1、2015综合B阅读理解原文与译文 十七Eiffel Is an Eyeful引人注目的埃菲尔铁塔 Some2 300 meters up, near the Eiffel Tower's wind-whipped summit the world comes to scribble3. Japanese,Brazilians, Americans — they graffiti4 their names,loves and politics on the cold iron — transforming the most French of monuments into symbol
2、of a world on the move5. 世界各地的人们都来到大约300米高,接近埃菲尔铁塔顶端的地方涂鸦。日本人、巴西人、 美国人都在冰冷的铁上涂上自己的名字、喜好和政治观点,使这最具有法兰西色彩的纪念碑成为 动感世界的象征。 With Paris laid out in miniature6 below, seems strange that visitors would rather waste time marking their presence than admiring the view7. But the graffiti also raises a ques
3、tion : Why, nearly 114 years after it was completed,and decades after it ceased to be the world, s tallest structure,is la Tour Eiffel still so popular8? 从塔上可以看到巴黎市的远景,但奇怪的是观光者们宁愿花时间留下到此一游的痕迹,而不 去观赏风景。但这些涂鸦者也引起了一个问题:为什么在建成114年后,埃菲尔铁塔仍然这么受 欢迎?尽管它在几十年前减已经不是世界上最高的建筑物了。 The reasons are as complex as
4、 the iron work that graces9 a structure some 90 stories high. But part of the answer is, no doubt, its agelessness. Regularly maintained, it should never rust away. Graffiti is regularly painted over,but the tower lives on. 这个问题的答案就像那构成90层的铁塔的工程一样复杂。一部分的理由是,毫无疑问,铁塔 是永不过时的。周期性的维护使得它永远不会被腐蚀掉。埃菲尔铁塔定
5、期油漆,覆盖那些涂鸦, 但是它仍将继续存在下去。 "Eiffel represents Paris and Paris is France. It is very symbolic”, Hugues Richard10,a 31- year-old Frenchman who holds the record for cycling up to the tower's second floor 一 747 steps in 19 minutes and 4 seconds, without touching the floor with his feet. "It's iron lady,
6、 inspires us11 ”, he says. “埃菲尔是巴黎的象征,而巴黎又代表了法国。所以,埃菲尔十分具有象征性。” Hugues Richard说道。这位31岁的法国人保持着在19分零4秒的时间内骑自行车经过747级台阶登上铁 塔二层的纪录。“这是铁娘子,能让人产生灵感,”他说。 But to what12? After all,the tower doesn' t have a purpose. It ceased to be the world’ s tallest in 1930 when the Chrysler Building13 went up in New
7、 York. Yes,television and radio signals are beamed from the top,and Gustave Eiffel,a frenetic builder who died on December 27,aged 91 ,used its height for conducting research into weather, aerodynamics and radio communication. 但是它能使人们产生怎样的灵感呢?毕竟,铁塔并没有任何&的。1930年纽约的克莱斯勒大 厦取代它成为世界上最高的建筑。但是电视和广播信号仍然从塔顶
8、发送出来,而古斯塔夫•埃菲 尔,这个狂热的建造者利用它的高度进行气象学、空气动力学和无线电通讯的研究。他在12月27 日逝世,终年91岁。 But in essence the tower inspires simply by being there _ a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will14. To the technically minded15, it's an engineering triumph. For lovers, it's romantic. 本质上来说,铁塔伫立在那儿本身就是一个灵感—
9、—它就像一张空白的画布,任游客自由遐 想。对于那些善于从技术角度考虑问题的人来说,它是一个工程上的胜利;而对于恋人们来说, 它则象征着浪漫。 "The tower will outlast all of us,and by a long way16”,says Isabelle Esnous, whose company manages Eiffel Tower. “这座塔将在我们所有的人离去后长久存在。”埃菲尔铁塔管理公司的伊莎贝尔说。 十八Goal of American Education Educ
10、ation is an enormous and expensive part of American life. Its size is matched by its variety. Differences in American schools compared with those found in the majority of other countries lie in the fact that education here has long been intended for everyone — not just for a privileged elite. Sc
11、hools are expected to meet the needs of every child, regardless of ability, and also the needs of society itself. This means that public schools offer more than academic subjects. It surprises many people when they come here to find high schools offering such courses as typing, sewing, radio repair,
12、 computer programming or driver training, along with traditional academic subjects such as mathematics, history, and languages. Students choose their curricula depending on their interests, future goals, and level of ability. The underlying goal of American education is to develop every child to the
13、 utmost of his or her own possibilities, and to give each one a sense of civic and community consciousness. Schools have traditionally played an important role in creating national unity and “Americanizing” the millions of immigrants who have poured into this country from many different backgrou
14、nds and origins. Schools still play a large role in the community, especially in the small towns. The approach to teaching may seem unfamiliar to many, not only because it is informal, but also because there is not much emphasis on learning facts. Instead, Americans try to teach their children t
15、o think for themselves and to develop their own intellectual and creative abilities. Students spend much time, learning how to use resource materials, libraries, statistics and computers. Americans believe that if children are taught to reason well and to research well, they will be able to find wha
16、tever facts they need throughout the rest of their lives. Knowing how to solve problems is considered more important than the accumulation of facts. This is America's answer to the searching question that thoughtful parents all over the world are asking themselves in the fast-moving time: “How c
17、an one prepare today's child for a tomorrow that one can neither predict nor understand?” 美国教育的目标 教育是美国人的生活中很重要的一部分,花销也大。其规模宏大,种类多样。 与其他大多数国家相比,美国教育的不同在于美国教育是为每一个人设置的~"不只是为享 有特权的优等生。学校是要满足每个孩子的需要,不论其能力如何,同时也要满足社会本身的需 求。这意味着公立学校提供的教育不只限于学术方面的课程。很多人来到美国之后会吃惊地发现, 高中除了提供传统课程,例如:数学、历史和语言之外,他们还提供一些课程如
18、打字、缝纫、无线电修理、计算机课程或驾驶训练课程。学生选择课程是根据个人喜好、目标以及能力水平。美 国教育的潜在目标是将每一个孩子的能力最充分地发挥出来,培养每一个孩子的公民和社区觉悟感。 成千上万的移民者涌入这个国家,他们的出身背景不同。传统上,学校在建立民族团结以及 使移民者美国化两方面起着重大作用。在社区中,尤其在小城镇,学校仍然起着重要作用。 大家对美国的教学方法彳以乎也很陌生。因为这种教学方法不仅不正式,而且不把重点放在学 习具体知识上。相反,美国人教孩子独立思考,教他们自己去开发自己的智慧以及创造能力。学 生花很多时间学习怎样使用参考资料、图书馆、数据以及计算机。美国人认
19、 var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = ' document.body.appendChild(script); 为只要孩子具有好的 推理能力,好的研究方法,他们就能在以后找到自己所需的具体知识。他们还认为懂得怎样解决 问题比积累事实更重要。 在这个变化万千的时代里,全世界细心的父母都在思考一个尖锐而深刻的问题:“怎样为孩子的明天做准备呢?孩子的明天既不能预料也不能理解。”上述的教学方法正是美国对这一问题 的回答。 十九The Family
20、The structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. The family's form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. Until recently, the most common form in North America was the nuclear family,consisting of a married couple with their min
21、or children. The nuclear family is an independent unit. It must be prepared to fend for itself. Individual family members strongly depend on one another. There is little help from outside the family in emergencies. Elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the fa
22、mily to do so. In North America,the elderly often do not live with the family they live in retirement communities and nursing homes. There are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies,such as North America,and of families in societies such as that of the Inuits,who
23、live in harsh environments. The nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility. In harsh conditions,mobility allows the family to hunt for food. For North Americans,the hunt for jobs and improved social status also requires mobility. The nuclear family was not always the North Am
24、erican standard. In a more agrarian time,the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family. This might have included grandparents,mother and father,brothers and sisters,uncles,aunts,and cousins. In North America today,there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent househ
25、olds. Twice as many households in the United States are headed by divorced,separated,or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. The structure of the family,not just in North America, but throughout the world,continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions. 家庭 在全世界
26、甚至在同一个社会中,家庭结构有着不同的形式。家庭的构成形式随着不断变化 的社会和经济影响而改变。直到最近,北美洲最普遍的家庭形式为核心家庭,由一对夫妇和他们 未婚的孩子构成。核心家庭是一个独立的单位。它必须能够照料自己。家庭成员紧密依赖着彼此。 在紧急情况下,外界提供给家庭的帮助微乎其微。核心家庭中,只有当条件允许的时候,才会照 料家中年长的亲属。在北美洲,老人很少和家人一起生活,他们‘般住在退休社区和养老机构。 在工业社会,例如北美洲,核心家庭之间有很多相似点。在居住在恶劣环境中的因纽特人的 社会中,家庭间也有很多相似点。核心家庭结构良好地适应于流动性的生活。在恶劣的条件下, 流动性能
27、让一个家庭吃饱饭。对北美洲人来说,找工作和提高社会地位同样需要流动性。 核心家庭并不总是北美洲人的标准。在农业社会时期,小型的核心家庭经常是大家庭的一部 分。其中可能包括了祖父母、父母、兄弟姐妹、叔伯、阿姨以及表兄弟姐妹。在现在的北美洲, 单亲家庭的数目大幅度增加。由核心家庭构成的单亲家庭的数目是美国由于离
28、 是怎么做的呢? 他幵始重新考虑人们作曲的方式。他认识到作曲家的大脑就像一个大数据库,他们先是吸收他们 听过的所有音乐,然后去除他们不喜欢的,最后再根据留下的音乐来创作出新的旋律。科普认为, 只有伟大的作曲家才能建立好的数据库,并且能熟记于心,从而创造出新的音乐。 科普根据现有的音乐建立了庞大的数据庳,最开始的时候,数据库包含了几百部巴赫的作品。 科普的软件将这些数据进行分析:首先它将音乐拆解成小的片段,从中找出固定模式,然后将片 段组合成新的模式。不久,这个软件就能够写出和巴赫风格很
29、像的小曲子。它们并不完美,但这 只是个开始。 科普知道,他要做的还有很多一他得写出一整部歌剧。他进一步完普他的软件,不久它就 能够写出更复杂的音乐了。他还在数据库中加人了一些其他作曲家的作品,其中也包括他自己的作品。 几年后,科普的软件“艾米”已经能够帮助他创作歌剧了。创作过程餹要作曲家和艾米共同 配合。科赘聆听艾米写出的音乐片段,从中选取他认为好的。有了艾米的帮助,科蓊只用了两个 星期就完成了这部歌剧,叫做《摇篮坠落》。演出获得巨大成功,科普也得到了他有生以来最高 的评价,但是没有人知道他究竟是怎样创作出这部歌剧的。 从那以后,艾米已经写了上千部作品。科普现在依然会给艾米反馈,吿
30、诉她自己哪些音乐是 他喜欢的,哪些是不喜欢的,但是现在大部分艰巨的工作是由艾米来完成的! 三十“Lucky” Lord Lucan ----- Alive or Dead On 8th November 1974 Lord Lucan,a British aristocrat,vanished. The day before,his children's nanny had been brutally murdered and his wife had been attacked too. To this day the British public are still i
31、nterested in the murder case because Lucan has never been found. Now,over 30 years later,the police have reopened,the case,hoping that new DNA techniques will he1p solve this murder mystery.1 People suspected that“Lucky”,as he was called by friends,wanted to kill his wife he no longer lived with
32、 They say that Lucan entered his old house and in the dark,killed the nanny by mistake. His estranged wife heard noises,came downstairs and was also attacked,but managed to escape. Seven months after the murder,a jury conc1uded that Lucan had ki1led the nanny. What happened next is unc1ear,but th
33、ere are several theories which fall into one of three categories:he may have killed himself,he could have escaped or he might have been killed. It appears that the night after the murder,“Lucky”borrowed a car and drove it,Lucan's friend Aspinall said in an interview that he thought Lucan had committ
34、ed suicide by sinking his boat in the English Channel. Another version of events says that “Lucky” left the blood-soaked car on the coast and took a ferry to France.2 He was met there by someone who drove him to safety in another country. However,after a time,his rescuers became worried that the
35、y would become involved in the murder too and so Lucan was killed. A further fascinating theory was made in the book Dead Lucky by Duncan MacLaughlin,a former detective. He believes that Lucan travelled to Goa,India,where he assumed the identity of a Mr Barry Haplin. Lucan then lived in Goa till
36、 his death in 1996. In the end the c1aim turned out be a case of mistaken identity. The man who died in 1996 was real1y Haplin,an ex-schoolteacher turned hippy. So what is the truth about Lucky? DNA testing has solved many murder cases,but who knows if it can cIose the book on this one. 3 “幸运的”鲁肯伯
37、爵一是死是活 1974年11月8日,英国贵族鲁肯伯爵失踪。此前一天,他孩子们的保姆被残忍地杀害,他的 妻子也遭到了袭击。直到现在,英国民众对这个谋杀案仍然很感兴趣,因为鲁肯伯爵一直没有被 找到。30多年后的今天,警察重新调查案希望新的DNA技术帮助揭开这个谋杀之谜。 鲁肯伯爵被朋友称为“幸运的”,人们猜测是他想要杀了他不再与之一起住的妻子。有人说 鲁肯踏进他的老房子,在一片漆黑中错杀了保姆。与他不和的妻子听到声音走下楼,也遭到了攻 击,但是她设法逃了出去。7个月后,陪审团断定是鲁肯杀了保姆。 接下来发生了什么谁也不清楚,但是众多断言被总结为三点:
38、他自杀了,他逃跑了或者他可 能已经被杀了。在谋杀发生的第二天晚上,“幸运的”借了一辆车然后幵走了。鲁肯的朋友皮诺 尔在一个采访中表示,他觉得鲁肯伯爵在英吉利海峡中弄沉了自己坐的船,已经自杀了。 另一个版本是说“幸运的”把被血染了的车子扔在了海岸上,乘上了一艘开往法国的船。某 些人在那发现了他,把他送往另一个国家使他安全。但是,过了一段时间,救他的人开始担心自 己也会被卷入到谋杀案件中,所以他们杀了鲁肯。 一个更有意思的看法是前侦探邓肯•麦克劳克林在他的书《幸运者之死》中谈到的。他确信 鲁肯逃到了印度的果阿,在那里他换了个身份,假装这个人。鲁肯在果阿一直生活着,直到1996 年他去世。最
39、终这个断言被证实是错误的。1996年去世的是真正的哈普林,他曾经是一个学校老 师,后来做了嬉皮士。那么关于“幸运的”结果哪个是真的? DNA鉴定破了很多谋杀案件,但是 不知它能否把这个案件做个了结。 三十一Pool Watch Swimmers can drown in busy swimming pools when lifeguards fail to notice that they are in trouble. A report says that on average 15 people drown in British pools each year, but
40、 many more suffer major injury after getting into difficulties. Now a French company has developed an artificial intelligence system called Poseidon that sounds the alarm when it sees someone in danger of drowning. When a swimmer sinks towards the bottom of the pool, the new system sends an alarm
41、signal to a poolside monitoring station and a lifeguard's pager (呼机). In trials at a pool in Ancenis, near Nantes, it saved a life within just a few months, says Alistair McQuade, a spokesman for its maker, Poseidon Technologies. Poseidon keeps watch through a network of underwater and overhead vi
42、deo cameras. AI software analyses the images to work out swimmers' trajectories (轨迹). To do this reliably, it has to tell the difference between a swimmer and the shadow of someone being cast onto the bottom or side of the pool. It does the same with an image from another camera viewing the shape
43、from a different angle. If the two projections are in the same position, the shape is identified as a shadow and is ignored. But if they are different, the shape is a swimmer and so the system follows its trajectory. To pick out potential drowning victims, anyone in the water who starts to descend
44、 slowly is added to the software's "pre-alert" (预先警戒) list, says McQuade. Swimmers who then stay immobile on the pool bottom for 5 seconds or more are considered in danger of drowning. Poseidon double-checks that the image really is of a swimmer, not a shadow, by seeing whether it obscures (使模糊) the
45、 pool's floor texture when viewed from overhead. If so, it alerts the lifeguard, showing the swimmer's location on a poolside screen. The first full-scale Poseidon system will be officially opened next week at a pool in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. One man who is impressed with the idea is Travo
46、r Baylis, inventor of the clockwork (时钟装置) radio. Baylis runs a company that installs swimming pools - and he was once an underwater escapologist (脱身杂技演员) with a circus (马戏团). "1 say full marks to them if this works and can save lives," he says. 泳池监护 如果救生员没有注意到游泳者遇到了麻烦,那么他们可能会在人多的游泳池里淹死。防止事 故皇家协
47、会说每年平均有15个人在英国的游泳池里被淹死。但是更多的人在遇到麻烦后受到了重 伤。现在,一个法国公司开发了一种人工智能系统,叫做波塞冬,当它发现有人有被淹死的危险 时就会发出警报。 当一个游泳者要沉到池底时,新的系统就会给池边的监视站和救生员的呼机发出警告信号。 这个系统的制造商,波塞冬科技的发言人AlistairMcQuade说,在昂斯尼市的一个游泳池对这个系 统进行了试验,它在几个月内就救了一条人命。 波塞冬通过水下的网络和头上的摄像机进行监视。AI软件分析图像得出游泳者的轨迹。为了 可靠地做到这些,它(人工智能软件)必须能区分一个游泳的人与投射到池底或池壁的某个人的 影子。Mc
48、Quade说:“水下的环境是动态的,晃动着许多投影和倒影。” 这个软件做到这些是通过把它视野内的形状投射到游泳池远处的池壁的图像上。它对另一个 从不同角度看到这个形状的摄像机上的图像做了同样的处理。如果这两个投影在同一位置,这个 形状就被认做是阴影而被忽略掉。但是如果它们是不同的,这个形状就是一个游泳者,这个系统 就会跟踪它的轨迹。 McQuade说,为了找到潜在的被淹的受害者,水中任何一个开始缓慢下沉的人都会进入软件 的“预警”名单。那些在池底停Ji不动五秒钟以上的游泳者会被认为有溺水的危险。波塞冬通过 从头上看它是否使游泳池地面的纹理变模糊,来双重确定图像是真正的游泳者,而不是阴影
49、假 如是这样,它就会提醒救生员,在池边的屏幕上显示游泳者的位置。 第一个完整的波塞冬系统在下个星期将在白金汗郡海威科姆镇的一个游泳池正式开放。对这 个想法印象深刻的一个人是TmvorBaylis,时钟收音机的发明者。Baylis经营一家安装游泳池的公 司——他曾经是马戏团一个水下表演脱身术的人。他说:“如果这个系统有效并且可以救人命,那 我会给它们满分。”但是他又说,任何一个花3万多英镑买波塞冬系统的地方政府都应该花同样的 钱教孩子们游泳。 三十二The Cherokee Nation Long before the white man came to the America, the land belonged to the American Indian nations. The nation of the Cherokees lived in What is now the southeastern part of the United States. After the white man came, the Cherokees copied many of their ways. One Cherokee named Sequoyah sa






