[D] It was him who first discovered the boson which makes matter have mass.

4. The schedule of the Large Hadron Collider has slipped repeatedly because of the following reasons except that _____.

[A] the device of focusing beams of particles was having some problem

[B] it took longer to cool down the superconductivity so that the collider could work normally

[C] it took a very long period to make eight sections cool down or regain temperature

[D] there happened a dramatic failure of a magnet assembly which was not beyond expectation

5. CERN's management decided to have the machine's first run accelerate its particles straight away because _____.

[A] they are afraid that American researchers will get to see the Higgs boson ahead of them

[B] the safe-but-dull low-energy collision was too old-fashioned

[C] they wanted to dispel the rumours that physicists at the Tevatron have been seeing hints of the Higgs boson

[D] they wanted to have a try of the new way of accelerating particles





文章剖析


这篇文章讲述了欧洲物理学家在推出“大型强子对撞机”机器时的一些延误的情况。第一段引出了大型强子对撞机推迟投入使用的事件；第二段简单讲述了何为“大型强子对撞机”；第三至五段讲述造成延误的一系列原因；第六段讲述CERN的管理层为加速进程采取的行动；第七段是对该行动的评价。





词汇注释


subterranean adj. 地下的

hadron n. 强子

boson n. 玻色子





难句突破


① Similar utterances have been escaping the lips of European physicists, as it was confirmed last week that their own subterranean Wonderland, a new machine called the Large Hadron Collider, will not now begin work until May 2008.

主体句式：Similar utterances have been escaping the lips of..., as it was confirmed... that...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，as引导的是原因状语从句；其中，a new machine called...是前面Wonderland的同位语。

句子译文：类似的句子也出现在欧洲物理学家的口中，因为上个星期他们也证实了自己的地下奇境——一种叫做“大型强子对撞机”的新机器——将推迟到2008年5月份投入使用。

② Such haste may be wise, for rumours are circulating that physicists working at the Tevatron, which is based at Fermilab and is currently the world's most powerful collider, have been seeing hints of the Higgs boson.

主体句式：Such haste may be wise, for rumours are circulating that physicists..., have been...

结构分析：这是一个复合句，that引导的是同位语从句，修饰前面的rumours；which引导的定语从句是用来修饰Tevatron的。

句子译文：这样的速度可能是明智的，因为现在有谣言说，在Tevatron工作的物理学家已经看到了西格斯玻色子的迹象。Tevatron是目前世界上最强有力的对撞机，位于菲尔米国家加速器实验室。





题目分析


1. The sentences in Alice in Wonderland are cited in the first paragraph in order to _____.

[A] illustrate that the new machine European physicists have invented is full of wonder

[B] describe the mood of the European physicists facing the delay of the Large Hadron Collider

[C] tell people that the European physicists will put off the presentation of their new machine

[D] reflect the public's eagerness in using the Large Hadron Collider

1. 第一段引用了《爱丽丝漫游奇境记》中的句子，是为了 _____。

[A] 说明欧洲物理学家发明的新机器充满了奇迹

[B] 描写欧洲物理学家对于“大型强子对撞机”推迟使用的心情

[C] 告诉人们，欧洲物理学家将要推迟展示其新机器

[D] 反映了公众想要使用“大型强子对撞机”的急切心情

答案：C　难度系数：☆☆☆☆

分析：推理题。根据第一段，所引用的句子是表明“太晚了”，联系到物理学家要推迟推出新机器，可以看出，这只是反映他们推迟了这个项目。因此，答案为C。

2. The word “scoop” (Line 4, Paragraph 1) most probably means _____.

[A] forestall

[B] defeat

[C] surpass

[D] vanquish

2. scoop这个词（第一段第四行）最有可能的意思是 _____。

[A] 先于…行动

[B] 击败

[C] 超越

[D] 征服

答案：A　难度系数：☆

分析：猜词题。根据上下文，如果美国对手先发现西格斯玻色子，那么也就意味着抢在了欧洲人的前面，因此，答案为A。

3. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of Peter Higgs' contribution in this field?

[A] It was him who initiated the idea that there existed such a boson to make matter have mass.

[B] He made the famous estimate that human beings would find out such a boson in the future.

[C] He claimed with convincing evidence that Amer-ica would outrun Europe in discovering the Higgs boson.

[D] It was him who first discovered the boson which makes matter have mass.

3. 关于彼得·西格斯在该领域内的贡献，下列哪项陈述是正确的？

[A] 正是他首先提出存在着一种玻色子，令物质有质量。

[B] 他做出了人类在未来可以找到这种玻色子的著名预言。

[C] 他凭借令人信服的证据，声称美国将先于欧洲发现西格斯玻色子。

[D] 正是他首先发现了令物质拥有质量的玻色子。

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。根据第一段最后一句：This delay may enable their American rivals to scoop them by finding the Higgs boson—predicted 43 years ago by Peter Higgs of Edinburgh University to be the reason why matter has mass, but not yet actually discovered. 彼得·西格斯只是预言了玻色子是事物为什么有质量的原因，因此，选项A为正确答案。

4. The schedule of the Large Hadron Collider has slipped repeatedly because of the following reasons except that _____.

[A] the device of focusing beams of particles was having some problem

[B] it took longer to cool down the superconductivity so that the collider could work normally

[C] it took a very long period to make eight sections cool down or regain temperature

[D] there happened a dramatic failure of a magnet assem-bly which was not beyond expectation

4. “大型强子对撞机”的计划日程被不断推迟，是因为除下列 _____ 外的其他原因。

[A] 聚焦粒子束的装置出现了问题

[B] 需要比想象中更长的时间才能把超导电性冷却下来，这样对撞机才可以正常工作

[C] 需要很长的时间来让八个部分冷却下来或恢复温度

[D] 磁铁组出现了严重的问题，这并不是意料之外的事

答案：B　难度系数：☆☆☆

分析：细节题。根据文章第三、第四和第五段有关计划日程被不断推迟的原因，第三段提到了磁铁组出了问题，这是用来聚焦粒子束的四个装置之一，选项A和D表述的是这个原因。第四段和第五段提到了将八个部分冷却下来需要很长时间，选项C符合这点。选项B本身的说法有问题——并不是超导电性需要冷却下来，而是超导电性需要低温，而其他的部分需要冷却。因此，选项B是正确答案。

5. CERN's management decided to have the machine's first run accelerate its particles straight away because _____.

[A] they are afraid that American researchers will get to see the Higgs boson ahead of them

[B] the safe-but-dull low-energy collision was too old-fashioned

[C] they wanted to dispel the rumours that physicists at the Tevatron have been seeing hints of the Higgs boson

[D] they wanted to have a try of the new way of accelerating particles

5. CERN管理层决定第一次运行对撞机时就将粒子直接加速，这是因为 _____。

[A] 他们担心美国研究者会在他们之前看到西格斯玻色子

[B] 安全但很迟钝的低能量碰撞太老套了

[C] 他们想要打消Tevatron的物理学家已经看到西格斯玻色子的谣言

[D] 他们想要尝试加速粒子的新方法

答案：A　难度系数：☆☆☆☆

分析：推理题。根据第六段，欧洲的研究人员为了加速进程才做出了这样的决定，结合第七段，有传闻说，在Tevatron工作的物理学家已经看到了西格斯玻色子的迹象，欧洲还是怕美国超过他们，因此，选择了这样的策略。因此正确答案为A。





参考译文


“噢，天呐！噢，天呐！我可能太晚了！”白兔在陷入奇境之前这样咕哝着，爱丽丝在后面追赶着它。类似的句子也出现在欧洲物理学家的口中，因为上个星期他们也证实了自己的地下奇境——一种叫做“大型强子对撞机”的新机器——将推迟到2008年5月份投入使用。这个推迟可能会让他们的美国对手抢先发现西格斯玻色子。爱丁堡大学的彼得·西格斯在43年前就预言，玻色子是事物有质量的原因，但是目前还没有真正发现这种玻色子。

大型强子对撞机是一个27公里长的环形粒子加速器，在日内瓦附近的欧洲粒子物理实验室CERN建成，目的就是为了寻找西格斯玻色子。在加速器开始工作时，它将成为世界上最强大的粒子对撞机，也会成为世界上最昂贵的对撞机，价值100亿瑞士法郎（合80亿美元）。实验室本来希望在2005年就可以准备就绪，但其日程却被一再推迟。

最近的一次推迟发生在3月底，是因为CERN的美国部门位于芝加哥附近的菲尔米国家加速器实验室提供的磁铁组出现了严重的问题。该设备是在粒子在实验区域内进行碰撞之前聚焦粒子束的四个装置之一。不可否认，设备被放在极端的条件下才出现了问题，但是机器正常运行时这种情况也时有发生。磁铁组还没有修好，但物理学家已经知道应该如何处理了。

其他更小的故障使问题变得更为复杂。对撞机由八个部分组成，每个部分都必须被冷却到一定温度，只比绝对零度高一点。这是因为，用来加速粒子使其具有高能量的磁铁组依靠超导电性来工作，而超导电性要求极低的温度。不幸的是，冷却八个部分的第一个就用了比预想的多得多的时间。

如果其余的七个部分都被冷却了，那么会出现更多的问题，开始使用机器的日子就会继续被推迟。冷却每个部分要一个月，而将其加温至正常温度又需要一个月。如果每个部分都需要用一个月的时间来检查冷却过程中出现的问题的话，那么每一轮都会将开工日期推迟三个月。

为了加速进程（也为了加速粒子），CERN的管理层上周决定，取消11月份的工程运行计划。这使得机器不再从一些安全但是迟缓的低能量碰撞来慢慢开始，而是直接将其粒子加速到具有高能量。

这样的速度可能是明智的，因为现在有谣言说，在Tevatron工作的物理学家已经看到了西格斯玻色子的迹象。Tevatron是目前世界上最强有力的对撞机， 位于菲尔米国家加速器实验室。发现该玻色子的人一定会获得诺贝尔奖，当然，肯定是与西格斯博士一起分享。因此，成百上千的物理学家争相来兔子洞，寻找他们自己在奇境中的奇遇。





TEXT THREE


Whatever else, Airbus cannot be accused of failing to put on a brave face at this week's Paris Air Show, held every two years. Louis Gallois is the troubled European airframe-maker's third chief executive within 12 months. But still he declared: “I can tell you with full confidence that Airbus is back and fully back.” Supporting his confident public message was an extraordinary flow of orders and commitments for over 600 aircraft accumulated in time for the show by the firm's super-salesman, John Leahy.

Although it is heading for a second successive loss—last year it plunged €572m ($718m) into the red—Airbus is undoubtedly in better shape than it was 12 months ago when wiring problems delayed the A380 and the weak dollar exposed the firm's bloated cost base. It has begun the “Power8” recovery plan, intended to save €2 billion annually by cutting 10,000 jobs and auctioning off six factories to partners. And the giant A380 will begin commercial service with Singapore Airlines in the autumn, although being two years late.

In the contest between the twin-engined wide-body Boeing 787 and the A350 XWB, Mr. Gallois struggles to be as positive. The 787 is already a sales phenomenon, with over 630 firm orders even before the plane's roll-out next month. The airlines are excited by its revolutionary use of a composite material called carbon-reinforced plastic (CRP). Five years behind the 787, which will enter service next year, the A350 contains a similar share of composite material, but is based on a less advanced structural design that involves hanging CRP panels on a titanium frame. Boeing acknowledges that the A350 may be as light as the 787, but argues that it will be a less pleasant plane to fly in and a more difficult one to maintain.

Mr. Gallois admits that following Boeing's approach would have been too expensive and risky for Airbus. At the same time Mr. Gallois bemoaned the advantage his rival has in government-supported research and development. Boeing, he claims, receives about $800m a year—ten times as much as Airbus. Earlier in the week, during meetings with ministers representing the four Airbus partners (France, Germany, Britain and Spain), he asked them to fund half the company's planned 600m-a-year investment in research and technology. He is not hopeful.

But for the moment what matters most for Airbus is that the market stays strong and that it gets to grips with its costs. This may require going further in imitating Boeing's risk-sharing partner (RSP) model than Airbus seems willing to contemplate. According to some estimates, about 80% of the work on the 787 is outsourced to RSPs, saving Boeing both precious development time and working capital.

What this week has shown is that for all the success of the 787 and the mistakes of Airbus, the competitive duopoly of the past decade is still firmly in place. But will things stay that way? That depends partly on whether Airbus really has learnt its lessons and partly on who else wants to get into the game. Boeing reckons that in 20 years, 36% of the market will be in the Asia-Pacific region. For the time being, the Chinese, the Indians and others are happy to be partners and customers. But that could change.

1. How can Louis Gallois be confident that Airbus is “fully back”?

[A] Because under his leadership there is a sign that the company will soon cease its financial problem.

[B] Because Airbus put on a good show in Paris in which it received a large number of orders as well as worldwide fame that outshines Boeing.

[C] Because Airbus launches its recovery plan that would surely bring a great amount of profit in the foreseeable future.

[D] Because the company is in better situation as it succeeded in slowing down the annual loss.

2. How does Boeing feel about the coming A350 by Airbus?

[A] Critical.

[B] Indifferent.

[C] Optimistic.

[D] Supportive.

3. According to Mr. Gallois, how can Airbus catch up with Boeing?

[A] By mastering advanced technology that can compete with or even far excel Boeing.

[B] By receiving more financial and other kinds of support from the partner governments.

[C] By adopting the RSP model so as to cut costs and improve the efficiency of its working process.

[D] By reducing cost through its recovery plan and relevant policies on cutting employees immensely.

4. What is Boeing's strategy of cutting cost?

[A] It outsources a large portion of work to its partners.

[B] It invests heavily in its technology research and development.

[C] It receives much support from the government after much effort of negotiations.

[D] It expands its production by looking for more orders from its competitors' clients.

5. By “But will things stay that way?” (Line 2, Paragraph 6), the author means that _____.

[A] Airbus might make more mistakes if it neglects its other competitors

[B] the markets in Asia-Pacific region might shrink if Airbus merely focuses on its competition with Boeing

[C] the competitive duopoly by Boeing and Airbus might change

[D] Chinese and Indians might become the two companies' strong competitors in the near future





文章剖析


本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了欧洲的空中客车公司和美国的波音公司在竞争中遇到的麻烦和困难。第一段通过巴黎航空展和空客首席执行官的态度来引出话题；第二段具体描述了空中客车现在面临的困境；第三段讲述了空客在和波音公司之间的竞争中处于下风；第四段和第五段简要分析了空客不敌波音的一些原因；第六段总结了两家公司仍然处于竞争和垄断市场的状态。





词汇注释


successive adj. 继承的，连续的

plunge v. 投入，跳进，陷入

bloat vt.（使）膨胀，肿起

auction vt. 拍卖

roll-out n. 出场，推出

composite adj. 合成的，复合的

titanium n. ［化］钛

bemoan vt. 哀叹

outsource vt. 外包

duopoly n. 两家卖主垄断市场（的局面）





难句突破


① Although it is heading for a second successive loss—last year it plunged €572m ($718m) into the red—Airbus is undoubtedly in better shape than it was 12 months ago when wiring problems delayed the A380 and the weak dollar exposed the firm's bloated cost base.

主体句式：Airbus is undoubtedly in better shape...

结构分析：本句包含一个although引导的让步状语从句，而两个破折号之间的内容是对前面句子的补充说明；第二个破折号后面的内容是这个句子的主句，这个句子中又包含了一个由when引导的时间状语从句。

句子译文：尽管空中客车今年会连续第二年亏损——去年该公司的赤字为5.72亿欧元（合7.18亿美元）——空中客车毫无疑问比12个月前的情况好得多，那个时候由于配线问题导致了A380被推迟推出，同时，疲软的美元凸现了公司的高成本问题。

② Five years behind the 787, which will enter service next year, the A350 contains a similar share of composite material, but is based on a less advanced structural design that involves hanging CRP panels on a titanium frame.

主体句式：..., the A350 contains a similar share of composite material,...

结构分析：句子开头的短语five years behind the 787和句子which will enter service next year都是用来形容A350的，放在前面就增加了句子的难度。后面but引导一个转折句，句中包含了一个定语从句，由that引导，修饰design。

句子译文：将于明年开始投入使用的A350比波音787的推出晚了五年，它使用了一种类似的合成材料，但是这种材料所基于的结构设计不如波音787的先进，即把碳增强塑料板挂在钛框架上。





题目分析


1. How can Louis Gallois be confident that Airbus is “fully back”?

[A] Because under his leadership there is a sign that the company will soon cease its financial problem.

[B] Because Airbus put on a good show in Paris in which it received a large number of orders as well as worldwide fame that outshines Boeing.

[C] Because Airbus launches its recovery plan that would surely bring a great amount of profit in the foreseeable future.

[D] Because the company is in better situation as it succeeded in slowing down the annual loss.

1. Louis Gallois为什么对空中客车“完全地回来了”如此有信心？

[A] 因为在他的领导下，有迹象表明，该公司很快就不会再有财政上的问题了。

[B] 因为空中客车在巴黎的展出非常成功，赢得了很多的订单，同时也在世界范围内赢得了比波音公司更好的声誉。

[C] 因为空中客车实施了一项复兴计划，这一定会在可见的未来给公司带来巨大的利润。

[D] 因为该公司成功地减缓了年度亏损，现在处于一个较好的状况下。