题目内容
Mirages(海市蜃楼) are produced by refraction(折射) of light within a layer(层), or lens(透镜), of air. This layer of air, says meteorologist James. H. Gordon, resists disruption(混乱), even in a fairly strong wind.
Probably the most typical mirage picture is one of a lake in a waterless desert. There may even be the appearance of waves breaking on the shore. The easiest form of mirage to study, however, is one that has been seen by millions of people—those seeming strips(条状) of water on asphalt-surfaced(沥青路面的) highway go suddenly out of sight when one comes near them.
Gordon says Operation Long Distance as the most puzzling of mirage forms, since it ifies(使无效) a basic law of physics. The law states that the apparent size of an object seems to become smaller as we move away from it; however, this kind of mirage will carry a picture of a ship, a town, or an island a thousand miles and set it up in the sky as big as life.
Mirages may have had an effect on history: a World War Ⅰ story, which has not been really verified(考证), deals with a crucial(决定性的) battle between the Turks and the British. Supposedly, the stronger Turkish army was gaining the advantage when one of its outposts reported British reinforcements(援兵) advancing. After a hurried conference, the Turkish forces withdrew. In reality there were no advancing British troops(军队)—what had been reported was a mirage showing men who were a hundred miles away.
1. The air that carries the mirage acts as .
A. a lens B. a mirror
C. an absorbent(吸收剂) D. a camera
2. The strips of water are the easiest form of mirage to study because they .
A. can be produced in the lab
B. appear quite often
C. have been noted all over the world
D. do not break up in a light gentle wind
3. The passage states that mirages may .
A. be reproduced in several places at the same time
B. be enlarged to huge proportions(比例)
C. last for several days
D. be carried a thousand miles
4. The author implies that history might have recorded a different winner in one battle if .
A. the Turks had described a mirage correctly
B. British troops had not been advancing
C. a Turkish outpost had not mistaken a mirage for a British advance
D. a British outpost had not reported a distant mirage
提示：
1.A Mirages(海市蜃楼) are produced by refraction(折射) of light within a layer(层), or lens(透镜), of air. 所以本题选A. 2.B The easiest form of mirage to study, however, is one that has been seen by millions of people—those seeming strips(条状) of water on asphalt-surfaced(沥青路面的) highway go suddenly out of sight when one comes near them. 故B为正确选项。 3.D this kind of mirage will carry a picture of a ship, a town, or an island a thousand miles.所以D为正确选项。 4.C 参见文章最后一段。
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The Iceberg Was Only Part ofIt
What doomed the Titanic is well known, at least in outline. On a moonless night of April 15, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic ,with 1,500 lives lost.
A century later many people presented new theories to explain the real reason for the disaster. Now two new studies argue that rare states of nature played major roles in the disaster.
The first says Earth’s nearness to the Moon and the Sun — a proximity not matched in more than 1,000 years — resulted in record tides that help explain why the Titanic met with so much ice, including the fatal iceberg.
Recently, a team of researchers found an apparent explanation in the heavens. They discovered that Earth had come unusually close to the Sun and Moon that winter, enhancing their gravitational pulls on the ocean and producing record tides. The rare orbits took place between December 1911 and February 1912 — about two months before the disaster came about. The researchers suggest that the high tides refloated masses of icebergs traditionally stuck along the coastlines of Labrador and Newfoundland and sent them adrift into the North Atlantic shipping lanes.
And a second, put forward by a Titanic historian from Britain, contends that the icy waters created ideal conditions for an unusual type of mirage(海市蜃楼) that hid icebergs from lookouts whose duty was to watch carefully for danger ahead and confused a nearby ship as to the liner’s identity, delaying rescue efforts for hours.
Most people know mirages as natural phenomena caused when hot air near the Earth’s surface bends light rays upward. In a desert, the effect prompts lost travelers to mistake patches of blue sky for pools of water. But another kind of mirage occurs when cold air bends light rays downward. In that case, observers can see objects and settings far over the horizon. The images often undergo quick distortions — not unlike the wavy reflections in a funhouse mirror.
Now, scholars of the Titanic are debating these new theories. Some have different opinions on it. Over all, though, many experts are applauding the fresh perspectives.
【小题1】The underlined word "It" in the title probably refers to _______.
| A．the Titanic | B．the cause of the disaster |
| C．the record tide | D．an unusual mirage |
① record tides’ forming and icebergs’ being refloated
② icebergs’ being drifted into the North Atlantic shipping lanes
③ the Earth’s strange closing to the Sun and the Moon
④ increasing of the gravitational force on the ocean
| A．①→②→③→④ | B．②→③→④→① | C．④→③→②→① | D．③→④→①→② |
| A．the freezing weather made the watcher not be able to watch clear |
| B．the mirage made the watcher not find icebergs and a nearby ship delay rescuing |
| C．the mirage on the sea attracted the watcher and made him forget his work |
| D．the high tides drove the icebergs float so fast that the watcher didn’t respond to them |
| A．to explain to the readers the ways of the mirage forming |
| B．to infer the possibility of the mirage appearing |
| C．to summarize the various kinds of the mirage |
| D．to analyze the conditions of the mirage arising |
| A．comparison and contrast | B．conclusion and proof |
| C．time and events | D．definition and classification（分类) |
What doomed the Titanic is well known, at least in outline. On a moonless night of April 15, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic ,with 1,500 lives lost.
A century later many people presented new theories to explain the real reason for the disaster. Now two new studies argue that rare states of nature played major roles in the disaster.
The first says Earth’s nearness to the Moon and the Sun — a proximity not matched in more than 1,000 years — resulted in record tides that help explain why the Titanic met with so much ice, including the fatal iceberg.
Recently, a team of researchers found an apparent explanation in the heavens. They discovered that Earth had come unusually close to the Sun and Moon that winter, enhancing their gravitational pulls on the ocean and producing record tides. The rare orbits took place between December 1911 and February 1912 — about two months before the disaster came about. The researchers suggest that the high tides refloated masses of icebergs traditionally stuck along the coastlines of Labrador and Newfoundland and sent them adrift into the North Atlantic shipping lanes.
And a second, put forward by a Titanic historian from Britain, contends that the icy waters created ideal conditions for an unusual type of mirage(海市蜃楼) that hid icebergs from lookouts whose duty was to watch carefully for danger ahead and confused a nearby ship as to the liner’s identity, delaying rescue efforts for hours.
Most people know mirages as natural phenomena caused when hot air near the Earth’s surface bends light rays upward. In a desert, the effect prompts lost travelers to mistake patches of blue sky for pools of water. But another kind of mirage occurs when cold air bends light rays downward. In that case, observers can see objects and settings far over the horizon. The images often undergo quick distortions — not unlike the wavy reflections in a funhouse mirror.
Now, scholars of the Titanic are debating these new theories. Some have different opinions on it. Over all, though, many experts are applauding the fresh perspectives. (words:353)
【小题1】The underlined word "It" in the title probably refers to _______.
| A．the Titanic | B．the record tide | C．the cause of the disaster | D．an unusual mirage |
① record tides’ forming and icebergs’ being refloated
② icebergs’ being drifted into the North Atlantic shipping lanes
③the Earth’s strange closing to the Sun and the Moon
④increasing of the gravitational force on the ocean
| A．①→②→③→④ | B．③→④→①→② | C．④→③→②→① | D．②→③→④→① |
| A．the freezing weather made the watcher not be able to watch clear |
| B．the mirage on the sea attracted the watcher and made him forget his work |
| C．the high tides drove the icebergs float so fast that the watcher didn’t respond to them |
| D．the mirage made the watcher not find icebergs and a nearby ship delay rescuing |
| A．to infer the possibility of the mirage appearing |
| B．to explain to the readers the ways of the mirage forming |
| C．to summarize the various kinds of the mirage |
| D．to analyze the conditions of the mirage arising |
| A．comparison and contrast | B．time and events |
| C．conclusion and proof | D．definition and classification（分类)） |