2012年职称英语理工类新增文章

2012年职称英语理工类
新增文章
阅读理解（6篇）……………………3页
第六篇 Making Light of1 Sleep
第十九篇 Graphene's Superstrength 1
*第三＋八篇 "Life Form Found" on Saturn's Titan
*第四十篇Teaching Math, Teaching Anxiety
+第四＋五篇Teaching Math,Teaching Anxiety
+第四十六篇Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as "Ecosystem Engineers"
完形填空（6篇）……………………20页
第三篇Germs on Banknotes
第十篇 Chicken Soup for the Soul：Comfort Food Fights Loneliness *第十一篇 Climate Change Poses Major Risks for Unprepared Cities
*第十二篇 Free Statins With Fast Food Could Neutralize Heart Risk
+第十三篇 Solar Power without Solar Cells
+第十五篇“Liquefaction” Key to Much of Japanese Earthquake Damage
注：
1、+表示A级文章；*表示B即文章；其他为C级文章；
2、阅读理解，请参见第3页；完形填空，请参见第20页；
3、2012年词汇部分与2011年教材相比未作任何变化。

阅读理解
第六篇Making Light of1 Sleep
All we have a clock located inside our brains. Similar to your bedside alarm clock， your internal clock2runs on a 24-hour cycle. This cycle，called a circadian rhythm，helps control when
you wake，when you eat and when you sleep.
Somewhere around puberty，something happens in the timing of the biological clock. The
clock pushes forward，so adolescents and teenagers are unable to fall asleep as early as they used to. When your mother tells you it's time for bed，your body may be pushing you to stay
up3 for several hours more. And the light coming from your computer screen or TV could be pushing you to stay up even later.
This shift4 is natural for teenagers. But staying up very late and sleeping late can get
your body's clock out of sync with the cycle of light and dark5. It can also make it hard to
get out of bed in the morning and may bring other problems，too. Teenagers are put in a kind
of a gray cloud6 when they don't get enough sleep，says Mary Carskadon，a sleep researcher
at Brown University in Providence，RI7 .It affects their mood and their ability to think and
learn.
But just like your alarm clock，your internal clock can be reset. In fact，it automatically resets
itself every day. How? By using the light it gets through your eyes.
Scientists have known for a long time that the light of day and the dark of night play
important roles in setting our internal clocks. For years，researchers thought that the signals that synchronize the body's clock8 were handled through the same pathways that we use to see.
But recent discoveries show that the human eye has two separate light-sensing systems.
One system allows us to see. The second system tells our body whether it's day or night.
词汇：
circadian/s3:'keidi?n/ adj. 昼夜节奏的，生理节奏的
adolescent/?d?u'les?nt/ n．青少年；adj．青少年的
puberty/ 'pju:b?ti/ n．发育；青春期
sync/si?k/ n. （口语）同步；和谐，协调
synchronize/'si?kr?naiz / V.（使）同时发生；（使）同步
注释：
1.make light of ：轻视，不在乎。

例如： We should not make light of their achievements．我们不应当低估他们的成就。

2. your internal clock ：指的是第一句中的 a clock located inside our brains ，也即是第二段第一句中的the biological clock （生物钟）。

3. stay up：不睡觉，熬夜
4. This shift：这种调整。

指上文所描述的由于生理时间的变化青少年上床时间越来越晚的现
象。

5. get your body's clock out of sync with the cycle of light and dark ：打乱了你的生物钟与
昼夜时间循环之间的平衡
6. gray cloud ：提不起精神的状态
7. Brown University in Providence， RI：位于美国罗得岛州普罗维登斯的布朗大学。

RI是Rhode Island（罗得岛）的首字母缩写；Providence 是罗得岛州的首府。

布朗大学是美国一流大学，
创建于1764 年，是世界闻名的美国“常春藤联盟”（还包括哈佛大学、耶鲁大学、普林斯顿大学、布
朗大学、哥伦比亚大学、宾夕法尼亚大学、达特茅斯大学和康奈尔大学）中的一员。

8. the signals that synchronize the body's clock：平衡生物钟的光信号
练习：
1 .The clock located inside our brains is similar to our bedside alarm clock because
A it controls when we wake，when we eat and when we sleep.
B it has a cycle of 24 hours.
C it is a cycle also called circadian rhythm.
D it can alarm any time during 24 hours.
2. What is implied in the second paragraph?
A Young children's biological clock has the same rhythm with that of the teenagers.
B People after puberty begin to go to bed earlier due to the change of the biological clock.
C Children before puberty tend to fall asleep earlier at night than adolescents.
D Teenagers go to bed later than they used to due to the light from the computer screen.
3. In the third paragraph the author wants to tell the reader that
A it is natural for teenagers to stay up late and get up late.
B staying up late has a bad effect on teenagers' ability to think and learn.
C during puberty most teenagers experience a kind of gray cloud.
D it is hard for teenagers to get out of bed in the morning.
4. Which of the following statements is NOT t rue according to the fourth and fifth paragraphs?
A Our biological clock resets itself automatically.
B light gets through our eyes and resets our biological clock.
C Our internal clock as well as the alarm clock can be reset automatically.
D Our internal clock，like the alarm clock，can be reset.
5. According to the last two paragraphs， what did the previous researchers think about the
human eye's light-sensing system?
A The human eye had two light-sensing systems.
B The human eye had one light-sensing system.
C The human eye could sense the light of day more quickly than the dark of night.
D The human eye could reset our internal clocks in accordance with the alarm clocks.
答案与题解：
1.B 第一段第二句提供了答案。

句中的your internal clock 即指 a clock located inside our
Brains。

2. C 第二段主要内容是告诉读者，过了青春期（puberty），由于生物钟节奏的变化，青少年（adolescents and teenagers）比以前要晚睡几小时。

所以C是该段所隐含的内容。

3. B 第三段的最后一句直接给出了答案。

4. C 根据第四和第五段的内容，闹钟和生物钟都可以重新设定时间，但生物钟能通过眼睛接
受的日光来自动调节生理节奏。

所以A、B和D都是这两段中所述内容，C是正确选择，因为闹钟不能
自动重新设定时间。

5.B 问题使用的是过去时，问的是研究者在最新发现（recent discoveries）之前对眼睛感光系统的认识，即，the signals that synchronize the body's clock were handled through the same
pathways that we use to see （眼睛所接受到的平衡生物钟的光信号同样作用于人类的视觉系
统），也就是说，研究者之前认为人类的眼睛只有一个感光系统。

但最新发现却是，人的眼睛有两个感
光系统。

第十九篇
Graphene's Superstrength1
Big technology comes in tiny packages. New cell phones and personal computers get smaller every year，which means these electronics require even smaller components on the inside.
Engineers are looking for creative ways to build these components，and they've turned their eyes to graphene，a superthin2 material，made of carbon，that could change the future of electronics.
This year's Nobel Prize for Physics3 has been awarded to Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov
from the University of Manchester4，UK. for the discovery of graphene. Graphene isn't just
small,
it's“the thinnest possible material in this world，”　says Novoselov. He calls it a“wonder material. ”It's so thin that you would need to stack about 25,000 sheets just to make a pile
as thick as a piece of ordinary white paper. If you were to hold a sheet of graphene in your
fingers5，you'd have no idea because you wouldn't be able to see it.
Carbon is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. Every known kind of life
contains carbon. Graphene is a sheet of carbon，but only one atom thick. You don't have to
look
far to find grapheme —it's all around you.
If you want this high-tech wonderstuff6，all you need is a pencil，paper and a little adhesive tape. Use the pencil to shade a small area on the paper, and then apply a small piece of adhesive tape over the area7. When you pull up the tape，you'll see that it pulls up a thin layer of
some of
the shading from your pencil. That layer is called graphite，one of the softest minerals in
the world.
Now stick the same piece of tape on another sheet of paper and pull the tape up —there should be an even thinner layer，this time left on the paper. Now imagine that you do this
over and over，until you get the thinnest possible layer of material on the paper. This layer would be only one atom thick，and you wouldn't be able to see it. Graphite is made of layers
of graphene，so when you get to the thinnest possible layer，you've found graphene.
词汇：
graphene/ 'gr?fi:n/ n．石墨烯
abundant/?’b?nd?nt / adj．丰富的，充裕的
atom/ '?t?m/n．原子
adhesive/ ?d'hi:siv/ n．胶粘剂；adj. 黏着的
stack/st?k/ v．使成堆，堆放
graphite / 'gr?fait / n．石墨
注释：
1. superstrength：超强的力量。

该词是一个合成词，由两部分组成， super（超级的）和strength （力量）。

2. superthin：超薄。

见注释1。

3. Nobel Prize for Physics ：诺贝尔物理学奖
4. the University of Manchester：曼彻斯特大学。

这是一所位于英国曼彻斯特市的公立研究型大学，
创建于1851 年。

5. If you were to hold a sheet of graphene in your fingers：句子使用的是虚拟语气，因为不可
能将几乎肉眼看不到的石墨烯放在指尖上。

6. wonderstuff：神奇物。

该词为合成词，由wonder（神奇）和stuff（东西）两个词构成。

wonderstuff 指的是第二段提到的wonder material。

7. apply a small piece of adhesive tape over, ：将一小片胶带敷在,,上。

练习：
1 .What would change the future of electronics according to engineers?
A Big technology.
B Creative ways.
C Graphene.
D Both A and B.
2. According to the second and third paragraphs，what is true of graphene?
A It can be used to make paper.
B It is possible to see it with our naked eye.
C It is easy to find graphene.
D It is possibly the thickest material in the world.
3. Which of the following can be used to replace the word “apply”in paragraph 4?
A request.
B polish.
C use.
D put.
4. Which of the following is NOT meant in the last two paragraphs?
A Graphene is made of graphite，one of the softest materials in the world.
B Graphite is made of layers of graphene，the thinnest material in the world.
C When we get to the thinnest possible layer of graphite，we find graphene.
D With a pencil，a sheet of paper and a piece of adhesive tape，we can find graphene.
5. Graphene's superstrength lies in the fact that
A It is the thinnest material in the world.
B It is made of the most abundant elements in the world.
C It can help to make electronic components smaller.
D It helps engineers to produce more sensitive electronic products.
答案与题解：
1. C 第一段最后一句提供了答案：工程师将眼光投向石墨烯，一种由碳原子组成的超薄材料，
这种材料能够改变电子产品的未来。

2.C 第二段倒数第二句告诉我们，25,000 层石墨烯才能堆砌成一张普通白纸的厚度，这是为了说明石
墨烯是多么的薄，而不是说它可以用来造纸，所以A不是正确答案。

第三段最后一句说明石墨烯就在我
们周围，因此C是答案。

B和D的表述内容都与该两段内容不符合。

3.D apply... over：将,,涂（敷）在,,上。

4.A 最后两段告诉我们，用一张纸，一支铅笔和一片胶带就能找到石墨烯；无数层石墨烯构成石墨，当铅笔留在纸上的石墨被胶带剥离到最薄一层时，我们就得到了石墨烯。

因此只有A不是最后两段的表述
内容。

5. C 第一段提供了答案。

随着电子产品越来越小，需要更小的电子组件（components) ，而石墨烯作为最薄的材料可以帮助工程师实现这一目标。

这就是石墨烯力量所在。

*第三＋八篇 "Life Form Found" on Saturn's Titan
Scientists say they have discovered hints of alien life 1 on the Saturn's moon2. The discovery of a sort of life was announced after researchers at the US space agency,NASA3,analyzed data from spacecraft Cassini4,which pointed to,the existence of methane-based form of life on Saturn's biggest moon.
Scientists have reportedly discovered clues showing primitive alien beings are"breathing" in
Titan's dense atmosphere filled with hydrogen.
They argue that hydrogen gets absorbed before hitting Titan's planet-like surface covered with methane lakes and rivers. This,they say,points to the existence of some"bugs"5consuming the hydrogen at the surface of the moon less than half the size of the Earth.
"We suggested hydrogen consumption because it's the obvious gas for life to consume on
Titan,similar to the way we consume oxygen on Earth,"says NASA scientist Chris McKay."If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life,it would be doubly exciting because it would represent
a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth."
To date,scientists have not yet detected this form of life anywhere,though there are
liquid-
water-based microorganisms on Earth that grow well on methane or produce it as a waste product. On Titan, where temperatures are around 90 Kelvin6(minus 290 degrees Farenheit),a methanebased organism would have to use a substance that is liquid as its medium for living processes, but not water itself. Water is frozen solid on Titan's surface and much too cold to support life
as we know it.
Scientists had expected the Sun's interactions with chemicals in the atmosphere to produce a coating of acetylene on Titan's surface. But Cassini detected no acetylene on the surface.
The absence of detectable acetylene on the Titan's surface can very well have a non-biological explanation,said Mark Allen,a principal investigator7of the NASA T itan team.
"Scientific conservatism suggests that a biological explanation should be the last choice after all non-biological explanations are addressed,"Allen said. "We have a lot of work to
do to rule out8 possible non-biological explanations. It is more likely that a chemical
process,without biology,can explain these results."
词汇：
Saturn /'s?t?n/ n．土星 methane/'mi:θein/ n．甲烷，沼气
Titan/'tait?n/ n．土卫六 acetylene/?'setili:n/ n．乙炔
alien/'eilj?n/ n．外星人；adj．外星球的；相异的
conservatism/k?n's?:v?tiz?m/ n．保守主义,守旧
注释：
1.hints of alien life：外星生命迹象。

2.the Saturn's moon：指土卫六（Titan) 。

土卫六又称泰坦星，是土星卫星中最大的一颗。

3.NASA：美国国家航空航天局的缩写，全称是： National Aeronautics and Space
Administration。

4.spacecraft Cassini：卡西尼号探测器，以出生于意大利的法国天文学家卡西尼的名字命名，其任务
是环绕土星飞行，对土星及其大气、光环、卫星和磁场进行深人考察。

1997 年10 月15日，重六吨的“卡西尼”号星际探测器被发射飞往土星的轨道。

这是上世纪发射的最后一艘行星际探测的大飞船。

“卡西尼”号用了将近七年时间，在2004 年7月1日飞达土星轨道。

5.bugs：微生物。

非正式口语表达，所以使用了引号。

6.Kelvin：可翻译成“绝对温度”。

Kelvin Scale ，绝对温标，开氏温标，是由Kelvin 勋爵于19世纪中叶发明的温度计量方法，其零度相当于摄氏一273. 15" C ，被认为是宇宙中最低温度。

这种温度
计量方法多为科学家使用。

7.principal investigator：研究项目负责人
8.rule out：排除,,的可能性
练习：
1 .What have scientists found about Saturn?
A They have found a new moon orbiting Saturn.
B They have found methane-based life on Saturn.
C They have found methane-based life on Titan.
D They have found earthlike life on a Saturn's moon.
2. What do scientists say about Titan?
A There are life clues there.
B There is acetylene there.
C Water on Titan exists in the form of ice.
D Rivers and lakes there contain life formls.
3. To date,scientists have not yet detected this form of life.(paragraph 5)What does"this form of life" refer to?
A Water-based life.
B Methane-based life.
C Liquid-water-based microorganisms.
D Gas-based life.
4. What can be inferred from what Allen said?
A Scientists have different arguments over whether there is life on Titan.
B Scientists all agree that there is life on Titan.
C Scientists all suggest that a biological explanation is reasonable.
D Scientists all agree that a non-biological chemical reaction is a possible explanation.
5. Which of the following can replace the title of this passage?
A Earthlike Living Beings Found on Titan.
B Finding of One More Moon of Saturn.
C Titan,a New Satellite Found.
D A different Life Form, a Possibility.
答案与题解：
1. C 短文的第一段提供了答案。

该段告诉读者，科学家在土星的卫星土卫六（ Titan ）上发现了生命的迹象，这些生命的存在是以甲烷为基础的。

2.A根据第二段“Scientists have reportedly discovered clues showing primitive alien beings
are
'breathing' in Titan's dense atmosphere filled with hydrogen.”，说明土卫六（Titan）有生命迹象。

因此A是答案。

3. B this form of life 指的是土卫六（ Titan ）上以甲烷为生命基础呼吸氢气的生物，即该文讨论
的主题。

4.A科学家至今对土卫六是否存在生物有不同的观点和解释。

Allen 说要做出土卫六上有生
物的结论，首先必须对Titan 上没有生物的观点做出回应；要排除土卫六上可能没有生物的观点，我
们还须付出努力。

所以只有A是正确选择。

5.D该短文的主题是，科学家在土卫六（ Titan ）上发现了一种与地球生物不同的生命形式的迹象，
即以甲烷为生命基础呼吸氢气的生物，但科学家还未能最后验证这一发现。

第四段中的一个句子能够揭
示该短文的主题：“If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life, it would bedoubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth.”
*第四十篇Teaching Math,Teaching Anxiety
In a new study about the way kids learn math in elementary school,the psychologists at
the
University of Chicagol1Sian Beilock and Susan Levine found a surprising relationship between what female teachers think and what female students learn:If a female teacher is uncomfortable with her own math skills,then her female students are more likely to believe that boys are
better than girls at math.
"If these girls keep getting math-anxious female teachers2 in later grades,it may create
a snowball effect on their math achievement3 said Levine. In other words,girls may end up
learning math anxiety from their teachers4. The study suggests that if these girls grow up
believing that boys are better at math than girls are,then these girls may not do as well as
they would have if
they were more confident.
Just as students find certain subjects to be difficult, teachers can find certain subjects to be
difficult to learn -- and teach. The subject of math can be particularly difficult for everyone. Researchers use the word "anxiety" to describe such feelings:anxiety is uneasiness or worry.
The new study found that when a teacher has anxiety about math, that feeling can influence how her female students feel about math. The study involved 65 girls,52 boys and 17 first-
and
second-grade teachers in elementary schools in the Midwest. The students took math achievement tests at the beginning and end of the school year, and the researchers compared the scores.
The researchers also gave the students tests to tell whether the students believed that
a math superstar had to be a boy. Then the researchers turned to the teachers:To find out which teachers were anxious about math,the researchers asked the teachers how they felt at times
when they came across math, such as when reading a sales receipt5. A teacher who got nervous looking at the numbers on a sales receipt, for example,was probably anxious about math.
Boys,on average,were unaffected by a teacher's anxiety. On a verage,girls with math-anxious teachers scored lower on the end-of-the-year math tests than other girls in the study did.Plus,on the test showing whether someone thought a math superstar had to be a boy,20 girls showed feeling that boys would be better at math -- and all of these girls had been taught
by female teachers who had math anxiety.
"This is an interesting study,but the results need to be interpreted as preliminary and
in need
of replication with a larger sample6," said David Geary,a psychologist at the University of
Missouri7 inColumbia.
词汇：
snowball /'sn?ub?:l/雪球；滚雪球式增长的事 replication/repli'kei??n/ n ．重复，复现superstar/'sju:p?sta:/ n．超级明星
练习：
1. University of Chicago：芝加哥大学。

位于美国伊利诺伊州芝加哥市，是世界一流的私立大学，创
建于1891 年。

2. keep getting math-anxious female teachers：一直由对数学有焦虑感的女教师教授数学。

此处getting是having的意思，math-anxious指的是上文中提到的对数学没有自信的心理状态。

另见第三
段最后一句对anxiety的解释。

3. snowball effect on their math achievement：在数学成就上的雪球效应。

其含义是：在数学上越
来越没有信心。

4. end up learning math anxiety from their teachers：最后从老师那里获得的是对数学的焦虑。

End up doing something：最终会做某事
5. sales receipt：销售清单
6. in need of replication with a larger sample：需要用更大的调查样本进行重复验证。

replication 在量化实证研究中的意思是“重复（实验）”。

7. the University of Missouri：密苏里大学。

位于密苏里州，是美国一所公立研究型大学，创建于
1839年。

练习：
1. What is the result of the research at the University of Chicago,according to the first
paragraph?
A Girls comfortable with their own math skills are better than boys at math.
B Girls uncomfortable with their own math skills are not as good as boys at math.
C Female teachers' math skills have influence over girl students' math skills.
D Female teachers' confidence in their math skills is related to girl's math skills.
2. What is implied in the third paragraph?
A Math teachers,like math learners,do not like the subject due to its difficulty.
B A difficult subject like math may affect teachers' confidence in teaching the subject.
C Teachers are more anxious teaching math than their students learning math.
D Math is so difficult that no teachers like to teach it.
3. According to the experiment,those teachers were probably anxious about math when they felt
A nervous memorizing the numbers of a sales receipt.
B helpless saving the numbers of a sales receipt.
C uneasy reading the numbers of a sales receipt.
D hopeless filling in the numbers of a sales report.
4. The sixth paragraph tells us that the research findings
A prove a strong link between female teachers' math anxiety and their female students' math
achievements.
B show that male students are less likely to be affected by their math anxiety than female
students.
C provide strong evidence that math superstars are more likely to be males than females.
D discover a strong link between teachers' math anxiety and their students' math achievements.
5. David Geary thinks that
A the study is interesting but it is based on unreliable research process.
B the research results need to be retested based on a larger sample.
C the research results need to be reinterpreted to be meaningful.
D the study is well based and produces significant results.
答案与题解：
1.D 该段告诉我们女教师的想法（what female teachers think）和女学生的学习（what female students learn）之间有很大的关联度，也就是说，女教师如果对自己的数学技能没有自信，她的女学
生很可能相信男孩子会在数学方面超过女孩子。

2.B 第三段的大意是，数学对任何人来说都可能有难度（The subject of math can be particularly
difficult for everyone)，如同学生，教师也会觉得数学难学和难教，这就是研究者所言的焦虑。

所
以，可以推断，作者是要告诉我们，教师会因为数学这门学科的难度而对教授该课程不自信。

其他选项都不是该段所要表达的内容。

3.C 第五段第三句“To find out which teachers were anxious about math, the researchers asked
the teachers how they felt at times when they came across math,such as when reading a sales
receipt”指出了答案。

memorizing the numbers；意为“记住数字”；saving the numbers意为“保存数字”；filling in the numbers意为“陆续编入数字”，而且文中没有提到 a sales report；它们均不是答案。

4.A 短文的第六段是对前一段所述调查数据结果的讨论，即，男学生较少受对数学有焦虑感的教师影响，
而那些数学成绩较低的女生都有对数学有焦虑感的教师（girls with math-anxious
teachers scored lower on the end-of-the-year math tests)，而且，所有认为男生数学肯定比女生
强的女生，其数学教师都是有数学焦虑感的女教师（all of these girls had been taught by female
teachers who had math anxiety. )。

D所以不是正确的选择，因为只提到teachers 和students,而不是female teachers 和female students。

5.B 根据David Geary的说法，实验结果还是初步的（preliminary)，需要更大的样本对其进行重复验
证（in need of replication with a larger sample)。

他没有认为该实验的过程不可靠，所以A不是正确选项；他认为实验样本不够大，所以D也不是正确选项。

+第四＋五篇Small But Wise
On December 14,NASA1 blasted a small but mighty telescope into space. The telescope is
called WISE and is about as wide around as a trashcan. Don't let its small size fool you:WISE has
a powerful digital camera, and it will be taking pictures of some the wildest objects2 in the known
universe,including asteroids,faint stars,blazing galaxies3 and giant clouds of dust where planets
and stars are born.
"I'm very excited because we're going to be seeing parts of the universe that we haven't
seen
before,"said Ned Wright, a scientist who directs the WISE project.
Since arriving in space,the WISE telescope has been circling the Earth,held by gravity
in a
polar orbit4(this means it crosses close to the north and south poles with each lap5).Its camera is
pointed outward,away from the Earth,and WISE will snap a picture of a different part of the
sky
every 11 minutes. After six months it will have taken pictures across the entire sky.
The pictures taken by WISE won't be like everyday digital photographs,however. WISE
stands for"Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer."As its name suggests,the WISE camera takes
pictures of features that give off infrared radiation6.
Radiation is energy that travels as a wave. Visible light, including the familiar spectrum of
light7that becomes visible in a rainbow,is an example of radiation. When an ordinary digital camera takes a picture of a tree,for example,it receives the waves of visible light that are
reflected off the tree. When these waves enter the camera through the lens,they're processed
by the camera,which then puts the image together.
Waves of infrared radiation are longer than waves of visible light, so ordinary digital
cameras
don't see them,and neither do the eyes of human beings. Although invisible to the eye,longer
infrared radiation can be detected as warmth by the skin.
That's a key idea to why WISE will be able to see things other telescopes can't. Not
everything in the universe shows up in visible light. Asteroids,for example,are giant rocks
that
float through space 一but they absorb most of the light that reaches them. They don't reflect light,so they're difficult to see. But they do give off infrared radiation, so an infrared
telescope like WISE will be able to produce images of them. During its mission WISE will take pictures of
hundreds of thousands of asteroids.
Brown dwarfs8are another kind of deep-space object that will show up in WISE's pictures. These objects are"failed" stars 一which means they are not massive enough to jump start9the same kind of reactions that power stars such as the sun. Instead,brown dwarfs simply shrink
and
cool down. They're so dim that they're almost impossible to see with visible light, but in
the
infrared spectrum they glow.
词汇：
trashcan / 'tr??,k?n/n．垃圾箱
infrared/'infr?'red/ adj．红外线
asteroid/'?st?r?id/ n.小行星
dwarf/dw?:f/ n. 矮星
注释：
1.NASA （美国国家航空航天局）是缩写词，全称是National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
2. the wildest objects ：任何你能想象得到的天体。

wild 有“未被人驯养的”“荒唐的”“离奇的”
意思。

3. faint stars, blazing galaxies：指的是那些只能看到微弱的光和因燃烧而无法观察到的天体。

4. polar orbit：极地轨道。

指轨道平面与赤道面夹角为90。

的人造地球卫星轨道。

人造卫星运行时能
到达南北极区上空，即卫星能飞经全球范围的上空。

需要在全球范围内进行观测和应用的气象卫星、导航卫星、地球资源卫星等都采用这种轨道。

5. lap：一圈。

原指竞赛场的一圈或游泳池的一个来回，如： She overtook the other runners on the last lap. 她最后一圈超过了其他参赛者。

6. infrared radiation：红外线辐射
7. spectrum of light：光谱，即，光辐射的波长分布区域。

8. Brown dwarfs：褐矮星。

褐矮星非常暗淡，很难发现它们，要确定它们的大小就更加困难。

9.jump start: 启动
练习：
1 .What is so special about WISE?
A It is small in size but carries a large camera.
B It is as small as a trashcan.
C Its digital camera can help astronomers to see the unknown space.
D Never before has a telescope carried a digital camera in space.
2. Which is NOT the synonym for the word "snap" in the third paragraph?
A make.
B shoot.
C take
D photograph.
3. The camera on WISE
A is no different from an ordinary camera.
B does not see infrared radiation while the ordinary camera does.
C catches the infrared radiation while the ordinary camera does not.
D reflects light that human eyes can see.
4. Which of the following is NOT correct about"asteroids" according to paragraph 7?
A Asteroids float through space giving off visible light.
B Asteroids do not reflect light that reaches them.
C It is difficult to take asteroids' pictures by ordinary cameras,
D The WIS
E telescope can take pictures of asteroids
5.What is implied in the last paragraph?
A Brown dwarfs give off visible light.
B Brown dwarfs give off infrared radiation.
C Brown dwarfs are power stars like the sun.
D Brown dwarfs are impossible to see with the WIS
E telescope.
答案与题解：
1. C 短文的第一和第二段提供了答案。

WISE 的特殊之处就在于，虽然体积小，但它的数码相机能拍
到任何天体，所以能够帮助天文学家观测到宇宙空间中（ in the known universe ）的未知天文现象。

其他选项都不是短文表达的意思。

2. A snap 是个多义词，可以解释为“拍照”，更为确切的意思是“拍快照”。

这里shoot, take 和photograph 都是snap 的同义词。

3. C 短文第六段和第四段提供了答案。

人类的肉眼和普通相机看到的光是visible lights ，看不见
红外线辐射（ infrared radiation) ，而WISE 的相机能够看到。

4. A 短文第七段第二句说并非所有的宇宙中的物体都会发出可见光，比如asteroids ，所以A是正确选项。

其他选项的内容都可以在该段中找到。

5. B 最后一段的第一句说，褐矮星能出现在WISE 照片中，根据上文对WISE 望远镜的描述只有WISE 望远镜才能拍到红外线射线，所以B是正确选择。

+第四十六篇
Ants Have Big Impact on Environment as "Ecosystem Engineers"
Research by the University of Exeter1 has revealed that ants have a big impact on their
local environment as a result of their activity as "ecosystem engineers" and predators. The
study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects
on their local environment.
Firstly, through moving of soil by nest building2 activity and by collecting food they
affect the level of nutrients in the soil. This can indirectly impact the local populations
of many animal groups, from decomposers to species much higher up the food chain.
Secondly, they prey on a wide range of other animals, including larger prey which can be
attacked by vast numbers of ant workers.
Dirk Sanders, an author of the study from the university's Centre for Ecology and Conservation, said:"Ants are very effective predators which thrive in huge numbers. They're
also very territorial3 and very aggressive, defending their resources and territory against
other predators. All of this means they have a strong influence on their surrounding area."
"In this research, we studied for the first time how big this impact is and the subtleties
of it. What we found is that despite being predators, their presence can also lead to an increase in density and diversity of other animal groups4. They genuinely play a key role in the local environment, having a big influence on the grassland food web," Sanders said.
The study, carried out in Germany, studied the impact of the presence of different
combinations and densities of black garden ants and common red ants, both species which can
be found across Europe, including in the UK. It found that a low density of ants in an area
increased the diversity and density of other animals in the local area, particularly the density of herbivores and decomposers. At higher densities ants had no or the opposite effect, showing that predation is counteracting the positive influence.
Dr Frank van Veen, another author on the study, said:"What we find is that the impact of
ants on soil nutrient levels has a positive effect on animal groups at low levels, but as the number of ants increases, their predatory impacts have the bigger effect —thereby counteracting the positive influence via ecosystem engineering."
Ants are important components of ecosystems not only because they constitute a great part of the animal biomass 5 but also because they act as ecosystem engineers. Ant biodiversity6 is incredibly high and these organisms are highly responsive to human impact, which obviously
reduces its richness. However, it is not clear how such disturbance damages the maintenance
of ant services to the ecosystem． Ants are important in below ground processes8 through the alteration of the physical and chemical environment and through their effects on plants,
microorganisms, and other soil organisms.
词汇：
predator /' pred?t?/ n．食肉动物
nutrient/' nju:tri?nt/ n ．营养物；adj．营养的。