资料说明文汇总共34篇.docx

资料说明文汇总共34篇.docx

《资料说明文汇总共34篇.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《资料说明文汇总共34篇.docx（56页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

资料说明文汇总共34篇

Passage1（0809）Money

Mankind’sfascinationwithgoldisasoidascivilizationitself.TheancientEgyptiansesteemedgold,whichhadreligioussignificancetothem,andKingTutankhamenwasburiedinasolid-goJdcoffin3300yearsago.

Peoplehavealwayslongedtopossesgold.Unfortunately,thislonginghasalsobroughtouttheworstinthehumancharacter.TheSpanishconquistadoresrobbedpalaces,temples,andgraves,andkilledthousandsofIndiansintheirruthlesssearchforgold.OftentheonlyruleinyoungCaliforniaduringthedaysofthegoldrushwasexercisedbythemobwitharope.Eventoday,theeconomicrunningofSouthAfrica’sgoldminesdependslargelyontheemploymentofblacklaboureswhoarepaidabout£40amonth,plusroomandboard,andwhomustworkinconditionsthatcanonlybedescribedascruel.About400minersarekilledinmineaccidentsinSouthAfricaeachyear,oroneforeverytwotonsofgoldproduced.

Muchofgold’svalueliesinitsscarcity.Onlyabout80,000tonshavebeenminedinthehistoryoftheworld.Allofitcouldbestoredinavault60feetsquare,orasupertanker.

GreatBritainwasthefirstcountrytoadoptthegoldstandard,whentheMasteroftheMint,SirIsaacNewton,establishedafixedpriceforgoldin1717.But-untilthebigdiscoveriesofgoldinthelasthalfofthenineteenthcentury—startinginCaliforniain1848andlaterinAustraliaandSouthAfrica—theresimplywasn’tenoughgoldaroundforallthetradingnationstolinktheircurrenciestothepreciousmetal.

Anout-of-workprospectornamedGeorgeHarrisonlaunchedSouthAfricaintothegoldagein1886whenhediscoveredthemetalonafarmnearwhatisnowJohannesburg.Harrisonwasgivena£12rewardbythefarmer.Hethendisappearedandreportedlywaseatenbyalion.

Historically,thedesiretohoardgoldathomehasbeenprimarilyanoccupationoftheworkingandpeasantclasses,whohavenofaithinpapermoney.GeorgeBernardShawdefendedtheirinstinctseloquently:

‘Youhavetochoosebetweentrustingtothenaturalstabilityofgoldandthenaturalstabilityofthehonestyandintelligenceofthemembersofthegovernment’,hesaid,‘andwithduerespecttothesegentlemen,Iadviseyou...tovoteforgold.’

1.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatduringthedaysofthegold-rushinCalifornia________.

（A）peoplehadtomarkouttheirgoldclaimswitharope

（B）peoplecarriedropesinsteadofguns

（C）hangingwasacommonformofpunishment

（D）theropewasthesymboloflawandorder

2.Oneoftheproblemswithgoldisthat________.

（A）itlosesitsshapetooeasily

（B）itchangesthehumancharacters

（C）itentailsdangertotheminers

（D）itcostsmoneytoproduce.

3.Accordingtothepassage,goldhasalwaysbeenconsideredapreciousmetalmainlybecause________.

（A）moneyismadeofit

（B）itisrare

（C）asmallquantitygoesalongway

（D）ithasreligioussignificance

4.Afterthebiggolddiscoveriesinthelatenineteenthcentury________.

（A）thetradingnationsadoptedthegoldstandard

（B）thetradingnationswereunabletogetenoughgold

（C）goldcoinswereusedbymostnations

（D）goldwasconsideredtobeakindofpreciousmetal

5.GeorgeBernardShawthoughtthat________.

（A）themembersofthegovernmentwerehonestandintelligent

（B）thevalueofgoldwaslikelytochangeunexpectedly

（C）goldwasmorevaluablethanpapermoney

（D）onecouldplacemorefaithingoldthaninpoliticians

Passage2（0809）Earth

Letustakeabrieflookattheplanetonwhichwelive.AsEarthhurtlesthroughspaceataspeedof70,000milesanhour,itspins,asweallknow,onitsaxis,whichcausesittobeflattenedatthePoles.ThusifyouweretostandatsealevelattheNorthorSouthPoleyouwouldbe13milesnearerthecentreoftheearththanifyoustoodontheEquator.

Theearthismadeupofthreemajorlayers—acentralcore,probablymetallic,some4000milesacross,asurroundinglayerofcompressedrock,andtotopitallaverythinskinofsofterrock,onlyabout20to40milesthick—-that’saboutasthinastheskinofanapple,talkinginrelativeterms.

Thepressureonthecentralcoreisunimaginable.Ithasbeencalculatedthatatthecentreitis60millionpoundstothesquareinch,andthisatatemperatureofperhaps10,000degreesFahrenheit.Theearth’sinterior,therefore,wouldseemtobeofliquidmetal—andevidenceforthisisgivenbythebehaviourofearthquakes.

Whenanearthquakeoccurs,shockwavesradiatefromthecentrejustaswavesradiateoutwardsfromthepointwhereastonedropsintoapond.Andthesewavespulsatethroughtheearth’svariouslayers.Somewavesdescendverticallyandpassrightthroughtheearth,providingevidencefortheexistenceofthecoreandanindicationthatitisfluidratherthansolid.Thus,withtheirsensitiveinstruments,thescientistswhostudyearthquakes,theseismologists,canineffectX-raytheearth.

Icelandisoneofthemostactivevolcanicregionsoftheworld.AnditwastoIcelandthatJulesVernesenttheheroofhisbookAJourneytotheCentreoftheEarth.Thisintrepidexplorerclambereddowntheopeningofanextinctvolcanoandfolloweditswindingsuntilhereachedtheearth’score.Therehefoundgreatoceans,andcontinentswithvegetation.Thisconceptionofahollowearthwenowknowtobefalse.Inthe100yearssinceJulesVernepublishedhisbook,thescienceofvulcanology,asitiscalled,hasmadegreatstrides.Butevensothedeepestmanhasyetpenetratedisabout10,000feet.Thishole,theRobinsonDeepmineinSouthAfrica,barelyscratchesthesurface;sogreatistheheatat10,000feetthatwereitnotforanelaborateair-conditioningsystem,theminersworkingtherewouldberoasted.Oilboringsdownto20,000feethaveshownthatthedeepertheygo,thehotteritbecomes.

Thetemperatureoftheearthatthecentreisestimatedtobeanythingbetween3,000and11,000degreesFahrenheit.Somescientistsbelievethatthistremendousheatiscausedbythebreaking-downofradio-activeelements,whichreleaselargeamountsofenergyandcompensateforthelossofheatfromtheearth’ssurface.Ifthistheoryiscorrect,thenwearealllivingontopofanaturalatomicpowerhouse.

6.Theouterlayeroftheearthiscomparedtotheskinofanapplebecause________.

（A）itisabout20to40milesthick

（B）itisthininproportiontotheearth’smass

（C）itissofterthanthecentralcore

（D）itisthinnerthanthesurroundinglayer

7.Whichofthefollowingcannotexplainwhytheinterioroftheearthisfluid?

（A）Thereisgreatpressureatthecentre.

（B）Earthquakewavescanmovevertically.

（C）Theouterlayerismadeofrock.

（D）Theheatatthecentreistoogreat.

8.TheRobinsonDeepmineinSouthAfricais________.

（A）toodeeptoworkin

（B）toohottoworkin

（C）closetothecentre

（D）stillinuse

9.SincethepublicationofJulesVerne’sbookithasbeenprovedthat________.

（A）thecentreoftheearthisnothollow

（B）oilboringscannotgodeeperthan20,000feet

（C）thereareactivevolcanicregionsatthecentre

（D）theearthisnotindangerofexploding

10.Whatisthebesttitleforthepassage?

（A）TheEarthquake.

（B）TheUnderworld.

（C）TheVolcanicRegions.

（D）TheGreatOceans.

Passage3（0809）Alexandertechnique

ManypeoplewillhaveheardoftheAlexandertechniquebuthaveonlyavagueideawhatitisabout.Untilearlierthisyear,Ididn’thavethefaintestideaaboutit.But,hunchedoveracomputerscreenoneday,Inoticedthattheneck-andbackacheIregularlysufferedweremorepainfulthanusual.Iconsultedadoctor,whosaid:

"Icantreatthesymptomsbymassagingyourneckandupperback.Butyouactuallyhavebadposture.Thatiswhatyouneedtogetsortedout.GooffandlearntheAlexandertechnique."

IhadregularlybeentoldbyfriendsandfamilythatItendtoslouchinchairsbuthadthoughtbadposturewassomethingonewasbornwithandcoulddonothingabout.Thatisnottrue.Dentistsandcarmechanics,amongothers,tendtodevelopbadposturefromleaningoverpatientsorenginebays.Mothersoftenstressandstraintheirnecksandbacksliftingandcarryingchildren,andthoseofuswhositinfrontofcomputersalldayarealmostcertainlynotdoingourbodiesanyfavours.

AfewclicksonthewebandIfoundanAlexandertechniqueteacher,TanyaShoop,inmyareaofsouthLondonandbookedafirstappointment.ThreemonthslaterIamwalkingstraighterandsittingbetter,whilemyneckandbackpainarethingsofthepast.Ifeeltaller,too,whichImaybeimagining,butthetechniquecanincreaseyourheightbyuptofivecentimetersifyouwerebadlyslumpedbeforehand.

Theteachingcentresontheneck,headandback.Ittrainsyoutouseyourbodylessharshlyandtoperformfamiliarmovementsandactionswithlesseffort.Thereisverylittleeffortinthelessonsthemselves,whichsetsaparttheAlexandertechniquefrompilatesoryoga,whichareexercise-based.

Atypicallessoninvolvesstandinginfrontofachairandlearningtositandstandwithminimaleffort.Youspendsometimelyingonabenchwithyourkneesbenttostraightenthespineandrelaxyourbodywhiletheteachermovesyourarmsandlegstotrainyoutomovethemcorrectly.

Thekeyislearningtobreakthebadhabitsaccumulatedoveryears.Try,forexample,foldingyourarmstheoppositewaytonormal.Itfeelsodd,doesn’tit?

Thisisanexampleofahabitthebodyhasformedwhichcanbehardtobreak.Manyofuscarryourheadstoofarbackandtiltedskyward.Thetechniqueteachesyoutoletgoofthemusclesholdingtheheadback,allowingittoresumeitsnaturalplaceonthesu