The senior West German scientist in charge of the Community’s solar energy programme, Mr.Joachim Gretz, told journalists that at present levels of research spending it was most unlikelythat solar energy would provide as much as three per cent of the Community’s energyrequirements even after the year 2000. But hesaid that with a modest increase in the presentsums, devoted by the EEC to this work it was possible thatthe breakthrough could beachieved by the end of the next decade.

　　Mr. Gretz calculates that if solar energy only provided three per cent of the EEC’s needs, thiscould still produce a saving of about a billion pounds in the present bill for imported energyeach year. And he believes that with the possibility of utilizing more advanced technology inthis field it might be possible to satisfy a much bigger share of the Community’s future energyneeds.

　　At present the EEC spends about $2.6 millions a year on solar research at Ispra, one of theEEC’s official joint research centres, and another $3 millions a year in indirect research withuniversities and other independent bodies.

　　練習(xí)題：

　　Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1. The phrase "be brought forward" (Line 2, Para. 1) most probably means "______".

　　A. be expected

　　B. be completed

　　C. be advanced

　　D. be introduced

　　2. Some scientists believe that a breakthrough in the use of solar energy depends on______.

　　A. sufficient funding

　　B. further experiments

　　C. advanced technology

　　D. well-equipped laboratories

　　3. According to Mr. Gretz, the present sum of money will enable the scientists toprovide _____.

　　A. more than 3% of the EEC’s needs after the year 2000

　　B. only 3% of the EEC’s needs before the year 2000

　　C. less than 3% of the EEC’s needs before the year 2000

　　D. 3% of the EEC’s needs after the year 2000

　　4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage ?

　　A. The EEC spends one billion pounds on imported energy each year.

　　B. At the present level of research spending, it is difficult to make any significant progress in theprovision of energy from the sun.

　　C. The desired breakthrough could be obtained by the end of the next decade if investmentwere increased.

　　D. The total yearly spending of the EEC on solar energy research amounted to almost 6 million.

　　5. The application of advanced technology to research in solar energy ______.

　　A. would lead to a big increase in research funding

　　B. would make it unnecessary to import oil

　　C. would make it possible to meet the future energy needs of the EEC

　　D. would provide a much greater proportion of the Community’s future energy needs

　　1.[C] 本題可以采用排除法。A項(xiàng)“期望(突破)”不合邏輯;B項(xiàng)complete不能跟breakthrough搭配;D項(xiàng)“引出(突 破)”句義不通。故只能選C。

　　2. [A] 由文章第1、2段可知，只要稍微增加科研經(jīng)費(fèi)，在利用太陽(yáng)能方面可能再過(guò)10年便可獲得突破，故A正確。B、 D兩項(xiàng)并未在文中提及;第3段提到，如果采用先進(jìn)的技術(shù),可能在未來(lái)能滿(mǎn)足歐共體更大的能源需求，但這并非獲得突破的條件，故排除C。

　　3. [C] 第2段首句提到，如果科研經(jīng)費(fèi)保持目前的水平，即使到2000年太陽(yáng)能也不可能供應(yīng)歐共體所需能源的3%，C與之相符。

　　4.[A] 根據(jù)第3段第1句可知，10億英鎊是在太陽(yáng)能提供給EEC所需能源的3%這一前提下，每年可在能源進(jìn)口省下來(lái)的錢(qián)，故A表述錯(cuò)誤。本題也可以采用排除法：B、C兩項(xiàng)的內(nèi)容出現(xiàn)在了第2段;D出現(xiàn)在第4段中，均可排除。

　　5. [D] 根據(jù)第3段第2句可知，利用先進(jìn)的技術(shù)能更大地滿(mǎn)足歐共體未來(lái)的能源需求，故選D。

　　Oceanography has been defined as “The application of all sciences to the study of the sea”.

　　Before the nineteen century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between.Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he wasreluctant to go to sea to further his work.

　　For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelersor others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions aboutit, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that question “What is at thebottom of the oceans?” had tobe answered with any commercial consequence was when thelaying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The had to know the depthprofile(起伏形狀)of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.mote,and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living fromthe sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask whatlaybeneath the surface. The first time that question “What is at the bottom of the oceans?” had tobe answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable fromEurope to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile(起伏形狀)of theroute to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.

　　It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, forinformation on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyagesduring which soundings(測(cè)身) were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic andPacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book ThePhysical Geography of the Sea.

　　The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. Atthe early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to becovered in living growths, afact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was nolife in the deeper parts of the sea.

　　Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientificexpedition(考察), which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples fromthe sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895.

　　練習(xí)題：

　　Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1. The proposal to lay a telegraph cable from Europe to America made oceanographicstudies take on ______.

　　A. an academic aspect

　　B. a military aspect

　　C. a business aspect

　　D. an international aspect

　　2. It was ______ that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies.

　　A. the American Navy

　　B. some early intercontinental travelers

　　C. those who earned a living from the sea

　　D. the company which proposed to lay an undersea cable

　　3. The aim of the voyages Maury was responsible for in the 1840s was ______.

　　A. to make some sounding experiments in the oceans

　　B. to collect samples of sea plants and animals

　　C. to estimate the length of cable that was needed

　　D. to measure the depths of the two oceans

　　4. “Defied” in the 5th paragraph probably means “______”.

　　A. doubted

　　B. gave proof to

　　C. challenged

　　D. agreed to

　　5. This passage is mainly about ______.

　　A. the beginnings of oceanography

　　B. the laying of the first undersea cable

　　C. the investigation of ocean depths

　　D. the early intercontinental communications

　　1.[C] 亊實(shí)判斷題。文章第3段第2句提到，這個(gè)問(wèn)題的解答是具有商業(yè)結(jié)果的。C中的business為原文中commercial 同義改寫(xiě)，故選C。

　　2.[D] 細(xì)節(jié)題。文章第4段首句為一個(gè)強(qiáng)調(diào)句，強(qiáng)調(diào)的是賓語(yǔ)。題干也是一個(gè)強(qiáng)調(diào)句型，但強(qiáng)調(diào)的是主語(yǔ)。如果把原文的強(qiáng)調(diào)句型改為一般的句型，就知道向Maury尋求幫助的是the Atlantic Telegraph Company.故答案為D。A是Maury的工作單位，可以排除;原文只提到對(duì)于一些早期的穿越洲際的旅行家和依靠海洋維持生計(jì)的人，海洋并不遙遠(yuǎn)，故B、C與題意不符。

　　3.[D] 亊實(shí)判斷題。文章第4段提到，19世紀(jì)40年代，Maury負(fù)責(zé)推動(dòng)進(jìn)行測(cè)深工作的海上航行，以此來(lái)探測(cè)北大西洋與太平洋的深度.故選D。

　　4.[C] 詞義推斷題。當(dāng)時(shí)的科學(xué)觀點(diǎn)是海洋較深的地方不存在生命，而事實(shí)上在電纜表面發(fā)現(xiàn)了活的生物.由此可知這一亊實(shí)對(duì)當(dāng)時(shí)的科學(xué)觀點(diǎn)提出質(zhì)疑，故答案為C。

　　5.[A] 主旨題。通讀全文可知，oceanography(海洋學(xué))是全文的中心詞，本文主要講述海洋學(xué)是如何起步的，故答案為A 。B、C只表述了原文中個(gè)別細(xì)節(jié)，并非主題;D跟全文無(wú)關(guān)。