[C] it passes below the altitude of communications satellites because of Earth's gravitation

[D] it comes round the Earth seven years later

2. The word “stalking” (Line 2, Paragraph 4) most probably means _____.

[A] investigating

[B] tracking

[C] approaching

[D] foregoing

3. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of the case of the object in 1908?

[A] The object threatened but failed to destroy 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest.

[B] The object dissolved in the air because it was too small to hit upon the Earth.

[C] The object turned out to be Apophis which visited the Earth seven years ago.

[D] The route of the object was thought by scientists to be impossible to head towards the Earth.

4. The technique of smashing the object to smithereens would be silly because _____.

[A] it is only a fictitious technique that people created for Hollywood films

[B] the smithereens may result in fatal damage to human habitats

[C] lots of dangerous debris would fly around the Earth under the gravitational attraction

[D] the asteroid would change its orbit and pose threat to the Earth when the object is smashed

5. Astrium's plans would be sponsored by _____.

[A] the Planetary Society which is supported by NASA

[B] the American and European space agencies

[C] space enthusiasts who donate prize money

[D] a private company called Astrium





文章剖析


这篇文章讲述了人们关于预防行星撞击地球的一些情况和采取的措施。第一段讲述天文学家对行星Apophis的了解；第二段讲述一家私人公司为什么要开展追踪该行星的行动Astrium计划；第三、四段讲述该行动的一些情况；第五段讲述要采取的方法；第六段讲述Astrium计划现在已经上报给相关部门。





词汇注释


asteroid n. 小行星

keyhole n. 锁眼

nudge vt. 轻推

projectile n. 射弹

pelt v. 猛落，向…连续投掷





难句突破


① Depending on its exact path, it could pass through what is known as a keyhole—a narrow range of orbits—that would deflect it and cause it to crash into the planet when it comes round again exactly seven years later.

主体句式：..., it could pass through...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，前面的现在分词结构是作句子的状语；what引导的是宾语从句；that引导的定语从句用来修饰keyhole；在该定语从句中，when引导的是时间状语从句。

句子译文：从它的确切路线来看，七年后再次返回时，它可能要经过一个锁眼——狭窄的轨道区，这会导致这颗小行星偏离轨道，然后撞击地球。

② The probe would spend three years stalking Apophis so that, if it did appear to be heading towards the keyhole, action could be taken to divert it well before 2029.

主体句式：The probe would spend three years... so that ... action could...

结构分析：这是一个并列句，在后面的分句中，if引导的是条件状语从句。

句子译文：该研究将用三年的时间来追踪Apophis，如果它确实朝锁眼进发，那么就展开行动，在2029年前让它改变轨道。





题目分析


1. Apophis would probably hit on the Earth when _____.

[A] it passes through a narrow range of orbits which are equivalent of a keyhole

[B] it is forced to deviate from its original course when passing through the keyhole

[C] it passes below the altitude of communications satellites because of Earth's gravitation

[D] it comes round the Earth seven years later

1. Apophis可能会在 _____ 的时候撞击地球。

[A] 通过锁眼大小的狭窄轨道区

[B] 通过锁眼时被迫改变自己原来的路线

[C] 由于地球的重力而从通信卫星下方通过

[D] 七年后环绕地球

答案：B　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。根据第二段，小行星撞击地球需要满足几个条件，在七年后返回时经过狭窄的轨道区时改变自己的路线，从而撞击地球。因此，选项B最为符合。

2. The word “stalking” (Line 2, Paragraph 4) most probably means _____.

[A] investigating

[B] tracking

[C] approaching

[D] foregoing

2. stalking这个词（第四段第二行） 最有可能的意思是 _____。

[A] 研究

[B] 追踪

[C] 接近

[D] 居先

答案：B　难度系数：☆

分析：猜词题。根据上下文：The probe would spend three years stalking Apophis so that, if it did appear to be heading towards the keyhole, action could be taken to divert it well before 2029. 即该研究用三年的时间主要是追踪该小行星，随时注意其路线的变化。因此，选项B最为符合。

3. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of the case of the object in 1908?

[A] The object threatened but failed to destroy 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest.

[B] The object dissolved in the air because it was too small to hit upon the Earth.

[C] The object turned out to be Apophis which visited the Earth seven years ago.

[D] The route of the object was thought by scientists to be impossible to head towards the Earth.

3. 关于1908年的星体事件，下列哪个陈述是正确的？

[A] 该星体有可能摧毁2,000平方公里的西伯利亚森林，但最后没有发生。

[B] 由于体积太小无法撞到地球，该星体在空气中就消融了。

[C] 该星体就是七年前访问过地球的Apophis。

[D] 科学家认为该星体的运行轨道不可能到达地球。

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆☆

分析：细节题。根据第四段：Apophis is some 350 metres across, considerably larger than the object that is thought to have flattened 2,000 square kilometres of Siberian forest as it vaporised in the atmosphere above Tunguska in 1908. 可见，该星体本来要摧毁西伯利亚森林的，但在撞到地球之前就在空气中蒸发了。所以，正确答案为A。选项B的错误在于颠倒了这个因果关系，因此是不成立的，没有文章中的证据支持。选项C显然是错误的，因此该星体并不是Apophis。选项D的结论则过于绝对，也没有文章的内容与之对应。

4. The technique of smashing the object to smithereens would be silly because _____.

[A] it is only a fictitious technique that people created for Hollywood films

[B] the smithereens may result in fatal damage to human habitats

[C] lots of dangerous debris would fly around the Earth under the gravitational attraction

[D] the asteroid would change its orbit and pose threat to the Earth when the object is smashed

4. 将星体击为碎片的技术是很愚蠢的，因为 _____。

[A] 这只是人们专门为好莱坞电影设计的一种虚拟技术

[B] 这些碎片可能会撞击到地球上，给人类的居住地带来毁灭性的灾难

[C] 许多危险的碎片可能在重力的作用下环绕地球飞行

[D] 该小行星被摧毁后会改变自己的轨道，并给地球带来威胁

答案：B　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。根据第五段：Smashing such an object to smithereens, a technique championed by Hollywood films, would be silly because the Earth would be pelted with lots of smaller bits of debris that could prove just as destructive, particularly near a city. 可见，这样的想法很愚蠢，因为小碎片飞落到地球上同样会造成毁灭性的后果。因此，选项B最为符合题意。

5. Astrium's plans would be sponsored by _____.

[A] the Planetary Society which is supported by NASA

[B] the American and European space agencies

[C] space enthusiasts who donate prize money

[D] a private company called Astrium

5. Astrium的计划可能会得到 _____ 的资助。

[A] 由美国航空航天局支持的行星学会

[B] 美国和欧洲的太空机构

[C] 捐钱的航空爱好者们

[D] 一家名叫Astrium的私人公司

答案：B　难度系数：☆☆

分析：细节题。根据最后一段：Given that the actual cost for such a mission would be more like $50m, both the American space agency, NASA, and its European counterpart are taking a close interest. It is they, after all, who would be footing most of the bill. 可见，支付大部分费用的将是美国空间局、美国航空航天局和欧洲的相关部门，因此，选项B是正确答案。





参考译文


恐龙因为一颗小行星撞击地球而灭绝了，不过人类可不会让这种灾难降临到他们身上。过去的十几年中，天文学家一直在观测天空，以辨明危险的飞行物。其中有一块巨石叫做Apophis，这是个希腊名字，指的是埃及的破坏之神。这块巨石于2004年被天文学家首次观测到，引起了他们的警觉。目前他们认为Apophis不太可能撞到地球。即使有这样的论断，一家私人公司已经公开发布了要探索这块巨石的计划，以备它哪天忽然要撞击地球。

展开这次行动，是因为小行星的运行轨道很难预测。Apophis可能于2029年运行到最接近地球的位置，比通信卫星离地球还要近。从它的确切路线来看，七年后再次返回时，它可能要经过一个锁眼——狭窄的轨道区，这会导致这颗小行星偏离轨道，然后撞击地球。

正因为如此，欧洲航空和防卫巨头EADS的一个太空船子公司Astrium才决定要进行一次探索。它将研究Apophis在阳光的作用下的移动轨道，这可以让天文学家更为精确地计算它的路线。该研究也会发现Apophis表面的详细信息，确定其热量的特性，这有助于判定该小行星的组成。如果这样的信息对于改变其运行轨道非常有用的话，那就是很宝贵的信息了。

目前的计划就是在2013年启动Apex行动，并于2014年与这颗小行星相会。该研究将用三年的时间来追踪Apophis，如果它确实朝锁眼进发，那么就展开行动，在2029年前让它改变轨道。尽管天文学家认为这颗小行星不太可能撞击地球，但是如果能更好地了解地球附近的小行星，从而在其可能要撞击地球时改变其轨道，这样做还是很好的。Apophis的直径约为350米，要比本来可能将面积为2,000平方公里的西伯利亚森林夷为平地的那个星体更大，该星体于1908年在通古斯卡河上空的大气层蒸发了。

将这样的物体击为碎片，这是好莱坞电影中才有的特技，这种想法很傻，因为无数小碎片飞落到地球上同样会造成毁灭性的后果，尤其落在城市附近就更是如此。最好让其改变运行轨道或者利用太空飞船的万有引力来将它拖走。这种方法要想取得成功，不仅要看小行星的运行轨道，还要看组成该行星的物质是如何结合在一起的。

Astrium公司的计划已经提交到行星学会，该学会由一群宇宙爱好者组成，他们设立了五万美元的奖金来刺激人们对Apophis行动的兴趣。因为这样的行动实际花费是五亿美元，因此美国空间局、美国航空航天局以及欧洲的相关部门都非常关注，因为他们得支付大部分的费用。





TEXT FOUR


Walk along the River Warnow, in northern Germany, and you may be lucky enough to spot a SeaFalcon, a sleek, white machine with two propellers, two wings and a distinctly un-birdlike tail. It looks like an aircraft. Which is what it is. Except, it isn't. It is a ship—at least in the eyes of the International Marine Organisation, which regulates such things. That matters, because ships are much more lightly regulated than aircraft.

The SeaFalcon is really a ground-effect vehicle. It flies only over water and only two metres above that water. This means the air beneath its wings is compressed, giving it additional lift. In effect, it is floating on a cushion of air. That makes it far cheaper to run than a plane of equivalent size, while the fact that it is flying means it is far faster—at 80-100 knots—than a ship of any size. Its designer, Dieter Puls, thus hopes it will fill a niche for the rapid transport of people and light goods in parts of the world where land and sea exist in similar proportions.

The theory of ground-effect vehicles goes back to the 1920s, when Carl Wieselsberger, a German physicist, described how the ground effect works. There was then a period of silence, followed by a false start. In the 1960s the Soviet armed forces thought that ground-effect vehicles would be ideal for shifting heavy kit around places like the Black Sea. Their prototypes did fly, but were never deployed in earnest—and their jet engines consumed huge amounts of fuel.

This did, however, prove that the idea worked. And two German engineers, Mr. Puls and Hanno Fischer, have taken it up and made it work by using modern, composite materials for the airframes, and propellers rather than jets for propulsion. One reason the Soviet design was so thirsty is that the power needed to lift a ground-effect vehicle is far greater than that needed to sustain it in level flight. The Soviet design used heavy jet engines to deliver the power needed for take-off. But the SeaFalcon uses a hydrofoil to lift itself out of the water, and Airfish 8 uses what Mr. Fischer calls a hoverwing—a system of pipes that takes air which has passed through the propeller and blasts it out under the craft during take-off.

The next stage is to begin production in earnest—and that seems to be about to happen. Mr. Puls says he has signed a deal with an Indonesian firm for an initial order of ten, while both he and Mr. Fischer are in discussions with Wigetworks, a Singaporean company, with a view to starting production next year. South-east Asia, with its plethora of islands and high rate of economic growth is just the sort of place where ground-effect vehicles should do well.

But a note of caution is needed. For another sort of ground-effect vehicle was also expected to do well and ended up going nowhere. The hovercraft differed from the vehicles designed by Messrs Puls and Fischer in that it relied on creating its own cushion of air, rather than having one provided naturally. That meant it could go on land as well as sea—which was thought at the time to be a winning combination. Sadly, it was not. Hovercraft have almost disappeared. But then, in the eyes of the regulators, they counted as aircraft.

1. According to the first paragraph, which one of the following statements is TRUE of the SeaFalcon?

[A] SeaFalcon looks like an aircraft and is a kind of aircraft as a matter of fact.

[B] SeaFalcon is not defined as a ship by the IMO because it is lighter than an aircraft.

[C] SeaFalcon is both regarded as an aircraft because of its external form and a ship because of its function.

[D] SeaFalcon is made with the appearance of a ship in order to avoid the regulation of IMO.

2. The SeaFalcon is different from the real aircraft in that _____.

[A] the device of air cushion is deployed in the SeaFalcon to provide the power for lift

[B] the SeaFalcon is far cheaper and smaller than an aircraft

[C] the SeaFalcon can only fly a few meters above the water

[D] the SeaFalcon adopts a kind of engine that is essentially different from an aircraft

3. The prototypes made by the Soviet armed forces in the 1960s was a false start probably because _____.

[A] the principle of the ground-effect vehicles was not deployed in earnest

[B] the prototypes led to scientists believing that such vehicle would never work

[C] the prototype was not an ideal vehicle to shift heavy kit in the Black Sea

[D] the prototype was made more like a jet rather than a ship

4. The design made by Mr. Puls and Hanno Fischer proved to be a successful case because of the following reason that _____.

[A] the power needed for level flight was much smaller than a ground-effect vehicle

[B] the vehicles designed by them were already well accepted by the commercial circle

[C] learned from the Soviet lesson and did not adopt the jet engine in the design, but used hydrofoil instead

[D] it has already won immense support from South-eastern Asian countries which were eager for such vehicles

5. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of the hovercraft?

[A] It was generally believed that to be able to go on land as well as sea was a great advantage of a hovercraft.

[B] The hovercraft was in fact a ground-effect vehicle rather than an aircraft.

[C] The special characteristics of the hovercraft were the actual reason attributing to its disappearance.

[D] The hovercraft proved to be a failure mainly because of its power system.





文章剖析


这篇文章介绍了一种气垫车“海鹰”。第一段讲述了“海鹰”的大概情况；第二段讲述了海鹰的飞行原理；第三段和第四段讲述了人们研制气垫车的历史；第五段讲述了Puls先生目前与一些国家已经签订了生产气垫车的合同；第六段讲述对这种新事物还是应该保持谨慎。





词汇注释


sleek adj. 圆滑的

propeller n. 螺旋桨

propulsion n. 推进力

hydrofoil n. 水翼

plethora n. 过多





难句突破


① And two German engineers, Mr. Puls and Hanno Fischer, have taken it up and made it work by using modern, composite materials for the airframes, and propellers rather than jets for propulsion.

主体句式：And two German engineers, ... have taken it up and made it...

结构分析：这是一个简单句，Mr. Puls and Hanno Fischer是主语的同位语；后面的by using... for... and... for...是方式状语。

句子译文：两位德国工程师Dieter Puls和Hanno Fischer接手了这项工作，他们使用现代复合材料制造机身，用螺旋推进器而不是喷气机作为推动力。

② Mr. Puls says he has signed a deal with an Indonesian firm for an initial order of ten, while both he and Mr. Fischer are in discussions with Wigetworks, a Singaporean company, with a view to starting production next year.

主体句式：Mr. Puls says he has signed..., while both he and Mr. Fischer are in discussions with..., with a view to...

结构分析：这是一个并列句，在后面的分句中，with a view...作句子的状语。

句子译文：Puls先生说，他已经和一家印尼的公司签订了合同，首期制造10架，而他和Fischer先生都在和新加坡公司Wigetworks商谈，可望于明年投入生产。





题目分析


1. According to the first paragraph, which one of the following statements is TRUE of the SeaFalcon?

[A] SeaFalcon looks like an aircraft and is a kind of aircraft as a matter of fact.

[B] SeaFalcon is not defined as a ship by the IMO because it is lighter than an aircraft.

[C] SeaFalcon is both regarded as an aircraft because of its external form and a ship because of its function.

[D] SeaFalcon is made with the appearance of a ship in order to avoid the regulation of IMO.

1. 根据第一段，下面哪项陈述是关于“海鹰”的正确描述？

[A] “海鹰”看起来像飞机，实际上也是一种飞机。

[B] 国际海事组织没有把“海鹰”定义为船，因为它比飞机轻。

[C] “海鹰”因其外形而被认为是飞机，而因其作用被认为是船。

[D] “海鹰”的外形像船，是为了避免国际海事组织条款的限制。

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：根据第一段：It looks like an aircraft. Which is what it is. 即它看起来像飞机，也确实如此。因此，选项A是正确的。选项B的错误在于对文章第一段最后一句话的误解：That matters, because ships are much more lightly regulated than aircraft. 即“这至关重要，因为船受到的约束要比飞机少得多”，这里lightly不是“轻”的意思，而是“少”的意思。而选项C显然不正确，“海鹰”没有同时被认为是飞机和船。选项D也是错误的，“海鹰”的外形像飞机而不是像船。因此，答案为A。