Questions 1-7
Reading Passage 3 has seven paragraphs A-G.
From the list of headings below choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph. Write the appropriate numbers i-x in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
List of headings
ⅰ The long-term impact
ⅱ A celebrated achievement
ⅲ Early brilliance passes unrecognised
ⅳ Outdated methods retain popularity
ⅴ The basis of a new design is born
ⅵ Frustration at never getting the design right
ⅶ Further refinements meet persistent objections
ⅷ Different in all respects
ⅸ Bridge-makers look elsewhere
ⅹ Transport developments spark a major change
1. Paragraph A
2. Paragraph B
2. Paragraph C
4. Paragraph D
5. Paragraph E
6. Paragraph F
7. Paragraph G
专项练习二MATCHING
练习一
Putrescible sanitary and kitchen wastes are discharged into the ocean but must be processed in accordance with regulations set by the Federal government. This material is diluted rapidly and contributes to the local food chain, without any risk of nutrient oversupply. All solid waste material must be brought ashore.
The cuttings are sieved out of the drilling fluid and usually discharged into the ocean. In shallower waters they form a low mound near the rig; in deeper water a wider-spread layer forms, generally within one kilometre of the drillsite, although this depends on a number of factors. Some benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms may be smothered, but this effect is local and variable, generally limited to within about 100 metres of the discharge point. Better-adapted organisms soon replace them and storm-driven wave activity frequently sweeps away the material.
Drilling fluid is also discharged directly into the ocean. Most of the common constituents of water-based fluids used in Australia have low-to-nil toxicity to marine organisms. Some additives are toxic but are used in small concentrations and infrequently. The small amounts of heavy metals present are not absorbed into the bodies of marine organisms, and therefore it is unlikely that they would pose a problem for animals higher up the food chain. Field studies have shown that dilution is normally very rapid, ranging to 1,000-fold within 3 metres of the discharge point. At Rivoli-1 well in Exmouth Gulf, the input was chemically undetectable 560 metres away.
Oil-based drilling fluids have a more toxic component, and discharge to the marine environment is more significant. However, they are used only rarely in Australia, and the impact remains relatively local. At Woodside's North Rankin A Platform offshore Western Australia, the only facility currently using oil-based fluids, the discharge is diluted 2,000-fold within 1 kilometre downcurrent, and undetectable beyond 200 metres either side.
In the event of a discovery, the presence of a permanent production facility and the discharge of “produced water”are additional concerns. Produced water is t he water associated with the oil or gas deposit, and typically contains some petroleum, dissolved organic matter and trace elements. Most produced water is effectively nontoxic but, even when relatively toxic, is quickly diluted to background levels. The impact occurs mainly within about 20 metres of the discharge point, but is observable in some instances for about 1 kilometre downcurrent. Government regulations limit the oil content allowed to be discharged, and the produce d water is treated on the platforms to meet those specifications. The discharge points are carefully selected to maximise dispersion and dilution, and avoid any particularly sensitive local environments.
Ultimately the best test of the real environmental effect of drilling and producing operations may be the response of the environment to the fixed production platforms. In many areas the platforms quickly become artificial reefs, with theun derwater supports of the platforms providing a range of habitats, from sea-bottom to surface, and quickly colonised by a wide range of marine plants and animals .
Questions 1-8
Using the information in the passage, identify each type of waste described below. In boxes 1 to 8 on your answer sheet, write
SK-1 if the statement refers tosanitary and kitchen wastes which decay
SK-2 if the statement refers to solid sanitary and kitchen wastes
C if the statement refers to cuttings
DW if the statement refers todrilling fluid-water-based
DO if the statement refers todrilling fluid-oil-based
PW if the statement refers toproduced water
Note: each indicator may be used more than once. An example has been done for you.
ExampleThis waste is one thousand times weaker at a pointthree metres from where it enters the ocean.
AnswerDW
1. This waste must not be discharged into the ocean.
2. This waste may contain heavy metals and toxic additives.
3. This waste can be used as a food source by marine organisms.
4. This waste is produced at only one location in Australian waters.
5. This waste consists of solids which are usually deposited on the ocean floor near the drilling rig.
6. This waste may sometimes cause problems due to its petroleum content.
7. This waste consists of substances very slightly poisonous or not poisonous at all to sea life, although substances added to it may be more harmful.
8. Because this waste contains oil, its discharge is carefully controlled to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems.
练习二
The composition of landfills is also strikingly different from what is commonly believed. In 1990 US survey people were asked whether particular items were a major cause of garbage problems. Disposable nappies (baby diapers) were identified as a major cause by 41 per cent of the survey respondents, plastic bottles by 29 per cent, all forms of paper by six per cent, and construction debris by zero per cent. Yet Garbage Project data shows that two per cent of the volume of landfills and plastic bottles less than one percent. On the other hand, over 40 percent of the volume of landfills is composed of paper and around 12 per cent is construction debris.
Packaging—the paper and plastic wrapping around goods bought—has also been seen as a serious cause of pollution, but while some packaging is excessive, the Garb age Project researchers note that most manufacturers use as little as possible, because less is cheaper. They also point out that modern product packaging frequently functions to reduce the overall size of the solid-waste stream.
This apparent paradox is illustrated by the results of a comparison of garbage from a large and socially diverse sample of households in Mexico City with a similarly large and diverse sample in three United States cities. Even after correcting for differences in family size, US households generated far less garbage than the Mexican ones. Because they are much more dependent on processed and packaged foods than Mexican households, US households produce much less food debris. (An d most of the leaves, husks, etc. that the US processor has removed from the food can be used in the manufacture of other products, rather than entering the was testream as is the likely fate with fresh produce purchased by households.)
One criticism made of Western societies is that the people are wasteful, and throw things away while they are still useable. This, however, does not seem to be true. Garbage Project data showed that furniture and consumer appliances were entering the solid waste stream at a rate very much less than would be expected from production and service-life figures. So the researchers set up a study to track the fate of such items and thus gained an insight into the huge informal and commercial trade in used goods that rarely turns up in official calculations and statistics.
The Garbage Project's work shows how many misconceptions exist about garbage. The researchers are therefore critical of attempts to promote one type of waste management, such as source reduction or recycling, over others, such as incineration or landfilling. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and what may be appropriate for one locality may not be appropriate for another.
Questions 1-3
Below are some of the wrong ideas that the passage states people have about garbage. Match each misconception I-IV with TWO counterarguments A-M used in the passage to argue against them. Write the appropriate letters A-M in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.
MISCONCEPTIONSExample
Ⅰ.Landfills are dangerous because they are full of germs and chemicals.Ⅱ.Household items, like disposable nappies, are a major cause of garbage problems.
Ⅲ.Packaging is wasteful, and causes excess garbage.
Ⅳ. Western societies waste many useable items.
COUNTERARGUMENTS
A 40% of landfills is paper
B perishable items are often almost unchanged, even after long periods of time
C People throw away furniture and consumer appliances
D processing and packaging cuts down on other garbage
E chemicals become less dangerous after 20 years
F disposable nappies make up less than 2% of landfills
G fresh food creates less waste debris
H chemicals do not spread far in landfills
I plastic bottles are a bigger waste problem than nappies
J there are many businesses that collect and resell things people no longer want
K manufacturers cut their costs by using as little packaging as possible
L household goods constituted a smaller than expected part of solid waste
M people use fewer disposable nappies now than in past years
Example Answer
Counter arguments for Misconception I: B & H
Counter arguments for Misconception Ⅱ：(1)
Counter arguments for Misconception Ⅲ：(2)
Counter arguments for Misconception Ⅳ：(3)
练习三
It looks as if it came straight from the set of Star Wars. It has four-wheel drive and rises above rocky surfaces. It lowers and raises its nose when going up and down hills. And when it comes to river, it turns amphibious: two hydrojets power it along by blasting water under its body. There is room for two passengers and a driver, who sit inside a glass bubble operating electronic, aircraft-type controls. A vehicle so daring on land and water needs windscreen wipers—but it doesn't have any. Water molecules are disintegrated on the screen's surface by ultrasonic sensors.
This unusual vehicle is the Racoon. It is an invention not of Hollywood but of Renault, a rather conservative French state-owned carmaker, better known for its family hatchbacks. Renault built the Racoon to explore new freedoms for designer s and engineers created by advances in materials and manufacturing processes. Renault is thinking about startlingly different cars; other producers have radical new ideas for trains, boats and aeroplanes.
The first of the new freedoms is in design. Powerful computer-aided design (CAD) systems can replace with a click of a computer mouse hours of laborious work done on thousands of drawing boards. So new products, no matter how complicated, can be developed much faster. For the first time, Boeing will not have to build a giant replica of its new airliner, the 777, to make sure all the bits fit together. Its CAD system will take care of that.
But Renault is taking CAD further. It claims the Racoon is the world's first vehicle to be designed within the digitised world of virtual reality. Complex programs were used to simulate the vehicle and the terrain that it was expected to cross. This allowed a team led by Patrick Le Quement, Renault's industrial-design director, to “drive” it long before a prototype existed.
Renault is not alone in thinking that virtual reality will transform automotive design. In Detroit, Ford is also investigating its potential. Jack Telnac, the firm's head of design, would like designers in different parts of the world to work more closely together, linked by computers. They would do more than style car s. Virtual reality will allow engineers to peer inside the working parts of a vehicle. Designers will watch bearings move, oil flow, gears mesh and hydraulics pump. As these techniques catch on, even stranger vehicles are likely to come along.
Transforming these creations from virtual reality to actual reality will also be come easier, especially with advances in materials. Firms that once bashed every thing out of steel now find that new alloys or composite materials (which can be made from mixtures of plastic, resin, ceramics and metals, reinforced with fibres such as glass or carbon) are changing the rules of manufacturing. At the same time, old materials keep getting better, as their producers try to secure their place in the factory of the furture. This competition is increasing the pace of development of all materials.
One company in this field is Scaled Composites. It was started in 1982 by Burt Rutan, an aviator who has devised many unusual aircraft. His company develops and tests prototypes that have ranged from business aircraft to air racers. It has also worked on composite sails for the America's Cup yacht race and on General Motors' Ultralite, a 100-miles-per-gallon experimental family car built from carb on fibre.
Again, the Racoon reflects this race between the old and the new. It uses conventional steel and what Renault describes as a new “high-limit elastic steel” in its chassis. This steel is 30% lighter than the usual kind. The Racoon also has parts made from composites. Renault plans to replace the petrol engine with a small gas turbine, which could be made from heat-resisting ceramics, and use it to run a generator that would provide power for electric motors at each wheel.
With composites it is possible to build many different parts into a single component. Fiat, Italy's biggest car maker, has worked out that it could reduce the number of components needed in one of its car bodies from 150 to 16 by using a composite shell rather than one made of steel. Aircraft and cars may increasingly be assembled as if they were plastic kits.
Advances in engine technology also make cars lighter. The Ultralite, which Scaled Composites helped to design for General Motors, uses a two-stroke engine in a “power pod” at the rear of the vehicle. The engine has been developed from an East German design and weighs 40% less than a conventional engine but produces a s much power. It is expected to run cleanly enough to qualify as an ultra-low em issions vehicle under California's tough new rules.
Questions 1-6
These five companies are mentioned in Reading Passage 1.Which company is each of the following design features associated with?
Write the letters of the appropriate company in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
SC if it is Scaled Composites
R if it is Renault
GM if it is General Motors
F if it is Fiat
B if it is Boeing
1.a power pod
2.electronic controls
