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1、microscopicmess39閱讀理解：第二十九篇Ill Be Bach（2014年新文章） Composer David Cope is the inventor of a computer program that writes original works of classical music. It took Cope 30 years to develop the software. Now most people cant tell the difference between music by the famous German composer J. S. Bach1 (1

2、685-1750) and the Bach-like compositions from Copes computer. It all started in 1980 in the United States, when Cope was trying to write an opera. He was having trouble thinking of new melodies, so be wrote a computer program to create the melodies. At first this music was not easy to listen to. Wha

3、t did Cope do? He began to rethink how human beings compose music. He realized that composers1 brains work like big databases. First,they take in all the music that they have ever heard. Then they take out the music that they dislike. Finally, they make new music from what is left. According to Cope

4、，only the great composers axe able to create the database accurately,remember it,and form new musical patterns firom it.Cope built a huge database of existing music. He began with hundreds of works by Bach. 1 he software analyzed the data： it broke it down into smaller pieces and looked for patterns

5、. It then combined the pieces into new patterns. Before long, the program could compose short Bach-like works. They werent good,but it was a start. Cope knew he had more work to do-he had a whole opera to write. He continued to improve the software. Soon it could analyze more complex music. He also

6、added many other composers， including his own work,to the database. A few years later，Copes computer program,called “Emmy”，was ready to help him with his opera. The process required a lot of collaboration between the composer and Emmy. Cope listened to the computers musical ideas and used the ones t

7、hat he liked. With Emmy, the opera took only two weeks to finish. It was called Cradle Fallingttind it was a great success! Cope received some of the best reviews of his career,but no one knew exactly how he had composed the work. Since that first opera, Emmy has written thousands of compositions. C

8、ope still gives Emmy feedback on what he likes and doesnt like of her music,but she is doing most of the hard work of composing these days!詞匯：original /9 Vicinal/ adj.有獨(dú)創(chuàng)性 coHaboration /ka丨laebdreijan / n.合作review/ rivju:/ n.評(píng)論 feedback /fi:db®k / n.反饋?zhàn)⑨專?1. J. S. Bach:約翰塞巴斯蒂安巴赫(德語:Johann Sebast

9、ian Bach, 1685 年3 月 31 日一 1750年7月28 H),巴洛克時(shí)期的德國作曲家，杰出的管風(fēng)琴、小提琴、大鍵琴演奏家,同作曲家亨德爾和泰勒曼齊名。巴赫被普遍認(rèn)為是音樂史上最重要的作曲家之一，并被尊稱為“西方現(xiàn)代音樂之父”,也是西方文化史上最重要的人物之一。練習(xí)： 1. The music composed by David cope is about A classical music. B pop music.C drama. D country music.2. By developing a computer software,David Cope aimedA to

10、 be like Bach. B to study Bach.C to write an opera. D to create a musical database3. What did Cope realize about a great composersbrain?A It forms new musical patterns all by itself. B It writes a computer program.C It can recognize any music patterns. D It creates an accurate database.4. Who is Emm

11、y? A a database B a computer softwareC a composer who helped David D an opera5. We can infer from the passage that A David Cope is a computer programmer. B David Cope loves music. C Bachs music helped him a lot. D Emmy did much more work than a composer. 答案與題解： 1. A第一段的第一句:David Cope發(fā)明了一個(gè)可以編寫出古典音樂的電

12、腦軟件。2. C從第二段的第一句可以看出,David編寫電腦軟件的目的是寫歌劇。A、B和D都屬于創(chuàng)作歌劇的一部分。 3. D第二段的后半部分講的是偉大的歌劇作者與一般的歌劇作者的不同之處是通過對數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行淮確的構(gòu)建、記憶而后創(chuàng)作出新的音樂形式。 4. B從第五段第一句可知Emmy是一計(jì)笄機(jī)軟件。 5. D從本文第一句可知David是一個(gè)作曲家,不是計(jì)算機(jī)程序員,所以排除A;B、C內(nèi)容沒有提及;從本文的第五段和第六段可知,Emmy大大提高了 David的創(chuàng)作速度。我也能成為巴赫作曲家大衛(wèi)科普發(fā)明了一個(gè)電腦軟件，它能編寫出古典音樂的原創(chuàng)作品?？破栈?30年才 完成這個(gè)軟件，現(xiàn)在，科普的電腦寫出的作

13、品與德國著名作曲家J.S.巴赫寫的作品很相似，很少 有人能分辨出其中不同。這一切始于1980年的美國，那時(shí)科普正在寫一部戲劇，但是他無法創(chuàng)作出新的旋律.于楚他 編寫了一個(gè)電腦軟件來幫他編曲。最開始的時(shí)候，軟件寫出的樂曲并不動(dòng)聽?？破帐窃趺醋龅哪兀?他幵始重新考慮人們作曲的方式。他認(rèn)識(shí)到作曲家的大腦就像一個(gè)大數(shù)據(jù)庫，他們先是吸收他們 聽過的所有音樂，然后去除他們不喜歡的，最后再根據(jù)留下的音樂來創(chuàng)作出新的旋律?？破照J(rèn)為， 只有偉大的作曲家才能建立好的數(shù)據(jù)庫，并且能熟記于心，從而創(chuàng)造出新的音樂。科普根據(jù)現(xiàn)有的音樂建立了龐大的數(shù)據(jù)庳，最開始的時(shí)候，數(shù)據(jù)庫包含了幾百部巴赫的作品。 科普的軟件將這些數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)

14、行分析：首先它將音樂拆解成小的片段，從中找出固定模式，然后將片 段組合成新的模式。不久，這個(gè)軟件就能夠?qū)懗龊桶秃诊L(fēng)格很像的小曲子。它們并不完美，但這 只是個(gè)開始?？破罩?，他要做的還有很多一他得寫出一整部歌劇。他進(jìn)一步完普他的軟件，不久它就 能夠?qū)懗龈鼜?fù)雜的音樂了。他還在數(shù)據(jù)庫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。幾年后，科普的軟件“艾米”已經(jīng)能夠幫助他創(chuàng)作歌劇了。創(chuàng)作過程餹要作曲家和艾米共同 配合?？瀑橊雎牥讓懗龅囊魳菲?，從中選取他認(rèn)為好的。有了艾米的幫助，科蓊只用了兩個(gè) 星期就完成了這部歌劇，叫做搖籃墜落。演出獲得巨大成功，科普也得到了他有生以來最高 的評(píng)價(jià)，但是沒有人

15、知道他究竟是怎樣創(chuàng)作出這部歌劇的。從那以后，艾米已經(jīng)寫了上千部作品?？破宅F(xiàn)在依然會(huì)給艾米反饋，吿訴她自己哪些音樂是 他喜歡的，哪些是不喜歡的，但是現(xiàn)在大部分艱巨的工作是由艾米來完成的！第十九篇Musical Robot Companion Enhances Listener Experience Shimi, a musical companion developed by Georgia Techs Center for Music Technology, recommends songs, dances to the beat and keeps the music pumping bas

16、ed on listener feedback. The smartphone-enabled, one-foot-tall robot is billed as an interactive “musical friend”. “Shimi is designed to change the way that people enjoy and think about their music，” said Professor Gil Weinberg, the robots creator. He will unveil the robot at the June 27th Google I/

17、O conference in San Francisco. A band of three Shimi robots will perform for guests, dancing in sync with music created in the lab and composed according to its movements. Shimi is essentially a docking station with a “brain” powered by an Android phone. Once docked, the robot gains the sensing and

18、musical generation capabilities of the users mobile device. In other words, if theres an “app” for that, Shimi is ready. For instance, by using the phones camera and face-detecting software，Shimi can follow a listener around the room and position its “ears”，or speakers, for optimal sound. Another re

19、cognition feature is based on rhythm and tempo. If the user taps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phones musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion. Once the music starts，Shimi dances to the rhythm. “Many people think that robots are limited by their programm

20、ing instructions, said Music Technology Ph. D. candidate Mason Bretan. “Shimi shows us that robots can be creative and interactive. Future apps in the works will allow the user to shake their head in disagreement or wave a hand in the air to alert Shimi to skip to the next song or increase/decrease

21、the volume. The robot will also have the capability to recommend new music based on the users song choices and provide feedback on the music play list. Weinberg hopes other developers will be inspired to create more apps to expand Shimis creative and interactive capabilities. “I believe that our cen

22、ter is ahead of a revolution that will see more robots in homes.” Weinberg said. Weinberg is in the process of commercializing Shimi through an exclusive licensing agreement with Georgia Tech. Weinberg hopes to make the robot available to consumers by the 2013 holiday season. “If robots are going to

23、 arrive in homes, we think that they will be this kind of machines一small, entertaining and fun，Weinberg said. “They will enhance your life and pave the way for more intelligent service robots in our lives.”詞匯：pump v.用抽水機(jī)抽;不斷播放（音樂）scan v.掃描;瀏覽skip v.輕跳，跳躍sync n.同步，同時(shí);v.使同步tempo n.速度;節(jié)奏注釋：1. Georgia T

24、ech:全稱是Georgia Institute of Technology,佐治亞理工學(xué)院，建于1885 年，位于亞特蘭大市中心。佐治亞理工學(xué)齒是美國南部最大的公立理工學(xué)院,也是全美最頂尖的理工學(xué)院之一，排名僅次于麻省理工學(xué)院(MIT)和加州理工學(xué)院(CalTech)。2. pump:不斷播放(音樂）。例如:This radio station recently pumps out pop music. (這家廣播電臺(tái)近來連續(xù)播放流行音樂。)3. smartphone-enabled:由智能手機(jī)系統(tǒng)支持的4. is billed as:相當(dāng)于is advertised as，意為“被標(biāo)榜為”

25、。5. docking station: 插接站,擴(kuò)充基座，擴(kuò)展插口-6. Android:(科幻小說里的)機(jī)器人。本文指用于智能手機(jī)和便攜式計(jì)算機(jī)移動(dòng)設(shè)備的一種以Linus為基礎(chǔ)的開放源代碼操作系統(tǒng)，通過接口和插槽連接多種外部設(shè)備。目前Android 尚未有統(tǒng)一中文譯名，國內(nèi)較多人翻譯成“安卓”或“安致”。據(jù)2012年2月數(shù)據(jù), Android 占據(jù)全球智能手機(jī)操作系統(tǒng)市場52.5%的份額,中國市場占有率為68.4%。7. dock：對接8. the sensing and musical generation capabilities:傳感和音樂生成能力9. app:應(yīng)用程序（=appli

26、cation)10. if the user taps a beat:如果用戶打出某個(gè)(音樂）拍子11. in the works:正在準(zhǔn)備階段;在進(jìn)行中或準(zhǔn)備中12. intelligent service robots:智能服務(wù)型機(jī)器人練習(xí)：1. Which of the following is NOT true according to the first three paragraphs?A Shimi is a one-foot tall robot.B Shimi is the creator of the musical companion.C Shimi is a docki

27、ng station with a“ brain” powered by an Android phone.D Shimi can gain the sensing and musical generation capabilities of the users mobile device.2. What does Shimi do if the user taps a beat?A It stores the beat in the musical library.B It transmits the beat to the docking station.C It positions it

28、s speakers for optimal sound.D It selects a perfectly-matched song and plays it in sync with that beat.3. Which of the following about Shimi is true?A Robots are limited by their programming instructions, and Shimi is no exception.B Present apps allow the user to shake their head to alert Shimi to s

29、kip to the next song.C Existing apps allow the user to wave a hand to alert Shimi to turn up/down the volume.D Shimi can be creative and interactive.4. What does the author want to tell us?A The research center is developing a stronger and more versatile Shimi.B Weinberg only expects staffs from Geo

30、rgia Tech. to develop more apps for Shimi.C Shimi is not yet technologically ready for commercialization.D Robots such as Shimi are created for large corporations rather than homes.5. Which of the following is Weinbergs assertion?A Shimi as a robotic musical companion can be applied to all types of

31、smart phones.B human lives will be filled with more fun if Shimi is going to arrive in homes.C Shimis creative and interactive capabilities are appreciated by most of its users.D Weinberg has reached an agreement with Georgia Tech to commercialize Shimi.答案與題解：1. B在前三段中均可找到與選項(xiàng)A、C、D相應(yīng)的句子，強(qiáng)調(diào)Shimi是一種電子設(shè)

32、備;B與原文不符, Shimi不是該機(jī)器人的發(fā)明者,Gil Weinberg教授才是the robots creator。2. D選項(xiàng)D簡要地表述了第三段的倒數(shù)第二句“If the user taps a beat, Shimi analyzes it, scans the phones musical library and immediately plays the song that best matches the suggestion”的意思,所以是答案。選項(xiàng)A、B、C都不符合上述句子的含義。3. D選項(xiàng)A的意思與原文相反。雖然人們認(rèn)為機(jī)器人受到程序指令的限制，但Shimi卻表現(xiàn)出具

33、有創(chuàng)造能力和互動(dòng)能力，所以A不是答案。選項(xiàng)D的意思與原文相同，因而是答案。第四段第三句指的是未來的應(yīng)用程序: future apps in the works,而選項(xiàng)B,C是指目前的應(yīng)用程序，兩者的表述均與原文有出入。4. A第三段介紹Shimi的多種功能，第四段和第五段說Weinberg還在開發(fā)更多的應(yīng)用程序來豐富Shimi的功能，還希望其他研發(fā)者也參與開發(fā)，因此，A是答案。選項(xiàng)B說Weinberg 僅僅希望Georgia Tech員工參與開發(fā)更多的應(yīng)用軟件，這與原文不符。文章最后一段告訴我們,Weinberg正在與Georgia Tech進(jìn)行有關(guān)Shimi商業(yè)化的談判,選項(xiàng)C的意思與此相反

34、，不會(huì)是答案。選項(xiàng)D也與原文不符。5. B選項(xiàng)A、C和D的內(nèi)容Weinberg都沒有說過。第三段告訴我們，Shimi是Android smart phone的擴(kuò)充基座，并不適用于所有智能手機(jī)，所以A選項(xiàng)不正確；Shimi尚未進(jìn)入市場，還談不上公眾對Shimi欣賞與否的問題，因此選項(xiàng)C不符合原意；Shimi正在進(jìn)行商業(yè)化運(yùn)作，但絕非已經(jīng)完成，所以D也不是正確選項(xiàng)。本題的答案是B,依據(jù)是最后一段倒數(shù)第二句。譯文：Shimi是由佐治亞理工大學(xué)音樂技術(shù)中心研發(fā)的一款音樂伴侶。它可以根據(jù)聽者的反饋推薦合乎節(jié)拍的歌曲、舞蹈；并且不斷播放音樂。這款髙1英尺的機(jī)器人是由智能手機(jī)系統(tǒng)支持的，因此被標(biāo)榜為“一個(gè)可

35、以互動(dòng)的音樂朋友”。Gil Weinberg教授是該機(jī)器人的發(fā)明者，他解釋說：“Shimi設(shè)計(jì)的宗旨是改變?nèi)藗冃蕾p音樂、認(rèn)識(shí)音樂的方式?！彼麑⒃诮衲?月27日在舊金山的谷歌I/O大會(huì)上展示這款機(jī)器人。一個(gè)由三個(gè)機(jī)器人組成的樂隊(duì)將為來賓演奏，并伴隨音樂起舞。而音樂是根據(jù)不同的運(yùn)動(dòng)形式編制的。Shimi實(shí)際上是一個(gè)擴(kuò)充基座，它的“大腦”由安卓手機(jī)控制。一旦連接上，機(jī)器人便從用戶的移動(dòng)裝置獲得傳感和音樂生成能力。換言之，只要有應(yīng)用程序，機(jī)器人便能使用。例如，通過手機(jī)的照相機(jī)和辨認(rèn)臉型的軟件，Shimi就能在房間周圍跟蹤到聽眾，然后安置好它的“耳朵”或揚(yáng)聲器，以確保輸送最佳聲音。另外一種識(shí)別特征是基于

36、節(jié)奏和速度。如果用戶打出某個(gè)（音樂）拍子，Shimi會(huì)對此進(jìn)行分析，然后瀏覽手機(jī)的音樂庫，并立即演奏最符合要求的音樂。一旦音樂響起來，Shimi就隨韻律起舞。“許多人認(rèn)為機(jī)器人受到程序指令的限制，而Shiini給我們展示了機(jī)器人可以具有創(chuàng)造力和與人交互的能力?！币魳芳夹g(shù)博士研究生Mason Bretan如是說。正在研發(fā)中的程序?qū)⑹褂脩裟軠贤ㄟ^搖頭或擺手表示不同意，來提醒Shimi跳到下一首歌或增減音量。機(jī)器人還可根據(jù)用戶對歌曲的選擇推薦新音樂，并對音樂播放列表提供反饋。Weinberg希望其他研發(fā)者會(huì)因此獲得靈感，開發(fā)更多的應(yīng)用程序，來擴(kuò)展Shimi的創(chuàng)新和交互功能。他說：“我認(rèn)為我們中心正在

37、引領(lǐng)這場將更多機(jī)器人應(yīng)用到家庭中去的變革?！盬einberg正在通過獲得佐治亞理工學(xué)院的獨(dú)家授權(quán)來對Shimi進(jìn)行商業(yè)推廣。Weinberg希望到2013年的節(jié)日季消費(fèi)者可購買到Shimi。Weinberg說：“如果機(jī)器人進(jìn)入家庭，我們認(rèn)為就應(yīng)該是這種類型的機(jī)器人：小巧、令人愉快和有趣，它們能提高我們的生活質(zhì)量，為更多智能服務(wù)型機(jī)器人進(jìn)人我們的生活做好準(zhǔn)備。第二十篇Explorer of the Extreme DeepOceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet Yet，just a small fraction of the undcrwa

38、ler world has been uxplored Now，Scientists at the Woods Hole1 Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts are building an underwater vehicle hat will carry explorers as deep as 6,500 meters (21,320 feet)The new machine，known as a manned submersible or human-operated vehicle (HOV)，will replace

39、another one named Alvin2 which bas an amazing record of discovery，playing a key role in various important and famous undersea expeditionsAlvin has been operating for 40 years but can go down only 4,500 meters (14,784 feet)Its about time for an upgrade，WHOI researchers sayAlvin was launched in 1964Si

40、nce then，Alvin has worked between 200 and 250 days a year，says Daniel Fornari，a marine geologist and director of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at WHOIDuring its lifetime，Alvin has carried some 12,000 people on a total of more than 3,000 dives A newer，better versions of Alvin is bound to revea

41、l even more surprises ahout a world that is still full of mysteries，F(xiàn)ornari saysIt might also make the job of exploration a little easier“We take so much for granted on land,” Fornari says“We can walk around and see with our eyes how big things are We can see colors，special arrangements”Size-wise，th

42、e new HOV will be similar to AlvinItll be about 37 feet longThe setting area inside will be a small sphere，about 8 feet wide，like Alvin，itll carry a pilot and two passengersIt will be just as maneuverableIn most other ways，it will give passengers more opportunities to enjoy the view，for one thingAlv

43、in has only three windows，the new vehicle will have five，with more overlap so that the passengers and the pilot can see the same thingAlvin can go up and down at a rate of 30 meters every second，and its maximum speed is 2 knots (about 23 miles per hour)，while the new vehicle will be able to ascend a

44、nd descend at 44 meters per secondItll reach speeds of 3 knots，or 35 miles per hour詞匯：fraction/5frAkFEn/n一部分 dive/daiv/v n潛水；跳水underwater/5QndE5wC:tE(r)/adj bound/baund /adj受約束的，一定的水下的；adv在水下sphere/sfiE(r)/n球體；范圍 manned/5mAnd/adj載人的maneuverable/mE5nu:vErEbl/adj undersea/5QndEsi:/ adj海底的，機(jī)動(dòng)的，可調(diào)動(dòng)的 sub

45、mersible/sQb5mE:sEbl/n潛艇；潛水器overlap /5EuvE5lAp/v n重疊 upgrade/5Qpreid/n升級(jí)ascend/E5send/ v上升 geologist/dVi5ClEdVist/n地質(zhì)學(xué)家注釋：1 Woods Hole：美國馬薩諸塞州的一個(gè)漁村，但同時(shí)擁有許多重要研究機(jī)構(gòu)，如：the Marine Biological Laboratory，the Sea Education Association以及the Woods Hole Oceanographic lnstitution。2 Alvin：世界上第一個(gè)深海潛水器，它最有名的深海探測包括

46、1986年對泰坦尼克號(hào)殘骸的測量工作。練習(xí)：1 What is Alvin?A A research instituteB A transporting vehicleC A submersibleD A scientist2 Which of the following statements is NOT a fact about Alvin?A It can carry explorers as deep as 6,500 metersB It has played a key role in various important undersea expeditionsC It was l

47、aunched in the sixties of the twentieth centuryD It has been used for more than 40 years3 “a world that is still full of mysteries” refers toA the earthB out spaceC the oceanD Mars4 In what aspects are the new HOV and Alvin similar?A SizeB SpeedC CapacityD Shape5 In what aspects are the new HOV and

48、Alvin different?A Offering better viewsB SpeedC SizeD Both A and B答案與題解：1 C 短文第一段的第四、第五句提供了答案2 A 文章第一段從第三句開始說，科學(xué)家正在研制一艘可將研究人員帶到6 500米深處的潛水裝置，而它將替代Alvin，因?yàn)锳lvin只能潛到4 500米深處。A不是事實(shí)，所以是正確選擇。3 C 本文討論探索海底世界的潛水裝置，所以“充滿神秘色彩的世界”指的就是海洋。4 D 第三段的頭三個(gè)句子告訴我們，HOV和Alvin在體積上和容量上相似。所以D是正確選擇。5 D 第三段最后兩句告訴我們，Alvin只有三個(gè)窗戶

49、，而HOV有五個(gè)。最后一段告訴我們，兩艘潛水裝置的上下活動(dòng)速度和行進(jìn)速度有所差別。所以D是正確選擇。譯文：深海探索器海洋覆蓋了我們地球三分之二的面積，但被開發(fā)的地下水卻只有很小一部分。目前，馬薩諸塞木洞海洋研究所的科學(xué)家們正在開發(fā)一種能載探索家們深入水下6 500米(21 320英尺)的水下交通丁具。作為一種載人潛艇或人T操作丁具，這種新的機(jī)器將替代世界上第一個(gè)深海潛水器Alvin。Azui”潛水器已經(jīng)保持了驚人的紀(jì)錄，在各種重要的深?？疾熘邪l(fā)揮著重要作用。Alvin潛水器已經(jīng)運(yùn)行了40年，但它只能深人水下4 500米(14 784英尺)。術(shù)洞海洋協(xié)會(huì)的研究家們說，潛水下具陔升級(jí)了。Alvin

50、潛水器下水始于1964年。海洋地質(zhì)學(xué)家兼木洞海洋學(xué)研究所深海探索協(xié)會(huì)主任Daniel其不意Fornari說，自1 964年后，Alvin潛水器每年運(yùn)行200250天。在整個(gè)航程巾，它載12 000人進(jìn)行過3 000多次潛水。Fornari說，新式的Aluin潛水器必將揭示這個(gè)依舊充滿神秘的水下世界的許多奇妙之處。它也可能會(huì)使水下探索更容易些。Fornari說：“我們在陸上把許多東兩想當(dāng)然，我們會(huì)四處行走，用我們的雙眼看周同的東兩的大小。我們會(huì)看到各種顏色，各種特殊的布置?！边@種新的人工操作機(jī)器與Aluin潛水器很相似，大小適中。長約37英，里面環(huán)境將是個(gè)小球體，約8英尺寬。和Azum一樣，它將

51、載一名宇航員和兩名乘客。可淵動(dòng)。其他方面。它將使乘客有更多機(jī)會(huì)欣賞風(fēng)景，閃為舊式Aluin潛水器只有三個(gè)窗，“，新式的將有五個(gè)窗戶，其中有很多折疊，乘客和宇航員可以看見相同的事物。舊式Aluin抽潛水器可以每秒上下30米最快時(shí)速是2節(jié)(約23英里小時(shí))；衙新式潛水器將能每秒上下44米，它最快時(shí)速將達(dá)到3節(jié)(35英曜/小時(shí))。第十八篇Thirst for OilWorldwide every day, we devour the energy equivalent of about 200 million barrels of oil. Most of the energy on Earth c

52、omes from the Sun. In fact enough energy from the Sun hits the planets surface each minute to cover our needs for an entire year, we just need to find an efficient way to use it. So far the energy in oil has been cheaper and easier to get at. But as supplies dwindle, this will change, and we will ne

53、ed to cure our addiction to oil.Burning wood satisfied most energy needs until the steam-driven industrial revolution, when energy-dense coal became the fuel of choice. Coal is still used, mostly in power stations, to cover one quarter of our energy needs, but its use has been declining since we sta

54、rted pumping up oil. Coal is the least efficient, unhealthiest and most environmentally damaging fossil fuel, but could make a comeback, as supplies are still plentiful: its reserves are five times larger than oils.Today petroleum, a mineral oil obtained from below the surface of the Earth and used

55、to produce petrol, diesel oil and various other chemical substances, provides around 40% of the worlds energy needs, mostly fuelling automobiles. The US consumes n quarter of all oil, and generates a similar proportion of greenhouse gas emissions.The majority of oil comes from the Middle East, which

56、 has half of known reserves. But other significant sources include Russia, North America, Norway, Venezuela and the North Sea. Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge1 could be a major new US source, to reduce reliance on foreign imports.Most experts predict we will exhaust easily accessible reserve

57、s within 50 years, though opinions and estimates vary. We could fast reach an energy crisis in the next few decades, when demand exceeds supply. As conventional reserves become more difficult to access, others such as oil shales and tar sands may be used instead. Petrol could also be obtained from c

58、oal.Since we started using fossil fuels, we have released 400 billion tonnes2 of carbon, and burning the entire reserves could eventually raise world temperatures by 130 C. Among other horrors, this would result in the destruction of all rainforests and the melting of all Arctic ice.注釋:1. Alaskas Ar

59、ctic National Wildlife Refuge:美國阿拉斯加北極國家野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)區(qū)。 2001年，美國眾議院通過了一項(xiàng)基于布什提出的在那里進(jìn)行石油開采的議案。該議案遭到環(huán)境保護(hù)主義組織的反對。因此，目前在該區(qū)禁止開采石油。2. tonne:公噸(= 1,000公斤。不同于 ton。ton:在美國等于二千磅 (=0.907公噸)，所以稱作 short ton:短噸。練習(xí):1. “ we will need to cure our addiction to oil.”Why does the author say so? A Most of the energy on Earth co

60、mes from the Sun. B Oil supply is increasing all the time.C Demand for oil is increasing all the time.D Oil supply is decreasing.2. Which of the following statements is NOT meant by the author, according to the second paragraph? A Wood was the fuel of choice before coal.B The use of coal is declinin

61、g. C Coal is the most environmentally unfriendly fuel next to oil. D Coal reserves are plentiful and will be likely to become the major fuel of choice.3. Which country is the biggest consumer of petroleum? A The United States. B Russia . C Norway. D Venezuela.4. What do experts say about the earths fuel reserves? A The earths fuel reserves will be accessible f