请大家试着翻译文章中划线句子。
spot v.认出,定位,侦察
version v.形式,版本
orbit n.轨道,范围
fatal a.致命的,重大的
Passage One
Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:
Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids (小行星) now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids (流星) that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don’t threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
Buy $50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 year5s to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we’ll have a way to change its course.
Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn’t be cheap.
Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk re: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare—but if one did fall, it would be the end of the world. “If we don’t take care of these big asteroids, they’ll take care of us,” says one scientist. “It’s that simple.”
The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday (毁灭性的)rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them,” said a New York Times article.
21.What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?
A) They are heavenly bodies different in composition.
B) They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.
C) There are more asteroids than meteoroids.
D) Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.
22.What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth?
A) It is very unlikely but the danger exists.
B) Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.
C) Collisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.
D) It’s still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.
23.What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the courses of asteroids?
A) It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.
B) It may create more problems than it might solve.
C) It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.
D) Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.
24.We can conclude from the passage that ______________.
A) while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world
B) asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future
C) the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime
D) workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth
25.Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in this passage?
A) Optimistic.
B) Critical.
C) Objective.
D) Arbitrary.
答案
翻译: 某些科学家说,正如我们所知道的,除非我们现在花钱为小行星定位并防范它们,否则,它们就会碰撞地球并摧毁生命。
本文是一篇科普文章,结构是问题解决方案型。一般来说解决方案都不会完美。文章第一句话提出了问题。
21.二段一句给出了答案:“小行星是掠过夜空的大型流星”,说明小行星也是流星,只是大而已。答案选B
22.根据二段和五段的but可以知道行星也可能撞地球,答案是A。B选项中25年和文中的意思不符,文中是50万年;C文中没有提到这样的意思;D和五段的but不符。
23.六段第一句话给出正解为B:“解决问题会带来更多的问题”;A不对的原因是这个方案不是不能解决问题,只是会带来新的问题;C行星撞地球是可能的;D是一句空话,在文中没有体现出来,是一个很好的陷阱。
24. conclude型细节推理题,A夸大了问题,文中并没有说毁灭地球;B不是likely而是可能性极小;C文中压根就没有提到;D是正解,虽然可能性很小,但还是要找到可行的解决方案。
25.态度题,作者只是引用别人的观点,态度是客观的。选C