关联。
When it comes to other physical features, road lobbies are on stronger ground. For example, Newman accepts it would be hard for a city as hilly as Auckland to develop a really good rail network. However, he points out that both Hong Kong and Zurich have managed to make a success of their rail systems, heavy and light respectively, though there are few cities in the world as hilly.
当我们考虑到其他硬件条件时,公路网的支持者们就有了更充分的理由。例如,纽曼认同,对于山地城市奥克兰来说,开发真正成功的轨道交通网是一件困难的事情。然而,他指出,虽然全世界的山地城市为数不多,但香港和苏黎世都分别设法成功地建成了重型和轻型轨道交通系统。
A In fact, Newman believes the main reason for adopting one sort of transport over another is politics: ‘The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.’ He considers Portland, Oregon, a perfect example of this. Some years ago, federal money was granted to build a new road. However, local pressure groups forced a referendum over whether to spend the money on light rail instead. The rail proposal won and the railway worked spectacularly well. In the years that have followed, more and more rail systems have been put in, dramatically changing the nature of the city. Newman notes that Portland has about the same population as Perth and had a similar population density at the time.
A 纽曼教授认为,事实上,决定采用哪一种交通运输方式的主要因素是政治,“决策过程越民主,公共交通就越容易得到支持”。他将美国俄勒冈州的波特兰市看作是其中的范例。几年前,国家拨款修建一条新公路。但是,当地的压力团体强行组织了一次公民投票,来表决是否要将国家拨款花费在建设替代公路的轻轨上。修建轻轨的提议最终获得通过,而且轨道系统在当地的运行状况非常良好。在随后的几年中,波特兰市修建了更多的轨道交通系统,城市面貌也因此得到巨大改善。纽曼教授发现,波特兰市与珀斯市的人口数量大致相同,并且当时的人口密度也十分相近。
B In the UK, travel times to work had been stable for at least six centuries, with people avoiding situations that required them to spend more than half an hour travelling to work. Trains and cars initially allowed people to live at greater distances without taking longer to reach their destination. However, public infrastructure did not keep pace with urban sprawl, causing massive congestion problems which now make commuting times far higher.
B 在英国,人们不会去做通勤时间需要半小时以上的工作,因而六百年来,花在上班路途上的时间都得以保持不变。刚开始的时候,火车和汽车使人们住得远,却又无需增加花在路途上的时间。然而,公共基础设施无法跟上城市扩张的步伐,这就导致了大规模的交通拥堵问题,并且使上下班的时间大大延长。
C There is a widespread belief that increasing wealth encourages people to live farther out where cars are the only viable transport. The example of European cities refutes that. They are often wealthier than their American counterparts but have not generated the same level of car use. In Stockholm, car use has actually fallen in recent years as the city has become larger and wealthier. A new study makes this point even more starkly. Developing cities in Asia, such as Jakarta and Bangkok, make more use of the car than wealthy Asian cities such as Tokyo and Singapore. In cities that developed later, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank discouraged the building of public transport and people have been forced to rely on cars — creating the massive traffic jams that characterize those cities.
C 有一种广泛的说法是:财富的不断增长促使人们到更远的地方居住,而汽车是那里唯一可行的交通工具。然而许多欧洲城市的例子可以反驳这一观点。相对于美国城市,欧洲城市通常更加富有,而汽车使用率却比美国低。近年来,随着城市规模的不断扩张和财富的逐年增加,斯德哥尔摩的汽车使用率反而还有所 下降。一项新的研究更清楚地说明了这一点。亚洲的发展中城市,例如雅加达和曼谷,其汽车使用率要高于像东京和新加坡这样的富裕地区。在发展比较滞后的城市中,世界银行和亚洲发展银行不鼓励修建公共交通系统,因此人们不得不依赖汽车作为交通工具这导致了这些城市中标志性的大塞车。
D Newman believes one of the best studies on how cities built for cars might be converted to rail use is The Urban Village report, which used Melbourne as an example. It found that pushing everyone into the city centre was not the best approach. Instead, the proposal advocated the creation of urban villages at hundreds of sites, mostly around railway stations.
D 纽曼教授认为,以墨尔本为例的“城中村”报告是最优秀的研究报告之一,报告主要讲述如何将以汽车代步的城市转变成以轨道交通为主的城市。该报告显示,让大家都住在市中心并不是最好的方法。反之,报告主张建立几百个集中在车站附近的城中村。
E It was once assumed that improvements in telecommunications would lead to more dispersal in the population as people were no longer forced into cities. However, the ISTP team’s research demonstrates that the population and job density of cities rose or remained constant in the 1980s after decades of decline. The explanation for this seems to be that it is valuable to place people working in related fields together. ‘The new world will largely depend on human creativity, and creativity flourishes where people come together face-to-face.’
E 曾经有人假设,由于人们不再被迫住在城市,电信的改进将促使人口进一步分散。然而,ISTP研究小组的调查显示继几十年的下降之后,在20世纪80年代,城市人口和职位的密度都保持不变或有所上升。似乎合理的解释为,将工作在相关领域的人聚集在一起可以创造更大的价值。“未来新世界将主要依靠人类的创造力,而创造力在人们面对面的交流中会更加活跃。”
TEST 2 PASSAGE 2 参考译文:
GREYING POPULATION STAYS IN THE PINK
老龄人口健康依旧
Elderly people are growing healthier, happier and more independent, say American scientists. The results of a 14-year study to be announced later this month reveal that the diseases associated with old age are afflicting fewer and fewer people and when they do strike, it is much later in life.
美国科学家指岀,现在老年人身体越来越健康,幸福感更强,生活更加独立。本月即将发布的一项持续长达的研究的结果显示,遭受老龄疾病折磨的人越来越少,即使是真的发病,年龄也向后推迟了不少。
In the last 14 years, the National Long-term Health Care Survey has gathered data on the health and lifestyles of more than 20,000 men and women over 65. Researchers, now analysing the results of data gathered in 1994, say arthritis, high blood pressure and circulation problems — the major medical complaints in this age group — are troubling a smaller proportion every year. And the data confirms that the rate at which these diseases are declining continues to accelerate. Other diseases of old age — dementia, stroke, arteriosclerosis and emphysema — are also troubling fewer and fewer people.
在过去的14年中,美国国家长期卫生保健调查收集了2万多名65岁以上的老年男性和女性健康状况和生活方式的数据资料。研究者们正在分析1994年收集的数据结果,他们表示。困扰这一年龄段老年人的主要疾病是关节炎、高血压和循环系统疾病,这些疾病的患病人数比例正在逐年下降。数据证实,上述疾病发病率下降的速度在继续加快。其他老龄疾病,诸如老年痴呆症、中风、动脉硬化和肺气肿等,患病人数也在逐年下降。
‘It really raises the question of what should be considered normal ageing,’ says Kenneth Manton, a demographer from Duke University in North Carolina. He says the problems doctors accepted as normal in a 65-year-old in 1982 are often not appearing until people are 70 or 75.
北卡罗来纳州杜克大学的人口统计学家肯尼思?曼顿说:“这的确促使我们思考到底什么情况才是正常老龄化的问题。”他指出,在1982年医生们认为是65岁老人常见疾病的症状现在经常要推迟到70或75岁才会出现。
Clearly, certain diseases are beating a retreat in the face of medical advances. But there may be other contributing factors. Improvements in childhood nutrition in the first quarter of the twentieth century, for example, gave today’s elderly people a better start in life than their predecessors.
显然,一些疾病在医学进步的面前被击退。除此之外,也可能有其他原因。例如,在20世纪的前25年中,儿童营养状况的改善使现在的老年人比以前的人们拥有更加健康的生活开端。
On the downside, the data also reveals failures in public health that have caused surges in some illnesses. An increase in some cancers and bronchitis may reflect changing smoking habits and poorer air quality, say the researchers. ‘These may be subtle influences,’ says Manton, ‘but our subjects have been exposed to worse and worse pollution for over 60 years. It’s not surprising we see some effect.”
从不利方面来看,研究数据同样显示出公共卫生的不力措施导致了某些疾病的猛增。研究者们指出, 有些癌症和支气管疾病发病率的上升可能反映出人们吸烟习惯的变化和空气质量逐年恶化的问题。曼顿说:“这或许只是些细微的影响,但我们的研究对象已经在污染日益严重的环境中生活了60多年。因而,这些后果的出现也就不足为奇了。”
One interesting correlation Manton uncovered is that better-educated people are likely to live longer. For example, 65-year-old women with fewer than eight years of schooling are expected, on average, to live to 82. Those who continued their education live an extra seven years. Although some of this can be attributed to a higher income, Manton believes it is mainly because educated people seek more medical attention.
曼顿揭示了一种有趣的关联,即人们受教育的程度越髙,寿命可能就越长。例如,在65岁的女性中,受教育时间低于8年的女性的预期寿命平均可达82岁,而那些继续接受教育的女性的平均寿命则延长了7年之多。曼顿认为,尽管部分原因可以归结为更高的收人水平,但主要原因还是受过良好教育的人会更加注重医疗保健。
The survey also assessed how independent people over 65 were, and again found a striking trend. Almost 80% of those in the 1994 survey could complete everyday activities ranging from eating and dressing unaided to complex tasks such as cooking and managing their finances. That represents a significant drop in the number of disabled old people in the population. If the trends apparent in the United States 14 years ago had continued, researchers calculate there would be an additional one million disabled elderly people in today’s population. According to Manton, slowing the trend has saved the United States government’s Medicare system more than $200 billion, suggesting that the greying of America’s population may prove less of a financial burden than expected.
该调查同时评估了年龄在65岁以上的走人的独立程度,这再次发现了一个惊人的发展趋势。在1994年调查中,近80%的人都能完成日常起居活动,包括简单的活动,如独立的饮食和穿衣,也包括复杂的活动,如烹饪和财务管理等。这表明总人口中不能自理的老人的数量在显著下降。研究者们估算,如果美国14 年前的发展趋势持续下去的话,现今总人口中将会多出100万名不能自理的老人。曼顿表示,减缓这一趋势为美国政府的医疗保险系统节省了2,000多亿美元的开支,这意味着美国人口老龄化所带来的经济负担可能不像人们想象中的那样沉重。
The increasing self-reliance of many elderly people is probably linked to a massive increase in the use of simple home medical aids. For instance, the use of raised toilet seats has more than doubled since the start of the study, and the use of bath seats has grown by more than 50%. These developments also bring some health benefits, according to a report from the MacArthur Foundation’s research group on successful ageing. The group found that those elderly people who were able to retain a sense of independence were more likely to stay healthy in old age.
老年人自理能力的增强可能与简易家庭医疗辅助用品的广泛使用有关。例如,自该研究开始至今,使用增高座便器的人数增加了一倍之多,而使用浴缸座椅的人数也增加了50%以上。麦克阿瑟基金会研究小组发表的一项成功老龄化研究报告表明,上述发展变化同样给健康带来了好处。该研究小组发现,那些能够保持独立感的老年人更有可能在晚年保持身体健康。
Maintaining a level of daily physical activity may help mental functioning, says Carl Cotman, a neuroscientist at the University of California at Irvine. He found that rats that exercise on a treadmill have raised levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor coursing through their brains. Cotman believes this hormone, which keeps neurons functioning, may prevent the brains of active humans from deteriorating.
加利福尼亚大学欧文分校的神经学家卡尔?科特曼指出,维持一定数量的日常体育运动将有助于提高大脑功能的运作。他发现对于在脚踏车上运动的老鼠,流经大脑的脑源性神经营养因子含量水平会升高。 科特曼认为,这种维持神经细胞功能的激素可以阻止活跃的人类大脑功能退化。
As part of the same study, Teresa Seeman, a social epidemiologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, found a connection between self-esteem and stress in people over 70. In laboratory simulations of challenging activities such as driving, those who felt in control of their lives pumped out lower levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. Chronically high levels of these hormones have been linked to heart disease.
在同一调查研究中,洛杉肌南加利福尼亚大学的社会流行病学家特里萨?西曼发现在70岁以上的老年人中,自尊心和压力之间存在相互联系。在诸如驾驶汽车等挑战性活动的模拟试验中,感觉生活在自己掌控之中的人所释放的应激激素水平较低,比如肾上腺皮质激素。而心脏疾病则被证明与应激激素水平长期偏髙有关。
But independence can have drawbacks. Seeman found that elderly people who felt emotionally isolated maintained higher levels of stress hormones even when asleep. The research suggests that older people fare best when they feel independent but know they can get help when they need it.
然而,独立自主也有其缺点。西曼发现,感到精神孤独的老年人即使是在睡梦中也保持着较高的应激激素水平。研究结果显示,如果老人们知道自己在需要时能够得到帮助,就可以在保持独立感的同时拥有最幸福的生活。
‘Like much research into ageing, these results support common sense,’ says Seeman. They also show that we may be underestimating the impact of these simple factors. ‘The sort of thing that your grandmother always told you turns out to be right on target,’ she says.
西曼指出:“同许多研究老龄化问题的调査一样,其结果完全符合常识。”此外,研究结果显示,我们可能低估了某些简单因素的影响。她这样说道:“祖母经常向你讲的道理被证明是完全正确的。”
TEST 2 PASSAGE 3 参考译文:
Numeration
计数发展史
One of the first great intellectual feats of a young child is learning how to talk, closely followed by learning how to count. From earliest childhood we are so bound up with our system of numeration that it is a feat of imagination to consider the problems faced by early humans who had not yet developed this facility. Careful consideration of our system of numeration leads to the conviction that, rather than being a facility that comes naturally to a person, it is one of the great and remarkable achievements of the human race.
学说话是儿童最初掌握的主要智力技能之一,而紧随其后他们就要学会数数。从小我们就对数数这件事十分熟悉,所以真得费番心思才能想象出不会数数的先祖们的境遇。深思熟虑之后,我们确信计数不是人们生来就拥有的技能,而是人类伟大而非凡的成就之一。
It is impossible to learn the sequence of events that led to our developing the concept of number. Even the earliest of tribes had a system of numeration that, if not advanced, was sufficient for the tasks that they had to perform. Our ancestors had little use for actual numbers; instead their considerations would have been more of the kind Is this enough? rather than How many? when they were engaged in food gathering, for example. However, when early humans first began to reflect on the nature of things around them, they discovered that they needed an idea of number simply to keep their thoughts in order. As they began to settle, grow plants and herd animals, the need for a sophisticated number system became paramount. It will never be known how and when this numeration ability developed, but it is certain that numeration was well developed by the time humans had formed even semi-permanent settlements.
现在,我们无法了解人类创造数字这一概念的发展历程。即使没有先进的技术,连最原始的部落也拥有足够他们日常生活所需的计数方法。我们的祖先并不需要使用具体的数字;比如当他们采集食物时,他们会更多地考虑“够了吗?”而不是“有多少?”来代替具体数字的使用。然而,当早期人类开始思考周围事物的本质时,他们发觉自己需要数字的概念以保持思路的淸晰。随着他们开始定居生活、种植作物和放牧牲畜,需要一套复杂数字系统的要求变得极为重要。我们永远无法了解这种计数能力是如何以及何时发展起来的,但可以确定的是,当人类刚刚开始建立暂时的定居点时,计数方法已经发展得比较完备了。
Evidence of early stages of arithmetic and numeration can be readily found. The indigenous peoples of Tasmania were only able to count one, two, many; those of South Africa counted one, two, two and one, two twos, two twos and one, and so on. But in real situations the number and words are often accompanied by gestures to help resolve any confusion. For example, when using the one, two, many type of system, the word many would mean, Look at my hands and see how many fingers I am showing you. This basic approach is limited in the range of numbers that it can express, but this range will generally suffice when dealing with the simpler aspects of human existence.
关于早期算术和计数方法的证据并不难寻找。澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚州的土著民族民仅能计数“一”、“二”和“许多”;南非当地的土著民族能够计数“一”、“二”、“二加一”、“二加二”、“二加二加一”等等。然而,在实际情况中,数字和词语经常伴随着手势使用以帮助解决混乱的状态。例如,在使用“一、二和许多”计数系统时,“许多”一词可能表示“看我的手并数出我向你伸出了几根手指”。这种基本的方法限制了可表示的数字范围,但此范围对于处理人类生存方面的简单问题来说通常是足够的。
The lack of ability of some cultures to deal with large numbers is not really surprising. European languages, when traced back to their earlier version, are very poor in number words and expressions. The ancient Gothic word for ten, tachund, is used to express the number 100 as tachund tachund. By the seventh century, the word teon had become interchangeable with the tachund or hund of the Anglo-Saxon language, and so 100 was denoted as hund teontig, or ten times ten. The average person in the seventh century in Europe was not as familiar with numbers as we are today. In fact, to qualify as a witness in a court of law a man had to be able to count to nine!
一些文化缺少处理较大数字的能力,这并不令人惊讶。当追溯到早期彤式时,欧洲的各语种在数字及其表达方式上均十分贫乏。古哥特语中代表十的词语“tachund”在表示数字100时写作“tachund tachund”。到 公元7世纪,“teon”一词变得可以与盎格鲁一撒克逊语中的词语“tachund”或“hund”相互交换,因此100被表示为“hund teoning”或者“十乘十”。在7世纪的欧洲,普通人对数字的熟知程度远不及今天的人们。事实上, 当时人们必须具备数到9的能力才有资格作为证人出庭作证。
Perhaps the most fundamental step in developing a sense of number is not the ability to count, but rather to see that a number is really an abstract idea instead of a simple attachment to a group of particular objects. It must have been within the grasp of the earliest humans to conceive that four birds are distinct from two birds; however, it is not an elementary step to associate the number 4, as connected with four birds, to the number 4, as connected with four rocks. Associating a number as one of the qualities of a specific object is a great hindrance to the development of a true number sense. When the number 4 can be registered in the mind as a specific word, independent of the object being referenced, the individual is ready to take the first step toward the development of a notational system for numbers and, from there, to arithmetic.
或许,要发展对数字的领悟能力,最重要的一步不是拥有计数的能力,而是能够理解数字是相当抽象的概念,而并不只是与个别物品相联系的附属品。早期人类一定能够明白两只鸟与四只鸟的不同;然而. 他们却不具备将与四只鸟相关的数字4和与四块石头相关如数字4联系起来的基本能力。将数字与特定事物的性质之一相联系,对于发展真正的数宇感而言是巨大的障碍。当数字4在头脑中变成一个特定的词语并与其所指的事物相分离时,人类便向数字符号系统的发展迈出第一步,并继而发展算术学。
Traces of the very first stages in the development of numeration can be seen in several living languages today. The numeration system of the Tsimshian language in British Columbia contains seven distinct sets of words for numbers according to the class of the item being counted: for counting flat objects and animals, for round objects and time, for people, for long objects and trees, for canoes, for measures, and for counting when no particular object is being numerated. It seems that the last is a later development while the first six groups show the relics of an older system. This diversity of number names can also be found in some widely used languages such as Japanese.
至今,在有些现存的语言中依然可以寻找到早期计数方法的发展痕迹。在加拿大英属哥伦比亚省,根据计数的物品种类,钦西安语的计数系统包含截然不同的七组表达数字的词语:计数扁平物体和动物的词语,计数圆形物体和时间的词语,计算人数的词语,计数长条物体和树木的词语,计算独木舟数目的词语,计量尺寸的词语,以及在不计数具体事物时所用的词语。看起来最后一组词语是后来发展起来的,而前六 组则带有古代计数方法的痕迹。在一些诸如日语等广泛使甩的语言中,同样可以发现数字名称的多样性。
Intermixed with the development of a number sense is the development of an ability to count. Counting is not directly related to the formation of a number concept because it is possible to count by matching the items being counted against a group of pebbles, grains of corn, or the counter’s fingers. These aids would have been indispensable to very early people who would have found the process impossible without some form of mechanical aid. Such aids, while different, are still used even by the most educated in today’s society due to their convenience. All counting ultimately involves reference to something other than the things being counted. At first it may have been grains or pebbles but now it is a memorised sequence of words that happen to be the names of the numbers.
数字感与计数能力的发展相互融合。计算与数字概念的形成并非直接相关,因为我们完全有可能将被计数的物品用一堆石子、一把谷粒或者计数者的手指代替来进行计算。这些辅助工具对于早期人类而言是必不可少的,一旦离开某些形式的工具辅助,计数过程便无法完成。由于使用方便,类似的辅助工具在当今社会中仍然以不同的方式被人们——甚至是最有学识的学者们——使用。所有的计算最终都将由某事物、而不是被计数的物品指代。最初,这种指代或许是谷粒或石子,但现在已经变成一串被记忆的单词,而这些单词只是恰巧成为数字的名称而已。
篇3:剑桥雅思阅读6原文(test2)及答案难度精讲
Question 1
答案: ii
关键词:people power exercise
定位原文: A段第1句“In fact…”
解题思路:“The more democratic the process, the more public transport is favored.”就是暗示人民成功地履行了权利。
Question 2
答案: vii
关键词: increase travelling time
定位原文: B段最后1句“However…”
解题思路: 最后一句中的However是完成此题的关键。本段首句提到通勤时间在过去至少六百年中都维持不变,很有误导作用,但是接下来的However又引出...causing massive congestion problems which now make commuting times far higher, commuting 对应heading中的travelling。
故正确答案是vii。
Question 3
答案: iv
关键词:higher incomes not more cars
定位原文: C段前两句“There is…”
解题思路: 第2句的refutes that 表示否定了第1句的观点,因此只有iv符合。
Question 4
答案: i
关键词: avoid overcrowded centre
定位原文: D段最后1句“Instead…”
解题思路: instead是一个转折连接词,后面的观点与前者刚好相反。上一句说 pushing everyone into the city centre was not the best approach,刚好证明我们应该避免造成一个过度拥挤的市中心。
Question 5
答案: iii
关键词:working together
定位原文: E段第3句“The explanation…”
解题思路: 定位句强调了人们在相关的领域一起工作非常重要,iii对应这个自然段内容。
Question 6
答案: FALSE
关键词:ISTP study
定位原文: 第1段第2、3句“The study compared…”
解题思路: 原文说的是thirty-seven cities around the worlds,与题干表述相互抵触。
Question 7
答案: TRUE
关键词: efficient / improve the quality
定位原文: 第2段最后1句“...these more efficient cities…”
解题思路: “创造出更好的居住环境”就是“改善了居民的居住环境”。
Question 8
答案:NOT GIVEN
关键词:inner-city/ tram network/ dangerous/ car drivers
定位原文: 第3段第3句“Melbourne’s large…”
解题思路: 谈到有轨电车系统使汽车的使用率降低了许多,但并未谈及私家车驾驶者。
Question 9
答案:FALSE
关键词: Melbourne/ outer suburbs
定位原文: 第3段最后1句“The explosion…”
解题思路: as to =concerning 就……方面;关于。这句话正说明人们喜欢住在近郊而非远郊。
Question 10
答案: TRUE
关键词: bicycle/ public transport
定位原文: 第5段的唯一一句话“Bicycle use…”
解题思路: averagely good与 reasonable but not special是同义表达。
Question 11
答案: F
关键词:Perth
定位原文: 第2段第1句和第4句
解题思路: 第二段第一句说Perth有minimal public transport,即相当于题干中的limited public transport system,下面又说Perth之外的一些城市是more efficient cities,所以正确答案为F。
Question 12
答案: D
关键词:Auckland
定位原文: 第7段第2句
解题思路: 提到 it would be hard for a city as hilly as Auckland to develop a really good rail network,所以 Auckland 当然是hilly,既然“难以建立很好的轨道系统”,当然是不适合建这样的系统了。正确答案是D。
Question 13
答案:C
关键词:Portland
定位原文: A段的倒数第3句“The rail proposal…”
解题思路: 轨道运行良好肯定是盈利的。正确答案是C。
Test 2 Passage 2
Question 14
答案:B
关键词:proportion/people over 65/age-related medical problems
定位原文: 第2段第2句“...are troubling a smaller proportion…”
解题思路: smaller 和falling 是隐晦的同义表达,B选项符合题意。
Question 15
答案:I
关键词:speed
定位原文: 第2段倒数第2句“the rate at which these diseases…”
解题思路: rate与speed是同义表达,可知正确答案是I。
Question 16
答案:F
关键词:past
定位原文: 第3段第2句“He says…”
解题思路: 第3段中提到the problems doctors accepted as normal in a 65-year-oId in 1982 are often not appearing until people are 70 or 75,第二段提到数据是1994年采集的,所以1982代表了the past,疾病由65岁推迟到70或者75 岁才发作,显然是later。
Question 17
答案:M
关键词:due to developments
定位原文: 第4段第1句“…certain diseases are beating…”
解题思路: 第四段开头提到certain diseases are beating a retreat in the face of medical advances,表明有些疾病是被医药进步打败的。advances和developments属于同义表达,medical和medicine是同源词。
Question 18
答案:J
关键词:improved
定位原文: 第4段第2、3句“…there may be other contributing factors. Improvements…”
解题思路: 这个题找到定位句,没有什么难度,选择J。
Question 19
答案:N
关键词:other illnesses
定位原文: 第5段第2、3句“… poorer air quality/ worse and worse pollution…”
解题思路: 第五段提到An increase in some cancers and bronchitis may reflect changing smoking habits and poorer air quality...和....been exposed to worse and worse pollution, changes in personal habits与 changing smoking habits相对应。所以原文提供的另一因素poorer air quality就是与答案相关的内容。正确答案是N。
Question 20
答案: K
关键词:link/life expectancy
定位原文: 第6段第1句“One interesting…”
解题思路: 第6段第1句中的correlation和live longer分别对应题干中的link和life expectancy,所以原文的better-educated就是答案的原形,被选项中只有K项的education与此相符。正确答案是K。
Question 21
答案: G
关键词:considerable /reduction
定位原文: 第7段第3句“That represents…”
解题思路: considerable与significant、reduction与 drop分别为近义词,再根据第七段中a significant drop in the number of disabled old people,答案应为disabled。正确答案是G。
Question 22
答案:A
关键词:less/predicted
定位原文: 第7段最后一句“… less of a financial burden…”
解题思路: predicted与expected为同义表达,只需找 financial burden的同义表达就可以。正确答案是A。
Question 23
答案:G
关键词:home medical aids
定位原文: 第8段第1句“The increasing…”
解题思路: 许多老年人自理能力的增强可能与简易家庭医疗辅助用品的广泛使用有关。题干是将这句话反过来问简易家庭医疗辅助用品有什么作用,self-reliance与independent表达同样含义,所以选G。
Question 24
答案: E
关键词:regular amounts of exercise
定位原文: 第9段第1句“…daily physical activity…”
解题思路: exercise 与physical activity 属于同义表达,regular与daily 属于同义表达,所以选E。
Question 25
答案:H
关键词:feelings of control over life
定位原文: 第10段倒数第2句“…felt in control of their lives…”
解题思路: 根据第10段中 challenging activities和 those who felt in control of their lives pumped out lower levels of stress hormone, challenging activities 与 difficult situations 属于同义表达,lower levels of stress hormones自然压力就小。正确答案是H。
Question 26
答案:C
关键词: feelings of loneliness
定位原文: 第11段第2句“…emotionally isolated…”
解题思路: feelings of loneliness 与emotionally isolated 属于同义表达,所以选C。
Test 2 Passage 3
Question 27
答案: B
关键词:developed/system of numbering
定位原文: 第2段倒数第2句“As they began to settle…”
解题思路: sophisticated和number system分别与题干 developed和system of numbering属于同义表达,因此只要找出与grow plants and herd animals的同义表达项就可以,显然farming可以代替。因此正确答案为B。
Question 28
答案: E
关键词:hand signal
定位原文: 第3段第3句“But in real situations…”
解题思路: 定位句之前所举的具体例子中表示数字的词有限,即题干E表达的the range of number words was restricted,gestures又与hand signal互为近义词。所以正确答案是E。
Question 29
答案: A
关键词: seventh-century Europe / count to a certain number
定位原文: 第4段中最后两句“The average person…”
解题思路: count to nine与count to a certain number属于同义表达,a witness in a court of law与题干A的fulfill a civic role属于同义表达。正确答案是A。
Question 30
答案: C
关键词: concept/ physical objects
定位原文: 第5段第1句“Perhaps…”;最后一句“...from there, to arithmetic”
解题思路: 题干中 concepts 和 physical objects 分别与 abstract idea 和 particular objects互为近义词。正确答案是C。
Question 31
答案: G
关键词: class of item
定位原文: 第6段第1、2句“Traces of…”
解题思路: 根据第6段开头the very first stages和第二句中the class of the item得出正确答案是G。
Question 32
答案:TRUE
关键词:the earliest tribes
定位原文: 第2段第3句“...their considerations would have…”
解题思路: 他们会更多地考虑“够了吗?”而不是“有多少?Sufficiency与 quantity 分别和Is this enough 与How many为同义转换关系。
Question 33
答案:FALSE
关键词:Tasmanians
定位原文: 第3段第2句“The indigenous peoples…”
解题思路: 只有三个词而不是四个。
Question 34
答案: TRUE
关键词:peoples with simple number systems
定位原文: 第3段第3句“But in real situations…”
解题思路: accompanied by gesture to help resolve any confusion 与题干use body language to prevent…属于同义表达。
Question 35
答案: FALSE
关键词:large numbers
定位原文: 第4段第1句“The lack of…”
解题思路: 一些文化缺少处理较大数字的能力,这并不令人惊讶。 这个意思与题干全然想矛盾。
Question 36
答案:NOT GIVEN
关键词:Anglo-Saxon
定位原文: 第4段第4句“ By the seventh…”
解题思路: 到公元7世纪,“teon” 一词变得可以与盎格鲁一撒克逊语中的词语文中对应点“tachund”或“hund”相互交换,因此100可表示为“hund teontig”或者“十乘十”。并没有提到“千”。
Question 37
答案:TRUE
关键词:seventh-century Europe
定位原文: 第4段最后两句“The average person…”
解题思路: 数到9就可以作证人,足见计数能力之差。
Question 38
答案:FALSE
关键词:Tsimshian language
定位原文: 第6段第2句“The numeration…”
解题思路: 题干意思与原文相驳斥。这个题比较容易判断。
Question 39
答案:TRUE
关键词: Tsimshian language
定位原文: 第6段倒数第2句“It seems that…”
解题思路: 看起来最后一组词语是后来发展的,而前六组则带有古代计数方法的痕迹。所以题目说的有新旧两套计数系统是正确的。
Question 40
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词:early peoples / fingers / pebbles
定位原文: 第7段第2句“Counting is not directly…”
解题思路: 计算与数字概念的形成并非直接相关,因为我们完全有可能将被计数的物品用一堆石子、一把谷粒或者计数者的手指代替来进行计算。没有提到二者简易度的比较。
剑桥雅思阅读6原文(test2)及答案解析
篇4:剑桥雅思阅读9原文翻译及答案(test2)
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
A. Hearing impairment or other auditory function deficit in young children can have a major impact on their development of speech and communication, resulting in a detrimental effect on their ability to learn at school. This is likely to have major consequences for the individual and the population as a whole. The New Zealand Ministry of Health has found from research carried out over two decades that 6-10% of children in that country are affected by hearing loss.
B. A preliminary study in New Zealand has shown that classroom noise presents a major concern for teachers and pupils. Modern teaching practices, the organization of desks in the classroom, poor classroom acoustics, and mechanical means of ventilation such as air-conditioning units all contribute to the number of children unable to comprehend the teacher’s voice. Education researchers Nelson and Soli have also suggested that recent trends in learning often involve collaborative interaction of multiple minds and tools as much as individual possession of information. This all amounts to heightened activity and noise levels, which have the potential to be particularly serious for children experiencing auditory function deficit. Noise in classrooms can only exacerbate their difficulty in comprehending and processing verbal communication with other children and instructions from the teacher.
C. Children with auditory function deficit are potentially failing to learn to their maximum potential because of noise levels generated in classrooms. The effects of noise on the ability of children to learn effectively in typical classroom environments are now the subject of increasing concern. The International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE), on the advice of the World Health Organization, has established an international working party, which includes New Zealand, to evaluate noise and reverberation control for school rooms.
D. While the detrimental effects of noise in classroom situations are not limited to children experiencing disability, those with a disability that affects their processing of speech and verbal communication could be extremely vulnerable. The auditory function deficits in question include hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit disorders (ADD/ADHD).
E. Autism is considered a neurological and genetic life-long disorder that causes discrepancies in the way information is processed. This disorder is characterized by interlinking problems with social imagination, social communication and social interaction. According to Janzen, this affects the ability to understand and relate in typical ways to people, understand events and objects in the environment, and understand or respond to sensory stimuli. Autism does not allow learning or thinking in the same ways as in children who are developing normally. Autistic spectrum disorders often result in major difficulties in comprehending verbal information and speech processing. Those experiencing these disorders often find sounds such as crowd noise and the noise generated by machinery painful and distressing. This is difficult to scientifically quantify as such extra-sensory stimuli vary greatly from one autistic individual to another. But a child who finds any type of noise in their classroom or learning space intrusive is likely to be adversely affected in their ability to process information.
F. The attention deficit disorders are indicative of neurological and genetic disorders and are characterized by difficulties with sustaining attention, effort and persistence, organization skills and disinhibition. Children experiencing these disorders find it difficult to screen out unimportant information, and focus on everything in the environment rather than attending to a single activity. Background noise in the classroom becomes a major distraction, which can affect their ability to concentrate.
G. Children experiencing an auditory function deficit can often find speech and communication very difficult to isolate and process when set against high levels of background noise. These levels come from outside activities that penetrate the classroom structure, from teaching activities, and other noise generated inside, which can be exacerbated by room reverberation. Strategies are needed to obtain the optimum classroom construction and perhaps a change in classroom culture and methods of teaching. In particular, the effects of noisy classrooms and activities on those experiencing disabilities in the form of auditory function deficit need thorough investigation. It is probable that many undiagnosed children exist in the education system with ‘invisible’ disabilities. Their needs are less likely to be met than those of children with known disabilities.
H. The New Zealand Government has developed a New Zealand Disability Strategy and has embarked on a wide-ranging consultation process. The strategy recognizes that people experiencing disability face significant barriers in achieving a full quality of life in areas such as attitude, education, employment and access to service. Objective 3 of the New Zealand Disability Strategy is to ‘Provide the Best Education for Disabled People’ by improving education so that all children, youth learners and adult learners will have equal opportunities to learn and develop within their already existing local school. For a successful education, the learning environment is vitally significant, so any effort to improve this is likely to be of great benefit to all children, but especially to those with auditory function disabilities.
I. A number of countries are already in the process of formulating their own standards for the control and reduction of classroom noise. New Zealand will probably follow their example. The literature to date on noise in school rooms appears to focus on the effects on schoolchildren in general, their teachers and the hearing impaired. Only limited attention appears to have been given to those students experiencing the other disabilities involving auditory function deficit. It is imperative that the needs of these children are taken into account in the setting of appropriate international standards to be promulgated in future.
Questions 1-6
Reading Passage 1 has nine sections, A-I.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
1 an account of a national policy initiative
2 a description of a global team effort
3 a hypothesis as to one reason behind the growth in classroom noise
4 a demand for suitable worldwide regulations
5 a list of medical conditions which place some children more at risk from noise than others
6 the estimated proportion of children in New Zealand with auditory problems
Questions 7-10
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.
7 For what period of time has hearing loss in schoolchildren been studied in New Zealand?
8 In addition to machinery noise, what other type of noise can upset children with autism?
9 What term is used to describe the hearing problems of schoolchildren which have not been diagnosed?
10 What part of the New Zealand Disability Strategy aims to give schoolchildren equal opportunity?
Questions 11 and 12
Choose TWO letters, A-F.
Write the correct letters in boxes 11 and 12 on your answer sheet.
The list below includes factors contributing to classroom noise.
Which TWO are mentioned by the writer of the passage?
A current teaching methods
B echoing corridors
C cooling systems
D large class sizes
E loud-voiced teachers
F playground games
Question 13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in box 13 on your answer sheet.
What is the writer’s overall purpose in writing this article?
A to compare different methods of dealing with auditory problems
B to provide solutions for overly noisy learning environments
C to increase awareness of the situation of children with auditory problems
D to promote New Zealand as a model for other countries to follow
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
Venus in transit
June saw the first passage, known as a ‘transit’, of the planet Venus across the face of the Sun in 122 years. Transits have helped shape our view of the whole Universe, as Heather Cooper and Nigel Henbest explain
A. On 8 June 2004, more than half the population of the world were treated to a rare astronomical event. For over six hours, the planet Venus steadily inched its way over the surface of the Sun. This ‘transit’ of Venus was the first since 6 December 1882. On that occasion, the American astronomer Professor Simon Newcomb led a party to South Africa to observe the event. They were based at girls’ school, where — it is alleged — the combined forces of three schoolmistresses outperformed the professionals with the accuracy of their observations.
B. For centuries, transits of Venus have drawn explorers and astronomers alike to the four corners of the globe. And you can put it all down to the extraordinary polymath Edmond Halley. In November 1677, Halley observed a transit of the innermost planet, Mercury, from the desolate island of St Helena in the South Pacific. He realized that, from different latitudes, the passage of the planet across the Sun’s disc would appear to differ. By timing the transit from two widely-separated locations, teams of astronomers could calculate the parallax angle — the apparent difference in position of an astronomical body due to a difference in the observer’s position. Calculating this angle would allow astronomers to measure what was then the ultimate goal: the distance of the Earth from the Sun. This distance is known as the ‘astronomical unit’ or AU.
C. Halley was aware that the AU was one of the most fundamental of all astronomical measurements. Johannes Kepler, in the early 17th century, had shown that the distances of the planets from the Sun governed their orbital speeds, which were easily measurable. But no-one had found a way to calculate accurate distances to the planets from the Earth. The goal was to measure the AU; then, knowing the orbital speeds of all the other planets round the Sun, the scale of the Solar System would fall into place. However, Halley realized that Mercury was so far away that its parallax angle would be very difficult to determine. As Venus was closer to the Earth, its parallax angle would be larger, and Halley worked out that by using Venus it would be possible to measure the Sun’s distance to 1 part in 500. But there was a problem: transits of Venus, unlike those of Mercury, are rare, occurring in pairs roughly eight years apart every hundred or so years. Nevertheless, he accurately predicted that Venus would cross the face of the Sun in both 1761 and 1769 — though he didn’t survive to see either.
D. Inspired by Halley’s suggestion of a way to pin down the scale of the Solar System, teams of British and French astronomers set out on expeditions to places as diverse as India and Siberia. But things weren’t helped by Britain and France being at war. The person who deserves most sympathy is the French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil. He was thwarted by the fact that the British were besieging his observation site at Pondicherry in India. Fleeing on a French warship crossing the Indian Ocean, Le Gentil saw a wonderful transit — but the ship’s pitching and rolling ruled out any attempt at making accurate observations. Undaunted, he remained south of the equator, keeping himself busy by studying the islands of Maurtius and Madagascar before setting off to observe the next transit in the Philippines. Ironically after travelling nearly 50,000 kilometres, his view was clouded out at the last moment, a very dispirting experience.
E. While the early transit timings were as precise as instruments would allow, the measurements were dogged by the ‘black drop’ effect. When Venus begins to cross the Sun’s disc, it looks smeared not circular — which makes it difficult to establish timings. This is due to diffraction of light. The second problem is that Venus exhibits a halo of light when it is seen just outside the sun’s disc. While this showed astronomers that Venus was surrounded by a thick layer of gases refracting sunlight around it, both effects made it impossible to obtain accurate timings.
F. But astronomers laboured hard to analyse the results of these expeditions to observe Venus transits. Johann Franz Encke, Director of the Berlin Observatory, finally determined a value for the AU based on all these parallax measurements: 153,340,000 km. Reasonably accurate for the time, that is quite close to today’s value of 149,597,870 km, determined by radar, which has now superseded transits and all other methods in accuracy. The AU is a cosmic measuring rod, and the basis of how we scale the Universe today. The parallax principle can be extended to measure the distances to the stars. If we look at a star in January —when Earth is at one point in its orbit — it will seem to be in a different position from where it appears six months late. Knowing the width of Earth’s orbit, the parallax shift lets astronomers calculate the distance.
G. June 2004’s transit of Venus was thus more of an astronomical spectacle than a scientifically important event. But such transits have paved the way for what might prove to be one of the most vital breakthroughs in the cosmos — detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars.
Questions 14-17
Reading Passage 2 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.
14 examples of different ways in which the parallax principle has been applied
15 a description of an event which prevented a transit observation
16 a statement about potential future discoveries leading on from transit observations
17 a description of physical states connected with Venus which early astronomical instruments failed to overcome
Questions 18-21
Look at the following statements (Questions 18-21) and the list of people below.
Match each statement with the correct person, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 18-21 on your answer sheet.
18 He calculated the distance of the Sun from the Earth based on observations of Venus with a fair degree of accuracy.
19 He understood that the distance of the Sun from the Earth could be worked out by comparing obsevations of a transit.
20 He realized that the time taken by a planet to go round the Sun depends on its distance from the Sun.
21 He witnessed a Venus transit but was unable to make any calculations.
List of People
A Edmond Halley
B Johannes Kepler
C Guillaume Le Gentil
D Johann Franz Encke
Question 22-26
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 22-26 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
22 Halley observed one transit of the planet Venus.
23 Le Gentil managed to observe a second Venus transit.
24 The shape of Venus appears distorted when it starts to pass in front of the Sun.
25 Early astronomers suspected that the atmosphere on Venus was toxic.
26 The parallax principle allows astronomers to work out how far away distant stars are from the Earth.
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
A neuroscientist reveals
how to think differently
In the last decade a revolution has occurred in the way that scientists think about the brain. We now know that the decisions humans make can be traced to the firing patterns of neurons in specific part of the brain. These discoveries have led to the field know as neuroeconomics, which studies the brain’s secrets to success in an economic environment that demands innovation and being able to do things differently from competitors. A brain that can do this is an iconoclastic one. Briefly, an iconoclast is a person who does something that others say can’t be done.
This definition implies that iconoclasts are different from other people, but more precisely, it is their brains that are different in three distinct ways: perception, fear response, and social intelligence. Each of these three functions utilizes a different circuit in the brain. Naysayers might suggest that the brain is irrelevant, that thinking in an original, even revolutionary, way is more a matter of personality than brain function. But the field of neuroeconomics was born out of the realization that the physical workings of the brain place limitations on the way we make decisions. By understanding these constraints, we begin to understand why some people march to a different drumbeat.
The first thing to realize is that the brain suffers from limited resources. It has a fixed energy budget, about the same as a 40 watt light bulb, so it has evolved to work as efficiently as possible. This is where most people are impeded from being an iconoclast. For example, when confronted with information streaming from the eyes, the brain will interpret this information in the quickest way possible. Thus it will draw on both past experience and any other source of information, such as what other people say, to make sense of what it is seeing. This happens all the time. The brain takes shortcuts that work so well we are hardly ever aware of them. We think our perceptions of the world are real, but they are only biological and electrical rumblings. Perception is not simply a product of what your eyes or ears transmit to your brain. More than the physical reality of photons or sound waves, perception is product of the brain.
Perception is central to iconoclasm. Iconoclasts see things differently to other people. Their brains do not fall into efficiency pitfalls as much as the average person’s brain. Iconoclasts, either because they were born that way or through learning, have found ways to work around the perceptual shortcuts that plague most people. Perception is not something that is hardwired into the brain. It is a learned process, which is both a curse and an opportunity for change. The brain faces the fundamental problem of interpreting physical stimuli from the senses. Everything the brain sees, hears, or touches has multiple interpretations. The one that is ultimately chosen is simply the brain’s best theory. In technical terms, these conjectures have their basis in the statistical likelihood of one interpretation over another and are heavily influenced by past experience and, importantly for potential iconoclasts, what other people say.
The best way to see things differently to other people is to bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before. Novelty releases the perceptual process from the chains of past experience and forces the brain to make new judgments. Successful iconoclasts have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed to what is fresh and different. Observation of iconoclasts shows that they embrace novelty while mot people avoid things that are different.
The problem with novelty, however, is that it tends to trigger the brain’s fear system. Fear is a major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast and stops the average person in his tracks. There are many types of fear, but the two that inhibit iconoclastic thinking and people generally find difficult to deal with are fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule. These may seem like trivial phobias. But fear of public speaking, which everyone must do from time to time, afflicts one-thirds of the population. This makes it too common to be considered a mental disorder. It is simply a common variant of human nature, one which iconoclasts do not let inhibit their reactions.
Finally, to be successful iconoclasts, individuals must sell their ideas to other people. This is where social intelligence comes in. Social intelligence is the ability to understand and manage people in a business setting. In the last decade there has been an explosion of knowledge about the social brain and how the brain works when groups coordinate decision making. Neuroscience has revealed which brain circuits are responsible for functions like understanding what other people think, empathy, fairness, and social identity. These brain regions play key roles in whether people convince others of their ideas. Perception is important in social cognition too. The perception of someone’s enthusiasm, or reputation, can make or break a deal. Understanding how perception becomes intertwined with social decision making shows why successful iconoclasts are so rare.
Iconoclasts create new opportunities in every area from artistic expression to technology to business. They supply creativity and innovation not easily accomplished by committees. Rules aren’t important to them. Iconoclasts face alienation and failure, but can also be a major asset to any organization. It is crucial for success in any field to understand how the iconoclastic mind works.
Questions 27-31
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.
27 Neuroeconomics is a field of study which seeks to
A cause a change in how scientists understand brain chemistry.
B understand how good decisions are made in the brain.
C understand how the brain is linked to achievement in competitive fields.
D trace the specific firing patterns of neurons in different areas of the brain.
28 According to the writer, iconoclasts are distinctive because
A they create unusual brain circuits.
B their brains function differently.
C their personalities are distinctive.
D they make decisions easily.
29 According to the writer, the brain works efficiently because
A it uses the eyes quickly.
B it interprets data logically.
C it generates its own energy.
D it relies on previous events.
30 The writer says that perception is
A a combination of photons and sound waves.
B a reliable product of what your senses transmit.
C a result of brain processes.
D a process we are usually conscious of.
31 According to the writer, an iconoclastic thinker
A centralizes perceptual thinking in one part of the brain.
B avoids cognitive traps.
C has a brain that is hardwired for learning.
D has more opportunities than the average person.
Questions 32-37
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 32-37 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
32 Exposure to different events forces the brain to think differently.
33 Iconoclasts are unusually receptive to new experiences.
34 Most people are too shy to try different things.
35 If you think in an iconoclastic way, you can easily overcome fear.
36 When concern about embarrassment matters less, other fears become irrelevant.
37 Fear of public speaking is a psychological illness.
Questions 38-40
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-E, below.
Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 38-40 on your answer sheet.
38 Thinking like a successful iconoclast is demanding because it
39 The concept of the social brain is useful to iconoclasts because it
40 Iconoclasts are generally an asset because their way of thinking
A requires both perceptual and social intelligence skills.
B focuses on how groups decide on an action.
C works in many fields, both artistic and scientific.
D leaves one open to criticism and rejection.
E involves understanding how organizations manage people.
篇5:剑桥雅思阅读9原文翻译及答案(test2)
Passage1
Question 1
答案: H
关键词: national policy
定位原文: H段第1句“The New Zealand Government…”
解题思路: 这一段的首句就以一种叙事口吻向考生交代了新西兰全国上下正在开展的一场为残疾人服务的战略,该句含义为“新西兰政府已经制定出一项‘新西兰残疾人事业发展战略’,并开始进入广泛咨询意见的阶段。”此外,在该段其他语句中也提到the strategy recognises..., Objective 3...is to provide...等信息,非常符合题干中account一词的含义。
Question 2
答案: C
关键词: global team
定位原文: C段最后一句“The International Institute of…”
解题思路: 这句含义为“在世界卫生组织的建议下,国际噪声控制工程学会(I-INCE)成立了一个国际工作小组来”,这句话中international可以对应题干中的global, 而working party可以对应team。这是对应关系非常明显的一道题目。
Question 3
答案: B
关键词: hypothesis, reason, growth in classroom noise
定位原文: B段第3句“Nelson and Soil have also suggested...”
解题思路: 在该段首句中就出现了classroom noise这个词,因此该段有可能就是本题的对应段落。在接下来的叙述Nelson and Soil have also suggested...中,suggest一词可以对应题干中的 hypothesis 后一句中的This all amounts to heightened activity and noise levels,与题干中的 one reason相对应。
Question 4
答案: I
关键词: worldwide regulations
对应原文: I 段最后一句“It is imperative that the needs…”
解题思路: 全文只有此句中提及国际标准,含义为“今后在制定和颁布国际标准时,必须把这些孩子的需求考虑进去。”句中的international应题干中的worldwide,standards对应题干中的regulations。这道题属于考点明晰、词语替换幅度也不大的简单题型。
Question 5
答案: D
关键词: medical conditions,more at risk
定位原文: D段第1句“… those with a disability that affects…”
解题思路: 该段第一句话就明确说出了题干中的意思。While引导让步状语从句,不必细看,直接跳到主句,those with a disability that affects their processing of speech and verbal communication could be extremely vulnerable,含义为“那些在语言沟通方面有障碍的孩子们显然是噪音的更大受害者”; disability that affects their processing of speech and verbal communication对应题干中的medical conditions, extremely vulnerable对应题干中的more at risk。此外,下文罗列出的hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorders and attention deficit disorders可与a list of medical conditions相对应 。
Question 6
答案: A
关键词: proportion, with auditory problems
定位原文: A段最后一句“The New Zealand…”
解题思路: 此题相对来说比较简单,看到题干中proportion“比例”一词,马上扫描文章,寻找带有百分比的段落。显然,只有A段最后一句带有明显的百分比。接着需要验证百分比所在的句子是否在讲新西兰听力残障患儿的比例,然后确认选择就可以了。该句中affected by hearing loss与题干中的with auditory problems相对应。
Question 7
答案: two decades
关键词: For what period of time, been studied
定位原文: A段最后一句“The New Zealand Ministry of Health…”
解题思路: 在这句话中,有的考生会认为答案是over two decades,他们会把 over翻译成“超过”。实际上,在雅思阅读中,over大多数情况下是 during的意思,表示“在某段时间内”。况且此处若填over two decades,也不符合题目要求。故正确答案为two decades,注意复数形式。
Question 8
答案: crowd (noise)
关键词: machinery noise, autism
定位原文: E段倒数第3句“Autistic…”
解题思路: 此题的难度就是对应点和上一题离得太远,不太好找。但是考生如果能循着autism(自闭症)这个词,同时再留意一下它的变形,如 autistic, 就能快速定位到E段首句Autism这个词,然后找到such as和the noise generated by machinery。这样就不难推出正确答案就是和the noise generated by machinery并列的 crowd noise。
Question 9
答案: invisible (disabilities/disability)
关键词: term, schoolchildren which have not been diagnosed
定位原文: G段倒数第2句“It is…”
解题思路: 根据顺序原则,可以大概判断出此题应该在E段以后的段落出现,而term一词是“术语”的意思,一般对应文中特殊字体或加引号的词。按这个思路找下去,很快可以找到G段倒数第二行的引号。 接下来只需判断一下在引号周围的内容是否是在谈which have not been diagnosed。文中提到…many undiagnosed children exist in the education system with‘ invisible’disabilities,undiagnosed一词即使不认识也可以根据构词法利用前缀un猜测为“未经的”,完全可以与题目have not been diagnosed对应。故正确答案为invisible (disabilities/disability )。
Question 10
答案: Objective 3
关键词: What part, New Zealand Disability Strategy, equal opportunity
定位原文: H段第3句“Objective 3…”
解题思路: 首先利用大写New Zealand Disability Strategy定位到H段,然后开始寻找equal opportunity,很快将目标锁定在第六行末尾处。读完这个词所在的整句话,不难发现是这个战略中的Objective 3专门针对平等机会问题。故正确答案为Objective 3。
Question 11 & Question 12
答案: A C (in either order)
关键词: factors contributing to classroom noise
定位原文: B段,参见详细的解题思路解析
解题思路: 选项A:当今教学方式——B段第二行出现的Modem teaching practices以及第五行出现的...recent trends in learning...都可以对应该选项。故选项A正确;选项B:走廊回音——没有提到,不要因为B段第三行提到poor classroom acoustics就联想是这个选项,这只是指教室中的音响效果差;选项C:制冷系统 ——第三行中提到…mechanical means of ventilation such as air-conditioning, 指空调通风口产生的噪音。故选项C正确;选项D:班级学生数量太多——完全未提及;选项E:老师声音洪亮——文中只是提到老师,但是没有说老师声音洪亮;选项F:操场游戏——完全没有提到。
Question 13
答案: C
关键词: overall purpose
定位原文: I 段
解题思路: 题目:作者写本文的主要目的是什么?A. 比较应对听觉障碍的不同措施;
B.为过分嘈杂的学习环境提供解决方法;C提高对听觉障碍儿童现状的关注;D把新西兰作为其他国家学习的榜样。首先排除D,因为I段前两句话表明新西兰实际上要效仿其他国家,而不是被其他国家效仿,这个选项与文中信息矛盾。接着I段提到:Only limited attention appears to have been given to those students experiencing the other disabilities involving auditory function deficit. It is imperative that the needs of these children are taken into account…这句话明确表示本文的目的是让更多人关注听觉障碍儿童的现状。故正确答案是C。
Test 2 Passage2
Question 14
答案: F
关键词: examples of different ways, parallax principle, applied
定位原文: F段倒数第3句“The parallax principle can be extended…” 视差原理可以延伸应用到恒星之间距离的测量中。
解题思路: 句中的be extended to 就可以理解为视差原理之前是用在别的地方,现在又被延伸应用到恒星间距离的测量可以与题干中applied相对应。如果阅读得足够仔细的话,就会发现在前文中提到了利用视差原理测出了天文单位,即相当于地球到太阳的距离。可能很容易没有耐心,在看到F段之前就作出判断。比如可能会在B段倒数第四行看到parallax angle, 就简单判断该段是此题的答案;还有的可能在C段也见到了parallax一词,也就顺着作出错误判断。 因此,解答这种类型题目时候一定要有足够的耐心。故答案选F。
Question 15
答案: D
关键词: prevented, transit observation
定位原文: D段内容
解题思路: 该段叙述了倒霉的法国人Le Gentil两次不成功的观测经历。一次是在乘坐一艘法国军舰 穿越印度洋逃亡的时候,他看到了一次凌日现象,但是船的颠簸摇晃使他完全没有机会进行精确观测。第二次是在跋涉了将近五万公里之后到达菲律宾准备观测,但是他的视野居然被一片乌云给遮住了。由于这段文字叙述故事性较强,所以比较容易选择。该段中像ruled out,clouded out这样的词组,都能够对应题干中的prevent。最后的dispiriting experience“令人沮丧的经历”也可以体现观测受阻后的遗憾。故答案选D。
Question 16
答案: G
关键词: potential future discoveries
定位原文: G段最后1句“But such…”
解题思路: 如果在段落信息配对题中出现future一词,则该信息点一般都出现在文章的最后一段。本文最后一段中用pave the way for这样的词组表明transit observation的确为宇宙终极探索——寻找类地行星提供了可能性。故答案选G。
Question 17
答案: E
关键词: astronomical instruments, failed
定位原文: E段第1句“While the early transit timings…”
解题思路:定位句中出现的instruments和dogged与题干中的定位词分另别应。句子含义为“虽然早期对凌日时间的观测就当时所用的器材而言已足够精确,但是其测量结果却受到‘黑滴’效应的困扰。”词组be dogged by表示“为……所困扰”。这一段的确是在讲早期金星凌日观测中的不尽如人意的方面,故答案选E
Question 18
答案: D
关键词: Sun from Earth,observations of Venus,a fair degree of accuracy
定位原文: F段2、3句“Johann…”
解题思路: 显然对应文章F段出现的数字,通过阅读F段前五行,可以找出reasonably accurate 对应 a fair degree of accuracy, a value for the AU “天文单位的数值”, 即太阳到地球的距离,对应distance of the Sun from the Earth。所以此题应选D。
Question 19
答案: A
关键词: could be worked out,comparing observations of a transit
定位原文: B段第3句“In November…”
解题思路: 文中B段Hailey第一次提出通过观测凌日现象可以计算出视差角度。视差角度是指天体的位置由于观测者的位置不同而产生的明显差异。计算视差角度让 天文学家得以实现当时最终目标——算出地球与太阳之间的距离,这个距离 就是所谓的“天文单位”。
找到Hailey名字所在的地方,再顺着向下阅读,很容易找到答案。所以此题应选A。
Question 20
答案: B
关键词: time taken by a planet to go round, depends on its distance from the Sun
定位原文: C段第2句“Johannes Kepler, in the…”
解题思路: 文章中C段第二句提到了Johannes Kepler,他提出 the distances of the planets from the Sun governed their orbital speeds,其中 orbital speed 就等同于题中的 the time taken by a planet to go round the Sun。所以此题应选B。
Question 21
答案: C
关键词: Venus transit,make any calculations
定位原文: D段第5句“Fleeing on a French warship…”
解题思路: 倒霉的法国人Le Gentil,在出现他姓名的D段,明确提到Le Gentil saw a wonderful transit — but the ship’s pitching and rolling ruled out any attempt at making accurate observations,其中 ruled out any attempt at making accurate observations 与题目中的 unable to make any calculations相对应。所以此题应选C。
Question 22
答案: FALSE
关键词: Hailey, observed
定位原文:C段最后一句“Nevertheless, he accurately…”
解题思路: 定位句含义为“尽管如此,Hailey是准确预测出金星会在1761年与1769年两次穿过太阳表面,只可惜他有生之年一次也没看到。”此题考点明显,比较好定位,如果在阅读过程中对Hailey印象深刻,因此很容易看到C段最后的这句话。
Question 23
答案: FALSE
关键词: managed to observe, second Venus transit
定位原文: D段最后一句“Ironically after travelling…”
解题思路: D段说到在逃亡的船上,Le Gentil的第一次观测没能成功;接着他去了菲律宾, 准备第二次观测,但是对应句表明在最后一刻,天空多云,他又没成功,正好和题目中的说法相反。
Question 24
答案: TRUE
关键词: Venus, starts to pass in front of the Sun, appears distorted
定位原文: E段第2句“When Venus begins to cross…”
解题思路:根据句中begins to cross the Sun’s disc和题目中的starts to pass in front of the Sun相对应找到此题定位处,此时会发现对应句中的looks和题目中的appears可以完全对应,另外可以根据句中的not circular来推测前面的smear的意思,not表示转折,所以smear意思应 与circular相反,不是圆的。如果考生不认识circular,则可以通过cir这个词根来联想 circle, 进而猜测。
Question 25
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词: atmosphere, Venus, toxic
定位原文:E段最后一句“…Venus was surrounded by…”
解题思路:E段倒数第二行提到 了 Venus was surrounded by a thick layer of gases,但 是这里仅仅是说金星被厚厚的大气层所围绕,并未提到这个大气层是否是toxic(有毒的)。
Question 26
答案: TRUE
关键词: parallax principle, distant stars
定位原文:F段倒数第3句“The parallax principle can be extended to measure…”
解题思路:The parallax principle can be extended to measure the distances to the stars.视差原理可以延伸应用到恒星之间距离的测量中。 利用parallax principle和顺序法则很容易定位此题,而且此题考点与第14题相似,不管先做哪个题目,另外一题都会很容易得出正确答案。
Test 2 Passage 3
Question 27
答案: C
关键词: Neuroeconomics
定位原文:第1段内容
解题思路: 题目:神经经济学作为一个研究领域,旨在:A.改变科学家对脑化学的解读;
B.了解大脑如何做出正确决定;C.了解在激烈的竞争中大脑与成功的关系;D.追踪大脑不同部分中神经元的具体放电模式。利用定位词可以将此题定位至文章第一段的第三句,然后和四个选项进行比较。句中的success可以对应题中的achievement,competitors可以对应题中的 competitive。句中which弓|导的非限制性定语从句对先行词neuroeconomics起了解释说明的作用。故答案应该选择C。选项D在第一段虽然被提及,但并非是神经经济学研究目的之所在,故排除。选项B根本未被提及,也可以排除。选项A貌似有道理,但实际上是对第一段某些词语的过度解读。
Question 28
答案: B
关键词: iconoclasts, distinctive
定位原文:第2段内容
解题思路:作者认为传统叛逆者与众不同是因为:A他们的大脑回路与众不同;B他们的大脑功能与众不同;C他们的性格与众不同;D他们能很快做出决定。此题定位点在文章第二段第一句,这句话明确说明传统叛逆者之所以与众不同,主要是因为他们的大脑在三方面与众不同:认知力、恐惧反应力以及社交能力。由此可知选项B正确。A和B相比,过于具体,仅仅将与众不同理解为回路不同,与文中说的三方面不同相悖,故可以排除。选项D的 解释过于简单,可以直接排除。至于选项C中出现的personalities一词则出现在第二段的倒数第四行,此信息已经于本题无关。
Question 29
答案: D
关键词: brain, efficiently
定位原文:第3段内容
解题思路:题目:作者认为大脑可以高效工作,这是因为:A.大脑迅速利用眼睛;B.大脑对信息的解读逻辑性强;C.大脑产生能量,自给自足;D.大脑依赖过往事件。根据定位词efficiently可以快速将此题定位至文章中第三段第二句,然后根据该段内容对各个选项进行判断。首先可以排除选项A,这一段只是提到面对眼前源源不断输入的信息,大脑会快速解读,而不是说大脑利用眼睛干什么。选项B中提到的逻辑,文中也并未涉及。而选项C说大脑可以自己给自己提供能源,一定是对第二句中It has a fixed energy budget的误读。这样排除掉前三个选项之后,正确答案应该就是选项D。
Question 30
答案: C
关键词: perception
定位原文: 第3段和第4段
解题思路: 题目:作者认为认知是:A.光子与声波的结合;B.感官信号的可靠产物;C.大脑处理的结果;D.一个我们通常能意识到的过程。这道题目横跨的篇幅比较长,文中对应点在第三段和第四段。首先,在第三段倒数第二行Perception is not simply a product of what your eyes or ears transmit to your brain.从这句话就可以知道,选项B是不对的;接着,利用最后一句话More than the physical reality of photons or sound waves, perception is a product of the brain.可以排除选项A,同时引出选项C有可能正确。最后在第四段第四行后半 句中提到Perception is not something that is hardwired into the brain. It is a learned process...正好能够和选项C 中的a result of brain processes 对应。
Question 31
答案: B
关键词: iconoclastic thinker
定位原文: 第4段内容
解题思路: 题目:作者认为传统叛逆者A.将认知思考集中于大脑一个区域;B.会避开认知陷阱;C.拥有天生就适合学习的大脑;D.会拥有比常人更多机会。此题定位在第四段。该段第二句和第三句提到Iconoclasts see things differently to other people. Their brains do not fall into efficiency pitfalls as much as the average person’s brain. 这句话实际上对应的就是选项B。但是有粗心的话会因为 average person这个词组选择D。选项D不仅不正确,反而可以根据其中不存在的比较关系直接排除。选项A中的central—词,估计是发源于第四段第一句话Perception is central to iconoclasm.应该直接被排除掉。至于选项C中出现的hardwired, 在第四段第四行中Perception is not something that is hardwired into the brain.就已经被否定了。
Question 32
答案: YES
关键词: brain, think differently, exposure, forces
定位原文: 第5段第1句“The best way to see…” 要想思维方式与众不同,最佳做法就是往大脑里塞其闻所未闻的东西。
解题思路: 这道题目实际上需要利用上一大题来确定其大位置是在第五段,在确定大致位置之后,再用定位词确定该题的确切位置是在第一句。Bombard一词是“轰炸”的意思,此处有强迫大脑接收信息的含义,对应题目中的forces; 以对应题目中的exposure。
Question 33
答案: YES
关键词: Iconoclasts, new experiences, unusually receptive
定位原文: 第5段第3句“Successful iconoclasts have…” 成功的传统叛逆者非常乐意接受新鲜事物。
解题思路: 文中的have an extraordinary willingness to be exposed to与题目中的are unusually receptive to相对应,what is fresh and different与题目中的new experiences相对应。
Question 34
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词: shy
定位原文: 第6段内容
解题思路: 只在第六段中提到阻止人们创新思维的是两种恐惧:对不确定性的恐惧以及对沦为笑柄的担忧,接着上一题的定位句往下找,无法找到题干中所叙述的shy这个概念,而且全文也没有提及。
Question 35
答案: NO
关键词: overcome fear
定位原文: 第6段第2句“Fear is a major impediment…” 恐惧是阻止人们像传统叛逆者那样思考的主要障碍,它使普通人在创新思考的道路上踌躇不前。
解题思路: 此题出题思路有点绕,对应句的意思是说恐惧阻止了普通人像传统叛逆者那样进行思 考。而且整个第六段都是在讲恐惧,尤其是对公开演讲的恐惧,是如此常见,甚至被认为是人性之一,显然,传统叛逆者也对公开演讲有恐惧,只是他们不会让这种恐惧在公开 演讲时对自己产生阻碍。并不是像本题所叙述那样,传统叛逆者可以克服恐惧。
Question 36
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词: embarrassment, fears
定位原文: 无
解题思路: 此题也是一道完全没有提及型的NOT GIVEN题。即便按照顺序原则顺着上一题向下找,但是直到找到第37题的考点,也没有出现 embarrassment一词 。
Question 37
答案: NO
关键词: public speaking, psychological illness
定位原文: 第6段第5句“But fear of public speaking,…” 但是,对公开演讲的恐惧则折磨着超过三分之一的人。因为人时不时就要讲一讲,所以这种恐惧太常见了,很难被视作一种精神疾病。
解题思路: 这句话明确指出,对于公开演讲的恐惧由于涉及人群广、十分常见,所以很难被视作一种精神疾病。这就和题干的陈述直接冲突。在这里一定要能够理解too...to...“太……以至于不能……”这个结构。
Question 38
答案: A
关键词: successful iconoclast
定位原文: 第7段第1句“Finally, to be successful iconoclasts, individuals…”
解题思路: 可以看出要成为 successful iconoclasts,social intelligence必不可少。段末最后一句话Understanding how perception becomes intertwined with social decision making shows why successful iconoclasts are so rare.表明如果要成为成功的传统叛逆者,就必须知道认知和社会决策之间千丝万缕的联系。所以总结一下,a successful iconoclast既需要social intelligence,也需要perception。 故此题应选A。
Question 39
答案: B
关键词: social brain
定位原文: 第7段第4句“In the last decade there has been…”
解题思路: 该句含义为“在过去的十年里,人们对社会型大脑的认知突飞猛进,对这种大脑在团队协作共同决策时所起的作用也了如指掌。”这句话提到的groups coordinate decision making,正好与选项B当中提到的how groups decide on an action相对应。故此题应选B。
Question 40
答案: C
关键词: an asset
定位原文: 第8段内容
解题思路: 第八段整个一段都是对iconoclasts的评价。在第一句中就提到了 iconoclasts是跨领域的人才,纵横艺术、技术、商业领域。正是他们的创造力和革新能力使得他们成为a major asset to any organization。只有选项C中提到in many fields, both artistic and scientific。故此题应选C。
剑桥雅思阅读9原文翻译及答案(test2)
篇6:剑桥雅思阅读9原文翻译及答案(test2)
PASSAGE 1 参考译文:
帮助新西兰听觉障碍儿童
A儿童的听觉障碍或其他听觉功能的缺陷会对他们的言语与交流能力的发展产生重大的影响,导致他们在学校的学习能力也受到不利影响。这对个人甚至全体人民来讲都很可能会产生重大后果。新西兰卫生部从一项进行了 20多年的研究中发现该国有6%到10%的孩子有听觉障碍。
B新西兰的一项初步研究显示,教室噪音是老师和学生关注的一大问题。现代教学实践活动、教室中课桌的布局、糟糕的音响效果以及空调通风口产生的噪音,都使许多孩子无法听清老师所讲的内容。教育研究者Nelson与Soli也表明,现代学习方式中多种思想与方法协作交互获取信息与个人获取信息同等重要。而这一切都意味着活动量与噪音级别的增加,这对患有听觉功能障碍的孩子产生的潜在影响尤为严重。教室噪音只会加重他们在与同学进行语言沟通时的误解,并且使他们无法很好地理解教师的指示。
C教室噪音使患有听觉缺陷的孩子在学习中不能发挥他们的最大潜能。在典型的课堂环境中,噪音对孩子们髙效学习能力的影响越来越受到人们的关注。在世界卫生组织的建议下,国际噪声控制工程学会 (I-INCE)成立了一个国际工作小组来评估学校教室噪音与回声控制,新西兰也是小组成员。
D虽然教室噪音不只会给残疾孩子带来不利影响,但是那些在语言沟通方面有障碍的孩子们显然是更大的受害者。所谓的听觉功能缺陷包括听觉障碍、自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)和注意力缺陷障碍(ADD/ ADHD,也称“注意力缺乏症”)。
E自闭症被认为是一种由神经系统与遗产基因紊乱引起的终生疾病,患者在处理信息时会产生偏差。这种疾病的特点是社会想象力、社会交往与社会互动之间出现了问题。根据Janzen的说法,这种疾病影响 了人们的多种能力:比如以正常方式理解并与他人相处的能力、了解事件及其周遭事物的能力,以及理解或回应感官刺激的能力。自闭症患者不能像正常发展的孩子那样学习或思考。自闭症谱系障碍往往使患者在理解口头信息与语言处理方面遇到极大的困难。患者也往往会觉得喧闹的噪音以及机器发出的声音让自己感到痛苦与压抑。这很难进行科学量化,因为这种额外的感官刺激因患者的不同而有很大的差异。但是当一个孩子觉得在教室里或学习的地方中的任何声音都让自己闹心的话,那么他处理信息的能力很可能也会受到不利影响。
F注意力缺乏症表现为神经与基因障碍。这种障碍的特点是患者很难持续关注某事、很难长时间努力与坚持、缺乏组织能力并且无法抑制解除。患有注意力缺乏症的孩子很难筛选出不重要的信息,他们会关注所处环境中所有的事物而非仅仅一个活动。教室里的背景噪音成为分散孩子们注意力的一个主要原因。
G面对较高级别的背景噪音,患有听觉功能障碍的孩子经常很难分辨与处理言语和交流。这些噪音有的是传入教室中的室外活动的声音,也有的是教学活动的声音以及教室内产生的其他噪音,而且教室中的反射使这些噪音增大。因此,需要采取措施来获得最佳的课堂建设,也许还需要改变课堂文化与教学方法,特别要彻底检查吵闹的课堂与活动给患有听觉功能障碍的孩子带来的影响。也许有很多未确诊的孩子带着“无形”的残疾接受教育,他们的需求不像已确诊的孩子的需求那样容易被人察觉。
H新西兰政府已经制定出一项“新西兰残疾人事业发展战略”,并开始进入广泛咨询意见的阶段。该战略认同残疾人在世俗观念、教育机会、就业机会以及所享服务方面,均很难享有高质量的生活。“新西兰残疾人事业发展战略”的第三个目标是通过改善教育,“为残疾人提供最好的教育”,这样所有的孩子、青年学生以及成年学者将会在他们当地已有的学校里享有平等的学习与发展机会。对于成功的教育而言,学习环境是非常重要的。因此,任何改善学习环境的努力都会造福所有孩子,尤其是那些患有听觉功能障碍的孩子们。
I 一些国家已经开始制定自己的标准来控制与减少教室噪音,新西兰很可能会以此为例(来制定自己的标准)。迄今为止,文献中关于学校教室噪音的描述一般集中于噪音对学生、老师以及听觉缺陷者的影响上,而很少注意到噪音对患有其他疾病的学生的影响,包括对患有听觉功能障碍的学生的影响。今后在制定和颁布国际标准时,必须把这些孩子的需求考虑进去。
TEST 2 PASSAGE 2 参考译文:
金星凌日
6月金星再次越过太阳表面,构成了久违122年的天文奇观,也就是所谓的“凌日”现象。正如Heather Cooper和Nigel Henbest所解释的那样,金星凌日现象影响了我们对整个宇宙的认识。
A 206月8日,全世界一半以上的人都有幸见证了这起罕见的天文现象——经过六个多小时,金星缓缓滑过了太阳表面。这是自1882年12月6日以来的第一次金星凌日现象。彼时,美国天文学家Simon Newcomb教授带领着一队人去南非观测这一天文现象。他们的观测点设在一所女子学校里,据说这所学校里的三位女教师合力观测出的结果比这组专业人士的还要精确。
B数首年来,金星凌日现象引起了全球各地的探险家与天文学家的关注,而这一切都要归功于非凡的博学家Edmond Hailey。1677年11月,Hailey在位于南太平洋的荒无人烟的圣赫勒拿岛上,观测到了内行星水星的凌日现象。他发现,水星滑过太阳盘面的轨迹因观测纬度不同而有差异。通过计算行星在两个 相距甚远的地方之间的运行时间,天文学家小组可以计算出视差角度。视差角度是指天体的位置由于 观测者的位置不同而产生的明显差异。计算视差角度让天文学家得以实现当时的最终目标——算出地球与太阳之间的距离,这个距离就是所谓的“天文单位(AU)”。
C Hailey知道,天文单位是天文学中测量距离的基本单位之一。在17世纪早期,Johannes Kepler就认为行星与太阳之间的距离控制着行星的轨道速度,这个很容易就能测量到,但是还没有人能找到一种方法来计算行星与地球之间的精确距离。目标是先测量出天文单位,然后了解其他所有行星绕太阳运行的轨道速度,最后就能水到渠成,测出太阳系的规模。然而,Hailey意识到水星距离地球太远了以致很难确定其视差角度,而金星则距离地球较近,它的视差角度也较大。他发现如果利用金星来计算太阳的距离,其误差很可能只有五百分之一。但是有一个问题,与水星凌日不同,金星凌日现象很罕见,而且总是以两次为一组,每组中的两次大约间隔8年,而两组之间的间隔却有100多年。尽管如此,Hailey还是准确预测出金星会在1761年与1769年两次穿过太阳表面,只可惜他有生之年一次也没看到。
D在Hailey提出的测量太阳系方法的鼓舞下,英国和法国的天文学家组成小组,踏上去往各地的征途,这些地方甚至包括印度与西伯利亚。但是由于那时候英法两国在交战,所以这些观测并没有奏效。最值得同情的是法国天文学家Guillaume Le Gentil。英军包围了他在印度本地治里(Pondicherry)的观测台,这使他备受打击。在乘坐一艘法国军舰穿越印度洋逃亡的时候,他看到了一次凌日的壮观景象,但是船的颠簸摇晃使他完全没有机会进行精确观测。他并没有灰心,而是留在了南半球,先是忙于研究毛里求斯 岛和马达加斯加岛的情况,接着前往菲律宾准备观测下一次凌日现象。然而,具有讽刺意味的是,在跋涉了将近五万公里之后,他的视线居然被一片乌云给遮住了,真是一次令人沮丧的经历。
E虽然早期对凌日时间的观测就当时所用的器材而言已足够精确,但是其测量结果却受到“黑滴”效应 (“blackdrop” effect)的困扰。金星入凌时,看起来有点模糊而不完全是圆的,因此很难计算时间。这种现象是由光的衍射造成的。另一个问题是,金星出凌时,它的周围会产生晕环。虽然天文学家可以获知金星是被一层厚厚的、可折射阳光的气体所包围,但是黑滴效应和晕环效应都使得他们无法获得金星凌日的准确时间。
F但是天文学家依然努力分析这些观测结果,以便用来观测金星凌日现象。柏林天文台台长Johann Franz Encke根据所有这些视差测量最终确定了天文单位的值为153,340,000千米。这个数值在当时已经相当精确了,也与现在用雷达测到的149,597,870千米非常接近。当然,现在雷达因其精准度已经取代了凌日测量与其他方法。天文单位是一个宇宙测量杆,也是现在我们测量宇宙的基础。视差原理可以延伸应用到恒星之间距离的测量中。一月,当地球处于其轨道的某个点时,我们观测一颗恒星,那么六个月后这颗恒星的位置与当时观测的位置看起来是不同的。了解了地球轨道的宽度后,天文学家就可以利用视差移位计算出这个距离。
G 年6月的金星凌日现象不只是一项重大的科学事件,更是一次天文奇观。而这种凌日现象为宇宙中 最重大的突破之一铺平了道路,即对围绕其他恒星运行的类地行星进行探测。
TEST 2 PASSAGE 3 参考译文:
神经科学家解密创新思考
在过去十年里,科学家对大脑的认识方式发生了一场变革。现在我们知道人们所做的决定源自大脑特定部分的神经元的放电模式。这些发现导致了神经经济学的出现,神经经济学研究的是经济环境下大脑成功的秘诀,而这就需要创新,需要不走竞争者走过的寻常路。能做到这些的人可以谓之传统叛逆者。简而言之,传统叛逆者做的是别人认为不可为而他却能有所作为的事情。
该定义说明传统叛逆者与众不同,更确切地说,是他们的大脑异于常人,表现在以下三个方面:认知力、恐惧反应力以及社交能力。这三个功能在大脑中各有一条不同的回路。反对者可能会认为大脑与此无关,他们觉得原创性及革命性的思维方式与其说是大脑的功能,还不如说是一种个性的体现。但是,神经经济学的诞生正是基于这样一个新的发现,那就是大脑的生理功能实际上会制约我们的判断力。通过理解这些制约条件,我们就会明白为什么有些人爱唱反调。
首先要明白的一点是,大脑受制于有限的资源。它有固定的能量预算值,相当于一个40瓦灯泡的能量,因此大脑就进化出了一种尽可能高效的工作方式,这也就是大多数人之所以不爱唱反调的原因。比如,面对眼前源源不断输入的信息时,大脑会尽可能以最便捷的方式解读这些信息。为此,大脑会借鉴过往经验以及其他任何信息来源,比如別人所说的话,来解读眼睛所看到的信息。这种过程无处不在。大脑如此善于走捷径以至于我们对此毫不知情。我们以为我们对世界的感知是真实的,但其实这种感知只不过是 身体和电流对我们撒的小谎。认知不只是我们的眼睛与耳朵传给大脑的信息。认知是大脑的产物,而不只是物理现实中光子或声波的产物。
认知是反传统论的核心。传统叛逆者与别人看问题的方法大相径庭,他们的大脑不像普通人的大脑那样容易掉进高效思维的陷阱。要么天生如此,要么后天习得,总之传统叛逆者总有方法绕过那些困扰大多数人的认知捷径。认知不是天生的。认知是个学习过程,是个既让人受尽折磨的毒咒,又让人洗心革面的良机。大脑面临着一个基本问题,那就是如何解读从感官传来的物理刺激。大脑所见、所闻、所感,皆可以有多重解读,而最终获选的解释只不过是大脑自认为的最佳理论。从技术层次而言,这些解读是有统计学依据的,因为统计学数据说明一种解释优于另一种解释,与此同时,这些解读又受过往经验以及他人观点的严重影响,最后这点对于潜在的传统叛逆者来讲尤为致命。
要想思维方式与众不同,最佳做法就是往大脑里塞其闻所未闻的东西。新鲜事物使认知过程摆脱了过往经历的束缚,同时强迫大脑作出新的判断。成功的传统叛逆者非常乐意接受新鲜事物。观察表明,传统叛逆者对新鲜事物持欣然接受的态度,而大多数普通人则唯恐避之不及。
然而,新鲜事物的缺点是它会触发大脑的恐惧系统。恐惧是阻止人们像传统叛逆者那样思考的主要障碍,它使普通人在创新思考的道路上踌躇不前。恐惧有很多种,但是有两种恐惧阻止了创新思维,而且让大多数人颇感棘手,那就是对不确定性的恐惧以及对沦为笑柄的担忧。这两种恐惧看似都无关紧要,但是,对公开演讲的恐惧则折磨着超过三分之一的人。因为人时不时就要讲一讲,所以这种恐惧太常见了,很难被视为一种精神疾病。这往往被看做一种精神障碍。它只不过是人性反复无常的一种体现而已,传统 叛逆者们带着这种恐惧也会在众人面前发表观点。
最后一点,想要成功变成传统叛逆者,必须把自己的想法推销给别人,这就该社交能力登场了。社交能力是在商业环境中了解与管理人的能力。在过去的十年里,人们对社会型大脑的认知突飞猛进,对这种 大脑在团队协作共同决策时所起的作用也了如指掌。神经科学已经揭示出是哪些大脑回路在帮我们洞悉他人想法、与他人产生共鸣、做到公平公正以及辨别社会身份。在说服别人采纳己见方面,这些大脑回路可谓功不可没。感知在社会认知中也举足轻重。对一个人的热情或名誉的认知是生意成功与否的关键。若能了解认知与社会决策千丝万缕的联系,便能明白为何成功的传统叛逆者稀世难求。
传统叛逆者纵横艺术舞台、技术尖端及商业高峰,在每个领域都创造崭新机会,他们贡献出的创造力和革命力,一队人也望尘莫及。他们视规则如草芥。虽然时常被人疏远并且遭遇失败,可他们仍然是团队顶梁柱。无论在任何领域,若想成功,必先了解传统叛逆者大脑工作的奥秘。
篇7:剑桥雅思阅读4(test2)原文翻译及答案解析
剑桥雅思阅读4原文(test2)
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Lost for words
Many minority languages are on the danger list
In the Native American Navajo nation, which sprawls across four states in the American south-west, the native language is dying. Most of its speakers are middle-aged or elderly. Although many students take classes in Navajo, the schools are run in English. Street signs, supermarket goods and even their own newspaper are all in English. Not surprisingly, linguists doubt that any native speakers of Navajo will remain in a hundred years’ time.
Navajo is far from alone. Half the world’s 6,800 languages are likely to vanish within two generations — that’s one language lost every ten days. Never before has the planet’s linguistic diversity shrunk at such a pace. ‘At the moment, we are heading for about three or four languages dominating the world,’ says Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading. ‘It’s a mass extinction, and whether we will ever rebound from the loss is difficult to know.’
Isolation breeds linguistic diversity: as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by only a few people. Only 250 languages have more than a million speakers, and at least 3,000 have fewer than 2,500. It is not necessarily these small languages that are about to disappear. Navajo is considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers. What makes a language endangered is not just the number of speakers, but how old they are. If it is spoken by children it is relatively safe. The critically endangered languages are those that are only spoken by the elderly, according to Michael Krauss, director of the Alassk Native Language Center, in Fairbanks.
Why do people reject the language of their parents? It begins with a crisis of confidence, when a small community finds itself alongside a larger, wealthier society, says Nicholas Ostler, of Britain’s Foundation for Endangered Languages, in Bath. ‘People lose faith in their culture,’ he says. ‘When the next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be induced into the old traditions.’
The change is not always voluntary. Quite often, governments try to kill off a minority language by banning its use in public or discouraging its use in schools, all to promote national unity. The former US policy of running Indian reservation schools in English, for example, effectively put languages such as Navajo on the danger list. But Salikoko Mufwene, who chairs the Linguistics department at the University of Chicago, argues that the deadliest weapon is not government policy but economic globalisation. ‘Native Americans have not lost pride in their language, but they have had to adapt to socio-economic pressures,’ he says. ‘They cannot refuse to speak English if most commercial activity is in English.’ But are languages worth saving? At the very least, there is a loss of data for the study of languages and their evolution, which relies on comparisons between languages, both living and dead. When an unwritten and unrecorded language disappears, it is lost to science.
Language is also intimately bound up with culture, so it may be difficult to preserve one without the other. ‘If a person shifts from Navajo to English, they lose something,’ Mufwene says. ‘Moreover, the loss of diversity may also deprive us of different ways of looking at the world,’ says Pagel. There is mounting evidence that learning a language produces physiological changes in the brain. ‘Your brain and mine are different from the brain of someone who speaks French, for instance,’ Pagel says, and this could affect our thoughts and perceptions. ‘The patterns and connections we make among various concepts may be structured by the linguistic habits of our community.’
So despite linguists’ best efforts, many languages will disappear over the next century. But a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direst predictions from coming true. ‘The key to fostering diversity is for people to learn their ancestral tongue, as well as the dominant language,’ says Doug Whalen, founder and president of the Endangered Language Fund in New Haven, Connecticut. ‘Most of these languages will not survive without a large degree of bilingualism,’ he says. In New Zealand, classes for children have slowed the erosion of Maori and rekindled interest in the language. A similar approach in Hawaii has produced about 8,000 new speakers of Polynesian languages in the past few years. In California, ‘apprentice’ programmes have provided life support to several indigenous languages. Volunteer ‘apprentices’ pair up with one of the last living speakers of a Native American tongue to learn a traditional skill such as basket weaving, with instruction exclusively in the endangered language. After about 300 hours of training they are generally sufficiently fluent to transmit the language to the next generation. But Mufwene says that preventing a language dying out is not the same as giving it new life by using it every day. ‘Preserving a language is more like preserving fruits in a jar,’ he says.
However, preservation can bring a language back from the dead. There are examples of languages that have survived in written form and then been revived by later generations. But a written form is essential for this, so the mere possibility of revival has led many speakers of endangered languages to develop systems of writing where none existed before.
Questions 1-4
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
There are currently approximately 6,800 languages in the world. This great variety of languages came about largely as a result of geographical 1…… . But in today’s world, factors such as government initiatives and 2…… are contributing to a huge decrease in the number of languages. One factor which may help to ensure that some endangered languages do not die out completely is people’s increasing appreciation of their 3…… . This has been encouraged through programmes of language classes for children and through ‘apprentice’ schemes, in which the endangered language is used as the medium of instruction to teach people a 4…… . Some speakers of endangered languages have even produced writing systems in order to help secure the survival of their mother tongue.’
Questions 5-9
Look at the following statements (Questions 5-9) and the list of people in the box below. Match each statement with the correct person A-E.
Write the appropriate letter A-E in boxes 5-9 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
5 Endangered languages cannot be saved unless people learn to speak more than one language.
6 Saving languages from extinction is not in itself a satisfactory goal.
7 The way we think may be determined by our language.
8 Young people often reject the established way of life in their community.
9 A change of language may mean a loss of traditional culture.
A Michael Krauss
B Salikoko Mufwene
C Nicholas Ostler
D Mark Pagel
E Doug Whalen
Questions 10-13
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
10 The Navajo Language will die out because it currently has too few speakers.
11 A large number of native speakers fail to guarantee the survival of a language.
12 National governments could do more to protect endangered languages.
13 The loss of linguistic diversity is inevitable.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIA
The first students to study alternative medicine at university level in Australia began their four-year, full-time course at the University of Technology, Sydney, in early 1994. Their course covered, among other therapies, acupuncture. The theory they learnt is based on the traditional Chinese explanation of this ancient healing art: that it can regulate the flow of ‘Qi’ or energy through pathways in the body. This course reflects how far some alternative therapies have come in their struggle for acceptance by the medical establishment.
Australia has been unusual in the Western world in having a very conservative attitude to natural or alternative therapies, according to Dr Paul Laver, a lecturer in Public Health at the University of Sydney. ‘We’ve had a tradition of doctors being fairly powerful and I guess they are pretty loath to allow any pretenders to their position to come into it.’ In many other industrialised countries, orthodox and alternative medicine have worked ‘hand in glove’ for years. In Europe, only orthodox doctors can prescribe herbal medicine. In Germany, plant remedies account for 10% of the national turnover of pharmaceuticals. Americans made more visits to alternative therapists than to orthodox doctors in 1990, and each year they spend about $US 12 billion on therapies that have not been scientifically tested.
Disenchantment with orthodox medicine has seen the popularity of alternative therapies in Australia climb steadily during the past 20 years. In a 1983 national health survey, 1.9% of people said they had contacted a chiropractor, naturopath, osteopath, acupuncturist or herbalist in the two weeks prior to the survey. By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the population. The 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists reported in the 1990 survey represented about an eighth of the total number of consultations with medically qualified personnel covered by the survey, according to Dr Laver and colleagues writing in the Australian Journal of Public Health in 1993. ‘A better educated and less accepting public has become disillusioned with the experts in general, and increasingly sceptical about science and empirically based knowledge,’ they said. ‘The high standing of professionals, including doctors, has been eroded as a consequence.’
Rather than resisting or criticising this trend, increasing numbers of Australian doctors, particularly younger ones, are forming group practices with alternative therapists or taking courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism. Part of the incentive was financial, Dr Laver said. ‘The bottom line is that most general practitioners are business people. If they see potential clientele going elsewhere, they might want to be able to offer a similar service.’
In 1993, Dr Laver and his colleagues published a survey of 289 Sydney people who attended eight alternative therapists’ practices in Sydney. These practices offered a wide range of alternative therapies from 25 therapists. Those surveyed had experienced chronic illnesses, for which orthodox medicine had been able to provide little relief. They commented that they liked the holistic approach of their alternative therapists and the friendly, concerned and detailed attention they had received. The cold, impersonal manner of orthodox doctors featured in the survey. An increasing exodus from their clinics, coupled with this and a number of other relevant surveys carried out in Australia, all pointing to orthodox doctors’ inadequacies, have led mainstream doctors themselves to begin to admit they could learn from the personal style of alternative therapists. Dr Patrick Store, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, concurs that orthodox doctors could learn a lot about bedside manner and advising patients on preventative health from alternative therapists.
According to the Australian Journal of Public Health, 18% of patients visiting alternative therapists do so because they suffer from musculo-skeletal complaints; 12% suffer from digestive problems, which is only 1% more than those suffering from emotional problems. Those suffering from respiratory complaints represent 7% of their patients, and candida sufferers represent an equal percentage. Headache sufferers and those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and 5% of patients respectively, and a further 4% see therapists for general health maintenance.
The survey suggested that complementary medicine is probably a better term than alternative medicine. Alternative medicine appears to be an adjunct, sought in times of disenchantment when conventional medicine seems not to offer the answer.
Questions 14 and 15
Choose the correct letter, A, B C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 14 and 15 on your answer sheet.
14 Traditionally, how have Australian doctors differed from doctors in many Western countries?
A They have worked closely with pharmaceutical companies.
B They have often worked alongside other therapists.
C They have been reluctant to accept alternative therapists.
D They have regularly prescribed alternative remedies.
15 In 1990, Americans
A were prescribed more herbal medicines than in previous years.
B consulted alternative therapists more often than doctors.
C spent more on natural therapies than orthodox medicines.
D made more complaints about doctors than in previous years.
Questions 16-23
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 16-23 on your answer sheet write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
16 Australians have been turning to alternative therapies in increasing numbers over the past 20 years.
17 Between 1983 and 1990 the numbers of patients visiting alternative therapists rose to include a further 8% of the population.
18 The 1990 survey related to 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists.
19 In the past, Australians had a higher opinion of doctors than they do today.
20 Some Australian doctors are retraining in alternative therapies.
21 Alternative therapists earn higher salaries than doctors.
22 The 1993 Sydney survey involved 289 patients who visited alternative therapists for acupuncture treatment.
23 All the patients in the 1993 Sydney survey had long-term medical complaints.
Questions 24-26
Complete the vertical axis on the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Reading Passage 2 for answer.
Write your answers in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet.
READING PASSAGE 3
You should ,spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below
PLAY IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS
Does play help develop bigger, better brains?
Bryant Furlow investigates
A Playing is a serious business. Children engrossed in a make-believe world, fox cubs play-fighting or kittens teasing a ball of string aren’t just having fun. Play may look like a carefree and exuberant way to pass the time before the hard work of adulthood comes along, but there’s much more to it than that. For a start, play can even cost animals their lives. Eighty per cent of deaths among juvenile fur seals occur because playing pups fail to spot predators approaching. It is also extremely expensive in terms of energy. Playful young animals use around two or three per cent of their energy cavorting, and in children that figure can be closer to fifteen per cent. ‘Even two or three per cent is huge,’ says John Byers of Idaho University. ‘You just don’t find animals wasting energy like that,’ he adds. There must be a reason.
B But if play is not simply a developmental hiccup, as biologists once thought, why did it evolve? The latest idea suggests that play has evolved to build big brains. In other words, playing makes you intelligent. Playfulness, it seems, is common only among mammals, although a few of the larger-brained birds also indulge. Animals at play often use unique signs — tail-wagging in dogs, for example — to indicate that activity superficially resembling adult behaviour is not really in earnest. A popular explanation of play has been that it helps juveniles develop the skills they will need to hunt, mate and socialise as adults. Another has been that it allows young animals to get in shape for adult life by improving their respiratory endurance. Both these ideas have been questioned in recent years.
C Take the exercise theory. If play evolved to build muscle or as a kind of endurance training, then you would expect to see permanent benefits. But Byers points out that the benefits of increased exercise disappear rapidly after training stops, so any improvement in endurance resulting from juvenile play would be lost by adulthood. ‘If the function of play was to get into shape,’ says Byers, ‘the optimum time for playing would depend on when it was most advantageous for the young of a particular species to do so. But it doesn’t work like that.’ Across species, play tends to peak about halfway through the suckling stage and then decline.
D Then there’s the skills-training hypothesis. At first glance, playing animals do appear to be practising the complex manoeuvres they will need in adulthood. But a closer inspection reveals this interpretation as too simplistic. In one study, behavioural ecologist Tim Caro, from the University of California, looked at the predatory play of kittens and their predatory behaviour when they reached adulthood. He found that the way the cats played had no significant effect on their hunting prowess in later life.
E Earlier this year, Sergio Pellis of Lethbridge University, Canada, reported that there is a strong positive link between brain size and playfulness among mammals in general. Comparing measurements for fifteen orders of mammal, he and his team found larger brains (for a given body size) are linked to greater playfulness. The converse was also found to be true. Robert Barton of Durham University believes that, because large brains are more sensitive to developmental stimuli than smaller brains, they require more play to help mould them for adulthood. ‘I concluded it’s to do with learning, and with the importance of environmental data to the brain during development,’ he says.
F According to Byers, the timing of the playful stage in young animals provides an important clue to what’s going on. If you plot the amount of time a juvenile devotes to play each day over the course of its development, you discover a pattern typically associated with a ‘sensitive period’ — a brief development window during which the brain can actually be modified in ways that are not possible earlier or later in life. Think of the relative ease with which young children — but not infants or adults — absorb language. Other researchers have found that play in cats, rats and mice is at its most intense just as this ‘window of opportunity’ reaches its peak.
G ‘People have not paid enough attention to the amount of the brain activated by play,’ says Marc Bekoff from Colorado University. Bekoff studied coyote pups at play and found that the kind of behaviour involved was markedly more variable and unpredictable than that of adults. Such behaviour activates many different parts of the brain, he reasons. Bekoff likens it to a behavioural kaleidoscope, with animals at play jumping rapidly between activities. ‘They use behaviour from a lot of different contexts — predation, aggression, reproduction,’ he says. ‘Their developing brain is getting all sorts of stimulation.’
H Not only is more of the brain involved in play than was suspected, but it also seems to activate higher cognitive processes. ‘There’s enormous cognitive involvement in play,’ says Bekoff. He points out that play often involves complex assessments of playmates, ideas of reciprocity and the use of specialised signals and rules. He believes that play creates a brain that has greater behavioural flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life. The idea is backed up by the work of Stephen Siviy of Gettysburg College. Siviy studied how bouts of play affected the brain’s levels of a particular chemical associated with the stimulation and growth of nerve cells. He was surprised by the extent of the activation. ‘Play just lights everything up,’ he says. By allowing link-ups between brain areas that might not normally communicate with each other, play may enhance creativity.
I What might further experimentation suggest about the way children are raised in many societies today? We already know that rat pups denied the chance to play grow smaller brain components and fail to develop the ability to apply social rules when they interact with their peers. With schooling beginning earlier and becoming increasingly exam-orientated, play is likely to get even less of a look-in. Who knows what the result of that will be?
Questions 27-32
Reading Passage 3 had nine paragraphs labeled A-I.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-I in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
27 the way play causes unusual connections in the brain which are beneficial
28 insights from recording how much time young animals spend playing
29 a description of the physical hazards that can accompany play
30 a description of the mental activities which are exercised and developed during play
31 the possible effects that a reduction in play opportunities will have on humans
32 the classes of animals for which play is important
Questions 33-35
Choose THREE letters A-F.
Write your answers in boxes 33-35 on your answer sheet.
The list below gives some ways of regarding play.
Which THREE ways are mentioned by the writer of the text?
A a rehearsal for later adult activities
B a method animals use to prove themselves to their peer group
C an activity intended to build up strength for adulthood
D a means of communicating feelings
E a defensive strategy
F an activity assisting organ growth
Questions 36-40
Look at the following researchers (Questions 36-40) and the list of findings below.
Match each researcher with the correct finding.
Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 36-40 on your answer sheet.
36 Robert Barton
37 Marc Bekoff
38 John Byers
39 Sergio Pellis
40 Stephen Siviy
List of Findings
A There is a link between a specific substance in the brain and playing.
B Play provides input concerning physical surroundings.
C Varieties of play can be matched to different stages of evolutionary history.
D There is a tendency for mammals with smaller brains to play less.
E Play is not a form of fitness training for the future.
F Some species of larger-brained birds engage in play.
G A wide range of activities are combined during play.
H Play is a method of teaching survival techniques.
剑桥雅思阅读4原文参考译文(test2)
Passage 1
参考译文
Lost for words
Many minority languages are on the danger list
语言的消失
——许多少数民族语言濒临灭绝
In the Native American Navajo nation, which sprawls across four states in the American south-west, the native language is dying. Most of its speakers are middle-aged or elderly. Although many students take classes in Navajo, the schools are run in English. Street signs, supermarket goods and even their own newspaper are all in English. Not surprisingly, linguists doubt that any native speakers of Navajo will remain in a hundred years’ time.
对于居住在美国西南部四州的那瓦霍人来讲,他们的语言正在遭遇灭顶之灾。大多数说那瓦霍语的人要么是中年人,要么就是垂垂老者。尽管有许多学生都在学习该门语言,可是学校却是用英文授课的。路牌、超市商品说明、甚至报纸全部是英文的。因此语言学家怀疑在百年之后还会不会有人会说这门语言也就不足为奇了。
Navajo is far from alone. Half the world’s 6,800 languages are likely to vanish within two generations — that’s one language lost every ten days. Never before has the planet’s linguistic diversity shrunk at such a pace. ‘At the moment, we are heading for about three or four languages dominating the world,’ says Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading. ‘It’s a mass extinction, and whether we will ever rebound from the loss is difficult to know.’
那瓦霍语决不是惟一会有此厄运的语言。再经历两代人的时间,全球6,800种语言当中的半数就有可能从世界上彻底消失——这就相当于平均每十天就有一种语言消失。地球上语言的多样性从未以如此惊人的速度降低过。“现在,我们面临的将是两三种语言支配整个世界。”雷丁大学的进化生物学家Marl Pagel说,“这就是(语言的)大规模灭绝,而且我们很难知道能否从这种语言灭绝当中恢复过来。”
Isolation breeds linguistic diversity: as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by only a few people. Only 250 languages have more than a million speakers, and at least 3,000 have fewer than 2,500. It is not necessarily these small languages that are about to disappear. Navajo is considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers. What makes a language endangered is not just the number of speakers, but how old they are. If it is spoken by children it is relatively safe. The critically endangered languages are those that are only spoken by the elderly, according to Michael Krauss, director of the Alassk Native Language Center, in Fairbanks.
封闭产生了语言的多样性。结果整个世界就布满了只有几个人说的语言。只有250种语言拥有超过100万的使用者,而至少有3,000种语言使用者不足2,500人。那些行将消失的小语种并非命该如此。尽管仍有15万人在使用那瓦霍语,但这种语言还是上了濒危名单。判断一种语言是否濒危的标准不是使用者的数量,而是使用者的年龄。如果一种语言是孩子们在使用,就会相对安全些。用费尔班克斯Alassk语言中心的主任Micheal Krauss的话说就是,真正面临灭绝之灾的是那些只有老年人才懂得说的语言。
Why do people reject the language of their parents? It begins with a crisis of confidence, when a small community finds itself alongside a larger, wealthier society, says Nicholas Ostler, of Britain’s Foundation for Endangered Languages, in Bath. ‘People lose faith in their culture,’ he says. ‘When the next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be induced into the old traditions.’
可人们为什么拒绝说他们父母的语言呢?这一切都始于一场信任危机。BATH英国濒危语言基金会成员Nicholas Ostler说:“当一个小规模社会发现自己与一个大规模,更富有的社会并肩而存的时候,其成员就会对自己的文化丧失信心。当这个社会的下一代进人青春期的时候,他们很可能不会接受(包括语言在内的)传统事物。”
The change is not always voluntary. Quite often, governments try to kill off a minority language by banning its use in public or discouraging its use in schools, all to promote national unity. The former US policy of running Indian reservation schools in English, for example, effectively put languages such as Navajo on the danger list. But Salikoko Mufwene, who chairs the Linguistics department at the University of Chicago, argues that the deadliest weapon is not government policy but economic globalisation. ‘Native Americans have not lost pride in their language, but they have had to adapt to socio-economic pressures,’ he says. ‘They cannot refuse to speak English if most commercial activity is in English.’ But are languages worth saving? At the very least, there is a loss of data for the study of languages and their evolution, which relies on comparisons between languages, both living and dead. When an unwritten and unrecorded language disappears, it is lost to science.
这种转变往往不是自发的。为了加强国家凝聚力,政府通常会通过在公共场合禁用,以及在学校中不提倡使用的方法,消灭少数民族语言。例如,以前美国政府在印地安保留地学校推行英语授课政策,这事实上就是将那瓦霍语等少数语言推上了濒危名单。但是芝加哥大学语言学系系主任Salikoko Mufwene认为,最致命的原因并不是政府政策,而是经济的全球化。他说,“美国印地安人并没有失去对他们自己语言的信心,但是他们不得不去适应社会经济压力。如果大多数生意都是用英语来谈的,他们就不能拒绝说英语,但是,濒危语言就真的值得去挽救吗?至少,对于语言及其进化研究来讲,(不去挽救)就会导致资料的缺失,因为该研究正是基于对现存的和过去的语言的比较而进行的。当一门既无文字记录也无录音考证的语言消失时,对于科学(研究)来讲,它也就不存在了。
Language is also intimately bound up with culture, so it may be difficult to preserve one without the other. ‘If a person shifts from Navajo to English, they lose something,’ Mufwene says. ‘Moreover, the loss of diversity may also deprive us of different ways of looking at the world,’ says Pagel. There is mounting evidence that learning a language produces physiological changes in the brain. ‘Your brain and mine are different from the brain of someone who speaks French, for instance,’ Pagel says, and this could affect our thoughts and perceptions. ‘The patterns and connections we make among various concepts may be structured by the linguistic habits of our community.’
语言与文化也有千丝万缕的联系,因此要想单纯保存语言而不保留文化是非常困难的。“如果一个本来说那瓦霍语的人现在要改说英语,那么他准得失去点东西。”Mufwene说道,Pagel也评价道,“而且,语言多样性的丧失也使我们无法以多种方式来看待这个世界。”越来越多的证据表明,学习一门语言可以为大脑带来生理上的变化。“比如说,你我的大脑与说法语人的大脑就十分不同,”Page说,这是会影响我们的思维和看法的。“我们针对不同的概念建立了不同的模式和联系,这很可能就是由我们社会的语言习惯构筑而成的。”
So despite linguists’ best efforts, many languages will disappear over the next century. But a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direst predictions from coming true. ‘The key to fostering diversity is for people to learn their ancestral tongue, as well as the dominant language,’ says Doug Whalen, founder and president of the Endangered Language Fund in New Haven, Connecticut. ‘Most of these languages will not survive without a large degree of bilingualism,’ he says. In New Zealand, classes for children have slowed the erosion of Maori and rekindled interest in the language. A similar approach in Hawaii has produced about 8,000 new speakers of Polynesian languages in the past few years. In California, ‘apprentice’ programmes have provided life support to several indigenous languages. Volunteer ‘apprentices’ pair up with one of the last living speakers of a Native American tongue to learn a traditional skill such as basket weaving, with instruction exclusively in the endangered language. After about 300 hours of training they are generally sufficiently fluent to transmit the language to the next generation. But Mufwene says that preventing a language dying out is not the same as giving it new life by using it every day. ‘Preserving a language is more like preserving fruits in a jar,’ he says.
所以,尽管语言学家已经竭尽全力,但是许多语言到了下个世纪还是会消失。但是,一种对文化认同感越来越多的关注,也许会阻止最骇人的预言成为现实。“保持语言多样性的关键在于,让人们接受主流语言的同时,也去学习他们祖先的语言。”康那狄格州纽黑文市濒危语言基金会主席Doug Whalen说道,“如果不实行双语制度,大多数濒危语言都无法生存下去。”在新西兰,为孩子们开设的课程明显减轻了毛利语所受的损害,并且重新燃起了人们对该语言的兴趣。在夏威夷,一种相似的方式使波利尼西亚语的使用者在过去数年中增长了8,000人。在加利福尼亚州,“学徒”计划使得数种土著语言得以生存。“学徒”志愿者与某种印地安语的最后一些使用者中的一位组成小组,学习如编织篮子这样的传统工艺,当然交流全部都是用印地安语。通常,经过300个小时的训练后,他们就可以流利地说了,其流利程度足以将这种语言传给他们的子女。但是Mufwene指出,避免语言消失并不等同于通过每天的使用赋予其新的生命。他指出,“保存语言更像用罐子保存水果。”
However, preservation can bring a language back from the dead. There are examples of languages that have survived in written form and then been revived by later generations. But a written form is essential for this, so the mere possibility of revival has led many speakers of endangered languages to develop systems of writing where none existed before.
然而,通过保存的确可以使一门语言起死回生。已经有例子表明,有些语言通过文字记录被保存了下来,而且还在后代中得以复兴。当然,文字记录是这其中的关键。因此,单单是这种语言复兴的可能性,就使得很多说濒危语言的人试图去创造本来并不存在的文字系统。
Passage 2
参考译文
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN AUSTRALIA
澳大利亚的另类疗法
The first students to study alternative medicine at university level in Australia began their four-year, full-time course at the University of Technology, Sydney, in early 1994. Their course covered, among other therapies, acupuncture. The theory they learnt is based on the traditional Chinese explanation of this ancient healing art: that it can regulate the flow of ‘Qi’ or energy through pathways in the body. This course reflects how far some alternative therapies have come in their struggle for acceptance by the medical establishment.
1994年初,澳大利亚第一批另类疗法学生在悉尼科技大学开始了他们为期四年的全职课程。除了学习其他一些疗法之外,他们的课程还包括针灸术,他们所学的理论基于中国古代对这门古老疗法的解释:那就是针灸可以调节“气”或能量在人体神经系统中的流通。这门课程足以反映另类疗法在争取医疗机构认同的斗争中所取得的成果。
Australia has been unusual in the Western world in having a very conservative attitude to natural or alternative therapies, according to Dr Paul Laver, a lecturer in Public Health at the University of Sydney. ‘We’ve had a tradition of doctors being fairly powerful and I guess they are pretty loath to allow any pretenders to their position to come into it.’ In many other industrialised countries, orthodox and alternative medicine have worked ‘hand in glove’ for years. In Europe, only orthodox doctors can prescribe herbal medicine. In Germany, plant remedies account for 10% of the national turnover of pharmaceuticals. Americans made more visits to alternative therapists than to orthodox doctors in 1990, and each year they spend about $US 12 billion on therapies that have not been scientifically tested.
由于对自然或另类疗法所采取的极端保守态度,澳大利亚在西方国家中独树一帜。悉尼大学公共健康系博士Paul Laver评价道:“我们有个传统,医生是相当权威的,我猜他们很不愿意让那些觊觎他们位置的冒牌货得逞。”在其他许多工业国家里,正统医生和另类医师早已亲密无间地合作多年了。在欧洲,只有正统医生才可以开草药。在德国,草药占了药品销售额的10%。1990年美国人去看另类疗法医师的次数比去看传统医生的次数还多,而每年,他们花在未经科学测试的疗法上的钱竟髙达约120亿美元。
Disenchantment with orthodox medicine has seen the popularity of alternative therapies in Australia climb steadily during the past 20 years. In a 1983 national health survey, 1.9% of people said they had contacted a chiropractor, naturopath, osteopath, acupuncturist or herbalist in the two weeks prior to the survey. By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the population. The 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists reported in the 1990 survey represented about an eighth of the total number of consultations with medically qualified personnel covered by the survey, according to Dr Laver and colleagues writing in the Australian Journal of Public Health in 1993. ‘A better educated and less accepting public has become disillusioned with the experts in general, and increasingly sceptical about science and empirically based knowledge,’ they said. ‘The high standing of professionals, including doctors, has been eroded as a consequence.’
在过去中,由于人们对传统医疗不再迷信,另类疗法在澳大利亚慢慢流行起来。在1983年进行的全国健康调査中,有1.9%的人说此前两周内曾经去看过按摩师、理疗家、整骨医师、针灸医生或草药医生。到了1990年,这个数字已经攀升到澳大利亚人口的2.6%。根据Laver博士和他的同事们刊登在1993年《澳大利亚公共健康期刊》上的报道:在1990年调査中,另类疗法医生进行了55万次诊断,这个数字几乎占了调查中所有医疗诊断的八分之一。“总体而言,受过良好教育又不那么轻信的民众已经对专家失望了,而且对科学和经验主义知识已经越来越怀疑了,”博士们说,“结果,包括医生在内的专业人士的崇高地位也就大打折扣。”
Rather than resisting or criticising this trend, increasing numbers of Australian doctors, particularly younger ones, are forming group practices with alternative therapists or taking courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism. Part of the incentive was financial, Dr Laver said. ‘The bottom line is that most general practitioners are business people. If they see potential clientele going elsewhere, they might want to be able to offer a similar service.’
越来越多的澳大利亚医生,特别是那些年轻一些的医师,非但没有抵制或是批判这样一个潮流,反而开始与另类疗法医师联合开业,或是干脆自己去学习相关课程,尤其是针灸和草药医学。Laver博士说,部分动机当然是出于经济考虑。“关键在于大多数全科医生都是商人。如果他们看到潜在的客户去别处看病,他们就想也要能提供类似的服务。”
In 1993, Dr Laver and his colleagues published a survey of 289 Sydney people who attended eight alternative therapists’ practices in Sydney. These practices offered a wide range of alternative therapies from 25 therapists. Those surveyed had experienced chronic illnesses, for which orthodox medicine had been able to provide little relief. They commented that they liked the holistic approach of their alternative therapists and the friendly, concerned and detailed attention they had received. The cold, impersonal manner of orthodox doctors featured in the survey. An increasing exodus from their clinics, coupled with this and a number of other relevant surveys carried out in Australia, all pointing to orthodox doctors’ inadequacies, have led mainstream doctors themselves to begin to admit they could learn from the personal style of alternative therapists. Dr. Patrick Store, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, concurs that orthodox doctors could learn a lot about bedside manner and advising patients on preventative health from alternative therapists.
1993年,Laver博士和他的同事们发表了一项调查报告,报告包括289名曾到8家另类疗法诊所寻求治疗的悉尼市民。这些诊所共有25名另类治疗师,提供相当广泛的另类疗法。接受调查的人都患有慢性疾病,正统疗法治疗对这些疾病的效果微乎其微。病人们评价说他们喜欢另类疗法医师所采取的全面的治疗手段,也喜欢那里友善热情、细致入微的关怀。这次调査揭示了正统医生的冷漠态度。病人从诊所中大批离去,加上其他一些相关的全国性调查的结果,矛头直指正统医生的不足之处,这就使得他们开始承认应该学习一下另类疗法医师的亲切态度。就连皇家医学院的Patrik Stone博士也赞同说,正统医生应该多学习另类疗法医师对待病人的态度,还有他们给病人的预防建议。
According to the Australian Journal of Public Health, 18% of patients visiting alternative therapists do so because they suffer from musculo-skeletal complaints; 12% suffer from digestive problems, which is only 1% more than those suffering from emotional problems. Those suffering from respiratory complaints represent 7% of their patients, and candida sufferers represent an equal percentage. Headache sufferers and those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and 5% of patients respectively, and a further 4% see therapists for general health maintenance.
根据《澳大利亚公共健康期刊》,18%的病人因为得了肌肉骨骼方面的疾病而去看另类医师;12%的人则是因为消化系统疾病,这个数字只比因为感情问题而去就医的人多1个百分点。呼吸系统疾病患者和假丝酵母过敏者各占7%。头疼就医者和整体感觉身体不适而就医者分别占到了6%和5%,还有4%的人看医生只是为了保持身体健康。
The survey suggested that complementary medicine is probably a better term than alternative medicine. Alternative medicine appears to be an adjunct, sought in times of disenchantment when conventional medicine seems not to offer the answer.
这项调查表明,与另类疗法这个字眼相比,互补疗法是个更为合适的称呼。前者听起来仿佛是正统疗法的附庸,一种只有当你对传统疗法的无能为力失望后,才会去追寻的东西。
Passage 3
参考译文
PLAY IS A SERIOUS BUSINESS
Does play help develop bigger, better brains? Bryant Furlow investigates
玩耍是件严肃的事
玩耍能否帮助大脑发育得更大更好?Bryant Furlow就此展开了调査。
A Playing is a serious business. Children engrossed in a make-believe world, fox cubs play-fighting or kittens teasing a ball of string aren’t just having fun. Play may look like a carefree and exuberant way to pass the time before the hard work of adulthood comes along, but there’s much more to it than that. For a start, play can even cost animals their lives. Eighty per cent of deaths among juvenile fur seals occur because playing pups fail to spot predators approaching. It is also extremely expensive in terms of energy. Playful young animals use around two or three per cent of their energy cavorting, and in children that figure can be closer to fifteen per cent. ‘Even two or three per cent is huge,’ says John Byers of Idaho University. ‘You just don’t find animals wasting energy like that,’ he adds. There must be a reason.
A玩耍是件严肃的事。孩子们沉溺在假想的世界中,狐狸幼崽儿嬉戏打闹,小猫玩线球,这些行为都不只是取乐而已。看上去玩耍是成人世界的辛苦工作到来之前,无忧无虑、精力充沛的消磨时光的方式,其实远非如此。首先,玩耍可能使动物们送命。比如,百分之八十的小海狗死亡都是因为玩耍中的小海狗没能看到接近的捕食者。玩耍也是相当消耗精力的。顽皮的小动物要花上百分之二三的精力来嬉戏打闹,而对于儿童而言,这个数字可以高达百分之十五。“就算只有百分之二三也是个不小的数目了。”Idaho大学的John Byers说道,“你很难发现动物们如此消耗精力。”Byers补充说。总有一定的原因使他们这么做。
B But if play is not simply a developmental hiccup, as biologists once thought, why did it evolve? The latest idea suggests that play has evolved to build big brains. In other words, playing makes you intelligent. Playfulness, it seems, is common only among mammals, although a few of the larger-brained birds also indulge. Animals at play often use unique signs — tail-wagging in dogs, for example — to indicate that activity superficially resembling adult behaviour is not really in earnest. A popular explanation of play has been that it helps juveniles develop the skills they will need to hunt, mate and socialise as adults. Another has been that it allows young animals to get in shape for adult life by improving their respiratory endurance. Both these ideas have been questioned in recent years.
B但是,如果玩耍不像生物学家们过去认为的那样,只是发育过程中的小插曲的话,那么到底是什么促使了玩耍的发展呢?最新的观点认为玩耍可以促进大脑的发育。换句话说,玩耍使你变得聪明。尽管一些脑子比较大的鸟类也沉溺其中,但玩耍好像还是只在哺乳动物中普遍存在。玩耍中的动物会用一些独特的标志——比如狗摇尾巴来表明这种简单模仿大动物行为的举动并不是玩真的。一种有关玩耍的普遍观点说,玩耍能帮助小动物发展成年之后捕猎、交配以及社交所需要的技能。另一个理论认为,通过增强小动物的呼吸耐力,玩耍可以帮助他们在体力上更适应成年生活。但是这两个理论近年来都遭到了置疑。
C Take the exercise theory. If play evolved to build muscle or as a kind of endurance training, then you would expect to see permanent benefits. But Byers points out that the benefits of increased exercise disappear rapidly after training stops, so any improvement in endurance resulting from juvenile play would be lost by adulthood. ‘If the function of play was to get into shape,’ says Byers, ‘the optimum time for playing would depend on when it was most advantageous for the young of a particular species to do so. But it doesn’t work like that.’ Across species, play tends to peak about halfway through the suckling stage and then decline.
C就拿锻炼理论来说吧。如果玩耍是为了增强肌肉,或是进行某种耐力训练,那么我们应该能够看到一些终生的效果。但是Byers指出,训练一结束,由增强训练所带来的好处就随之迅速消失了,所以,任何通过小时候的玩耍增强的耐力到了成年阶段就会消失殆尽了。“如果玩耍的作用就是使身体健康的话,”Byers说道,“那么玩耍的最佳时间就应该是对于某种小动物(身体发展)最有利的时间,但是,实际情况并非如此。”无论什么种群的动物,玩耍都倾向于在哺乳期的中期达到顶峰,然后则开始走下坡路。
D Then there’s the skills-training hypothesis. At first glance, playing animals do appear to be practising the complex manoeuvres they will need in adulthood. But a closer inspection reveals this interpretation as too simplistic. In one study, behavioural ecologist Tim Caro, from the University of California, looked at the predatory play of kittens and their predatory behaviour when they reached adulthood. He found that the way the cats played had no significant effect on their hunting prowess in later life.
D接着,我们又有了技能训练假说。乍看上去,玩耍的小动物好像是在练习那些成年时必须的复杂动作。但是,更为仔细的观察表明,这种解释把问题简单化了。在某项研究中,California大学的行为生态学家Tim Caro观察了小猫的捕食游戏以及它们成年之后的捕猎行为。他发现,小猫玩耍的方式对成年后的捕猎技能并没有太大的影响。
E Earlier this year, Sergio Pellis of Lethbridge University, Canada, reported that there is a strong positive link between brain size and playfulness among mammals in general. Comparing measurements for fifteen orders of mammal, he and his team found larger brains (for a given body size) are linked to greater playfulness. The converse was also found to be true. Robert Barton of Durham University believes that, because large brains are more sensitive to developmental stimuli than smaller brains, they require more play to help mould them for adulthood. ‘I concluded it’s to do with learning, and with the importance of environmental data to the brain during development,’ he says.
E今年早些时候,加拿大Lethbridge大学的Sergio Pellis公布说,哺乳动物的玩耍与他们大脑的大小往往成正比。在比较了十五种哺乳动物的测量数据之后,Sergio和他的研究小组发现,更多的玩耍会造就大一些的脑子(与身体大小比较而言),而且这个理论反过来也成立。Durham大学的Robert Barton认为,由于大一座的脑子比小一些的脑子对发育刺激更敏感,因此它们需要更多的玩耍来促进它们发育至成年期。他说:“我的结论是,玩耍与学习有关,也与大脑发育过程中环境资料的重要性有关。”
F According to Byers, the timing of the playful stage in young animals provides an important clue to what’s going on. If you plot the amount of time a juvenile devotes to play each day over the course of its development, you discover a pattern typically associated with a ‘sensitive period’ — a brief development window during which the brain can actually be modified in ways that are not possible earlier or later in life. Think of the relative ease with which young children — but not infants or adults — absorb language. Other researchers have found that play in cats, rats and mice is at its most intense just as this ‘window of opportunity’ reaches its peak.
F根据Byers的理论,对于小动物而言,玩耍期的时机对未来的发展至关重要。如果你用图表来表明在发育期间,小动物每天用于玩耍的时间的话,就会发现一种一般与“敏感期”相关联的模式。所谓“敏感期”指的是发育过程中一个短暂的阶段,在这一阶段中,大脑会获得此前和此后都不可能获得的改变。想想孩子们在学习语言时那种婴儿们和大人们都无法做到的得心应手吧。其他学者也发现,猫、田鼠和家鼠最爱玩耍的时期恰好是这扇“机会之窗”达到峰值的时候。
G ‘People have not paid enough attention to the amount of the brain activated by play,’ says Marc Bekoff from Colorado University. Bekoff studied coyote pups at play and found that the kind of behaviour involved was markedly more variable and unpredictable than that of adults. Such behaviour activates many different parts of the brain, he reasons. Bekoff likens it to a behavioural kaleidoscope, with animals at play jumping rapidly between activities. ‘They use behaviour from a lot of different contexts — predation, aggression, reproduction,’ he says. ‘Their developing brain is getting all sorts of stimulation.’
G“人们没有充分注意到玩耍激活了大脑多少部件。”Colorado大学的Marc Bekoff说。Becoff研究了玩要的小土狼,发现其中所涉及的行为显然比成年土狼的花样更多,更不可预测。他推断,这样的行为能激活大脑许多不同的部分。由于动物们在玩耍时行为总是迅速地变换,Becoff将玩耍比喻为一个行为万花筒。“他们会做出不同环境所需要的动作——捕猎,进攻,繁殖等,而他们正在发育的大脑获得了各种各样的刺激。”
H Not only is more of the brain involved in play than was suspected, but it also seems to activate higher cognitive processes. ‘There’s enormous cognitive involvement in play,’ says Bekoff. He points out that play often involves complex assessments of playmates, ideas of reciprocity and the use of specialised signals and rules. He believes that play creates a brain that has greater behavioural flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life. The idea is backed up by the work of Stephen Siviy of Gettysburg College. Siviy studied how bouts of play affected the brain’s levels of a particular chemical associated with the stimulation and growth of nerve cells. He was surprised by the extent of the activation. ‘Play just lights everything up,’ he says. By allowing link-ups between brain areas that might not normally communicate with each other, play may enhance creativity.
H大脑不仅比猜想中更多地参与玩耍,而且好像还能够激活更髙级的认知过程。“玩耍中有很多的认知成分。”Becoff指出。玩耍通常包括对玩伴的评估,互相依存的观念,以及恃殊标志及规则的使用。他认为玩耍会创造一个更具行为灵活性,在今后生活中更多学习潜力的大脑。这一观点得到了Gettysburg学院Stephen Siviy研究结果的支持。Siviy认为玩耍能够影响大脑中一种特殊化学物质的分泌,这种物质会刺激神经细胞生长。他被这种刺激可能达到的程度吓了一跳。“玩耍使一切都变得活泼起来。”通过使大脑中不常交流的部分产生联系,玩耍也许会提髙创造力。
I What might further experimentation suggest about the way children are raised in many societies today? We already know that rat pups denied the chance to play grow smaller brain components and fail to develop the ability to apply social rules when they interact with their peers. With schooling beginning earlier and becoming increasingly exam-orientated, play is likely to get even less of a look-in. Who knows what the result of that will be?
I进一步的实验又会对如今许多社会中,孩子们被养育的方式有何影响呢?我们已经知道,没有机会玩耍的小老鼠,大脑各部分发育得比较小,同时也不具备运用社会规则与其他小老鼠交流的能力。在上学年龄越来越早,学校教育越来越应试化的今天,大家对玩耍的作用不屑一顾。谁会知道这样做会带来什么样的影响呢?
剑桥雅思阅读4原文解析(test2)
Question 1
答案:isolation
关键词:6800/variety of language/geographical
定位原文:第3段第1句“Isolation breeds linguistic diversity: as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by only a few people.”
解题思路:根据这句话可知,语言多样性是由于地理上的isolation。
Question 2
答案:economic globalization/globalization/socio-economic pressures
关键词:government/huge decrease
定位原文:第5段第4句“…the deadliest weapon is not government policy but economic pressures...”
解题思路:本题目要看清楚问的是语言消失的原因,and表示并列,因此空中应该填与government initiatives对等的原因,而文中第五段前半部分提到政府政策对语言的影响,但是科学家们也指出,真正致命的原因是社会经济压力。
Question 3
答案:cultural identity
关键词:Increasing appr?eciation/language classes
定位原文:第7段第2句话“But a growing interest in cultural identity may prevent the direst predictions from coming true.”
解题思路:“increasing appreciation”和文中的“growing interest”是同义替换,故正确答案是cultural identity。”
Question 4
答案:traditional skill
关键词:‘apprentice’/teach/a
定位原文:第7段倒数第4句“Volunteer 'apprentices' pair up with one of the last living speakers of a Native American tongue to learn a traditional skill such as basket weaving, with instruction exclusively in the endangered language.”
解题思路:“apprentice”做为定位词,题干这句话的意思是在学徒计划中,濒危语言被用来作为载体来教授人们一种……,文中的“learn”与“teach”在意思上有关联,而不定冠词“a”之后要填一个专有名词。
Question 5
答案:E
关键词:more than one...
定位原文:第7段第4句“Most of these languages will not survive without a large bilingualism…”
解题思路:题干这句话正好跟文中这句话表达的是相同的意思,而文中有这个观点的正是E选项。
Question 6
答案:B
关键词:in itself
定位原文:“But Mufwene says that preventing a language dying out is not the same as giving it new life by using it every day。”
解题思路:通过这句话可以推测,保护语言本身并不是目标,如何让语言活起来才是真正目的。故正确答案为B。
Question 7
答案:D
关键词:think/determine
定位原文:第6段倒数第2句“‘Your brain and mine are different from the brain of someone who speaks French, for instance,’ Pagel says, and this could affect our thoughts and perceptions. ‘The patterns and connections we make among various concepts may be structured by the linguistic habits of our community.’”
解题思路:这句话话当中提到了说英语的人的大脑与说法语的人大脑的不同,随后提出语言会影响我们的想法和观点。
Question 8
答案:C
关键词:reject/established/way of life
定位原文:第4段最后一句“People lose faith in their culture, When the next generation reaches their teens, they might not want to be induced into the old traditions.”
解题思路:题干句子意思是“年轻人经常会拒绝接受社会约定俗成的生活方式”,正好与文中这句话“语言的转化意味着传统文化的消失”表达的意思一致。
Question 9
答案:B
关键词:loss
定位原文:第6段第2句“If a person shifts from Navajo to English, they lose something…”
解题思路:文中的shift等同于题目当中的change,而传统文化的存在正意味着人们可以采用不同的观点来看待这个世界。
Question 10
答案:NO
关键词:Navajo
定位原文:第3段第4句话“Navajo is considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers. What makes a language endangered is not just the number of speakers, but how old they are.”
解题思路:这句话说有15万人在使用那瓦霍语,证明使用者并不是很少,在接下来的一句话当中,作者又表明使语言濒临灭绝的真正原因并不是说的人少,而是说的人太老。
Question 11
答案:YES
关键词:a large number of
定位原文:第3段第4句话“Navajo is considered endangered despite having 150,000 speakers.”
解题思路:根据文中给出的证据,即有15万人说那瓦霍语,但是这门语言仍然濒临灭绝,作者推出了题中的结论,这个结论是正确的。
Question 12
答案:NOT GIVEN
关键词:government
定位原文:第5段
解题思路:文中第五段提到了政府,主要是指出政府的政策也是导致语言濒危的原因,但是此后就并未对政府的作用再多做叙述,而是转而论述社会经济压力的重要性。本题是典型的节外生枝型。
Question 13
答案:YES
关键词:linguistic diversity
定位原文:第7段第1句“So despite linguists' best efforts, many languages will disappear over the next century.”
解题思路:这句话表明尽管语言学家已经竭尽全力,但是许多语言到了下个世纪还是会消失。这句话就表明语言多样性的消失是不可避免的。
定位原文:第3段第1句“Isolation breeds linguistic diversity: as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by only a few people.”
Question 14
答案:C
关键词:Western
定位原文:第1段第1句“Australia has been unusual in the Western world in having a very conservative attitude to natural or alternative therapies, according to Dr Paul Laver, a lecturer in Public Health at the University of Sydney.”
解题思路:A答案说澳大利亚医生与制药公司关系紧密,属于完全未提及型答案。B答案认为澳大利亚医生总是和其他医师一同工作,与文中所说的事实恰好相反。D答案说澳大利亚医生会开出另类处方,这也是不正确的。只有C答案与文章叙述相符。
Question 15
答案:B
关键词:Americans
定位原文:第1段倒数第1句“Americans made more visits to alternative therapists than to orthodox doctors in 1990, and each year they spend about $US 12 billion on therapies that have not been scientifically tested.”
解题思路:文中这句话说1990年美国人去看另类疗法医师的次数比去看传统医生的次数还多。所以答案B是正确的。而A、C和D答案中提到的比较关系并不存在。
Question 16
答案:YES
关键词:20 years
定位原文:第2段第1句“Disenchantment with orthodox medicine has seen the popularity of alternative therapies in Australia climb steadily during the past 20 years.”
解题思路:在过去20年中,由于人们对传统医疗不再迷信,另类疗法在澳大利亚慢慢流行起来。这句话就证明在过去20年里,比以往更多的澳大利亚人开始相信另类疗法。
Question 17
答案:NO
关键词:1983/1990/ a further 8%
定位原文:第2段第2句话和第3句话“In a 1983 national health survey, 1.9% of people said they had contacted a chiropractor, naturopath, osteopath, acupuncturist or herbalist in the two weeks prior to the survey. By 1990, this figure had risen to 2.6% of the population.”
解题思路:在1983年的调査中,约有1.9%的人说他们曾经看过另类疗法医师,到了1990年,这个数字上升到了总人口的2.6%。如果做减法的话,实际上人数上升了将近0.7个百分点,因此题目中所说的增加8%是错误的。
Question 18
答案:YES
关键词:550,000
定位原文:第2段第4句话“The 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists reported in the 1990 survey represented about an eighth of…”
解题思路:题干这句话刚好和定位句的“The 550,000 consultations with alternative therapists”表达的是同样的意思,因此是正确的。
Question 19
答案:YES
关键词:had a higher opinion of...
定位原文:第2段最后一句“The high standing of professionals, including doctors, has been eroded as a consequence.”
解题思路:这句话说的是包括医生在内的专业人士的崇高地位也就大打折扣。这句话的含义就是澳大利亚人以前对医生等专业人士有较高的评价,而现在这种观点已经遭受损害。
Question 20
答案:YES
关键词:Australian doctors
定位原文:第3段第1句“Rather than resisting or criticising this trend, increasing numbers of Australian doctors, particularly younger ones, are forming group practices with alternative therapists or taking courses themselves, particularly in acupuncture and herbalism.”
解题思路:这句话表明澳大利亚正统医生正在接受另类疗法培训,相对于以前他们接受的正统医疗培训来说,这次培训无疑是一种再培训。
Question 21
答案:NOT GIVEN
关键词:salaries
定位原文:第3段
解题思路:并不存在的比较关系是TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN题解题的一条黄金法则。尤其当作者将两者进行简单肤浅比较的时候,一般答案都是NOT GIVEN。文中没有任何地方提到两种医生的薪水,因此正确答案是NOT GIVEN。
Question 22
答案:YES
关键词:1993/289
定位原文:第4段首句和第二句“In 1993, Dr Laver and his colleagues published a survey of 289 Sydney people who attended eight alternative therapists' practices in Sydney. These practices offered a wide range of alternative therapies from 25 therapists.”
解题思路:89名病患去看病的这8家诊所提供各种各样的另类疗法服务,这其中也许包括针灸疗法,但是如果说这289名病人都是去做针灸的,就未免有些以偏概全了。
Question 23
答案:NO
关键词:1993/long-term
定位原文:第4段第3句“Those surveyed had experienced chronic illnesses, for which orthodox medicine had been able to provide little relief.”
解题思路:chronic是“长期的,慢性的”意思,complaints在此处不是“抱怨,投诉”的意思,而是指疾病。
Question 24
答案:emotional/emotional problems
关键词:10%-15%
定位原文:第5段第1句“12% suffer from digestive problems, which is only 1% more than those suffering from emotional problems.”
解题思路:目测该数字应该在10%和15%之间,在第五段寻找这样一个数字,结果发现12%所对应的是digestive一词,但是,很快我们会发现Digestive已经出现在了表格上,所以答案应该是比12%少一个百分点的emotional/emotional problems。
Question 25
答案:headache
关键词:5%-10%
定位原文:第5段最后一句“Headache sufferers and those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and 5% of patients respectively…”
解题思路:该疾病所对应的数字应该在5%和10%之间,而且应该比第26空更接近10%。所以可以回第五段找两个相近并且都接近10%的数字,结果发现了6%和5%,故此空应该填:headache。
Question 26
答案:general ill health
关键词:5%
定位原文:第5段最后一句“Headache sufferers and those complaining of general ill health represent 6% and 5% of patients respectively…”
解题思路:该疾病对应数字是5%,故应该填general ill health。
Question 27
答案:H
关键词:unusual connection
定位原文:H段最后1句“By allowing link-ups between brain areas that might not normally communicate with each other, play may enhance creativity.”
解题思路:link-up等于connection,后面的play may enhance creativity证明这种不寻常的联系是有好处的。
Question 28
答案:F
关键词:record/time
定位原文:F段第2句“If you plot the amount of time...”
解题思路:这个heading的意思是由记录小动物玩耍的时间而得到的见解,关键词是时间,回到文章当中寻找对应词时,只有这个段落提到了时间。plot一词是用图表记录的意思,在这里就等同于record。
Question 29
答案:A
关键词:physical hazard
定位原文:A段第4句之后“For a start, play can even cost animals their lives. Eighty per cent of deaths among juvenile fur seals…”
解题思路:问题是问哪一段包含有对玩要带来的危险的描述。文章中只有在第一段中谈到了玩要可能带来的危险,而且还举出了小海狗的例子来说明这种危险的存在。
Question 30
答案:H
关键词:mental/exercise/develop
定位原文:H段前3句“Not only is more of the brain involved in play than was suspected, but it also seems to activate higher… and rules.”
解题思路:mental activity是大脑活动的意思,问题问的是在玩耍过程当中,哪些大脑活动得到了练习和发展。
Question 31
答案:I
关键词:effects/reduction
定位原文:I段首句和2句“What might further experimentation… with their peers.”
解题思路:问题问得是哪一段包含了这样的内容:减少玩耍机会可能对儿童造成的影响。在最后一段中,作者谈到了被剥夺了玩耍机会的小老鼠大脑就发育的不好,并且用一个设问句表明了他对人类儿童的忧虑。而且一般来讲,含有effect的段意都是对应文章的最后一段。
Question 32
答案:B
关键词:class/animals
定位原文:B段第4句“Playfulness, it seems, is common only among mammals...”
解题思路:B段中提到了玩要在哺乳动物中很普遍,而且在有些鸟类当中也存在,即提到了各种各样的动物。一些同学会在E段当中看到fifteen orders of mammals一词,不过仔细读下来,E段的主要意思是在讲哺乳动物中大脑大小和玩耍之间的关系,并不是说玩耍对哪种动物重要。故答案选B。
Question 33-35
答案:ACF(IN EITHER ORDER)
Question 33
答案:A
关键词:rehearsal/adult
定位原文:B段倒数第2句“A popular explanation of play has been that it helps juvenile develop the skills they will need to hunt, mate and socialize as adults.”
解题思路:这段中提到了帮助青少年培养作为成年人需要的一些技能,所以A选项正确。
Question 34
答案:C
关键词:build up strength
定位原文:B 段最后一句“Another has been that it allows young animals to get in shape for adult life...”
解题思路:“使年轻的动物保持体形”与C选项对应。
Question 35
答案:F
关键词:organ growth
定位原文:E段首句:“...reported that there is a strong positive link between brain size and playfulness…”
解题思路:“在脑部大小与玩耍之间有正面的关联”与F选项对应。
Question 36
答案:B
关键词:Robert Barton
定位原文:E段倒数第2句和末句 “Robert Barton of Durham University …I concluded it's to do with learning,and with the importance of environmental data to...”
解题思路:Barton认为玩耍与学习有关,也与大脑发育过程中环境资料的重要性有关。Environmental data可以与physical surroundings对应。
Question 37
答案:G
关键词:Marc Becoff
定位原文:G 段第4句“Bekoff likens it to a behavioural kaleidoscope...”
解题思路:Becoff将玩耍比喻为一个行为万花筒,这句话也就是说在玩耍当中动物会做出各种各样的举动,正好和G选项中的a wide range of相对应。
Question 38
答案:E
关键词:John Byers
定位原文:C段第2句“Byers points out that the benefits of increased exercise disappear rapidly after training stops, so...”
解题思路:Byers认为训练一结束,由增强训练所带来的好处就跟着迅速消失了,无论什么种群的动物,玩耍都倾向于在哺乳期的中期达到顶峰,然后则开始走了下坡路。这就与E答案观点—致。
Question 39
答案:D
关键词:Sergio Pellis
定位原文:E段第1句“...reported that there is a strong positive link between brain size and playfulness among mammals in general.”
解题思路:Pellis认为哺乳动物的玩耍量与他们大脑的大小往往成正比。所以玩耍比较少的动物脑子也比较小。
定位原文:第3段第1句“Isolation breeds linguistic diversity: as a result, the world is peppered with languages spoken by only a few people.”
Question 40
答案:A
关键词:Stephen Siviy
定位原文:H段第6句“Siviy studied how bouts of play affected the brain's levels of a particular chemical associated with..”
解题思路:Siviy认为玩耍能够影响大脑中一种特殊化学物质,这种物质会刺激神经细胞生长。答案选A。
剑桥雅思阅读4(test2)原文翻译及答案解析
篇8:剑桥雅思阅读6(test3)原文翻译答案
剑桥雅思阅读6原文(test3)
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
A The Lumiere Brothers opened their Cinematographe, at 14 Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, to 100 paying customers over 100 years ago, on December 8, 1895. Before the eyes of the stunned, thrilled audience, photographs came to life and moved across a flat screen.
B So ordinary and routine has this become to us that it takes a determined leap of the imagination to grasp the impact of those first moving images. But it is worth trying, for to understand the initial shock of those images is to understand the extraordinary power and magic of cinema, the unique, hypnotic quality that has made film the most dynamic, effective art form of the 20th century.
C One of the Lumiere Brothers’ earliest films was a 30-second piece which showed a section of a railway platform flooded with sunshine. A train appears and heads straight for the camera. And that is all that happens. Yet the Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, one of the greatest of all film artists, described the film as a ‘work of genius’. ‘As the train approached,’ wrote Tarkovsky, ‘panic started in the theatre: people jumped and ran away. That was the moment when cinema was born. The frightened audience could not accept that they were watching a mere picture. Pictures were still, only reality moved; this must, therefore, be reality. In their confusion, they feared that a real train was about to crush them.’
D Early cinema audiences often experienced the same confusion. In time, the idea of film became familiar, the magic was accepted — but it never stopped being magic. Film has never lost its unique power to embrace its audiences and transport them to a different world. For Tarkovsky, the key to that magic was the way in which cinema created a dynamic image of the real flow of events. A still picture could only imply the existence of time, while time in a novel passed at the whim of the reader. But in cinema, the real, objective flow of time was captured.
E One effect of this realism was to educate the world about itself. For cinema makes the world smaller. Long before people travelled to America or anywhere else, they knew what other places looked like; they knew how other people worked and lived. Overwhelmingly, the lives recorded — at least in film fiction — have been American. From the earliest days of the industry, Hollywood has dominated the world film market. American imagery — the cars, the cities, the cowboys — became the primary imagery of film. Film carried American life and values around the globe.
F And, thanks to film, future generations will know the 20th century more intimately than any other period. We can only imagine what life was like in the 14th century or in classical Greece. But the life of the modern world has been recorded on film in massive, encyclopedic detail. We shall be known better than any preceding generations.
G The ‘star’ was another natural consequence of cinema. The cinema star was effectively born in 1910. Film personalities have such an immediate presence that, inevitably, they become super-real. Because we watch them so closely and because everybody in the world seems to know who they are, they appear more real to us than we do ourselves. The star as magnified human self is one of cinema’s most strange and enduring legacies.
H Cinema has also given a new lease of life to the idea of the story. When the Lumiere Brothers and other pioneers began showing off this new invention, it was by no means obvious how it would be used. All that mattered at first was the wonder of movement. Indeed, some said that, once this novelty had worn off, cinema would fade away. It was no more than a passing gimmick, a fairground attraction.
I Cinema might, for example, have become primarily a documentary form. Or it might have developed like television — as a strange, noisy transfer of music, information and narrative. But what happened was that it became, overwhelmingly, a medium for telling stories. Originally these were conceived as short stories — early producers doubted the ability of audiences to concentrate for more than the length of a reel. Then, in 1912, an Italian 2-hour film was hugely successful, and Hollywood settled upon the novel-length narrative that remains the dominant cinematic convention of today.
J And it has all happened so quickly. Almost unbelievably, it is a mere 100 years since that train arrived and the audience screamed and fled, convinced by the dangerous reality of what they saw, and, perhaps, suddenly aware that the world could never be the same again — that, maybe, it could be better, brighter, more astonishing, more real than reality.
Questions 1-5
Reading Passage 1 has ten paragraphs, A-J.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.
1 the location of the first cinema
2 how cinema came to focus on stories
3 the speed with which cinema has changed
4 how cinema teaches us about other cultures
5 the attraction of actors in films
Questions 6-9
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
6 It is important to understand how the first audiences reacted to the cinema.
7 The Lumiere Brothers’ film about the train was one of the greatest films ever made.
8 Cinema presents a biased view of other countries.
9 Storylines were important in very early cinema.
Questions 10-13
Choose the correct letter, A B, C to D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.
10 The writer refers to the film of the train in order to demonstrate
A the simplicity of early films.
B the impact of early films.
C how short early films were.
D how imaginative early films were.
11 In Tarkovsky’s opinion, the attraction of the cinema is that it
A aims to impress its audience.
B tells stories better than books.
C illustrates the passing of time.
D describes familiar events.
12 When cinema first began, people thought that
A it would always tell stories.
B it should be used in fairgrounds.
C its audiences were unappreciative.
D its future was uncertain.
13 What is the best title for this passage?
A The rise of the cinema star
B Cinema and novels compared
C The domination of Hollywood
D The power of the big screen
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27, which are based on Reading Passage 2 on the following pages.
Questions 14-18
Reading Passage 2 contains six Key Points.
Choose the correct heading for Key Points TWO to SIX from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-viii, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i Ensure the reward system is fair
ii Match rewards to individuals
iii Ensure targets are realistic
iv Link rewards to achievement
v Encourage managers to take more responsibility
vi Recognise changes in employees’ performance over time
vii Establish targets and give feedback
viii Ensure employees are suited to their jobs
Example Answer
Key Point One Viii
14 Key Point Two
15 Key Point Three
16 Key Point Four
17 Key Point Five
18 Key Point Six
Motivating Employees under
Adverse Conditions
THE CHALLENGE
It is a great deal easier to motivate employees in a growing organisation than a declining one. When organisations are expanding and adding personnel, promotional opportunities, pay rises, and the excitement of being associated with a dynamic organisation create feelings of optimism. Management is able to use the growth to entice and encourage employees. When an organisation is shrinking, the best and most mobile workers are prone to leave voluntarily. Unfortunately, they are the ones the organisation can least afford to lose — those with the highest skills and experience. The minor employees remain because their job options are limited.
Morale also suffers during decline. People fear they may be the next to be made redundant. Productivity often suffers, as employees spend their time sharing rumours and providing one another with moral support rather than focusing on their jobs. For those whose jobs are secure, pay increases are rarely possible. Pay cuts, unheard of during times of growth, may even be imposed. The challenge to management is how to motivate employees under such retrenchment conditions. The ways of meeting this challenge can be broadly divided into six Key Points, which are outlined below.
KEY POINT ONE
There is an abundance of evidence to support the motivational benefits that result from carefully matching people to jobs. For example, if the job is running a small business or an autonomous unit within a larger business, high achievers should be sought. However, if the job to be filled is a managerial post in a large bureaucratic organisation, a candidate who has a high need for power and a low need for affiliation should be selected. Accordingly, high achievers should not be put into jobs that are inconsistent with their needs. High achievers will do best when the job provides moderately challenging goals and where there is independence and feedback. However, it should be remembered that not everybody is motivated by jobs that are high in independence, variety and responsibility.
KEY POINT TWO
The literature on goal-setting theory suggests that managers should ensure that all employees have specific goals and receive comments on how well they are doing in those goals. For those with high achievement needs, typically a minority in any organisation, the existence of external goals is less important because high achievers are already internally motivated. The next factor to be determined is whether the goals should be assigned by a manager or collectively set in conjunction with the employees. The answer to that depends on perceptions of goal acceptance and the organisation’s culture. If resistance to goals is expected, the use of participation in goal-setting should increase acceptance. If participation is inconsistent with the culture, however, goals should be assigned. If participation and the culture are incongruous, employees are likely to perceive the participation process as manipulative and be negatively affected by it.
KEY POINT THREE
Regardless of whether goals are achievable or well within management’s perceptions of the employee’s ability, if employees see them as unachievable they will reduce their effort. Managers must be sure, therefore, that employees feel confident that their efforts can lead to performance goals. For managers, this means that employees must have the capability of doing the job and must regard the appraisal process as valid.
KEY POINT FOUR
Since employees have different needs, what acts as a reinforcement for one may not for another. Managers could use their knowledge of each employee to personalise the rewards over which they have control. Some of the more obvious rewards that managers allocate include pay, promotions, autonomy, job scope and depth, and the opportunity to participate in goal-setting and decision-making.
KEY POINT FIVE
Managers need to make rewards contingent on performance. To reward factors other than performance will only reinforce those other factors. Key rewards such as pay increases and promotions or advancements should be allocated for the attainment of the employee’s specific goals. Consistent with maximising the impact of rewards, managers should look for ways to increase their visibility. Eliminating the secrecy surrounding pay by openly communicating everyone’s remuneration, publicising performance bonuses and allocating annual salary increases in a lump sum rather than spreading them out over an entire year are examples of actions that will make rewards more visible and potentially more motivating.
KEY POINT SIX
The way rewards are distributed should be transparent so that employees perceive that rewards or outcomes are equitable and equal to the inputs given. On a simplistic level, experience, abilities, effort and other obvious inputs should explain differences in pay, responsibility and other obvious outcomes. The problem, however, is complicated by the existence of dozens of inputs and outcomes and by the fact that employee groups place different degrees of importance on them. For instance, a study comparing clerical and production workers identified nearly twenty inputs and outcomes. The clerical workers considered factors such as quality of work performed and job knowledge near the top of their list, but these were at the bottom of the production workers’ list. Similarly, production workers thought that the most important inputs were intelligence and personal involvement with task accomplishment, two factors that were quite low in the importance ratings of the clerks. There were also important, though less dramatic, differences on the outcome side. For example, production workers rated advancement very highly, whereas clerical workers rated advancement in the lower third of their list. Such findings suggest that one person’s equity is another’s inequity, so an ideal should probably weigh different inputs and outcomes according to employee group.
Questions 19-24
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 27?
In boxes 19-24 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
19 A shrinking organization tends to lose its less skilled employees rather than its more skilled employees.
20 It is easier to manage a small business than a large business.
21 High achievers are well suited to team work.
22 Some employees can feel manipulated when asked to participate in goal-setting.
23 The staff appraisal process should be designed by employees.
24 Employees’ earnings should be disclosed to everyone within the organization.
Questions 25-27
Look at the following groups of workers (Questions 25-27) and the list of descriptions below.
Match each group with the correct description, A-E.
Write the correct letter, A-E, in boxes 25-27 on your answer sheet.
25 high achievers
26 clerical workers
27 production workers
List of Descriptions
A They judge promotion to be important.
B They have less need of external goals.
C They think that the quality of their work is important.
D They resist goals which are imposed.
E They have limited job options.
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
The Search for the Anti-aging Pill
In government laboratories and elsewhere, scientists are seeking a drug able to prolong life and youthful vigor. Studies of caloric restriction are showing the way
As researchers on aging noted recently, no treatment on the market today has been proved to slow human aging — the build-up of molecular and cellular damage that increases vulnerability to infirmity as we grow older. But one intervention, consumption of a low-calorie_et nutritionally balanced diet, works incredibly well in a broad range of animals, increasing longevity and prolonging good health. Those findings suggest that caloric restriction could delay aging and increase longevity in humans, too.
Unfortunately, for maximum benefit, people would probably have to reduce their caloric intake by roughly thirty per cent, equivalent to dropping from 2,500 calories a day to 1,750. Few mortals could stick to that harsh a regimen, especially for years on end. But what if someone could create a pill that mimicked the physiological effects of eating less without actually forcing people to eat less? Could such a ‘caloric-restriction mimetic’, as we call it, enable people to stay healthy longer, postponing age-related disorders (such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis, heart disease and cancer) until very late in life? Scientists first posed this question in the mid-1990s, after researchers came upon a chemical agent that in rodents seemed to reproduce many of caloric restriction’s benefits. No compound that would safely achieve the same feat in people has been found yet, but the search has been informative and has fanned hope that caloric-restriction (CR) mimetics can indeed be developed eventually.
The benefits of caloric restriction
The hunt for CR mimetics grew out of a desire to better understand caloric restriction’s many effects on the body. Scientists first recognized the value of the practice more than 60 years ago, when they found that rats fed a low-calorie diet lived longer on average than free-feeding rats and also had a reduced incidence of conditions that become increasingly common in old age. What is more, some of the treated animals survived longer than the oldest-living animals in the control group, which means that the maximum lifespan (the oldest attainable age), not merely the normal lifespan, increased. Various interventions, such as infection-fighting drugs, can increase a population’s average survival time, but only approaches that slow the body’s rate of aging will increase the maximum lifespan.
The rat findings have been replicated many times and extended to creatures ranging from yeast to fruit flies, worms, fish, spiders, mice and hamsters. Until fairly recently, the studies were limited to short-lived creatures genetically distant from humans. But caloric-restriction projects underway in two species more closely related to humans — rhesus and squirrel monkeys — have made scientists optimistic that CR mimetics could help people.
calorie: a measure of the energy value of food
The monkey projects demonstrate that, compared with control animals that eat normally, caloric-restricted monkeys have lower body temperatures and levels of the pancreatic hormone insulin, and they retain more youthful levels of certain hormones that tend to fall with age.
The caloric-restricted animals also look better on indicators of risk for age-related diseases. For example, they have lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels (signifying a decreased likelihood of heart disease), and they have more normal blood glucose levels (pointing to a reduced risk for diabetes, which is marked by unusually high blood glucose levels). Further, it has recently been shown that rhesus monkeys kept on caloric-restricted diets for an extended time (nearly 15 years) have less chronic disease. They and the other monkeys must be followed still longer, however, to know whether low-calorie intake can increase both average and maximum life spans in monkeys. Unlike the multitude of elixirs being touted as the latest anti-aging cure, CR mimetics would alter fundamental processes that underlie aging. We aim to develop compounds that fool cells into activating maintenance and repair.
How a prototype caloric-restriction mimetic works
The best-studied candidate for a caloric-restriction mimetic, 2DG (2-deoxy-D-glucose), works by interfering with the way cells process glucose. It has proved toxic at some doses in animals and so cannot be used in humans. But it has demonstrated that chemicals can replicate the effects of caloric restriction; the trick is finding the right one.
Cells use the glucose from food to generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the molecule that powers many activities in the body. By limiting food intake, caloric restriction minimizes the amount of glucose entering cells and decreases ATP generation. When 2DG is administered to animals that eat normally, glucose reaches cells in abundance but the drug prevents most of it from being processed and thus reduces ATP synthesis. Researchers have proposed several explanations for why interruption of glucose processing and ATP production might retard aging. One possibility relates to the ATP-making machinery’s emission of free radicals, which are thought to contribute to aging and to such age-related diseases as cancer by damaging cells. Reduced operation of the machinery should limit their production and thereby constrain the damage. Another hypothesis suggests that decreased processing of glucose could indicate to cells that food is scarce (even if it isn’t) and induce them to shift into an anti-aging mode that emphasizes preservation of the organism over such ‘luxuries’ as growth and reproduction.
Questions 28-32
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 3?
In boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
28 Studies show drugs available today can delay the process of growing old.
29 There is scientific evidence that eating fewer calories may extend human life.
30 Not many people are likely to find a caloric-restricted diet attractive.
31 Diet-related diseases are common in older people.
32 In experiments, rats who ate what they wanted led shorter liver than rats on a low-calorie diet.
Questions 33-37
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 than average life span.
36 Monkeys enjoyed a reduced chance of heart disease.
37 Monkeys produced greater quantities of insulin.
Questions 38-40
Complete the flow-chart below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 38-40 on your answer sheet.
How a caloric-restriction mimetic works
CR mimetic
Less 38..............is processed
Production of ATP is decreased
Theory 1: Theory 2:
Cells less damaged by disease because Cells focus on 40..............because
fewer 39..............are emitted food is in short supply
剑桥雅思阅读6原文参考译文(test3)
PASSAGE 1 参考译文:
A The Lumiere Brothers opened their Cinematographe, at 14 Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, to 100 paying customers over 100 years ago, on December 8, 1895. Before the eyes of the stunned, thrilled audience, photographs came to life and moved across a flat screen.
A 一百多年前,在1895年12月8日,吕米埃兄弟在巴黎嘉布欣大道14号向100名买票人场的观众放映了他们制作的电影。在目瞪口呆、惊恐颤抖的观众面前,一张张照片活动起来并在平面的银幕上穿梭而过。
B So ordinary and routine has this become to us that it takes a determined leap of the imagination to grasp the impact of those first moving images. But it is worth trying, for to understand the initial shock of those images is to understand the extraordinary power and magic of cinema, the unique, hypnotic quality that has made film the most dynamic, effective art form of the 20th century.
B 看电影对于我们来说是司空见惯的事,所以要理解这些活动的画面最初产生的影响,想象力非得来次巨大的飞跃不可。然而这值得一试,因为理解了这些影像最初带来的震撼,就可以理解电影非同寻常的力量和魔力,理解为什么电影具有独特而迷人的品质。正是这种品质,使电影成为20世纪最具有活力和感染力的艺术形式。
C One of the Lumiere Brothers’ earliest films was a 30-second piece which showed a section of a railway platform flooded with sunshine. A train appears and heads straight for the camera. And that is all that happens. Yet the Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, one of the greatest of all film artists, described the film as a ‘work of genius’. ‘As the train approached,’ wrote Tarkovsky, ‘panic started in the theatre: people jumped and ran away. That was the moment when cinema was born. The frightened audience could not accept that they were watching a mere picture. Pictures were still, only reality moved; this must, therefore, be reality. In their confusion, they feared that a real train was about to crush them.’
C 吕米埃兄弟的早期电影作品之一是一部30秒长的短片,表现了一段沐浴在阳光下的火车月台的场景。一辆火车出现了,并且直冲镜头开来。这就是电影的全部。然而,杰出的电影艺术家俄罗斯导演安德列·塔科夫斯基却称其为“天才之作”。他写道:“随着火车不断驶近,影院里呈现出一片慌恐的景象:人们跳离座位,四散而逃。就在这一刻,电影宣告诞生。恐惧的观众无法相信他们看到的仅仅是一幅图画。图画是静止的,只有现实中的事物才会运动;因此,这一定是现实。在疑惑迷茫之中,观众担心一列真正的火车将会把他们轧得粉身碎骨。”
D Early cinema audiences often experienced the same confusion. In time, the idea of film became familiar, the magic was accepted — but it never stopped being magic. Film has never lost its unique power to embrace its audiences and transport them to a different world. For Tarkovsky, the key to that magic was the way in which cinema created a dynamic image of the real flow of events. A still picture could only imply the existence of time, while time in a novel passed at the whim of the reader. But in cinema, the real, objective flow of time was captured.
D 早期的电影观众们经常会有同样的迷茫。随着时间的推移,电影这一概念为人们所熟知,电影的魔力也广为人们接受,但电影的魔力并没有因此而消失。电影不断地以其独特的力量去感染观众并将他们带人一个不同寻常的世界。对塔科夫斯基而言,魔力的关键在于电影所创造的表现方式是以动态的影像来反映真实事件的进展。静止的图画仅仅暗示了时间的存在,而小说中的时间则在读者的幻想中不断延伸。然而, 电影却捕捉了真实而客观的时间流动。
E One effect of this realism was to educate the world about itself. For cinema makes the world smaller. Long before people travelled to America or anywhere else, they knew what other places looked like; they knew how other people worked and lived. Overwhelmingly, the lives recorded — at least in film fiction — have been American. From the earliest days of the industry, Hollywood has dominated the world film market. American imagery — the cars, the cities, the cowboys — became the primary imagery of film. Film carried American life and values around the globe.
E 这种现实性的作用之一是使世界去了解自身。因为电影将世界缩小。早在人们到美国或其他地方旅行之前,他们就已经欣赏过目的地的风光,也领略过当地人的工作与生活方式。至少在虚构的电影世界中,记录的绝大多数是美国人的生活。从电影业发展初期至今,好莱坞一直占据着世界电影市场的统治地位。汽车、城市和牛仔这些美国形象已经成为电影中的主要形象。电影将美国人的生活方式和价值观念传播到了全世界。
F And, thanks to film, future generations will know the 20th century more intimately than any other period. We can only imagine what life was like in the 14th century or in classical Greece. But the life of the modern world has been recorded on film in massive, encyclopedic detail. We shall be known better than any preceding generations.
F同时,正是由于电影的帮助,相对于其他时代,我们的后代将对20世纪了解得更为清楚。对于14世纪或者古希腊的生活状况,我们只能想象。但现代世界的生活方式已经被电影事无巨细地大量记录下来。后人对我们这一代的了解将会比对任何前人的了解更加透彻。
G The ‘star’ was another natural consequence of cinema. The cinema star was effectively born in 1910. Film personalities have such an immediate presence that, inevitably, they become super-real. Because we watch them so closely and because everybody in the world seems to know who they are, they appear more real to us than we do ourselves. The star as magnified human self is one of cinema’s most strange and enduring legacies.
G“影星”是电影带来的另一个产物。实际上,影星这一概念出现于19。电影人物触手可及,这使他们必然显得无比真实。对于我们而言,影星们似乎比我们自身更为真实,因此我们可以如此近距离地观察他们,而县好像世界上的每个人都认识他们。作为人类自身的放大,影星是电影留下的最不可思议而又最持久的影响。
H Cinema has also given a new lease of life to the idea of the story. When the Lumiere Brothers and other pioneers began showing off this new invention, it was by no means obvious how it would be used. All that mattered at first was the wonder of movement. Indeed, some said that, once this novelty had worn off, cinema would fade away. It was no more than a passing gimmick, a fairground attraction.
H 电影也赋予小说故事新的生命。当吕米埃兄弟和其他先驱者初次展示电影这项新发明时,他们根本不淸楚该怎样应用它。最初重要的只是影像能活动。的确,有些人就断言,一旦新奇感消失,电影就会逐渐淡出人们的视线。它只不过是一种暂时流行的小玩意儿,或是露天市场上的“杂耍”而已。
I Cinema might, for example, have become primarily a documentary form. Or it might have developed like television — as a strange, noisy transfer of music, information and narrative. But what happened was that it became, overwhelmingly, a medium for telling stories. Originally these were conceived as short stories — early producers doubted the ability of audiences to concentrate for more than the length of a reel. Then, in 1912, an Italian 2-hour film was hugely successful, and Hollywood settled upon the novel-length narrative that remains the dominant cinematic convention of today.
I 例如,电影原本可能变成一种以纪录片为主的形式,或者可能像电视那样发展,成为传输音乐、信息和故事的怪异而喧闹的工具。然而,事实是,电影已经成为一种叙事的主要媒介。最初讲述的都是短小的故事,因为早期制作者们怀疑观众顶多只能集中精力去看完一卷胶片。后来,一部长达两个小时的意大利电影在19获得了巨大的成功,从此好莱坞电影就开始采用这种新的叙事长度。至今,这一形式依然在电影界保持着惯例式的统治地位。
J And it has all happened so quickly. Almost unbelievably, it is a mere 100 years since that train arrived and the audience screamed and fled, convinced by the dangerous reality of what they saw, and, perhaps, suddenly aware that the world could never be the same again — that, maybe, it could be better, brighter, more astonishing, more real than reality.
J 而这一切都发生得如此迅速。令人几乎难以置信的是,距离那辆火车到站时,观众们认为所看到的是危险的现实而尖叫不止、四散奔逃的景象,只不过一百年的时间。或许,人们意识到世界已经发生了彻底的改变,而且可能会变得比现实更加美好、光明、惊人和真实。
TEST 3 PASSAGE 2 参考译文:
Motivating Employees under Adverse Conditions
在逆境中激励员工挑战
THE CHALLENGE
It is a great deal easier to motivate employees in a growing organisation than a declining one. When organisations are expanding and adding personnel, promotional opportunities, pay rises, and the excitement of being associated with a dynamic organisation create feelings of optimism. Management is able to use the growth to entice and encourage employees. When an organisation is shrinking, the best and most mobile workers are prone to leave voluntarily. Unfortunately, they are the ones the organisation can least afford to lose — those with the highest skills and experience. The minor employees remain because their job options are limited.
挑战
在不断壮大的企业中激励员工要比在日益衰落的企业中容易得多。当企业扩大经营和增加员工人数时,晋升机会增多,薪酬提高,而且加人一家充满活力的企业所带来的振奋感也会产生乐观向上的情绪。 管理层能够利用企业的发展来吸引和鼓舞员工。当企业衰退时,流动性最强的优秀员工就会主动离开。不幸的是,这些才能出众、经验丰富的员工正是企业最不能失去的人才。表现平庸的员工坚持留下,因为可供他们选择的职位有限。
Morale also suffers during decline. People fear they may be the next to be made redundant. Productivity often suffers, as employees spend their time sharing rumours and providing one another with moral support rather than focusing on their jobs. For those whose jobs are secure, pay increases are rarely possible. Pay cuts, unheard of during times of growth, may even be imposed. The challenge to management is how to motivate employees under such retrenchment conditions. The ways of meeting this challenge can be broadly divided into six Key Points, which are outlined below.
员工的士气在企业衰退期也会下降。人们担心自己或许就是下一个被解雇的人。生产率通常有所下降,因为员工宁愿将时间花费在传播谣言和相互提供精神支持上,也不愿意专注于工作。对工作稳定的人而言,加薪几乎是不可能的。在企业发展时期闻所未闻的减薪,此时甚至也会强制实施。管理层所面对的挑战是如何在企业衰退期激励员工。迎接这一挑战的方法可以大致分为下列六个关键点。
KEY POINT ONE
There is an abundance of evidence to support the motivational benefits that result from carefully matching people to jobs. For example, if the job is running a small business or an autonomous unit within a larger business, high achievers should be sought. However, if the job to be filled is a managerial post in a large bureaucratic organisation, a candidate who has a high need for power and a low need for affiliation should be selected. Accordingly, high achievers should not be put into jobs that are inconsistent with their needs. High achievers will do best when the job provides moderately challenging goals and where there is independence and feedback. However, it should be remembered that not everybody is motivated by jobs that are high in independence, variety and responsibility.
关键点一
大量证据表明,切实做到人尽其才能够激发工作动力。例如,小型企业或大型企业中自主单位的经营者,应当由业绩杰出者担任。但是,如果空缺的是大型官僚机构的管理职位,则应当选择对权力需求髙而对关系需求低的人选。相应地,不能为业绩杰出者安排与其需求不一致的工作。只有当职位能够提供具有一定挑战性的目标,具有独立性,并提供反馈时,他们才会全力以赴地工作。然而,我们应当牢记并不是每个人都会被独立性强、形式多样和责任要求高的工作所激励。
KEY POINT TWO
The literature on goal-setting theory suggests that managers should ensure that all employees have specific goals and receive comments on how well they are doing in those goals. For those with high achievement needs, typically a minority in any organisation, the existence of external goals is less important because high achievers are already internally motivated. The next factor to be determined is whether the goals should be assigned by a manager or collectively set in conjunction with the employees. The answer to that depends on perceptions of goal acceptance and the organisation’s culture. If resistance to goals is expected, the use of participation in goal-setting should increase acceptance. If participation is inconsistent with the culture, however, goals should be assigned. If participation and the culture are incongruous, employees are likely to perceive the participation process as manipulative and be negatively affected by it.
关键点二
目标设定理论的相关文献提出,管理者们必须确保所有的员工都有明确的目标并且能够在实现该目标的过程中获得评价。追求卓越成就的人是所有企业中具有代表性的少数群体,对于他们而言,外部目标的存在并不十分重要,因为业绩杰出者已具有极强的内在动机。下一个要决定的因素是目标应由管理者指定,还是应由全体员工共同设定。答案取决于人们对目标的接受程度和企业文化。如果有可能出现对目标的抵制,在设定S标时鼓励员工参与就会提高接受的程度。然而,如果这种参与和企业文化相矛盾,则应当指定目标。如果参与和企业文化不一致,员工则有可能认为自己在参与过程中被操纵,并且受到负面影响。
KEY POINT THREE
Regardless of whether goals are achievable or well within management’s perceptions of the employee’s ability, if employees see them as unachievable they will reduce their effort. Managers must be sure, therefore, that employees feel confident that their efforts can lead to performance goals. For managers, this means that employees must have the capability of doing the job and must regard the appraisal process as valid.
关键点三
无论目标是否能够实现,也无论目标是否在管理层认定的员工能力范围之内,只要员工们认为无法实现目标,他们就不会那么努力。因此,管理者必须确保员工相信他们的努力会使绩效目标实现。对于管理者而言,这意味着员工必须能够胜任工作,而且必须承认(绩效)评估流程的有效性。
KEY POINT FOUR
Since employees have different needs, what acts as a reinforcement for one may not for another. Managers could use their knowledge of each employee to personalise the rewards over which they have control. Some of the more obvious rewards that managers allocate include pay, promotions, autonomy, job scope and depth, and the opportunity to participate in goal-setting and decision-making.
关键点四
由于员工们有不同的需求,所以对一个人产生强化效果的事物对于另一个人而言未必适用。在其控制范围内,管理者可以根据对不同员工的了解给予他们相应的奖励。管理者们可给予员工的奖励主要包括薪酬、晋升、自主权、业务范围和深度,以及参与目标设定和决策的机会。
KEY POINT FIVE
Managers need to make rewards contingent on performance. To reward factors other than performance will only reinforce those other factors. Key rewards such as pay increases and promotions or advancements should be allocated for the attainment of the employee’s specific goals. Consistent with maximising the impact of rewards, managers should look for ways to increase their visibility. Eliminating the secrecy surrounding pay by openly communicating everyone’s remuneration, publicising performance bonuses and allocating annual salary increases in a lump sum rather than spreading them out over an entire year are examples of actions that will make rewards more visible and potentially more motivating.
关键点五
管理者需要将奖励与绩效挂钩。除工作表现之外,对于其他方面的奖励只会使这些方面得到加强。诸如加薪和晋升这样的主要奖励应在员工实现特定目标后给予。与最大化奖励效果相一致,管理者应当设法增加奖励的公开性。例如,通过公示员工工资数目来消除薪酬的保密状态;公布绩效奖金数额;一次性支付年薪的增加额,而不是将其在全年中分别发放;这些方法可以增加奖励的公开性和潜在激励性。
KEY POINT SIX
The way rewards are distributed should be transparent so that employees perceive that rewards or outcomes are equitable and equal to the inputs given. On a simplistic level, experience, abilities, effort and other obvious inputs should explain differences in pay, responsibility and other obvious outcomes. The problem, however, is complicated by the existence of dozens of inputs and outcomes and by the fact that employee groups place different degrees of importance on them. For instance, a study comparing clerical and production workers identified nearly twenty inputs and outcomes. The clerical workers considered factors such as quality of work performed and job knowledge near the top of their list, but these were at the bottom of the production workers’ list. Similarly, production workers thought that the most important inputs were intelligence and personal involvement with task accomplishment, two factors that were quite low in the importance ratings of the clerks. There were also important, though less dramatic, differences on the outcome side. For example, production workers rated advancement very highly, whereas clerical workers rated advancement in the lower third of their list. Such findings suggest that one person’s equity is another’s inequity, so an ideal should probably weigh different inputs and outcomes according to employee group.
关键点六
奖励的分配方式必须透明,使员工认识到奖励或成果是公平并且与特定投人相对等的。简而言之,经验、才能,努力及其他主要的投人应当体现在薪酬、职责和其他主要产出的差异方面。然而,问题之所以复杂,不仅是因为投人与产出有多种形式,而且还因为各员工群体对它们的重视程度不同。比如,一项究在比较行政工作人员和生产工人之后,确定了近二十种投人与产出的形式。行政工作人员基本上最重视所做工作的质量和业务知识等因素,但这正是生产工人们最不重视的。同样,生产工人们认为最重要的投人是才智和任务完成过程中的个人参与,而这两个因素在行政工作人员的重要性等级排名中则十分靠后。产出方面也有一些同样重要但不很明显的差异。例如,生产工人认为晋升非常重要,但行政工作人员却将晋升排到了重要性列表中的后三位。上述发现表明,一个人认为是公平的事物对于另一个人而言可能是不公平的。因此,理想的方式或许应当针对不同员工群体权衡不同的投人与产出。
TEST 3 PASSAGE 3 参考译文:
The Search for the Anti-aging Pill
In government laboratories and elsewhere, scientists are seeking a drug able to prolong life and youthful vigor. Studies of caloric restriction are showing the way
寻找抗衰老药
在政府实验室等地,科学家们正在寻找能够延长生命和保持青春活力的药物。有关热量限制的研究为我们指明了出路。
As researchers on aging noted recently, no treatment on the market today has been proved to slow human aging — the build-up of molecular and cellular damage that increases vulnerability to infirmity as we grow older. But one intervention, consumption of a low-calorie_et nutritionally balanced diet, works incredibly well in a broad range of animals, increasing longevity and prolonging good health. Those findings suggest that caloric restriction could delay aging and increase longevity in humans, too.
衰老问题的研究者们最近指出,目前市面上还没有任何疗法证明可以延缓人类衰老。衰老是一种随着年龄增长,人体内分子与细胞损伤的累积导致人越来越虚弱的现象。然而,有一种干预措施对许多动物都十分有效,那就是低热量且营养均衡的饮食,它会延长实验动物的寿命并维系健康。这些研究结果表明,限制热量的摄取可能也会延缓衰老,延长人类的寿命。
Unfortunately, for maximum benefit, people would probably have to reduce their caloric intake by roughly thirty per cent, equivalent to dropping from 2,500 calories a day to 1,750. Few mortals could stick to that harsh a regimen, especially for years on end. But what if someone could create a pill that mimicked the physiological effects of eating less without actually forcing people to eat less? Could such a ‘caloric-restriction mimetic’, as we call it, enable people to stay healthy longer, postponing age-related disorders (such as diabetes, arteriosclerosis, heart disease and cancer) until very late in life? Scientists first posed this question in the mid-1990s, after researchers came upon a chemical agent that in rodents seemed to reproduce many of caloric restriction’s benefits. No compound that would safely achieve the same feat in people has been found yet, but the search has been informative and has fanned hope that caloric-restriction (CR) mimetics can indeed be developed eventually.
不幸的是,若想达到最佳效果,人们大概需要减少约30%卡路里的摄人量,相当于从每天2500大卡降低到1750大卡。很少有人能够坚持这样严格的养生之道,尤其是年复一年这样做。但能不能制造出一种药来模拟限食的生理效应,而又不需要强迫人们少吃东西呢?这种被我们称为“限食拟药”的药片是否能让人们长久保持健康,延缓老年疾病(比如糖尿病、动脉硬化症、心脏病及癌症)的发生,直到更老的时候?科学家们早在20世纪90年代中期就提出了这个问题,此前研究者们偶然发现了一种化学药剂,该药剂似乎可以在啮齿动物身上产生限制热量摄取的许多好处。至今我们还没有发现能够安全应用到人类身上并达到同样功效的药物,但研究经验助燃了希望之火,令我们相信,限食拟药终究会研制出来的。
The benefits of caloric restriction
The hunt for CR mimetics grew out of a desire to better understand caloric restriction’s many effects on the body. Scientists first recognized the value of the practice more than 60 years ago, when they found that rats fed a low-calorie diet lived longer on average than free-feeding rats and also had a reduced incidence of conditions that become increasingly common in old age. What is more, some of the treated animals survived longer than the oldest-living animals in the control group, which means that the maximum lifespan (the oldest attainable age), not merely the normal lifespan, increased. Various interventions, such as infection-fighting drugs, can increase a population’s average survival time, but only approaches that slow the body’s rate of aging will increase the maximum lifespan.
限制能量摄入的好处
寻找限食拟药的动机是我们想更多地了解限制热量摄取对身体的影响。科学家们早在60多年前就已经认识到限制热量摄人的益处。当时,他们发现被喂食低热量食物的鼠类平均寿命长于自由摄取食物的鼠类,而且也更少患鼠类衰老时的常见病。除此之外,食用低热食物的鼠类活得比对照组中最老的鼠类还要长,这表明不仅是平均寿命,连最大寿命(可活的最大年龄)也增加了。尽管抗感染药物等各种干预方法也可以增加种群的平均寿命,但只有通过降低身体衰老速率才能增加最大寿命。
The rat findings have been replicated many times and extended to creatures ranging from yeast to fruit flies, worms, fish, spiders, mice and hamsters. Until fairly recently, the studies were limited to short-lived creatures genetically distant from humans. But caloric-restriction projects underway in two species more closely related to humans — rhesus and squirrel monkeys — have made scientists optimistic that CR mimetics could help people.
鼠类的实验结果已经重复过多次,而且对酵母菌、果蝇、蠕虫、鱼、蜘蛛、小鼠及仓鼠的实验也都有同样的结果。迄今,这类研究针对的都只是与人类基因相去甚远的短命生物,然而,正在进行中的研究采用了恒河猴与松鼠猴这两种更接近人类的物种做实验对象,这使科学家们乐观地相信限食拟药可以帮助人类。
The monkey projects demonstrate that, compared with control animals that eat normally, caloric-restricted monkeys have lower body temperatures and levels of the pancreatic hormone insulin, and they retain more youthful levels of certain hormones that tend to fall with age.
对这些猴类的研究证实,比起正常饮食的对照组动物,限制热量摄人组猴子的体温和胰岛素浓度都较低,而且某些随年龄增长而降低的荷尔蒙在他们体内仍维持在年轻时的水平。
The caloric-restricted animals also look better on indicators of risk for age-related diseases. For example, they have lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels (signifying a decreased likelihood of heart disease), and they have more normal blood glucose levels (pointing to a reduced risk for diabetes, which is marked by unusually high blood glucose levels). Further, it has recently been shown that rhesus monkeys kept on caloric-restricted diets for an extended time (nearly 15 years) have less chronic disease. They and the other monkeys must be followed still longer, however, to know whether low-calorie intake can increase both average and maximum life spans in monkeys. Unlike the multitude of elixirs being touted as the latest anti-aging cure, CR mimetics would alter fundamental processes that underlie aging. We aim to develop compounds that fool cells into activating maintenance and repair.
在与衰老有关的疾病风险指数方面,这些热量摄人受限的动物看起来也更加健康。例如,它们的血压与甘油三酸酷含量都比较低(表示得心脏病的可能性较小),血糖浓度也比较正常(表示得糖尿病的风险较低,糖尿病的特征是高于常规的血糖浓度)。此外,有关研究最近指出,长期限制热量摄人(将近)的恒河猴患慢性病的几率也较低。但想要知道限制热量摄人是否会延长猴类的平均寿命和最长寿命,我们还必须对这些恒河猴以及其他猴类做更长时间的跟踪研究。与众多被吹捧为最新抗衰老疗法的长生不老药不同,限食拟药会改变衰老的基本进程。我们的目标是研制出能够欺骗细胞进人保养与修复状态的药物。
How a prototype caloric-restriction mimetic works
The best-studied candidate for a caloric-restriction mimetic, 2DG (2-deoxy-D-glucose), works by interfering with the way cells process glucose. It has proved toxic at some doses in animals and so cannot be used in humans. But it has demonstrated that chemicals can replicate the effects of caloric restriction; the trick is finding the right one.
限食拟药如何完成任务
研究得最多、也是最有可能的限食拟药是2DG(2-去氧-D-葡萄糖),它是通过影响细胞中葡萄糖的代谢过程而发挥作用的。实验发现,达到某一剂量时,2DG会对动物产生毒性,所以无法应用到人类身上。尽管如此,这表明有些化学药物的确可以模拟热量摄人受限的效果;关键在于如何找到合适的药物。
Cells use the glucose from food to generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the molecule that powers many activities in the body. By limiting food intake, caloric restriction minimizes the amount of glucose entering cells and decreases ATP generation. When 2DG is administered to animals that eat normally, glucose reaches cells in abundance but the drug prevents most of it from being processed and thus reduces ATP synthesis. Researchers have proposed several explanations for why interruption of glucose processing and ATP production might retard aging. One possibility relates to the ATP-making machinery’s emission of free radicals, which are thought to contribute to aging and to such age-related diseases as cancer by damaging cells. Reduced operation of the machinery should limit their production and thereby constrain the damage. Another hypothesis suggests that decreased processing of glucose could indicate to cells that food is scarce (even if it isn’t) and induce them to shift into an anti-aging mode that emphasizes preservation of the organism over such ‘luxuries’ as growth and reproduction.
细胞利用食物中的葡萄糖制造ATP(三磷酸腺苷),该分子为身体的许多活动提供能量。通过限制食物的摄取量,可使进人细胞的葡萄糖降到最低,因此减少ATP的生成量。当食量正常的实验动物服用2DG时,葡萄糖大量进人细胞,但2DG会阻止大部分葡萄糖的代谢,因而降低ATP的合成量。研咳嗽碧岢隽思钢炙捣ǎ馐臀裁捶涟咸烟谴挥階TP合成可以延级衰老。其中一种说法与ATP生成过程中自由基的释放有关,人们认为自由基会损伤细胞,因此导致衰老以及像癌症这类与衰老有关的疾病。减少ATP生成机制的运作次数可以限制自由基的数量,从而减少细胞受到的伤害。另一种假设认为,葡萄糖代谢的降低让细胞以为食物不足(即使事实并非如此),而促使细胞进人抗衰老的状态,这种状态着重的是机体本身的维持,而不是生长或繁殖这类“奢侈活动”。
剑桥雅思阅读6原文解析(test3)
Passage 1
Question 1
答案: A
关键词:location/ first cinema
定位原文: A段第1句“The Lumière Brothers opened…”
解题思路: 吕米埃兄弟在巴黎嘉布欣大道14号放映了他们制作的电影……,正确答案为A。
Question 2
答案:I
关键词:focus on stories
定位原文: I段第3句“But what happened…”
解题思路: 然而,事实上,电影已经成为一种叙事的媒介。正确答案是I。
Question 3
答案: J
关键词:speed…has changed
定位原文: J段第1句“And it has…”
解题思路: 电影的发展是如此迅速。对应J选项。
Question 4
答案:E
关键词:teaches…other cultures
定位原文: E段第3句“Long before people…”
解题思路: 早在人们到美国或其他地方旅行之前,他们就已经欣赏过目的地的风光,也领略过当地人的工作与生活方式,答案是E。
Question 5
答案:G
关键词:attraction of actors
定位原文: G段第1句“The ‘star’ was…”
解题思路: 明星是电影随之带来的另一个自然产物。这句话和题干表达的意思一致。
Question 6
答案:YES
关键词:first audiences reacted to the cinema
定位原文: B段第2句“But it is worth trying…”
解题思路: worth 与 important 属于同义表达。
Question 7
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词:train, the greatest films
定位原文: C段第3句“…described the film…”
解题思路: 相关定位处只是说到俄罗斯导演形容电影是天才的作品,并没有评价吕米埃兄弟的作品如何,这个属于未知信息。
Question 8
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词:other countries
定位原文: D段第3句“Film has never…” E段第2句“For cinema makes the world smaller…”
解题思路: 定位区域只是说电影把人们带到了不同的世界,让世界变得更小。题干说展现了偏见,完全与之没有联系。题干信息在文中并没有出现。
Question 9
答案:NO
关键词:very early cinema
定位原文: I 段的第1、2、3句“Cinema might, for example…”
解题思路: 定位句的意思是:例如,电影原本可能变成一种以纪录片为主的形式,或者可能像电视那样发展,成为传输音乐、信息和故事的怪异而喧闹的工具。然而,事实是,电影已经成为一种叙事的主要媒介。题目却说电影的故事情节在早期的电影里非常重要。原文强调其工具手段的意义,题目强调情节的重要性,显然不一致。
Question 10
答案:B
关键词:film of the train
定位原文: C段第4句“As the train…”
解题思路: 塔科夫斯基写道:“随着火车不断驶近,影院里呈现出一片慌恐的景象:人们惊慌失措,四散而逃。就在这一刻,电影宣告诞生。惊恐的观众们无法相信他们看到的仅仅是一部电影……”这就是早起电影制造的效果。
Question 11
答案:C
关键词:Tarkovsky/ the attraction of the cinema
定位原文: D段最后1句“But in cinema…”
解题思路: 然而,电影却能够捕捉真实而客观的时间流动;C选项与其表达一致。
Question 12
答案: D
关键词:first began
定位原文: H段第2到4句“When the…”
解题思路: 当吕米埃兄弟和其他先驱者首先展示电影这项新发明时,他们根本不清楚应当怎样应用它。最初,重要的只是活动的影像。的确,有些人就断言,一旦新奇感消失,电影就会逐渐淡出人们的视线。由此可见,起初人们对电影发展的未来并不明确。
Question 13
答案: D
关键词:cinema/ flat screen
定位原文: 全篇主旨
解题思路:纵观全文,都在大篇幅讲电影,big screen代指电影。
Test 3 Passage 2
Question 14
答案:vii
关键词: 篇章匹配,无题干定位词
定位原文: KEY POINT TWO 第1句“The literature on…”
解题思路: 定位句有两个关键词:specific goals和comments on...,分别与vii中的targets和feedback为同义表达转换。
Question 15
答案:iii
关键词: 篇章匹配,无题干定位词
定位原文:KEY POINT THREE 第1句“Regardless of whether…”
解题思路: 本段第一句强调必须让员工认为目标可以实现,可以实现的就是现实的,iii的ensure targets are realistic 就是这个意思。
Question 16
答案:ii
关键词: 篇章匹配,无题干定位词
定位原文: KEY POINT FOUR第2句“Managers could use…”
解题思路: 在其控制范围内,管理者可以根据对不同员工的了解来给予他们相应的奖励。这里关键是personalise the rewards (将奖励个性化),即针对不同人给予不同奖励。也就是选项ii所说的 match rewards to individuals (将奖励与个人挂钩)。因此答案是ii。
Question 17
答案:iv
关键词: 篇章匹配,无题干定位词
定位原文: KEY POINT FIVE 第1句“Managers need to make rewards…”
解题思路: 管理者需要奖励与绩效挂钩; make...contingent on 就是将……联系起来,achievement与performance属于同义表达。
Question 18
答案: i
关键词: 篇章匹配,无题干定位词
定位原文: KEY POINT SIX 第1句“The way rewards…” 奖励的分配方式必须透明,使员工认识到奖励或成果是公平并且与特定投人相对等的。
解题思路: reward system就是有关reward问题的集合,包括reward的分配方式,也就是原文中的The way rewards are distributed,而且 fair和 equitable 是同义词,都是“公平”的意思。所以答案是i。
Question 19
答案:NO
关键词:shrinking organization
定位原文: CHALLENGE部分的第4句“When an organisation is shrinking…”
解题思路: 当企业衰退时,流动性最强的优秀员工就会主动离开。不幸的是,这些才能出众、经验丰富的员工正是企业最不能失去的人才。”由此可知,企业衰退时容易流失的是技能熟练的员工。
Question 20
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词:small business/ large business
定位原文: KEY POINT ONE 的第2和3句“For example, if the job…”
解题思路: 全文只在这两句话中提到了small business和large business,由原文意思可见,作者并没有比较二者管理的难易度,所以对该题干句,应填NOT GIVEN。
Question 21
答案: NO
关键词:high achievers
定位原文: KEY POINT ONE 的最后两句“High achievers will…”
解题思路: 只有其职业能够带来具有一定挑战性的目标、独立性和反馈时,业绩杰出者才会全力以赴地工作。这里“独立性”是关键词。而团队工作往往意味着团队内各个成员间相互依赖,所以题干意思与原文意思截然相反。
Question 22
答案:YES
关键词:participate / goal-setting
定位原文: KEY POINT TWO 的最后1句“If participation and…”
解题思路: 如果参与机制与企业文化不一致,员工则有可能认为自己在参与过程中被操纵,并且受到负面影响。虽然题干没有写出这个“如果”的条件,但是用了some,相当于限定了范围。feel manipulated与perceive ...as manipulative是同一个意思。所以此题干与原文意思一致。
Question 23
答案: NOT GIVEN
关键词:appraisal process
定位原文: KEY POINT THREE 的最后1句“For managers…”
解题思路: 对于管理者而言,这意味着员工必须能够胜任工作,而且必须承认(绩效)评估流程的有效性。是全文唯一提及appraisal process的句子,可以看出并没有题干所表述的意思,所以答案是 NOT GIVEN。
Question 24
答案: YES
关键词:employees’ earnings
定位原文: KEY POINT FIVE 的最后1句“...by openly communicating everyone's remuneration, publicizing performance bonuses...”
解题思路: openly communicating, publicise和disclose是同义表达,所以题干的说法是正确的。
Question 25
答案: B
关键词:high achievers
定位原文: KEY POINT TWO 的第2句“… the existence of external goals…”
解题思路: 因为外部目标对业绩杰出者并不十分重要,所以他们不大需要外部目标。所以正确答案为B。
Question 26
答案: C
关键词:clerical workers
定位原文: KEY POINT SIX 的第5句“The clerical workers…”
解题思路: 行政工作人员将工作表现质量和业务知识等因素排在名单前列。既然把quality of work排在前列,肯定认为这点很重要,所以正确答案是C。
Question 27
答案:A
关键词:production workers
定位原文:KEY POINT SIX 的倒数第2句“For example, production…”
解题思路:例如,生产工人认为晋升非常重要。advancement 与 promotion 是同义表达,生产工人把这点排在很髙的位置,说明他们认为这点很重要。
Test 3 Passage 3
Question 28
答案: NO
关键词:drugs available today/ growing old
定位原文: 第1段第1句“As researchers on aging…”
解题思路: 衰老问题的研究者们最近指出,目前市面上还没有任何疗法证明可以延缓人类衰老。“任何疗法”包含药物,所以“目前没有疗法能延缓衰老”就意味着目前没有药物可以延缓衰老。
Question 29
答案:YES
关键词: eating fewer calories/ extend human life
定位原文: 第1段最后1句“Those findings suggest…”
解题思路: 这些研究结果表明,限制热量的摄取可能也会延缓衰老,延长人类寿命。” scientific evidence与findings是近义词,所以符合题干。
Question 30
答案:YES
关键词: caloric-restricted
定位原文: 第2段第2句“Few mortals could…”
解题思路: 很少有人能够坚持这样严格的养生之道,喜欢的才能坚持,既然不能坚持,肯定是觉得不够attractive。
Question 31
答案:NOT GIVEN
关键词:diet-related diseases
定位原文: 无定位原文
解题思路: 原文没有提到这个信息,所以是NOT GIVEN。
Question 32
答案:YES
关键词:rats
定位原文: 第3段第2句“… rats fed a low-calorie diet lived…”
解题思路: 被喂食低热量食物的鼠类平均寿命长于自由摄取食物的鼠类”,这里关键是知道free-feeding与ate what they wanted是同义表达。
Question 33
答案:A
关键词: less likely / diabetic
定位原文: 第6段第2句“...they have more normal blood…( pointing to a reduced risk for diabetes)” 血糖浓度也比较正常(表示得糖尿病的风险较低)。
解题思路: 这句话阐述的是calorie-restricted animal的情况,也就是calorie- restricted monkeys的情况,所以正确答案是A。
Question 34
答案:B
关键词:more chronic disease
定位原文: 第6段第3句“Further, it has recently…”
解题思路: 此外,有关研究最近指出,长期限制热量摄人(将近15年)的恒河猴患慢性病的几率也较低。rhesus monkeys与control monkeys 比较,前者患慢性病几率低,也就是说后者患慢性病几率高。正确答案是B。
Question 35
答案: C
关键词:a longer than average lifespan
定位原文: 第6段第4句: “They and other monkeys…” 但想要知道限制热量摄人是否会延长猴类的平均寿命和最大寿命,我们还必须对这些恒河猴以及其他猴类做更长时间的跟踪研究。
解题思路: They 指的是calorie-restricted mon?keys s other monkeys指的就是 control monkeys,原文既然说还需更多研究才能知道它们的寿命是否得到延长,也就是说两类猴都还没有表明寿命得到延长。正确答案是C。
Question 36
答案: A
关键词:reduced chance of heart disease
定位原文: 第6段第2句“For example, they have lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels (signifying a decreased likelihood of heart disease )…” 例如,它们的血压与甘油三酸酯含量都比较低(表示得心脏病的可能性较小)。
解题思路: 这句话阐述的是calorie-restricted animal的情况,也就是calorie- restricted monkeys的情况,所以正确答案是A。
Question 37
答案: B
关键词:greater quantities of insulin
定位原文: 第5段(就1句话)“..compared with control animals that eat normally, caloric-restricted monkeys have lower body temperatures and levels of the pancreatic hormone insulin.”比起正常饮食的对照组动物,限制热量摄人组猴子的体温和胰岛素浓度都较低。
解题思路: 限制热量摄入组的猴子比对照组猴子的胰岛素浓度低,说明其胰岛素分泌量少,故对照组的胰岛素分泌较多。正确答案是B。
Question 38
答案:glucose
关键词:production of ATP is decreased
定位原文: 第8段第2句“By limiting food intake, caloric restriction…” 通过限制食物的摄取量,可使进入细胞的葡萄糖降到最低,因此减少ATP的生成量。
解题思路: 通过 minimizes the amount of glucose 和 less … is processed 的同义转换关系很快选出答案应该是glucose。
Question 39
答案: free radicals
关键词:one possibility
定位原文: 第8段第5句“One possibility relates to the ATP-making…” 其中一种说法与ATP生成过程中自由基的释放有关,人们认为自由基会损伤细胞,因此引起衰老以及像癌症这类与衰老有关的疾病。
解题思路: 根据原文,free radicals促进 cancer之类的disease破坏细胞,所以free radicals越少,被疾病破坏的细胞就越少。即题目中给出的部分:cells less damaged by disease,所以答案为free radicals。
Question 40
答案: preservation
关键词: focus on
定位原文: 第8段最后1句“Another hypothesis suggests…” 另一种假设认为,葡萄糖代谢的降低让细胞以为食物不足(即使事实并非如此),而促使细胞进人抗衰老的状态,这种状态着重的是维持……
解题思路: emphasize与focus on属于同义表达,scarce与in short supply属于同义表达,所以对应答案为preservation。
剑桥雅思阅读6(test3)原文翻译答案
篇9:剑桥雅思阅读6原文及答案解析(test4)
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13, which are based on Reading Passage 1 on the following pages.
Questions 1-7
Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs, A-G.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i Not all doctors are persuaded
ii Choosing the best offers
iii Who is responsible for the increase in promotions?
Iv Fighting the drug companies
v An example of what doctors expect from drug companies
vi Gifts include financial incentives
vii Research shows that promotion works
viii The high costs of research
ix The positive side of drugs promotion
x Who really pays for doctors’ free gifts?
1 Paragraph A
2 Paragraph B
3 Paragraph C
4 Paragraph D
5 Paragraph E
6 Paragraph F
7 Paragraph G
Doctoring sales
Pharmaceuticals is one of the most profitable industries in
North America. But do the drugs industry’s sales and
marketing strategies go too far?
A A few months ago Kim Schaefer, sales representative of a major global pharmaceutical company, walked into a medical center in New York to bring information and free samples of her company’s latest products. That day she was lucky — a doctor was available to see her. ‘The last rep offered me a trip to Florida. What do you have?’ the physician asked. He was only half joking.
B What was on offer that day was a pair of tickets for a New York musical. But on any given day, what Schaefer can offer is typical for today’s drugs rep — a car trunk full of promotional gifts and gadgets, a budget that could buy lunches and dinners for a small country, hundreds of free drug samples and the freedom to give a physician $200 to prescribe her new product to the next six patients who fit the drug’s profile. And she also has a few $1,000 honoraria to offer in exchange for doctors’ attendance at her company’s next educational lecture.
C Selling pharmaceuticals is a daily exercise in ethical judgement. Salespeople like Schaefer walk the line between the common practice of buying a prospect’s time with a free meal, and bribing doctors to prescribe their drugs. They work in an industry highly criticized for its sales and marketing practices, but find themselves in the middle of the age-old chicken-or-egg question — businesses won’t use strategies that don’t work, so are doctors to blame for the escalating extravagance of pharmaceutical marketing? Or is it the industry’s responsibility to decide the boundaries?
D The explosion in the sheer number of salespeople in the field — and the amount of funding used to promote their causes — forces close examination of the pressures, influences and relationships between drug reps and doctors. Salespeople provide much-needed information and education to physicians. In many cases the glossy brochures, article reprints and prescriptions they deliver are primary sources of drug education for healthcare givers. With the huge investment the industry has placed in face-to-face selling, salespeople have essentially become specialists in one drug or group of drugs — a tremendous advantage in getting the attention of busy doctors in need of quick information.
E But the sales push rarely stops in the office. The flashy brochures and pamphlets left by the sales reps are often followed up with meals at expensive restaurants, meetings in warm and sunny places, and an inundation of promotional gadgets. Rarely do patients watch a doctor write with a pen that isn’t emblazoned with a drug’s name, or see a nurse use a tablet not bearing a pharmaceutical company’s logo. Millions of dollars are spent by pharmaceutical companies on promotional products like coffee mugs, shirts, umbrellas, and golf balls. Money well spent? It’s hard to tell. ‘ I’ve been the recipient of golf balls from one company and I use them, but it doesn’t make me prescribe their medicine,’ says one doctor. ‘I tend to think I’m not influenced by what they give me.’
F Free samples of new and expensive drugs might be the single most effective way of getting doctors and patients to become loyal to a product. Salespeople hand out hundreds of dollars’ worth of samples each week — $7.2 billion worth of them in one year. Though few comprehensive studies have been conducted, one by the University of Washington investigated how drug sample availability affected what physicians prescribe. A total of 131 doctors self-reported their prescribing patterns — the conclusion was that the availability of samples led them to dispense and prescribe drugs that differed from their preferred drug choice.
G The bottom line is that pharmaceutical companies as a whole invest more in marketing than they do in research and development. And patients are the ones who pay — in the form of sky-rocketing prescription prices — for every pen that’s handed out, every free theatre ticket, and every steak dinner eaten. In the end the fact remains that pharmaceutical companies have every right to make a profit and will continue to find new ways to increase sales. But as the medical world continues to grapple with what’s acceptable and what’s not, it is dear that companies must continue to be heavily scrutinized for their sales and marketing strategies.
Questions 8-13
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agree with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
8 Sales representatives like Kim Schaefer work to a very limited budget.
9 Kim Schaefer’s marketing technique may be open to criticism on moral grounds.
10 The information provided by drug companies is of little use to doctors.
11 Evidence of drug promotion is clearly visible in the healthcare environment.
12 The drug companies may give free drug sample to patients without doctors’ prescriptions.
13 It is legitimate for drug companies to make money.
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
Do literate women make better mothers?
Children in developing countries are healthier and more likely to survive past the age of five when their mothers can read and write. Experts in public health accepted this idea decades ago, but until now no one has been able to show that a woman’s ability to read in itself improves her children’s chances of survival.
Most literate women learnt to read in primary school, and the fact that a woman has had an education may simply indicate her family’s wealth or that it values its children more highly. Now a long-term study carried out in Nicaragua has eliminated these factors by showing that teaching reading to poor adult women, who would otherwise have remained illiterate, has a direct effect on their children’s health and survival.
In 1979, the government of Nicaragua established a number of social programmes, including a National Literacy Crusade. By 1985, about 300,000 illiterate adults from all over the country, many of whom had never attended primary school, had learnt how to read, write and use numbers.
During this period, researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the Central American Institute of Health in Nicaragua, the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua and the Costa Rican Institute of Health interviewed nearly 3,000 women, some of whom had learnt to read as children, some during the literacy crusade and some who had never learnt at all. The women were asked how many children they had given birth to and how many of them had died in infancy. The research teams also examined the surviving children to find out how well-nourished they were.
The investigators’ findings were striking. In the late 1970s, the infant mortality rate for the children of illiterate mothers was around 110 deaths per thousand live births. At this point in their lives, those mothers who later went on to learn to read had a similar level of child mortality (105/1000). For women educated in primary school, however, the infant mortality rate was significantly lower, at 80 per thousand.
In 1985, after the National Literacy Crusade had ended, the infant mortality figures for those who remained illiterate and for those educated in primary school remained more or less unchanged. For those women who learnt to read through the campaign, the infant mortality rate was 84 per thousand, an impressive 21 points lower than for those women who were still illiterate. The children of the newly-literate mothers were also better nourished than those of women who could not read.
Why are the children of literate mothers better off? According to Peter Sandiford of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, no one knows for certain. Child health was not on the curriculum during the women’s lessons, so he and his colleagues are looking at other factors. They are working with the same group of 3,000 women, to try to find out whether reading mothers make better use of hospitals and clinics, opt for smaller families, exert more control at home, learn modern childcare techniques more quickly, or whether they merely have more respect for themselves and their children.
The Nicaraguan study may have important implications for governments and aid agencies that need to know where to direct their resources. Sandiford says that there is increasing evidence that female education, at any age, is ‘an important health intervention in its own right’. The results of the study lend support to the World Bank’s recommendation that education budgets in developing countries should be increased, not just to help their economies, but also to improve child health.
‘We’ve known for a long time that maternal education is important,’ says John Cleland of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. ‘But we thought that even if we started educating girls today, we’d have to wait a generation for the pay-off. The Nicaraguan study suggests we may be able to bypass that.’
Cleland warns that the Nicaraguan crusade was special in many ways, and similar campaigns elsewhere might not work as well. It is notoriously difficult to teach adults skills that do not have an immediate impact on their everyday lives, and many literacy campaigns in other countries have been much less successful. ‘The crusade was part of a larger effort to bring a better life to the people,’ says Cleland. Replicating these conditions in other countries will be a major challenge for development workers.
Questions 14-18
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-J, below.
Write the correct letter, A-J, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
The Nicaraguan National Literacy Crusade aimed to teach large numbers of illiterate 14............... to read and write. Public health experts have known for many years that there is a connection between child health and 15............... . However, it has not previously been known whether these two factors were directly linked or not. This question has been investigated by 16............... in Nicaragua. As a result, factors such as 17............... and attitudes to children have been eliminated, and it has been shown that 18............... can in itself improve infant health and survival.
A child literacy B men and women C an international research team
D medical care E mortality F maternal literacy
G adults and children H paternal literacy I a National Literacy Crusade
J family wealth
Questions 19-24
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 19-24 on your answer sheet, write
YES if the statement agree with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what writer thinks about this
19 About a thousand of the women interviewed by the researchers had learnt to read when they were children.
20 Before the National Literacy Crusade, illiterate women had approximately the same levels of infant mortality as those who had learnt to read in primary school.
21 Before and after the National Literacy Crusade, the child mortality rate for the illiterate women stayed at about 110 deaths for each thousand live births.
22 The women who had learnt to read through the National Literacy Crusade showed the greatest change in infant mortality levels.
23 The women who had learnt to read through the National Literacy Crusade had the lowest rates of child mortality.
24 After the National Literacy Crusade, the children of the women who remained illiterate were found to be severely malnourished.
Question 25 and 26
Choose TWO letters, A-E.
Write the correct letters in boxes 25 and 26 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO important implications drawn from the Nicaraguan study are mentioned by the writer of the passage?
A It is better to educate mature women than young girls.
B Similar campaigns in other countries would be equally successful.
C The effects of maternal literacy programmes can be seen very quickly.
D Improving child health can quickly affect a country’s economy.
E Money spent on female education will improve child health.
READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading Passage 3 on the following pages.
Questions 27-30
Reading Passage 3 has six sections, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for sections A-D from the list of headings below.
Write the correct number, i-vii, in boxes 27-30 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
i The role of video violence
ii The failure of government policy
iii Reasons for the increased rate of bullying
iv Research into how common bullying is in British schools
v The reaction from schools to enquiries about bullying
vi The effect of bullying on the children involved
vii Developments that have led to a new approach by schools
27 Sections A
28 Sections B
29 Sections D
30 Sections D
Persistent bullying is one of the worst experiences a child can face. How can it be prevented?
Peter Smith, Professor of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, directed the Sheffield
Anti-Bullying Intervention Project, funded by the Department for Education.
Here he reports on his findings.
A Bullying can take a variety of forms, from the verbal — being taunted or called hurtful names ?— to the physical — being kicked or shoved — as well as indirect forms, such as being excluded from social groups. A survey I conducted with Irene Whitney found that in British primary schools up to a quarter of pupils reported experience of bullying, which in about one in ten cases was persistent. There was less bullying in secondary schools, with about one in twenty-five suffering persistent bullying, but these cases may be particularly recalcitrant.
B Bullying is clearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel unworthy and depressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this is thankfully rare. Victimised pupils are more likely to experience difficulties with interpersonal relationships as adults, while children who persistently bully are more likely to grow up to be physically violent, and convicted of anti-social offences.
C Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. ‘There is no bullying at this school’ has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately more schools are now saying: ‘There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it.’
D Three factors are involved in this change. First is an awareness of the severity of the problem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have become available in Britain. For example, the Scottish Council for Research in Education produced a package of materials, Action Against Bullying, circulated to all schools in England and Wales as well as in Scotland in summer 1992, with a second pack, Supporting Schools Against Bullying, produced the following year. In Ireland, Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Post-Primary Schools was published in 1993. Third, there is evidence that these materials work, and that schools can achieve something. This comes from carefully conducted ‘before and after’ evaluations of interventions in schools, monitored by a research team. In Norway, after an intervention campaign was introduced nationally, an evaluation of forty-two schools suggested that, over a two-year period, bullying was halved. The Sheffield investigation, which involved sixteen primary schools and seven secondary schools, found that most schools succeeded in reducing bullying.
E Evidence suggests that a key step is to develop a policy on bullying, saying clearly what is meant by bullying, and giving explicit guidelines on what will be done if it occurs, what records will be kept, who will be informed, what sanctions will be employed. The policy should be developed through consultation, over a period of time — not just imposed from the head teacher’s office! Pupils, parents and staff should feel they have been involved in the policy, which needs to be disseminated and implemented effectively.
Other actions can be taken to back up the policy. There are ways of dealing with the topic through the curriculum, using video, drama and literature. These are useful for raising awareness, and can best be tied in to early phases of development, while the school is starting to discuss the issue of bullying. They are also useful in renewing the policy for new pupils, or revising it in the light of experience. But curriculum work alone may only have short-term effects; it should be an addition to policy work, not a substitute.
There are also ways of working with individual pupils, or in small groups. Assertiveness training for pupils who are liable to be victims is worthwhile, and certain approaches to group bullying such as ‘no blame’, can be useful in changing the behaviour of bullying pupils without confronting them directly, although other sanctions may be needed for those who continue with persistent bullying.
Work in the playground is important, too. One helpful step is to train lunchtime supervisors to distinguish bullying from playful fighting, and help them break up conflicts. Another possibility is to improve the playground environment, so that pupils are less likely to be led into bullying from boredom or frustration.
F With these developments, schools can expect that at least the most serious kinds of bullying can largely be prevented. The more effort put in and the wider the whole school involvement, the more substantial the results are likely to be. The reduction in bullying — and the consequent improvement in pupil happiness — is surely a worthwhile objective.
Questions 31-34
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 31-34 on your answer sheet.
31 A recent survey found that in British secondary schools
A there was more bullying than had previously been the case.
B there was less bullying than in primary schools
C cases of persistent bullying were very common.
D indirect forms of bullying were particularly difficult to deal with.
32 Children who are bullied
A are twice as likely to commit suicide as the average person.
B find it more difficult to relate to adults.
C are less likely to be violent in later life.
D may have difficulty forming relationships in late life.
33 The writer thinks that the declaration ‘There is no bullying at this school’
A is no longer true in many schools.
B was not in fact made by many schools.
C reflected the school’s lack of concern.
D reflected a lack of knowledge and resources.
34 What were the findings of research carried out in Norway?
A Bullying declined by 50% after an anti-bullying campaign.
B Twenty-one schools reduced bullying as a result of an anti-bullying campaign.
C Two years is the optimum length for an anti-bullying campaign.
D Bullying is a less serious problem in Norway than in the UK.
Questions 35-39
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 35-39 on your answer sheet.
What steps should schools take to reduce bullying?
The most important step is for the school authorities to produce a 35............... which makes the school’s attitude towards bullying quite clear. It should include detailed 36...............as to how the school and its staff will react if bullying occurs.
In addition, action can be taken trough the 37.............. . This is particularly useful in the early part of the process, as a way of raising awareness and encouraging discussion. On its own, however, it is insufficient to bring about a permanent solution.
Effective work can also be done with individual pupils and small groups. For example, potential 38............... of bullying can be trained to be more self-confident. Or again, in dealing with group bullying, a ‘no blame’ approach, which avoids confronting the offender too directly, is often effective.
Playground supervision will be more effective if members of staff are trained to recognize the difference between bullying and mere 39...............
Questions 40
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in box 40 on your answer sheet.
Which of the following is the most suitable title for Reading passage 3?
A Bullying: what parents can do
B Bullying: are the media to blame?
C Bullying: the link with academic failure
D Bullying: from crisis management to prevention












