2012年全国职称英语考试试题

2012年全国职称英语考试试题
完形填空
+第十三篇Solar Power without Solar Cells
A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light discovered by University of Michigan1researchers could lead to solar power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.
The researchers found a way to make an "optical 1 ," said Stephen Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics.
Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists thought the 2 of the magnetic field were so weak that they could be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that are 100 million times stronger than 3 expected. 4 these circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a strong electric effect.
"This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation," Rand said. "In solar cells, the 5
producing charge separation as laser light is," Fisher said.
This new 12 could make solar power cheaper, the researchers say. They predict that with improved materials they could achieve 10 percent efficiency in 13 solar power to useable energy. That's equivalent to today's commercial-grade solar cells.
"To manufacture 14 solar cells, you have to do extensive semiconductor processing," Fisher said. "All we would need are lenses to focus the light and a fiber to guide it. Glass works for 15 . It's already made in bulk10, and it doesn't require as much processing. Transparent ceramics might be even better."
词汇：
optical / 'ɔptikəl / adj．光学的incoherent /, inkəu’hiərənt/ adj．非相干的
capacitive / kə'pæsitiv/ adj. 电容（量）的semiconductor /,semikən’dʌktə／n．半导体rectification /, rektifi'keiʃən/ n．改正，修正ceramics / si' ræmiks／n．陶瓷
注释：
1.University of Michigan：密歇根大学。

建校于1817 年，是美国名列前茅的公立大学，拥有优良的师资和顶尖的商学院、法学院、医学院和工学院。

2. heat load：热负荷
3. magnetic moment：磁矩
4. optical rectification：光学校正
5. doctoral student：博士生
6. positive and negative charges：正电荷与负电荷
7. shone through：shone是shine的过去式。

shine through 是“（光）通过”。

8. an intensity of 10 million watts per square centimeter：每平方厘米一千万瓦特的强度
9. incoherent light：非相干光
10.It's already made in bulk：它（指玻璃）已大量生产。

in bulk 是“大量，成批”。

练习：
1.A microscope B instrument C fiber D battery
2. A modifications B effects C applications D results
3. A frequently B privately C previously D formally
4.A Under B At C On D Over
5.A light B electricity C chemical D magnetism
6.A plant B equipment C source D line
7.A down B up C together D apart
8. A this B that C those D it
9. A material B lens C meter D detector
10.A produce B convey C use D conduct
11.A remote B poor C effective D rare
12.A prototype B skill C technique D miracle
13.A converting B obtaining C delivering D transmitting
14.A compact B modern C durable D handy
15. A others B some C all D both
答案与题解：
1.D第一段说密歇根大学发现，光所产生的巨大磁效应有望用于太阳能发电，从而取代传统的半导体太阳能电池。

因此本题的正确选项应该是battery。

optical battery是“光电池”。

optical microscope （光学显微镜）、optical instrument （光学仪器）或optical fiber （光纤）与第一段的意思没有联系。

2.B 选择本题的答案的依据还是要回到第一段。

第一段第
一句的起始词语是“A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light"。

本篇文章中心议题是用magnetic effect of light开发新型的太阳能电池。

而以前的科学家认为magnetic effect of light太微弱，不值得去关注它。

因此，本题选effects与上下文的意思很连贯。

3. C 本句的意思是：当光通过一种绝缘材料时，光场产生的磁效应比以前想象的要强一亿倍。

previously是当然的选择。

其他三个选项填入句子中，意思不合逻辑：frequently（频繁地）/privately（私下地）/formerly（正式地）expected。

4. A under these circumstances 是固定词组，意为“在这种情况下”。

也可以说in these circumstances ，而at、on 或over 都不与circumstances 连用。

5.A通篇文章谈的是光产生的磁效应，所以在太阳能电池中，当然是光进入某种材料起作用。

答案是选项A。

6. C 密歇根大学的科学家发现太阳光产生强烈的磁效应，再转换为电，所以磁效应是产生电的源泉（source）。

power plant （发电厂）、power equipment （电力设备）或power line （输电线）与上文的意思接不上。

7.D or 在本句的意思是“即”，后面的词语是解释专业术语charge separation （电荷分离）。

选apart与pushing 构成pushing apart。

pushing apart 的意思相当于
separation。

所以本题的答案是D。

8. B 从上下文判断，要填人的代词是替代前面的voltage。

根据英语语法，替代单数名词的代词要用that ，替代复数名词的代词要用those。

voltage 是单数，所以that 是答案。

9.A从本句句末的such as glass 判断，要填入的词一定是包括glass 的概括词。

因此，只有选项material 符合这个条件。

而且第三、四段也都提到光磁场效应是由光通过一个不导电的材料（material ）而产生的。

10.D 答案的根据可以在第三段中找到。

原句是："What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that are 100 million times stronger than previously expected.”选项conduct 是答案。

11.C 激光通过特定材料时能产生charge separation 。

密歇根大学科学家发现，阳光通过特定材料时也像激光一样能产生charge separation。

如果charge separation 是remote、poor 或rare，密歇根大学科学家所说的利用光磁场效应开发新型的太阳能电池就不可能成立。

所以答案是effective。

12.C 说这种样机（this prototype ）、技巧（this skill ）
或这一奇迹（this miracle ）能降低太阳能的价格，似乎离题太远。

只有用这一技术（this technology ）概括上一段的意思才准确。

因此本题答案是technology。

13.A 科学家预测，通过改进材料，可使太阳能转化成可用能源的效率达到10%。

本题的答案是converting。

而obtaining（得到）、delivering （输送）和transmitting（发射）与“能量转换”挂不上号。

14. B 通篇文章没有谈到新型太阳能电池是compact（紧凑小型的）、durable（耐用的）或handy（使用便利的），所以不会是答案。

选modern是合理的，因为密歇根大学科学家研发的不用半导体的太阳能电池是先进的。

15.D 答案是both，指代的是上一句的“to focus the light and a fiber to guide it”这两点。

第十三篇没有太阳能电池的太阳能
密歇根大学的研究着们发现，光所产生的巨大磁效应有望用于太阳能发电，从而取代传统的半导体太阳能电池。

Stephen Rand是电力工程和计算机科学系以及物理和应用物理系的教授，他讲道：“研究者们找到了制造光电池的方法”
光具有电磁成分。

而以前的科学家认为电磁光太微弱，不值得去关注。

Rand和他的同事的发现是，在适当
的强度下，当光通过一个不导电的物质，光场产生的磁效应比以前想象的要大一亿倍。

在这种情况下，光磁效应所释放的能量堪比强电效应。

“这有可能开发出不用半导体或不用吸入电荷分离的新型太阳能电池，太阳能电池是利用光射入一种材料，吸收和产生热量。

而目前我们期望有一种非常低的热负荷来取代用磁矩吸收光源，储存能量。

强光可以诱导强磁力，强磁力最终能够发电”。

Rand教授说。

“使之成为可能的是，之前有一种探测不到的叫光学矫正的电光”。

应用物理学的博士生William Fisher如是说。

在传统的光学矫正中，光电场致使电荷分离或把材料中的正负电荷分开，这就具有像电池一样的电压了。

Rand和Fisher发现，如果周围的环境合适并且材料适合，光磁场也可能产生光学矫正。

光必须穿过像玻璃一样的不导电物质。

并且聚集的电量为每平方厘米一千万瓦。

太阳光自己没有那么强，但是正在寻找的新型材料能够在低电流状态下完成工作。

Fisher说：“在我们最近的论文中，我们表明，像太阳这样的非相干光，理论上能够像激光一样产生电荷分离。

”
研究者们断言，这项新技术能使太阳能降低成本，他们预测，一旦使用改进的材料，太阳能可转换成可用能量，
其转换率可达10％。

这等同于当下商用的太阳能电池。

目前要生产太阳能电池，必须要进行大量的半导体的加工，而我们将来所需要的只是聚光的透镜和导入光线的纤维。

玻璃能起到以上双重的作用。

它已被大量生产，而且不大需要太多的加工。

如使用透明陶瓷会更好。

+第十五篇“Liquefaction” Key to Much of Japanese Earthquake Damage
The massive subduction zone1earthquake in Japan caused a significant level of soil "liquefaction"2that has surprised researchers with its 1 severity, a new analysis shows.
"We've seen localized3examples of soil liquefaction as extreme as this before, but the distance and 2 of damage in Japan were unusually severe," said Scott Ashford, a professor of geotechnical engineering4at Oregon State University5. "Entire structures were tilted and sinking into the sediments," Ashford said. "The shifts in soil destroyed water, drain and gas pipelines6, crippling the utilities and infrastructure these communities need to 3 . We saw some places that sank as much as four feet."
Some degree of soil liquefaction7is common in almost any major earthquake. It's a phenomenon in
which soils soaked with water, particularly recent sediments or sand, can lose much of their 4 and flow during an earthquake. This can allow structures to shift or sink or 5 .
But most earthquakes are much 6 than the recent event in Japan, Ashford said. The length of the Japanese earthquake, as much as five minutes, may force researchers to reconsider the extent of liquefaction damage possibly occurring in situations such as this8.
"With such a long-lasting earthquake, we saw 7 structures that might have been okay after 30 seconds just continued to sink and tilt as the shaking continued for several more minutes," he said. "And it was clear that younger sediments, and especially areas built on 8 filled ground, are much more vulnerable."
The data provided by analyzing the Japanese earthquake, researchers said, should make it possible to improve the understanding of this soil 9 and better prepare for it in the future. Ashford said it was critical for the team to collect the information quickly, 10 damage was removed in the recovery efforts9.
"There's no doubt that we'll learn things from what happened in Japan10 that11 will help us to reduce risks in
other similar 11 ," Ashford said. "Future construction in some places may make more use of techniques known to reduce liquefaction, such as better compaction to make soils dense, or use of reinforcing stone columns."
Ashford pointed out that northern California have younger soils vulnerable to liquefaction ---on the coast, near river deposits or in areas with filled ground. The "young" sediments, in geologic terms, may be those 12 within the past 10,000 years or more. In Oregon, for instance, that describes much of downtown Portland, the Portland International Airport and other cities.
Anything 13 a river and old flood plains is a suspect12, and the Oregon Department of Transportation has already concluded that 1,100 bridges in the state are at risk from an earthquake. Fewer than 15 percent of them have been reinforced to 14 collapse. Japan has suffered tremendous losses in the March 11 earthquake, but Japanese construction 15 helped prevent many buildings from collapse ---even as they tilted and sank into the ground.
词汇：
subduction /sʌb'dʌkʃən/ n．俯冲sediment /'sedimənt/ n．沉积；沉淀物
liquefaction /likwi'fækʃən/ n．液化infrastructure /'Infrə,strʌktʃə/ n．基础设施
geotecnical /dʒiəu'teknikəl] adj．岩土技术compaction /kəm'pækʃən/ n．压紧的
vulnerable /'vʌlnərəbl/ ad]．易受伤害的
注释：
1. subduction zone：俯冲带。

亦称下降带、潜没带、消亡带。

板块构造说认为，当大洋板块移动并与大陆板块相遇时，由于大洋板块岩石密度较大，地位也低，便俯冲到大陆板块之下，这一俯冲部分叫做俯冲带。

俯冲带两侧板块会聚边界称会聚边缘（convergent boundary)。

俯冲带上面反映震源活动的地带称“贝尼奥夫地震带（Benioff seismic zone)"。

2. soil "liquefaction"：土壤液化。

土壤液化现象是指由于孔隙水压力上升，有效应力减小所导致的土壤从固态到液态的变化，饱水的疏松的粉、细砂土在振动作用下突然破坏而呈现液
态的现象。

3. localized：小范围的
4. geotechnical engineering：岩土工程。

5. Oregon State University：俄勒冈州立大学，建校于1858年，位于美国俄勒冈州科瓦利斯，全校设11个学院，80多个专业，尤以农科和工程最为突出。

2008年俄勒冈州立大学的核能工程专业在全美大学中排名第9名。

6. water, drain and gas pipelines：自来水管道、排水管道和煤气管道。

"water, drain and gaspipelines” 即“water pipelines, drain pipelines and gas pipelines"。

7. some degree of soil liquefaction：某种程度的土壤液化
8. to reconsider the extent of liquefaction damage possibly occurring in situations such as this：本句的意思是：重新审视类似这次（持续时间长的）地震中因土壤液化而可能造成的毁坏的规
模。

9. recovery efforts：重建工作
10. that we'll learn things from what happened in Japan：我们将从日本的地震中学到很多东西。

该句是同位语从句，说出前半句no doubt的内容。

11. that：that引导的是定语从句，修辞前半句中的things。

12.suspect：被怀疑对象。

文中指的是那些疑似危险的土壤。

练习：
1.A．internal B. different C. difficult
D. widespread
2.A．volume B. length C. extent
D. width
3.A．function B. repair C. build
D. remove
4.A．durability B. strength C. ability
D. property
5.A．ascend B. compact C. collapse
D. recover
6.A．shorter B. longer C. simpler
D. stranger
7.A．when B. what C. how
D. which
8.A．occasionally B. frequently C. specially D. recently
9.A．development B. phenomenon C. formation D. composition
10.A．unless B. until C. after
D. before
11.A．findings B. locations C. events
D. sources
12.A．delivered B. deposited C. destroyed D. detached
13.A．near B. from C. inside
D. over
14.A．prevent B. accelerate C. predict
D. detect
15.A．styles B. sites C. costs
D. standards
答案与题解：
1.D前文说到日本的俯冲带地震是massive（巨大的），而且砂土液化到达一个significant level。

根据上述描述，选widespread（分布广泛的）修饰severity是正确的。

其他三个选项与severity搭配后，意思接不上。

2.C 本句由but连接并列的两个分句组成。

第一个分句说以前也发生过地震引发的砂土液化的现象，但涉及范围较小。

第二个分句通过but语气一转，说这次地震造成的破坏是罕见的。

很显然，选extent(程度)与distance（距离，范围）合用说明破坏的程度和范围是符合上下文的意思的。

3.A 在“The shifts in soil destroyed water, sewer and gas pipelines, crippling the utilities and infrastructure these
communities need to…”中，"these communities need to...”是定语从句，指代utilities和infrastructure的关系代词which在定语从句中起宾语作用，被省略了。

need 后面的动词不定式的逻辑主语是which，也就是utilities and infrastructure。

从意思上看，这
些社区需要这些公用事业设备和基础设施起功能作用（function)。

选function是对的。

其他选项都不合适。

4.B 浸了水的砂土，特别是新近的沉积土、沙土等失去的不会是durability（耐用性）和ability（能力），也不会是泛泛的property（性质），而是strength（强度）。

5.C 浸了水的砂土强度降低或消失。

砂土随水流动，就会引发建筑物移位（shift）或下沉(sink)。

再发展下去，建筑物就会倒塌（collapse)。

collapse是答案。

若选择ascend （上升）、compact(压实)或recover（复原），意思与上文接不上。

6.A 地震持续的时间一般为数十秒。

这次日本地震的时间长达5分钟。

所以本题要填入的词应该是shorter，说明大多数地震的持续时间比它短。

7.C 从意思上看，选how是正确的。

when structures、what structures或which structures意思明显不通。

8.D 第三段第二句出现“particularly recent sediment…"。

recent sediment浸水后就失去了强度。

这提示了本题要选
recently，因为建立在新近填就的土壤上的建筑物是最易受到伤害的。

9.B 分析日本大地震得出的数据不会令科学家获得有关soil development（土壤发展）、soil
formation（土壤形成）soil composition（土壤构成）这些方面的知识。

若选phenomenon，意思就是科学家的研究分析有助于他们了解到土壤浸水后的这类现象，以便做好防备，对付
未来可能发生的同类现象。

上下文意思很连贯，因此phenomenon是正确的选项。

1O.D 选unless、until或after都不合逻辑。

本题句子的意思是：重建工作首先要清理废墟，这样地震现场就被破坏了。

所以科学家要赶在重建工作开始之前收集好地震资料。

before是答案。

11.C 本句的意思是：科学家无疑会从日本大地震中学到不少东西，从而有助于减低今后发生类似的地震时的风险。

四个选项中只有events合适。

similar events指的是“类似的地震事
件”。

若选findings（调查结果）、locations（地点）或sources （来源），句子的意思就不对。

12.B 本句解释“young”这个词在地质学中的含义。

句中的those指代sediments。

"young" sediments指那些年代少
于或略超过一万年的sediments。

deposit是“沉积”，与句子意思匹配，是答案。

其他三个选项，词义离题很远，只是词形与deposit有点相似，起干扰作用而已，它们不是答案。

13.A 上一段说，younger soils是非常脆弱的。

本句的anything指的是soils。

哪些地方的soils是疑似高危对象呢？如果指soils from/inside/over river and old flood plains是不合常理的。

正确的选择应该是near，靠近河流和原洪泛区的土壤才是危险地区。

因此near是答案。

14.A 加固危桥的目的是为了防止坍塌。

选项prevent是答案。

15.D 在3月11日的日本大地震中，震区的建筑物倾斜、下沉，但没有倒塌。

建筑上的什么因素起到了防塌的作用呢？当然不会是construction styles（建筑风格）、construction sites（建
筑工地）或construction facilities（建筑设备）。

日本的construction standards（建筑标准）才是防塌的关键因素。

因此standards是答案。

第十五篇“液化”是日本地震破坏的关键
一份分析报告表明，在日本，巨大的俯冲带地震致使土壤液化的程度之严重，范围之广令研究者们着实吃了一惊。

“我们以前也看到过这么严重的小范围的土壤液化现象，但是，日本的破坏程度范围之广是极为严重的。

所有结构都倾斜了并陷到沉淀物中，土壤中的断层摧毁了自来水管、排水和煤气管道，社区的公共和基础设施陷于瘫痪。

我们看到有些地区下陷了四英尺”。

来自俄勒冈州立大学岩土工程系的Scott Ashford说到。

几乎任何大地震都会带来某种程度的土壤液化。

这种现象是由于地震中浸满了水的土壤，尤其刚沉淀下来的沉淀物或细砂土在振动作用下突然失去支撑的力量而呈现液态变化。

从而导致地面建筑物移动、下沉或倒塌。

“然而，多数地震比起最近日本发生的地震持续时间都短的多”。

Ashford说道。

日本发生的地震持续了五分钟，这就促使研究者们重新审视类似这次(持续时间长的)地震中液化可能造成的毁坏规模。

“由于地震持续时间长，我们看到以前的地震持续30秒时地面建筑物仍旧完好无损，如果震动再延续几分钟，建筑物就会继续下沉或倾斜，很明显，那些建造在新近填就的地面上的建筑物最易受到伤害。

”Ashford讲到。

研究者们对日本地震作出了分析并得出数据，这些数据能大大提高人们了解土壤浸水后的这类现象，以便做好防备，对付未来可能发生的同类现象。

Ashford认为，重建工作首先要清理废墟，这样地震现场就被破坏了。

所以科
学家必须要赶在重建工作开始之前收集好地震资料。

“毋庸置疑，我们从日本地震中学到的东西有助于在将来类似的情况中降低风险。

一些地方的建筑物会更多应用液化减少技术，如加强土壤的夯实或用石柱加固”。

Ashford说。

Ashford指出，北加利福尼亚州那些沿岸的、距离河口堆积物较近或填充的土壤易于受到液化的侵害。

“年轻”的沉淀物这个词在地质学中是指那些年代少于或略超过一万年的沉淀物。

比如，在俄勒冈州，它指的是Portland 市区的大部分地区、Portland国际机场和其他城市。

凡是在河流和泛滥平原附近地区的土壤很有可能是危险的。

俄勒冈交通部断定，该州的1100座桥梁如发生地震会有危险。

只有不到15％的桥梁得到了加固以防坍塌。

日本在3月11日的地震中损失惨重，但是震区的建筑物倾斜、下沉，却没有倒塌，日本的建筑标准功不可没。

+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 dwarfs8 are 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 / 'træʃ,kæn/n．垃圾箱infrared/'infrə'red/ adj．红外线
asteroid/'æstərɔid/ n.小行星dwarf/dwɔ: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 WISE 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。

第四十五篇小而聪明
12月14日，美国国家航空航天局发射了一个体积小而威力大的望远镜，它的名字叫“WISE”(聪明)，大约只
有一个垃圾盒子那么宽。

你可千万不要轻视这个小东西，WISE可是一款高强数码相机，它将在人类已知的宇宙里拍摄任何你所能想到的天体，包括小行星、那些只能看到微弱的光和因燃烧而无法观察到的天体，以及自行星和恒星诞生以来的巨大尘埃云。

Ned Wright是主持WISE项目的科学家，他说：“我十分兴奋，因为我们就要看到以前从未看到过的那部分宇宙”。

到达宇宙空间后，WISE由于受极地轨道重力作用，一直在围绕地球旋转。

(这意味着，每转一圈，它就离南极和北极靠近)。

它的镜头是向外的，远离地球。

每11分钟WISE就会抓拍天空一个不同的部分。

六个月之后，它将把整个天空拍摄完毕。

然而，WISE拍摄的相片不会像我们日常的数码相片。

WISE是Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer(广域红外戡测探测器)的缩写。

正如名字所示，WISE能拍到发出红外线辐射物体的相片。

辐射是波浪状行进的一种能量。

人能看到的光，包括大家熟悉的、在彩虹里看到的光谱就是射线的一个例子。

当普通的数码相机给一棵树照相时，它能接收到树反射回来的、可见的光波。

光波通过镜头进入到相机里，相机对它进行加工，然后把图像合成。

红外线的波长比可见光长，所以，普通的数码相机捕捉不到他们，人眼也看不到这种射线。

尽管人们看不到，人的皮肤能感受到较长红外线带来的温暖。

这就是为什么WISE能捕捉到其他望远镜看不到的物体的主要原因。

宇宙中，不是所有的东西都以可见光的方式呈现出来。

例如，小行星是在太空中漂浮的大岩石，但是小行星吸收射到他们表面的大部分光。

他们不能反射光，所以要看到他们很困难。

但他们却释放出红外线，所以，象WISE这样的红外线望远镜才能够捕捉到它们的图像。

WISE的任务就是拍摄成千上万的小行星图像。

WISE的另一任务是为另外一种太空深处的天体一褐矮星拍照。

这种天体是“失败的”恒星，它们是一些不够大，不能像太阳的能量那样启动相同的反应。

褐矮星只能缩小和冷却。

他们发出的光如此之微弱，人们根本看不到，但是在红外频谱中，它们是发光的。

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 territorial3and 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。