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microscopicmess37閱讀理解：第十三篇Invisibility RingScientists cant yet make an invisibility cloak1 like the one that Harry Potter2 uses.But，for the first time，theyve constructed a simple cloaking device that makes itself and somethingplaced inside it invisible to microwaves.When a person “sees” an object，his or her eye senses many different waves of visiblelight as they bounce off the object.The eye and brain then work together to organize thesesensations and reconstruct the objects original shape. So，to make an object invisible，scientists have to keep waves from bouncing off it.And they have to make sure the objectcasts no shadow.Otherwise，the absence of reflected light on one side would give the obiectaway.Invisibility isnt possible yet with waves of light that the human eye can see.But it is nowpossible with microwaves.Like visible light，microwaves are a form of radiant energy.Theyare part of the electromagnetic spectrum，which also includes radio waves，infrared light，ultraviolet rays，X rays，and gamma rays.The wavelengths of microwaves are shorter thanthose of radio waves but longer than those of visible light.The scientists new “invisibility device” is the size of a drink coaster and shaped like aring.The ring is made of a special material with unusual ability.When microwaves strike thering，very few bounce off it.Instead，they pass through the ring，which bends the waves allthe way around until they reach the opposite side.The waves then return to their originalpaths.To a detector set up to receive microwaves on the other side of the ring，it looks as if thewaves never changed their paths as if there were no object in the way! So，the ring is effectively invisible.When the researchers put a small cdpper loop inside the ring，it，too，is nearly invisible. However，the cloaking device and anything inside it do cast a pale shadow.And the deviceworks only for microwaves，not for visible light or any kind of electromagnetic radiation.So，Harry Potters invisibility cloak doesnt have any real competition yet.詞匯：invisibility/invizE5biliti/n.看不見(jiàn)，無(wú)形 spectrum/5spektrEm/n.光譜cloak/klEuk/斗篷，披風(fēng) infrared/5infrE5red/adj.紅外線的microwave/5maikrEuweiv/n.微波 ultraviolet ray 紫外線reconstruct/5ri:kEn5strQkt/v.重建 gamma ray 伽馬射線radiant/5reidjEnt/adj.輻射的 wavelength/5weivleNW/n.波長(zhǎng)electromagnetic/IlektrEJ5mAnItIk/adj.電磁的coaster/5kEustE(r)/n.托盤(pán)，墊子練習(xí)：1.Harry Potter is mentioned in the passage，because scientistsA can now make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses.B try to make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses.C try to invent a device Similar in idea to the invisible cloak he uses.D know that it is possible to make an invisible cloak of the same kind.2.What is true of microwaves?A Their wavelengths are shorter than those of visible light.B Their wavelengths are longer than those of visible light.C They are different from visible light as they are a kind of radiant energy.D They are visible to the human eye.3.What is NOT true of the invisibility device?A It is made of a special material with unusual ability.B Microwaves bounce off it when they strike it.C Microwaves pass through it when they strike it.D It bends the microwaves all the way around until they reach the opposite side.4.What does the word “coaster” mean in the passage?A A disk or plate placed under a drinking glass to protect a table top.B A vessel engaged in coastal trade.C A roller coaster.D A resident of a coastal area.5.Harry Potters invisibility cloak doesnt have any real competition yet，becauseA scientists have not found out how his cloak works.B the cloaking device is a total failure.C the cloaking device works only for microwaves.D the cloaking device works only for visible light.答案與題解：1.C文章的第一段告訴我們，科學(xué)家還沒(méi)有發(fā)明哈里波特使用的那種隱身衣，所以不能選 A;該段還告訴我們，科學(xué)家已制造了，一種裝置，這種裝置能使自身或置于其中的物體不被微波發(fā)現(xiàn)，所以C是正確選擇，也就是說(shuō)，科學(xué)家發(fā)明的隱形裝置和哈里波特的隱身衣僅僅在概念上相同，這同時(shí)說(shuō)明B和D是錯(cuò)誤的選擇。2.B第三段最后一句中告訴我們，A是錯(cuò)誤選擇，B是正確選擇。該段第三句說(shuō)，微波與可見(jiàn)光一樣都是一種輻射能，所以C的說(shuō)法是錯(cuò)誤的，不能選擇;根據(jù)該段第一句：with wavesof light that the human eye can see和第三句：Like visible light，可以得知D是錯(cuò)誤的說(shuō)法，也不能選擇。3.B第四段第三句說(shuō)，當(dāng)微波到達(dá)裝置表面時(shí)，very few bounce off。very few是幾乎沒(méi)有的意思，所以選擇B。其他選擇所述內(nèi)容都可以很容易在該段中找到。4.A第四段第一句告訴我們，科學(xué)家的這個(gè)隱形裝置和一個(gè)杯墊差不多大小，所以A是正確選擇。coaster是一個(gè)多義詞，其他幾個(gè)選擇是該詞的其他意思，B：從事沿海貿(mào)易的船;C：過(guò)山車(chē)，摩天輪;D：海岸地區(qū)居民。5.C A句在短文中沒(méi)有提到;按文章的內(nèi)容B不是正確的說(shuō)法;文章最后一段說(shuō)，And thedevice works only for microwaves，not forvisible light，所以C是正確選擇。譯文：隱形環(huán) 到目前為止，科學(xué)家還不能造出哈利；波特使用過(guò)的隱身斗篷。但是他們率先研制出了一種與其類(lèi)似的裝置，這種裝置能使自身和置于其中的物體不受微波的探測(cè)。 當(dāng)一個(gè)人“看”某物體時(shí)，他的眼睛就會(huì)感知到從那個(gè)物體反射過(guò)來(lái)的光波。眼睛和大腦一同工作，編輯這些光感并重建其原貌。所以，如果要讓一個(gè)物體隱形，科學(xué)家們就必須阻止光波反射。并且他們得確保此物體沒(méi)有陰影。否則，反射光的缺失會(huì)使物體顯現(xiàn)。 鑒于人眼對(duì)光波的感知性，要想隱形某物體很難做到，但對(duì)微波就可以做到。如同可見(jiàn)光，微波是一種輻射能。他們是電磁波譜的一部分，其中也包括無(wú)線電波、紅外線光、紫外線、x射線和伽馬射線。微波的波長(zhǎng)比無(wú)線電波短，但比可見(jiàn)光長(zhǎng)。 科學(xué)家研制出的這種新型隱身裝置和杯墊一般大小，形狀像個(gè)環(huán)。由于它是特殊材料制成，因此具有非同尋常的功能。當(dāng)微波射向它時(shí)，僅有極少的光會(huì)反射回去，這些光會(huì)從一端穿過(guò)這個(gè)環(huán)，并在此過(guò)程中沿著彎曲的路線前進(jìn)，直到抵達(dá)另一端。最后光波回到原來(lái)的路線。 對(duì)于在環(huán)的另一端放置的探測(cè)器來(lái)說(shuō)，光波看上去就像從來(lái)沒(méi)有改變過(guò)路徑一樣，即好像沒(méi)有遇到障礙物。這樣一來(lái)，這個(gè)環(huán)就如同沒(méi)有存在過(guò)。研究者又將一個(gè)銅線圈放進(jìn)環(huán)里，依然得到同樣的結(jié)果。不過(guò)，這個(gè)環(huán)和里面的東西還是會(huì)留下一點(diǎn)影子。環(huán)形隱身器只能作用于微波，而不能作用于可見(jiàn)光及電磁波。因此，哈里，波特的隱形斗篷目前還沒(méi)有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手。第十五篇Winged Robot Learns to FlyLearning how to fly took nature millions of years of trial and error1 -but a winged robot has cracked2 it in only a few hours, using the same evolutionary principles. Krister Wolff and Peter Nordin of Chalmers University of Technology (CUT) in Gothenburg , Sweden, built a winged robot and set about3 testing whether it could learn to fly by itself, without any pre-programmed data on what flapping is or how to do it.To begin with4, the robot just twitched and jerked erratically. But, gradually, it made movements that gained height. At first, it cheated-simply standing on its wing tips was one early short cut5. After three hours, however, the robot abandoned such methods in favor of6 a more effective flapping technique where it rotated its wings through 90 degrees and raised them before twisting them back to the horizontal and pushing down.“This tells us that this kind of evolution is capable of7 coming up8 with flying motion,” says Peter Bentley, who works on evolutionary computing at University College London. But while9 the robot had worked out how best to produce lift10, it was not about to take off. “Theres only so much that evolution can do,” Bentley says. “This thing is never going to fly because the motors will never have the strength to do it,” he says.The robot had metre-long wings made from balsa wood and covered with a light plastic film. Small motors on the robot let it move its wings forwards or backwards. up or down or twist them in either direction.The team attached the robot to two vertical rods, so it could slide up and down. At the start of a test, the robot was suspended by an elastic band. A movement detector measured how much lift, if any11, the robot produced for any given movement. A computer program fed the robot random instructions12, at the rate of13 20 per second, to test its flapping abilities. Each instruction told the robot either to do nothing or to move the wings slightly in the various directions.Feedback from the movement detector let the program work out which sets of instructions were best at producing lift. The most successful ones were paired up14 and “offspring” sets of instructions15 were generated by swapping instructions randomly between successful pairs. These next-generation instructions were then sent to the robot and evaluated before breeding a new generation, and the process was repeated.注釋?zhuān)?. Learning how to fly took nature millions of years of trial and error:自然界里的飛行學(xué)習(xí)用了幾百萬(wàn)年的時(shí)間反復(fù)實(shí)踐和磨煉。2. crack: to break through (an obstacle) in order to win acceptance or acknowledgement: 突破（障礙）3. set about:開(kāi)始做，著手4. To begin with: 首先5. short cut: 捷徑6. in favor of:原意為“贊成；支持”。這里， the robot abandoned such methods in favor of a more effective flapping technique意為:這個(gè)機(jī)器人放棄了這樣的方法，而去使用一種更為有效的扇動(dòng)翅膀的技術(shù)。7. be capable of: 指物有可能，可以8. come up: to manifest itself; arise 出現(xiàn)。9. while:雖然，盡管10. lift:升高11. if any:若有的話。確切意思是 :如果它能升高的話。12. . fed the robot random instructions:給機(jī)器人輸入隨意設(shè)定的指令。 fed是feed的過(guò)去式。13. at the rate of:以的速度14. pair up:把配成一對(duì)15.“offspring”sets of instructions:指的是將成功的指令配對(duì)后的結(jié)果。“ offspring”本來(lái)是后代的意思，在此修飾sets of instructions，所以加了雙引號(hào)。練習(xí):1. Which of the following is NOT true of what is mentioned about the winged robot in the second paragraph? A The two professors of CUT built the winged robot B The two professors of CUT tested whether the winged robot could learn to fly. C The two professors of CUT programmed the data on how the robot flapped its wings.D The two professors of CUT tried to find out if the robot could fly by itself.2. How did the robot behave at the beginning of the test?A It rotated its wings through 90 degrees.B It twitched but gradually gained height.C It was twitched and broke down.D It landed not long after the test.3. Which of the following is nearest to Peter Bentleys view on the winged robot? A The winged robot could never really fly.B The winged robot did not have a motor. C The winged robot should go through further evolution before it could fly. D The robot could fly if it were lighter.4. What measured how much lift the robot produced? A Two vertical rods. B A movement detector. C An elastic band. D Both B and C.5. What does “the process” appearing in the last paragraph refer to? A Pairing up successful inst ructions. B Sending instructions to the robot.C Generating new sets of instructions for evaluation. D All the above.答案與題解 :1. C A、B、D在第二段中都提到過(guò)。 C是錯(cuò)誤的，因?yàn)槲闹姓f(shuō)，教授們測(cè)試機(jī)器人是否會(huì)自己學(xué)會(huì)飛行，而且預(yù)先沒(méi)有對(duì)翅膀扇動(dòng)的方式進(jìn)行數(shù)據(jù)設(shè)定。2. B第三段描述了機(jī)器人如何學(xué)習(xí)飛行的過(guò)程。第一句和第二句是問(wèn)題的答案。3. A第四段主要是 Peter Bentley對(duì)飛行機(jī)器人的看法。他認(rèn)為前文描述的進(jìn)化過(guò)程只能使機(jī)器人有一些飛行的動(dòng)作，而要讓其起飛則永遠(yuǎn)不可能，因?yàn)椴豢赡苡腥绱舜蠊β实陌l(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)。所以 A是正確選項(xiàng)4. B答案在第六段的第三句中。5. D文章昀后一段具體描述在機(jī)器人的進(jìn)化過(guò)程中，指令的進(jìn)化過(guò)程。成功的指令配對(duì)后產(chǎn)生新一代的指令，將指令輸入機(jī)輯人，經(jīng)篩選再進(jìn)行成功指令配對(duì)，再產(chǎn)生新一代指令，如此反復(fù)進(jìn)行。所以 D是正確選項(xiàng)。譯文：自然界中的飛行學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷了幾百萬(wàn)年的反復(fù)實(shí)踐和磨練，而安裝機(jī)翼的機(jī)器人僅在數(shù)小時(shí)內(nèi)就成功實(shí)現(xiàn)突破，用的是同進(jìn)化原理。瑞典Gothenburg Chalmers科技大學(xué)的Krister Wolff 和PeterNordin 研制出帶翼的機(jī)器人，著手測(cè)試它能否在不預(yù)設(shè)振翅數(shù)據(jù)程序的條件下自行學(xué)會(huì)飛行。首先，機(jī)器人只是飄忽不定地振動(dòng)盤(pán)桓，不過(guò)它的運(yùn)動(dòng)逐漸獲得了上升高度，起初，它想走走捷徑，試圖僅用翅尖保持直立。然而三小時(shí)后，它放棄了這種方法， 轉(zhuǎn)用更有效的振翅技術(shù)，90度角旋轉(zhuǎn)兩翼，并在它們恢復(fù)到水平位置將其拉起?！笆聦?shí)告訴我們，飛行裝置有可能實(shí)現(xiàn)這種進(jìn)化?！盤(pán)eter Bentley 說(shuō)。他現(xiàn)正在倫敦大學(xué)研究進(jìn)化計(jì)算技術(shù)。雖然機(jī)器人可以摸索出上升飛行的最佳方式，卻不會(huì)起飛?！斑M(jìn)化升級(jí)所做的只有這么多，”Bentley說(shuō)，“這東西不可能自行起飛，因?yàn)榘l(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)不能產(chǎn)生足夠動(dòng)力?！睓C(jī)器人的兩翼由輕木制成，長(zhǎng)約一米，覆有一層輕塑膠。它的小馬達(dá)使機(jī)翼可以前后上下運(yùn)動(dòng)，并能在這兩個(gè)方向上任意旋轉(zhuǎn)。研究小組將機(jī)器人附著在兩根豎直標(biāo)桿上，它便能上下滑動(dòng)。實(shí)驗(yàn)剛開(kāi)始的時(shí)候，機(jī)器人懸掛在一根彈性帶上。一旦它升高，運(yùn)動(dòng)探測(cè)器就能測(cè)量它任何運(yùn)動(dòng)的高度。每過(guò)20秒，計(jì)算機(jī)程序就給機(jī)器人輸入任意設(shè)定的指令，以檢測(cè)其振翅能力。每個(gè)指令或是讓機(jī)器人停止運(yùn)動(dòng)或是在各種方向上轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)機(jī)翼。通過(guò)來(lái)自運(yùn)動(dòng)探測(cè)器的反饋，程序測(cè)算出哪幾組指令能最有效地產(chǎn)生高度。最成功的幾組進(jìn)行配對(duì)，而其“后代”指令則通過(guò)在成功組合間隨意交換指令產(chǎn)生。在產(chǎn)生下一代組合之前，這些第二代指令被發(fā)往機(jī)器人并進(jìn)行評(píng)估，然后這一過(guò)程反復(fù)進(jìn)行。第十篇Young Female Chimps Outlearn Their Brothers Young female chimps are faster and better learners than young male chimps, suggests a new study, echoing learning differences seen in human girls and boys. While young male chimps pass their time playing. Young female chimps carefully study their mothers. As a result, they learn how to fish for tasty termite snacks over two years before the boys. Elizabeth Lonsdorf, now at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, US, and colleagues at the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul spent four years watching how young chimpanzees in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania learned “cultural behavior”. The sex differences in learning behavior were “consistent and strikingly apparent”, says the team. The researchers point out that similar differences are seen in human children with regard toskills such as writing. “A sex-based learning differences may therefore date back at least to the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans.” they write in the journal Nature. Chimps make flexible tools from vegetation and then insert them into termite mounds, extract them and then munch the termites clinging onto the tool. The researchers used video cameras to record this feeding behavior and found that each chimp mother had her own technique, such as how she used tools of different lengths. Analysis of the six infants whose ages were known showed that girl chimps were an average of 31 months old when they succeeded in fishing out their termites, where the boy chimps were aged 58 months on average. Females were also more skillful at getting out more termites with every dip and used techniques similar to their mothers while males did not. Instead of studying their mothers, the boy chimps spent a significantly greater amount of time frolicking around the termite mound. Behaviors such as playing or swinging might help the male infants later in life when typically male activities like hunting or fighting for dominance become important, suggest the researchers. Lonsdorf adds that there just two main sources of animal protein for chimps the termites or colobus monkeys. “Mature males often hunt monkeys up trees, but females are almost always either pregnant or burdened with a clinging infant. This makes hunting difficult,” she says .“Adult females spend more time fishing for termites than males.” So becoming proficient at termite fishing could mean adult females eat better, “They can watch their offspring at the same time. The young of both sexes seen to pursue activities related to their adult sex roles10 at a very young age.”練習(xí):1. Why do young female chimps learn faster than young male chimps at fishing for termites? A Because young female chimps dont play with their brothers. B Because young female chimps begin to study their mothers earlier. C Because young male chimps never learn to fish for termites. D Because young male chimps are not interested in termites.2. What are the tools with which chimps fish for termites? A Tree branches. B Vegetation. C Fruits. D Grass.3. Which of the Following is true about chimps fishing for termites according to paragraph 6? A Males often compete with females in fishing for termites. B Males could get out more termites with every dip. C Females could get out more termites with every dip. D Males are good at mastering technique for fishing for termites.4. How did the researchers explain the fact that boy chimps spent more time on playing? A They like hunting.B They enjoy fighting.C It helps them to stay fit.D It will make them good fighters and hunters in the future.5. According to the last paragrnph, which of the following is NOT true?A Adult chimps hunt monkeys while young chimps fish for termites. B The main source of animal protein for male chimps is colobus monkeys. C The main source of animal protein for female chimps is termites. D Female chimps fish for termites while watching their children.答案與題解 :1. B 根據(jù)第二段的內(nèi)容，雄性小猩猩將時(shí)間用來(lái)玩要，而雌性小猩猩則研究她們母親的行為，因此，她們比雄性小猩猩早兩年學(xué)會(huì)捕食白蟻。 A、D文中沒(méi)有提到， C與問(wèn)題沒(méi)有關(guān)系。2. B第五段的第一個(gè)句子告訴我們，猩猩用植物作成方便的工具，用來(lái)捕食白蟻。 A、C和 D均是錯(cuò)誤的。3. C 該段告訴我們，對(duì)六只小猩猩的分析表明，雌性小猩狠不但較早學(xué)會(huì)捕食白蟻 .而且能比雄性小猩猩更為熟練地捕食到更多的白蟻。所以， B和 D都不是正確選項(xiàng)。 A項(xiàng)內(nèi)容文中沒(méi)有提到。4. D A、B和 C都是錯(cuò)誤的，因?yàn)槲闹袥](méi)有捉到雄性小猩猩喜歡獵食和打斗，也沒(méi)有提及玩耍能使他們更健康。D是正確答案。第七段昀后一句說(shuō)，他們喜歡玩耍的行為有助于他們長(zhǎng)大后的生活，因?yàn)?，到那時(shí)，他們要獵食和爭(zhēng)權(quán)奪位。5. A 根據(jù)昀后一段的內(nèi)容，成年雄猩猩主要獵食生活在樹(shù)上的一種叫做 colobus（疣猴）的猴子，而雌性猩猩捕食白蟻。所以 A是正確選項(xiàng)。 B、C和 D的內(nèi)容均可在該段中找到。譯文：第十篇 年輕雌猩猩學(xué)習(xí)優(yōu)于她們的弟兄一項(xiàng)新的研究顯示，與年輕雄性相比，年輕雌黑猩猩是更快更好的學(xué)習(xí)者，這與人類(lèi)的兩性學(xué)習(xí)差異相仿。在小雄猩猩玩樂(lè)嬉鬧時(shí)候，雌猩猩卻在悉心向母親學(xué)習(xí)。結(jié)果她們比“男孩們”提早兩年學(xué)會(huì)捕獲美味小吃白蟻。美國(guó)芝加哥林肯公司動(dòng)物園的Elizabeth Lonsdorf 和她在圣保羅市明尼蘇達(dá)大學(xué)的同事們用了4年時(shí)間觀察坦桑尼亞Gombe 自然公園的年輕黑猩猩學(xué)習(xí)它們的“文化行為”。學(xué)習(xí)行為的性別差異是“一貫和驚人顯著的”，觀察小組報(bào)告說(shuō)。研究人員指出，類(lèi)似的差別也存在于人類(lèi)兒童寫(xiě)作等技巧的學(xué)習(xí)過(guò)程。他們?cè)谧匀浑s志中寫(xiě)道，“基于性別的學(xué)習(xí)差異因而可以上溯到人類(lèi)和黑猩猩最近的共同始祖?！焙谛尚捎弥参镏圃祆`巧的工具，將它們插入蟻丘把白蟻驅(qū)趕出來(lái)，再津津有味地享用粘在工具上的白蟻。研究人員用攝像機(jī)記錄下這種捕食行為，發(fā)現(xiàn)每位猩猩母親在諸如怎樣使用不同長(zhǎng)度的工具等方面都有她們自己的訣竅。分析研究六只已知年齡的幼猩猩顯示，雌猩猩在平均31個(gè)月大時(shí)就能成功捕獲白蟻，而雄猩猩則需要到58個(gè)月時(shí)才能學(xué)會(huì)。雌性每次都能熟練地收獲更多的白蟻，并能采用與母親相似的技巧，而雄性卻做不到?！澳泻儭辈幌蚰赣H學(xué)習(xí)，卻花費(fèi)大量時(shí)間在蟻丘周?chē)覒?。研究人員認(rèn)為玩耍、搖蕩等活動(dòng)或許對(duì)公幼獸后來(lái)的諸如捕獵、爭(zhēng)奪領(lǐng)導(dǎo)權(quán)等典型的雄性活動(dòng)大有裨益。Lonsdorf 補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，黑猩猩食物中動(dòng)物蛋白的主要來(lái)源有兩個(gè)白蟻和疣猴?！俺墒煨坌猿Ｔ跇?shù)間抓捕疣猴，而雌性則總是因?yàn)閼言谢蛏砩系踔⌒尚啥y以捕獵，”她說(shuō)，“成年雌性比雄性花更多的時(shí)間捕食白蟻?！币虼藡故斓夭东@白蟻意味著雌性比雄性吃得更好，“并且可以同時(shí)看護(hù)后代。雌雄兩性似乎都是在十分年幼的時(shí)候就開(kāi)始了與成年后性別角色有關(guān)的活動(dòng)?！钡诙猈orld Crude Oil Production May Peak a Decade Earlier Than Some Predict In a finding that may speed efforts to conserve oil，scientists in Kuwait predict that world conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014.This prediction is almost a decade earlier than some other predictions. Their study is in ACSEnergy&Fuels1. Ibrahim Nashawi and colleagues point out that rapid growth in global oil consumption has sparked a growing interest in predicting "peak oil". "Peak oil" is the point where oil production reaches a maximum and then declines. Scientists have developed several models to forecast this point，and some put the date at 2020 or later. One of the most famous forecast models is called the Hubbert model2.It assumes that global oil production will follow a bell shaped curve3.A related concept is that4 of "Peak Oil." The term "Peak Oil" indicates the moment in which world wide production will peak，afterwards to start on irreversible decline. The Hubbert model accurately predicted that oil production would peak in the United States in 1970.The model has since gained in popularity and has been used to forecast oil production worldwide. However，recent studies show that the model is insufficient to account for5 more complex oil production cycles of some countries. Those cycles can be heavily influenced by technology changes，politics，and other factors，the scientists say. The new study describes development of a new version of the Hubbert model that provides a more realistic and accurate oil production forecast. Using the new model，the scientists evaluated the oil production trends of 47 major oil-producing countries，which supply most of the worlds conventional crude oil6.They estimated that worldwide conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014，years earlier than anticipated. The scientists also showed that the worlds oil reserves7 are being reduced at a rate of 2.1 percent a year. The new model could help inform energy-related decisions and public policy debate，they suggest.詞匯：conserve v.保護(hù)，保存 irreversible adj.不可逆的，不可改變的crude oil原油spark v.閃耀;激發(fā);鼓舞 insufficient 不充分的，不足的curve n.曲線注釋?zhuān)?.ACSEnergy&Fuels：ACS是American Chemical Society(美國(guó)化學(xué)學(xué)會(huì))的縮寫(xiě)。該學(xué)會(huì)成立于1876年，現(xiàn)已成為世界最大的科技協(xié)會(huì)。多年來(lái)，ACS一直致力于為全球化學(xué)研究機(jī)構(gòu)、企業(yè)及個(gè)人提供高品質(zhì)的文獻(xiàn)資訊及服務(wù)。ACS出版的期刊有34種，這些期刊在化學(xué)領(lǐng)域中是被引用次數(shù)最多的化學(xué)期刊，Energy&Fuels即是其中一本。2.the Hubbert model：赫伯特模型是美國(guó)地質(zhì)學(xué)家M.King Hubbert于1956年創(chuàng)建的，這是一個(gè)隨時(shí)間增長(zhǎng)的模型，Hubbert將其引入油氣田開(kāi)發(fā)，經(jīng)推導(dǎo)使其成為一個(gè)可以預(yù)測(cè)油氣田累積產(chǎn)量、瞬時(shí)產(chǎn)量、年產(chǎn)量和可采儲(chǔ)量等多項(xiàng)開(kāi)發(fā)指標(biāo)的多功能預(yù)測(cè)模型。3.a bell shaped curve：鐘形曲線4.that of peak oil：that指代concept。5.account for：說(shuō)明，解釋6.conventional crude oil：常規(guī)原油7.oil reserves：石油儲(chǔ)量。通常使用復(fù)數(shù)形式reserves。練習(xí)：1Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "sparked" appearing in paragraph 2?AflashedBstimulatedCchangedDended2The term “a bell shaped curve” appearing in paragraph 2 indicates that global oil production willAtake the shape of a flat curveBkeep growingCkeep decliningDstart to decline after global oil production peaks3Which of the following is NOT true of the Hubbert model?AIt successfully predicted that oil production peaked in the U. S. in 1970.BIt has been used to predict oil production in many countries.CIt is insufficient to explain oil production cycles in some countries.DIt provides a very realistic and accurate oil production.4What is the major achievement of the new study mentioned in the last paragraph?AIt predicts global oil production will peak in 2014.BIt predicts oil production will decline in 47 countries.CIt confirms further the effectiveness of the Hubbert model.DIt discovers a new trend of worldwide oil production.5Who develop the new version of the Hubbert model?AAmerican scientists.BKuwaiti scientists.CBritish scientists.DScientists of 47 major oil-producing countries.答案與題解：1.B spark一詞做及物動(dòng)詞使用時(shí)有“發(fā)動(dòng)”、“激發(fā)"的意思，在此意為stimulated，即“引發(fā)”，這個(gè)句子的意思是：全球石油消費(fèi)的快速增長(zhǎng)已引發(fā)了對(duì)“石油峰值”預(yù)測(cè)的興趣。2.D 此句接下來(lái)的句子中所提到的a related concept即是與a bell shaped curve相關(guān)的概念，也就是說(shuō)，接下來(lái)的這個(gè)句子對(duì)a bell shaped cur