篇一：剑桥雅思8阅读解析
剑桥雅思8阅读解析
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.
The Nature of Genius
There has always been an interest in geniuses and prodigies. The word 'genius', from the Latin gens (= family) and the term 'genius', meaning 'begetter', comes from the early Roman cult of a divinity as the head of the family. In its earliest form, genius was concerned with the ability of the head of the family, the paterfamilias, to
perpetuate himself. Gradually, genius came to represent a person's characteristics and thence an individual's highest attributes derived from his 'genius' or guiding spirit. Today, people still look to stars or genes, astrology or genetics, in the hope of finding the source of exceptional abilities or personal characteristics.
The concept of genius and of gifts has become part of our folk culture, and
attitudes are ambivalent towards them. We envy the gifted and mistrust them. In the mythology of giftedness, it is popularly believed that if people are talented in one area, they must be defective in another, that intellectuals are impractical, that
prodigies burn too brightly too soon and burn out, that gifted people are eccentric, that they are physical weaklings, that there's a thin line between genius and madness, that genius runs in families, that the gifted are so clever they don't need special help,
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that giftedness is the same as having a high IQ, that some races are more intelligent or musical or mathematical than others, that genius goes uecognised and
uewarded, that adversity makes men wise or that people with gifts have a
responsibility to use them. Language has been eiched with such terms as
'highbrow', 'egghead', 'blue-stocking', 'wiseacre', 'know-all', 'boffin' and, for many, 'intellectual' is a term of denigration.
The nineteenth century saw considerable interest in the nature of genius, and produced not a few studies of famous prodigies. Perhaps for us today, two of the most significant aspects of most of these studies of genius are the frequency with which early encouragement and teaching by parents and tutors had beneficial effects on the intellectual, artistic or musical development of the children but caused great difficulties of adjustment later in their lives, and the frequency with which abilities went uecognised by teachers and schools. However, the difficulty with the evidence produced by these studies, fascinating as they are in collecting together anecdotes and apparent similarities and exceptions, is that they are not what we would today call norm-referenced. In other words, when, for instance, information is collated
about early illnesses, methods of upbringing, schooling, etc. , we must also take into account information from other historical sources about how common or exceptional these were at the time. For instance, infant mortality was high and life expectancy much shorter than today, home tutoring was common in the families of the nobility and wealthy, bullying and corporal punishment were common at the best
independent schools and, for the most part, the cases studied were members of the
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privileged classes. It was only with the growth of paediatrics and psychology in the twentieth century that studies could be carried out on a more objective, if still not always very scientific, basis.
Geniuses, however they are defined, are but the peaks which stand out through the mist of history and are visible to the particular observer from his or her particular vantage point. Change the observers and the vantage points, clear away some of the mist, and a different lot of peaks appear. Genius is a term we apply to those whom we recognise for their outstanding achievements and who stand near the end of the continuum of human abilities which reaches back through the mundane and mediocre to the incapable. There is still much truth in Dr Samuel Johnson's
observation, 'The true genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally
determined to some particular direction'. We may disagree with the 'general', for we doubt if all musicians of genius could have become scientists of genius or vice versa, but there is no doubting the accidental determination which nurtured or triggered their gifts into those channels into which they have poured their powers so
successfully. Along the continuum of abilities are hundreds of thousands of gifted men and women, boys and girls.
What we appreciate, enjoy or marvel at in the works of genius or the
achievements of prodigies are the manifestations of skills or abilities which are similar to, but so much superior to, our own. But that their minds are not different from our own is demonstrated by the fact that the hard-won discoveries of scientists like
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Kepler or Einstein become the commonplace knowledge of schoolchildren and the once outrageous shapes and colours of an artist like Paul Klee so soon appear on the fabrics we wear. This does not minimise the supremacy of their achievements, which outstrip our own as the sub-four-minute milers outstrip our jogging.
To think of geniuses and the gifted as having uniquely different brains is only reasonable if we accept that each human brain is uniquely different. The purpose of instruction is to make us even more different from one another, and in the process of being educated we can learn from the achievements of those more gifted than
ourselves. But before we try to emulate geniuses or encourage our children to do so we should note that some of the things we learn from them may prove unpalatable. We may envy their achievements and fame, but we should also recognise the price they may have paid in terms of perseverance, single-mindedness, dedication,
restrictions on their personal lives, the demands upon their energies and time, and how often they had to display great courage to preserve their integrity or to make their way to the top.
Genius and giftedness are relative descriptive terms of no real substance. We may, at best, give them some precision by defining them and placing them in a context but, whatever we do, we should never delude ourselves into believing that gifted children or geniuses are different from the rest of humanity, save in the degree to which they have developed the performance of their abilities.
Questions 14-18
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Choose FIVE letters, A-K.
Write the correct letters in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.NB Your answers may be given in any order.
Below are listed some popular beliefs about genius and giftedness.Which FIVE of these beliefs are reported by the writer of the text?
A Truly gifted people are talented in all areas.
B The talents of geniuses are soon exhausted.
C Gifted people should use their gifts.
D A genius appears once in every generation.
E Genius can be easily destroyed by discouragement.
F Genius is inherited.
G Gifted people are very hard to live with.
H People never appreciate true genius.
I Geniuses are natural leaders.
J Gifted people develop their greatness through difficulties.
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篇二：剑桥雅思8阅读理解解析含翻译
剑桥雅思8-第三套试题-阅读部分-PASSAGE 1-阅读真题原文部分:
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
Striking Back at Lightning With Lasers
Seldom is the weather more dramatic than when thunderstorms strike. Their electrical fury inflicts death or serious injury on around 500 people each year in the United States alone. As the clouds roll in, a leisurely round of golf can become a terrifying dice with death - out in the open, a lone golfer may be a lightning bolt's most inviting target. And there is damage to property too. Lightning damage costs American power companies more than $100 million a year.
But researchers in the United States and Japan are planning to hit back. Already in laboratory trials they have tested strategies for neutralising the power of thunderstorms, and this winter they will brave real storms, equipped with an armoury of lasers that they will be pointing towards the heavens to discharge thunderclouds before lightning can strike.
The idea of forcing storm clouds to discharge their lightning on command is not new. In the early 1960s, researchers tried firing rockets trailing wires into thunderclouds to set up an easy discharge path for the huge electric charges that these clouds generate. The technique survives to this day at a test site in Florida run by the University of Florida, with support from the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI), based in California. EPRI, which is funded by power companies, is looking at ways to protect the United States' power grid from lightning strikes. 'We can cause the lightning to strike where we want it to using rockets, ' says Ralph Bernstein, manager of lightning projects at EPRI. The rocket site is providing precise measurements of lightning voltages and allowing engineers to check how electrical equipment bears up.
Bad behaviour
But while rockets are fine for research, they cannot provide the protection from lightning strikes that everyone is looking for. The rockets cost around $1, 200 each, can only be fired at a limited frequency and their failure rate is about 40 per cent. And even when they do trigger lightning, things still do not always go according to plan. 'Lightning is not perfectly well behaved, '
says Bernstein. 'Occasionally, it will take a branch and go someplace it wasn't supposed to go. 'And anyway, who would want to fire streams of rockets in a populated area? 'What goes up must come down, ' points out Jean-Claude Diels of the University of New Mexico. Diels is leading a project, which is backed by EPRI, to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely - and safety is a basic requirement since no one wants to put themselves or their expensive equipment at risk. With around $500, 000 invested so far, a promising system is just emerging from the laboratory. The idea began some 20 years ago, when high-powered lasers were revealing their ability to extract electrons out of atoms and create ions. If a laser could generate a line of ionisation in the air all the way up to a storm cloud, this conducting path could be used to guide lightning to Earth, before the electric field becomes strong enough to break down the air in an uncontrollable surge. To stop the laser itself being struck, it would not be pointed straight at the clouds. Instead it would be directed at a mirror, and from there into the sky. The mirror would be protected by placing lightning conductors close by. Ideally, the cloud-zapper (gun)would be cheap enough to be installed around all key power installations, and portable enough to be taken to international sporting events to beam up at brewing storm clouds.
A stumbling block
However, there is still a big stumbling block. The laser is no nifty portable: it's a monster that takes up a whole room. Diels is trying to cut down the size and says that a laser around the size of a small table is in the offing. He plans to test this more manageable system on live thunderclouds next summer.
Bernstein says that Diels's system is attracting lots of interest from the power companies. But they have not yet come up with the $5 million that EPRI says will be needed to develop a commercial system, by making the lasers yet smaller and cheaper. 'I cannot say I have money yet, but I'm working on it, ' says Bernstein. He reckons that the forthcoming field tests will be the turning point - and he's hoping for good news. Bernstein predicts 'an avalanche of interest and support' if all goes well. He expects to see cloud-zappers eventually costing 100, 000 each.
Other scientists could also benefit. With a lightning 'switch' at their fingertips, materials scientists could find out what happens when mighty currents meet matter. Diels also hopes to see the birth of 'interactive meteorology' - not just forecasting the weather but controlling it. 'If we could discharge clouds, we might affect the weather, ' he says.
And perhaps, says Diels, we'll be able to confront some other meteorological menaces. 'We think we could prevent hail by inducing lightning, ' he says. Thunder, the shock wave that comes from a lightning flash, is thought to be the trigger for the torrential rain that is typical of storms. A laser thunder factory could shake the moisture out of clouds, perhaps preventing the formation of the giant hailstones that threaten crops. With luck, as the storm clouds gather this winter, laser-toting researchers could, for the first time, strike back.
Questions 1-3
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.
1 The main topic discussed in the text is
A the damage caused to US golf courses and golf players by lightning strikes.
B the effect of lightning on power supplies in the US and in Japan.
C a variety of methods used in
D a laser technique used in trying to control lightning strikes.
2 According to the text, every year lightning
A does considerable damage to buildings during thunderstorms.
B kills or injures mainly golfers in the United States.
C kills or injures around 500 people throughout the world.
D damages more than 100 American power companies.
3 Researchers at the University of Florida and at the University of New Mexico
A receive funds from the same source.
B are using the same techniques.
C are employed by commercial companies.
D are in opposition to each other.
Questions 4-6
Complete the sentences below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 4-6 on your answer sheet.
4 EPRI receives financial support from??????????.
5 The advantage of the technique being developed by Diels is that it can be used?????? .
6 The main difficulty associated with using the laser equipment is related to its??????.
Questions 7-10
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-I, below.
Write the correct letter, A-I, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.
In this method, a laser is used to create a line of ionisation by removing electrons from 7 ??????????. This laser is then directed at 8 ?????????? in order to control electrical charges, a method which is less dangerous than using 9 ??????????. As a protection for the lasers, the beams are aimed firstly at 10………………………….
A cloud-zappersB atoms C storm clouds
D mirrorsE technique F ions
G rocketsH conductorsI thunder
Questions 11-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet write
YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
11 Power companies have given Diels enough money to develop his laser.
12 Obtaining money to improve the lasers will depend on tests in real storms. 13 Weather forecasters are intensely interested in Diels's system.
READING PASSAGE 1
篇章结构
体裁
主题
说明文 用激光回击闪电
结构第1段：闪电带来的危害
第2段：科研人员正在研究回击闪电的方法
第3段：先前的闪电回击术介绍
第4段：火箭回击术的缺陷
第5段：更安全的激光回击术
第6段：激光回击术的技术原理
第7段：激光回击术的缺陷
第8段：通过实地实验改进激光回击术
第9段：激光回击术对其他学科也有益处
第10段：激光回击术的其他用途
解题地图
难度系数：★★★
解题顺序：按题目顺序解答即可
友情提示：烤鸭们注意：本文中的SUMMARY题目顺序有改变，解题要小心；MULTIPLE CHOICE的第三题是个亮点，爱浮想联翩的烤鸭们可能会糊掉。
必背词汇
1. inflict v. 造成
The strikes inflicted serious damage on the economy. 罢工给经济造成了重大损失。
2. inviting adj. 吸引人的
The log fire looked warm and inviting. 篝火看上去温暖而诱人。
3. property n. 财产；属性
The hotel is not responsible for any loss or damage to guests’ personal property. 酒店不承担宾客的任何个人财产的丢失或损坏。
a herb with healing properties具有治疗效果的草药
physical/chemical properties物理特性/化学特性
4. fund v. 资助，投资
The project is jointly funded by several local companies. 这个项目得到了当地几家公司的联合资助。government-funded research政府资助的研究
5. back v. 支持，帮助
The scheme has been backed by several major companies in the region.
篇三：雅思8分经验贴
开始准备雅思时，收集了一些前人的经验，没有他们的前车之鉴，自学雅思一定会走很多弯路。最近整理了一下思路，把我的经验与大家分享一下，希望也能对大家有所帮助。
声声明：文中所列书目基本都可以在网上找到，要是嫌麻烦而且资金充裕就去支持正版吧 要是已然被报名费掏空了腰包的苦孩子，我弱弱的建议你们还是去下载电子版吧！
我的英语水平概况：非英语专业，四级627，六级613
一战雅思（复习时间3个月）：总分：7.5（L8.5 R7.5 W6.5 S7.0）
二战雅思（复习时间20天）：总分：8.0（L8.0 R8.5 W8.0 S7.0）
【注意事项】
1、一旦决定报雅思，并且目标分数在7分以上，请至少拿出一个半月的脱产复习时间，大牛除外。雅思考的是基本功，每个部分从熟悉题型到水平提高都需要大量的练习，光靠应技巧是不够的。本人寒假快结束时开始准备雅思，开学后除了第一个月以外，后一个半月的时间几乎所有的课都没上。
2、计划非常重要。在你正式开始复习之前，定个计划，细化到每个阶段、每周、每天的任务。哪怕定的计划只完成了60%，也一定比没有计划来的效率高。
3、本人全程没有报任何辅导班或网课。如果要报班，建议有两个：1、个人观点只有作文和口语或许有必要听一些技巧或得到一些应考信息，至于某些“保*争*”的辅导班，学员水平参差不齐，老师不可能对每个人都有针对性，寄希望于他人不如寄希望于自己。2、无论报班与否，一定至少留给自己一个半月的复习时间。
4、尽量不要在家或者在宿舍复习，去自习室吧。与其挑战自己的自制力，不如干脆点杜绝掉那些诱惑。
下面分四个部分说说我的准备资料、个人方法和考试心得。
【听力】
一、参考资料（按重要性排序）：
1、剑桥真题4~8。
2、《IELTS考试技能训练教程?听力》（俗称“北语黑眼睛”）作者：李亚宾编著出版社：北京语言大学出版社。
3、《英语中级听力（学生用书）（重印版）/英语听力教程：2（LISTEN TO THIS:2）》作者：何其莘 等编出版社：外语教学与研究出版社。
https://wenku.baidu.com/link?url=qLAzbIuyvA6Llt_YQOQXwi8-QSyRo4O0z0YlmOXVkFlE8V6KJh8JcnL8QOmuId0E-kV2h16RonNPhqDkEtNGLf-4IzG7UEP8W_zHVle6Rvm