Question

No one really knows how the ancient Egyptians build the pyramids. But Maureen Clemmons has a theory (理论). She thinks the Egyptians may have used kites.

“If you look at ht top center of every monument (纪念碑), you see wings,” Clemons said. “I think the Egyptians have been trying to tell us in pictures for 3,000 years that this is how they built the pyramids.”

She thinks that earliest Egyptian workers might make use of kites to lift the stones with the help of the desert wind. She got a team of aeronautic (航空的) engineers to help her test the theory.

Yesterday, in the Mojave Desert, they put their theory to the test using a nylon kite, three pulleys (滑轮) and an obelisk (石塔) that weighs nearly four tons. The wind speed had to be just right. And amazingly, it worked.

“There’s absolutely no evidence(证据) for kites in ancient Egypt,” said Professor Carol Redmount of the University of California. “There’s no evidence of pulleys as we know them today.”

Redmount says the historical evidence points to the “Charlton Heston method,” which basically relies on the theory of the muscle of slaves pushing and pulling huge stone blocks to create the pyramids.

But the kite-lifting group will have none that.

“All I can remember from history is that Egyptians drank beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and as someone who has done field research on drinking beer, I know after I’ve had two beers and it’s really hot. I’m not pushing or pulling anything,” Clemmons said. “So, I figured I’d try to think another way.”

 

1. How did Clemmons prove that her idea was reasonable?

  A. She built a pyramid by using kites

  B. She had an argument with Professor Redmount.

  C. She persuaded a team of aeronautic engineers to test her idea.

  D. She had an experiment done to lift a large stone by using pulleys and a kite.

2. What made Clemmons think of her kite-lifting idea?

  A. Her job of making kites.             B. The discovery of pulleys.

  C. The wings on the monuments.   D. The Charlton Heston method.

3. Why did Clemmons NOT agree with the theory of the muscle of slaves pushing and pulling stones to create the pyramids?

  A. Because at that time no pulleys were used in Egypt.

  B. Because of the Egyptians’ habit of drinking beer at three meals and the beer effect on people.

  C. Because there were no enough slaves to finish the great project.

  D. Because she knew Charlton Heston very well.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

  A. An Unknown Mystery      B. Two Different Theories

  C. Kites and Pyramids          D. Kites and Pulleys

Answer 1

1. D   2. C    3.B   4. C