【正文】 341 mess microscopic M 閱讀理解： 第十三篇 Invisibility Ring Scientists can’ t yet make an invisibility cloak1 like the one that Harry Potter2 ，for the first time， they’ ve constructed a simple cloaking device that makes itself and somethingplaced inside it invisible to microwaves. When a person “ sees” an object， his or her eye senses many different waves of visiblelight as they bounce off the eye and brain then work together to anize thesesensations and reconstruct the object’ s original shape. So， to make an object invisible，scientists have to keep waves from bouncing off they have to make sure the objectcasts no ， the absence of reflected light on one side would give the obiectaway. Invisibility isn’ t possible yet with waves of light that the human eye can it is nowpossible with visible light ， microwaves are a form of radiant part of the electromagic spectrum， which also includes radio waves，infrared light， ultraviolet rays， X rays， and gamma wavelengths of microwaves are shorter thanthose of radio waves but longer than those of visible light. The scientists’ new “ invisibility device” is the size of a drink coaster and shaped like ring is made of a special material with unusual microwaves strike thering， very few bounce off ， they pass through the ring， which bends the waves allthe way around until they reach the opposite waves then return to their originalpaths. To a detector set up to receive microwaves on the other side of the ring， it looks as if thewaves never changed their paths as if there were no object in the way! So， the ring is effectively invisible. When the researchers put a small cdpper loop inside the ring， it， too， is nearly invisible. However， the cloaking device and anything inside it do cast a pale the deviceworks only for microwaves ， not for visible light or any kind of electromagic ， Harry Potter’ s invisibility cloak doesn’ t have any real petition yet. 詞匯： invisibility/invizE5biliti/n. 看 不 見 ， 無 形 spectrum/5spektrEm/ cloak/klEuk/ 斗篷，披風(fēng) infrared/5infrE5red/ microwave/5maikrEuweiv/n. 微波 ultraviolet ray 紫外線 reconstruct/5ri:kEn5strQkt/ gamma ray 伽馬射線 radiant/5reidjEnt/adj. 輻射的 wavelength/5weivleNW/ electromagic/IlektrEJ5mA^nItIk/coaster/5kEustE(r)/，墊子 練習(xí)： Potter is mentioned in the passage，because scientists A can now make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses. B try to make an invisible cloak of the same kind as he uses. C try to invent a device Similar in idea to the invisible cloak he uses. D know that it is possible to make an invisible cloak of the same kind. is true of microwaves? A Their wavelengths are shorter than those of visible light. B Their wavelengths are longer than those of visible light. C They are different from visible light as they are a kind of radiant energy. D They are visible to the human eye. is NOT true of the invisibility device? A It is made of a special material with unusual ability. B Microwaves bounce off it when they strike it. C Microwaves pass through it when they strike it. D It bends the microwaves all the way 342 mess microscopic M around until they reach the opposite side. does the word “ coaster” mean in the passage? A A disk or plate placed under a drinking glass to protect a table top. B A vessel engaged in coastal trade. C A roller coaster. D A resident of a coastal area. Potter’ s invisibility cloak doesn’ t have any real petition yet， because A scientists have not found out how his cloak works. B the cloaking device is a total failure. C the cloaking device works only for microwaves. D the cloaking device works only for visible light. 答案與題解： 文章的第一段告訴我們，科學(xué)家還沒有發(fā)明哈里波特使用的那種隱身衣，所以不能選 A。該段還告訴我們，科學(xué)家已制造了，一種裝置，這種裝置能使自身或置于其中的物體不被微波發(fā)現(xiàn)，所以 C 是正確選擇，也就是說，科學(xué)家發(fā)明的隱形裝置和哈里波特的隱身衣僅僅在概念上相同，這同時說明 B 和D是錯誤的選擇。 第三段最后一句中告訴我們， A 是錯誤選擇， B 是正確選擇。該段第三句說，微波與可見光一樣都是一種輻射能，所以 C 的說法是錯誤的，不能選擇 。根據(jù)該段第一句： with wavesof light that the human eye can see 和第三句： Like visible light，可以得知 D是錯誤的說法，也不能選擇。 第 四段第三句說，當(dāng)微波到達(dá)裝置表面時， very few bounce off。 very few是幾乎沒有的意思，所以選擇 B。其他選擇所述內(nèi)容都可以很容易在該段中找到。 第四段第一句告訴我們，科學(xué)家的這個隱形裝置和一個杯墊差不多大小，所以 A 是正確選擇。 coaster 是一個多義詞，其他幾個選擇是該詞的其他意思， B：從事沿海貿(mào)易的船 。C：過山車，摩天輪 。D：海岸地區(qū)居民。 A句在短文中沒有提到 。按文章的內(nèi)容 B不是正確的說法 。文章最后一段說， And thedevice works only for microwaves ， not forvisible light，所以 C是正確選擇。 譯文： 隱形環(huán) 到目前為止，科學(xué)家還不能造出哈利；波特使用過的隱身斗篷。但是他們率先研制出了一種與其類似的裝置，這種裝置能使自身和置于其中的物體不受微波的探測。 當(dāng)一個人“看”某物體時，他的眼睛就會感知到從那個物體反射過來的光波。眼睛和大腦一同工作，編輯這些光感并重建其原貌。所以，如果要讓一個物體隱形，科學(xué)家們就必須阻止光波反射。并且他們得確保此物體沒有陰影。否則，反射光的缺失會使物體顯現(xiàn)。 鑒于人眼對光波的感知性，要想隱形某物體很難做到，但對微波就可以做到。如同可見光，微波是一種輻射能。他們是電磁波譜的一部分，其中也包括無線電波、紅外線光、紫外線、 x射線和伽馬射線。微波的波長比無線電波短，但比可見光長。 科學(xué)家研制出的這種新型隱身裝置和杯墊一般大小，形狀像個環(huán)。由于它是特殊材料制成，因此具有非同尋常的功能。當(dāng)微波射向它時，僅有極少的光會反射回去，這些光會從一端穿過這個環(huán)，并在此過程中沿著彎曲的路線前進(jìn)，直到抵達(dá)另一端。最后光波回到原來的路線。 對于在環(huán)的另一端放置的 探測器來說，光波看上去就像從來沒有改變過路徑一樣，即好像沒有遇到障礙物。這樣一來，這個環(huán)就如同沒有存在過。 研究者又將一個銅線圈放進(jìn)環(huán)里，依然得到同樣的結(jié)果。不過，這個環(huán)和里面的東西還是會留下一點(diǎn)影子。環(huán)形隱身器只能作用于微波，而不能作用于可見光及電磁波。因此，哈里，波特的隱形斗篷目前還沒有競爭對手。 第十五篇 Winged Robot Learns to Fly 343 mess microscopic M Learning how to fly took nature millions of years of trial and error1 but a winged robot has cracked2 it in only a few hours, using the same evolutionary principles. Krister Wolff and Peter Nordin of Chalmers University of Technology (CUT) in Gothenburg , Sweden, built a winged robot and set about3 testing whether it could learn to fly by itself, without any preprogrammed data on what flapping is or how to do it. To begin with4, the robot just twitched and jerked erratically. But, gradually, it made movements that gained height. At first, it cheatedsimply standing on its