voltage /ˈvəʊltɪdʒ/ n. 电压，伏特数

electricity grid 电网

subtle /ˈsʌtl/ adj. 微妙的；精细的

turbine /ˈtɜːbɪn/ n. 涡轮

envisage /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ v. 正视，设想

jargon /ˈdʒɑːgən/ n. 行话

Scandinavia /ˌskændɪˈneɪvjə/ n. 斯堪的纳维亚（半岛）

offshore /ˈɒfʃɔː/ adj. 向海面吹的，离岸的





难句突破


Not only does that make them better in their own right，but employing them would allow electricity grids to be restructured in ways that would make wind power more attractive.

主体句式：Not only does that make them better，but employing them would allow electricity grids to...

结构分析：这个句子是一个相对比较复杂的not only，but （also）结构。前半句中的not only 后面跟的句子按照语法规则需要倒装，后半句but also 结构中省略了also这个词，这在语法上也是允许的，且后半句的主句是一个现在分词结构，后面的in ways之后跟的是一个定语从句。

句子译文：这不仅能有利于电流的传送，而且通过使用高压直流电缆，人们可以对电网进行改造，从而更加有利于风能发电。





题目分析


1．D 语义题。根据文章第一段，由于在远距离传输方面高压直流电缆损失的电量比交流电缆少，因此通过这个方法能够更加充分地利用直流电来传输电能，因此答案为D。

2．C 语义题。文章第二段指出利用风能存在很多问题，包括风向的时间和地点。而哪里有风的问题相对比较容易解决，但是风在什么时候吹则是一个更加微妙的问题，也就是说，在时间意义上控制风能是比较困难和复杂的，因此C选项符合题意。

3．B 细节题。文章第三段指出，建设直流电电网可以节约在传输过程中浪费的电能，因此对于消费者来说这一方案是较为经济和节约的，也是可行的，因此正确答案为B。需要指出的是读者应区分economic和economical两个词语的区别，economic的意思是“经济（上）的，经济学的”，是宏观意义上的；而economical的意思是“节约的，俭省的”，是微观意义上的。

4．A 细节题。文章第二段后半部分描述了史密德博士设计的大陆电网，其中指出选择挪威的原因不是因为这个国家缺乏足够的电能，而是这里有足够多的水库可以用来储存由风能转化而成的电能。

5．C 细节题。各个题目的细节均可以在文章最后一段中找到对应的信息。其中提到了欧洲多家能源公司已经在计划建设传输风能的直流电缆，充分说明了风能利用的前景非常好。





参考译文



一般来说，交流电传输比直流电传输损失的电量要少，因此，交流电成为了工业上的标准。但是一些人却在质疑这个标准，因为从远距离传输来看，高压直流电缆损失的电量比交流电缆少。这不仅能有利于电流的传送，而且通过使用高压直流电缆，人们可以对电网进行改造，从而更加有利于风能发电。如此一来，对于新建更多传统（也是污染的）发电站的需求就会减少。

风能发电存在一些问题。风能不是随处都在，也非随时可得。但是现在哪里有风的问题已经得到解决，因为总有地方在刮风。如果现在西班牙多风而爱尔兰却无风，那么电流就会朝一个方向传送。但是，风在什么时候吹则是一个更微妙的问题。比如说，史密德博士设计的大陆电网的重要一部分就位于挪威。但这并不是因为挪威消费很多的电能，而是这个国家到处都是水电站。利用水电站是可以把如风能等稍纵即逝的能源大量储存起来的方式之一。通过使用这些风能，人们可以把水往上抽到水库中推动水电涡轮。水电站以这个方式就可以随时把水抽上来。史密德博士认为挪威水库容量如此之大，以至于如果欧洲所有的地方都不刮风了——这种现象确实偶尔会发生——挪威的水电站仍然可以继续运转并供应整个欧洲的用电量达四周之久。

如果情况真是这样的话，那么建设一个跨欧洲的电网是势在必行的了。此前没有进行该项目建设是因为交流电缆在进行如此远距离传输的时候会损失大量的电能。而现在人们开始思考用直流电缆来实现这一设想。史密德博士估计，他设想的这种直流电缆能够使风能满足全欧洲至少30%的用电需求。此外，这样做也非常可靠——从术语上说，这意味着风能可以被称为是基本负荷型电能供应。

尽管对于风力发电也有反对者，但是如果风能可靠的话，那么其清洁环保的特点足以赢得广泛的支持。实际上，一些挪威的公司已经开始在斯堪的纳维亚、荷兰和德国之间建设高压直流电缆，尽管他们的目的在于销售本国的能源并积累他人的能源。此外，一家爱尔兰风能公司Airtricity则计划比挪威的公司们做的更多。该公司提出了一个所谓的超级电网的概念，该电网能够将大西洋、爱尔兰海、北海和波罗的海上的风能电厂与整个北欧的消费者们连接起来。





Unit 48


In 1966 Allen and Beatrice Gardner，two psychologists at the University of Nevada in Reno，had a bright idea．They were interested in the evolution of language and the linguistic capabilities of great apes．Previous attempts to teach chimpanzees to talk had ended in failure and the matter was considered by most people to be closed．But the Gardners realised that speech and language are not the same thing．Many deaf people，for example，are unable to speak but are perfectly able to communicate by gestures that have all the attributes and sophistication of spoken language．Given the very different anatomies of the human and chimpanzee larynx，the Gardners suspected that previous experiments had failed because chimps are physically incapable of speech.

They therefore decided to try teaching a chimpanzee to sign in the way that deaf people do．And their chosen subject，a female chimp named Washoe after the county in which the university campus is located，proved an adept pupil．Though there is still debate about whether what Washoe learned was really equivalent to human language，there is no doubt that she learned a lot of words．She now has a vocabulary of about 200．All of this，however，raises a second question．If Washoe and her successors can learn a complex and arbitrary vocabulary of gestures from people，do they have such vocabularies naturally? To examine that possibility Amy Pollick and Frans de Waal，of Emory University in Atlanta，Georgia，have looked at gestures and expressions in chimpanzees and their cousins，bonobos.

Signalling by facial and vocal expression is ubiquitous among primates．Signalling by gesture is confined to the great apes．The researchers’ hypothesis was that the meaning of expressions has been hard-wired by evolution whereas the meaning of gestures is learnt and，at least to some extent，is arbitrary. If that were true，particular sorts of facial and vocal expression would occur only in particular contexts，and that this would be consistent across groups and even species．The same gestures，by contrast，would be used in different contexts.

The researchers found exactly what they expected．Expressions（“silent bared teeth”，“relaxed open mouth”，“pant hoot” and so on）almost always occurred in the same contexts in different groups and different species．Gestures （“hard touch”，“reach outside”，“slap ground” etc）did not．Half of the gestures Dr Pollick and Dr de Waal regularly observed seemed to have completely different meanings in the two species．Moreover，even within a single group，the meaning of a gesture could vary with context，almost as tone of voice can vary the meaning of a human's spoken word.

It is also worth remembering that gesture is still a crucial part of human language，even for those with normal hearing．The old joke that the way to render an Italian speechless is to tie his hands together has a kernel of truth in it．Evolution does not come up with complicated structures in a single leap．They are built up step by step．This study suggests that the step of speech may have been built on mental attributes that were acquired millions of years ago when the ancestors of apes and men began to wave meaningfully at each other.


注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2002年真题Text 4。



1．From the first paragraph，we learn that _______.

A) chimpanzees do not have the capability of mastering a language

B) the Gardners found a new idea to develop the chimpanzee experiment

C) previous experiments failed because they merely focused on chimpanzees’ vocal ability

D) chimpanzees can use gestures as well as blind people

2．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A) Washoe was able to develop an entire system of signs and gestures of her own.

B) The vocabulary Washoe learnt is not similar to human language.

C) The Washoe experiment has enlightened further research.

D) The Gardners found that Washoe naturally has her vocabulary of gestures.

3．According to the author，gestures are different from facial and vocal expressions in that _______.

A) gestures are more complicated

B) gestures are limited to a certain type of species

C) facial and vocal expressions are more complicated

D) there is no difference between them

4．Which of the following best defines the word“hard-wired” （Line 3，Paragraph 3）?

A) Fixed．

B) Changed.

C) Taught．

D) Made.

5．The Pollick and de Waal research probably indicates that _______.

A) the apes are the closest species to human being

B) people with normal hearing do not really need to resort to gestures

C) the great apes naturally have the ability to use gestures

D) human language may have developed from signs and gestures





篇章剖析


本文是一篇关于研究大猩猩语言能力的说明文。第一、二段介绍了加德纳夫妇的研究成果，并引出后两位学者对倭黑猩猩的研究；第三、四段分别介绍了研究的假设和结果；最后一段进一步阐述了手势对于人类脑力思考进化的影响。





词汇注释


psychologist /saɪˈkɒlədʒɪst/ n. 心理学家

chimpanzee /ˌtʃɪmpənˈziː/ n. 黑猩猩

attribute /ˈætrɪbjʊt/ n. 属性，品质，特征

sophistication /səˌfɪstɪˈkeɪʃən/ n. 复杂，精致

anatomy /əˈnætəmi/ n. 分解，解剖

larynx /ˈlærɪŋks/ n. 【解】喉

adept /əˈdept/ adj. 熟练的，拿手的

successor /səkˈsesə/ n. 继承者，接任者

bonobo /ˈbəunəˌbəu/ n. 倭黑猩猩

ubiquitous /juːˈbɪkwɪtəs/ adj. 到处存在的，普遍存在的

primate /ˈpraɪmɪt/ n. 灵长类的动物

hard-wired /ˈhaːdˌwaɪəd/ adj. 天生的

pant /pænt/ n. 气喘

hoot /huːt/ vi. 大声叫嚣，鸣响

render /ˈrendə/ vt. 致使





难句突破


The researchers’ hypothesis was that the meaning of expressions has been hard-wired by evolution whereas the meaning of gestures is learnt and，at least to some extent，is arbitrary.

主体句式：The researchers' hypothesis was that...

结构分析：这个句子的难点在于that之后的这个宾语从句。从句以whereas为界可以分为两个部分，其中后半个句子由whereas引导，与前半个句子为并列结构。此外，at least to some extent是一个插入语，一定程度上干扰和混淆了is learnt 和is arbitrary这两个结构的并列关系。

句子译文：研究者的假设是，表情的意义在长期的进化过程中已经成为一种天生的能力，而手势的意义是后天学成的，至少在一定程度上是任意的。





题目分析


1．B 推理题。文章第一段的主要内容就是讲述加德纳夫妇对于大猩猩语言能力试验的新想法，因此答案为B。A选项的错误原因在于大猩猩没有说话的能力，但是拥有语言能力，而两者是不同的。C选项的错误原因在于前人的研究虽然确实都把重点放在了大猩猩的说话能力上，但其失败的关键在于没有区分语言能力和说话能力这两个不同的方面。D选项原文中并没有提及。

2．C 细节题。文章第二段中指出，Washoe的成就使科学家们提出了新的问题，并进行了进一步的研究，因此C选项正确。A选项的错误原因在于Washoe并没有发展出她自己的一套手势系统，而是人类的语言系统。

3．B 细节题。文章第三段第一句话指出：“通过表情和声音来发送信号的现象在灵长类动物中是普遍存在的。但只有大猩猩才能用手势发送信号”，并不存在两者哪个更加复杂的说法。

4．A 语义题。从该词所在句子的上下文中，可以理解其意思为：动物的表情经过了长期的演化具有了固定的意义，成为了动物一种天生的能力。因此A选项正确，其他几项都不符合题意。

5．D 推理题。文章最后一段的最后一句话指出，人类祖先在使用手势的时候很可能促使了脑部的发展，从而渐渐产生了语言能力，因此答案为D。C选项是该研究证实的结果，而不是其引申意义。





参考译文



1966年，内华达大学雷诺分校的两名心理学家阿伦与比特里斯·加德纳夫妇产生了一个聪明的想法。他们对于大猩猩语言的进化和语言能力非常感兴趣。前人曾试图教黑猩猩说话，但那些努力最终都以失败告终，很多人认为这个领域已经没有什么可以研究的了。但是加德纳夫妇意识到说话和语言并不是一件事情。比如说，许多聋哑人不能说话，但是他们却能够用手势进行充分的交流，这些手势都包含了人类语言的那些特点和复杂性。由于人类和黑猩猩喉咙的结构不同，加德纳夫妇认为前人研究的失败是因为黑猩猩生理上就无法说话。

因此，他们决定试着教一只黑猩猩如何使用聋哑人的手势。他们选择的研究对象是一个名为Washoe的雌性黑猩猩，Washoe是该大学校园所在县的名称，而这只猩猩是一个很在行的学生。尽管人们仍在争论Washoe学会的到底能不能算人类语言，但是毫无疑问她学会了很多词汇。她现在的词汇量约为200个单词。所有这些都使人们提出了第二个问题。如果Washoe和她的继任者们能够从人类那里学会复杂和任意词汇的手势，那么他们是不是天生就拥有这些词汇呢？为了验证这种可能性，亚特兰大埃默里大学的埃米·波利克和弗朗斯·德瓦尔对一些黑猩猩和他们的近亲倭黑猩猩的手势和表情进行了研究。

通过表情和声音来发送信号的现象在灵长类动物中是普遍存在的。但只有大猩猩才能用手势发送信号。研究者的假设是，表情的意义在长期的进化过程中已经成为一种天生的能力，而手势的意义是后天学成的，至少在一定程度上是任意的。如果这个假设成立的话，那么各种特别的面部表情和声音就只会在特殊的情境下出现，并且在物种群甚至是物种之间都是一致的。相反，同样的手势却能够在不同的情境下使用。

研究结果与预期的一致。不同的物种群以及物种之间都会在相同的情境下使用一些表情（“不出声地张嘴露齿”、“放松地张嘴”、“高声气促”等），却不会用相同的手势（“硬碰”、“向外伸手”、“拍地”等）。波利克和德瓦尔博士规律性地观察到的手势中，有近一半在两个物种之间具有几乎完全不同的意义。此外，即使是在同一物种中，某一手势的意义也可能在不同的情境下有所变化，就像人类说话时用不同的声调可以表示不同的意义那样。

我们应记住，手势仍然是人类语言中一个至关重要的组成部分，特别是那些听觉正常的人。有一个老笑话说，如果要让一个意大利人闭嘴，那就把他的手绑起来，这个笑话有其道理所在。进化的过程不会一步就达到复杂的结构，而是一步一步演化过来的。该研究间接地说明，当几百万年前猿和人类祖先开始有意义地向彼此挥手的时候，这种脑力思考的特点就在一步步地向语言能力发展。





Unit 49


Windsurfers in Hawaii might not seem to have much in common with the geeks who these days tinker with Linux software as part of the open-source movement．But in the late ’70s，the surfers freely swapped ideas on how to redesign their equipment right on the beach，and sporting-goods makers were quick to pick up on innovations like foot straps for leaping giant waves.

Linux's success is making freely revealed innovation a hot idea again．After decades in which patents closed off innovation，open source has caught the attention of businesses because“it so violated accepted wisdom and so clearly worked,” says Yochai Benkler，a Yale scholar．Giants like IBM and HP，and newcomers like Red Hat，have made lots of money on Linux-based services and equipment.

Pharmaceuticals represent one new and surprising area where freely shared innovation is catching on．Most industry profits have been made from expensive patented drugs．But now the BioBricks project at MIT is trying to establish standardized tools and processes for research．That way，researchers from everywhere can contribute．Open innovation also makes sense in industries where patents aren’t relevant—for example，finding new uses for existing drugs.① Eric Von Hippel，MIT's head of innovation and entrepreneurship，is studying FDA applications since 1998 for these so-called off-label uses of patented drugs to see whether，as he suspects，they come mostly from independent researchers rather than the big drugmakers holding the original patents. If they do，it means open-source innovation is already well underway.

An open system would also work when the payback is too small to entice Big Pharma，as in the case of tropical diseases．Law professor Stephen Maurer of the University of California，Berkeley，has coauthored a proposal called the Tropical Disease Initiative that could give graduate students，for instance，a chance to work on finding drugs to help fight the likes of malaria．Because discoveries wouldn’t be patented，contracts could be awarded to the lowest bidder．Manufacturing prices could be kept down，too，because generic-drug makers could compete as soon as a drug was ready.

Plant genetics is another field showing the promise of open innovation.② The basic tools for manipulating plant genes，and thereby modifying food，are protected by a thicket of patents largely controlled by multinationals，which means farmers in developing countries don’t have access to the techniques. The BIOS Initiative，recently launched by Cambia，an Australian nonprofit，aims to make publicly available an alternative technology.（People would be free to patent any resulting discoveries.）One early aim has been to help farmers find a way to breed their own corn，so they don’t need to buy expensive hybrid seeds each year．It's not yet clear just how far this kind of research can be democratized．But in many areas，the open-source option is becoming a serious one.


注（1）：本文选自Newsweek；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象为2003年真题Text 3。



1．The author compares windsurfers in Hawaii with the geeks who these days tinker with Linux software because ______.

A) they loved adventures

B) producers relied on their work

C) they shared their new ideas with other people freely

D) they redesigned their equipments

2．What is businesses’ attitude toward Linux's open source?

A) Indifferent．

B) Apprehensive.

C) Indignant．

D) Happy.

3．It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that ______.

A) patented drugs are expensive because they close off innovation

B) independent researchers are more innovative

C) BioBricks allows researchers from the world to share their ideas with each other

D) new uses for existing drugs violate patents

4．The word“entice” （Line 1，Paragraph 4）most probably means ______.

A) satisfy

B) attract

C) repel

D) persuade

5．According to the text，open innovation is promising in the field of plant genetics because ______.

A) farmers can lower their cost if they know how to breed seeds through open innovation