Question

【題目】You can’t make a call or send a text on your mobile phone in the US town of Green Bank, West Virginia. Wireless Internet is outlawed, as is Bluetooth. As you approach the tiny town on a two-lane road that snakes through the mountains, your mobile phone signal drops out, and your radio stops working. The rusted pay phone on the north side of town is the only way for a visitor to reach the rest of the world. It’s a pre-modern place by design, lacking of the latest technologies that define life today.

The reason for the town’s empty airwaves is apparent the moment you arrive. It’s the Robert C. Byrd telescope, also known as the GBT, a shiny white, 147-metre-tall satellite dish. It’s the largest of its kind in the world and one of nine in Green Bank, all of them government owned and operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

You don’t look through these kinds of telescopes. They’re radio telescopes, so instead of looking for distant stars, they listen for them. There’s a long line of astronomers all over the world who want to use the telescope which is so sensitive that it could hear a single snowflake hitting the ground 1,000 miles away.

Such a sensitive listening tool needs total technological silence to operate, so in 1958 the US government created a National Radio Quiet Zone, a 33,000 km2 area covering Green Bank where, to this day, electronic and radio signals are forbidden every hour of every day.

People who live within a 15km of the Green Bank telescope are allowed to use landline telephones, wired Internet and cable televisions, but microwave ovens, wireless Internet and radios are forbidden. You can have a mobile phone, but you won’t get a signal.

Because of how much its way of life varies from the rest of America, Green Bank seems to be a somewhat isolated (隔絕), even alien place. For locals, the technology ban is annoying. For others who come to Green Bank for a little rest and relaxation, the town has become a refuge.

【1】What do we know about the town of Green Bank from Paragraph 1?

A. It’s located at the base of a large mountain.

B. It is geographically and technologically isolated.

C. Its telecommunications are affected by its geography.

D. Many people live in the town and its surrounding areas.

【2】How does the GBT work?

A. It traps light waves in its huge dish.

B. It stops all electronic and radio signals.

C. It receives pictures from space satellites.

D. It listens for and receives noises from space.

【3】What equipment are locals of the Green Bank allowed to use?

A. Cable TV, wired Internet and radio.

B. Landline phones, wired Internet and cable TV.

C. Public phones, wireless Internet and mobile phones.

D. Landline phones, microwave ovens and cable internet.

【4】What does the underlined word “refuge” in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A. A place of escape. B. A source of confusion.

C. An area of interest. D. A sign of danger.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】B

【4】A

【解析】這是一篇說(shuō)明文。講述了人們不能在美國(guó)西弗吉尼亞的綠色銀行所在的小鎮(zhèn)打手機(jī)或者發(fā)短信，在這里無(wú)線聯(lián)網(wǎng)是非法的。

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段“As you approach the tiny town on a two-lane road that snakes through the mountains, your mobile phone signal drops out, and your radio stops working”（當(dāng)你在一條雙車(chē)道公路上接近這個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)時(shí)，你的手機(jī)信號(hào)會(huì)弱下來(lái)，你的收音機(jī)就會(huì)停止工作）可知，它在地理上和技術(shù)上都是孤立的。故選B。

【2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段“They’re radio telescopes, so instead of looking for distant stars, they listen for them. There’s a long line of astronomers all over the world who want to use the telescope which is so sensitive that it could hear a single snowflake hitting the ground 1,000 miles away”可知，它監(jiān)聽(tīng)并接收來(lái)自太空的噪音。故選D。

【3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第四段“People who live within a 15km of the Green Bank telescope are allowed to use landline telephones, wired Internet and cable televisions, but microwave ovens, wireless Internet and radios are forbidden”可知，綠色銀行允許使用固定電話，有線互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和有線電視。故選B。

【4】詞義猜測(cè)題。根據(jù)最后一段“For locals, the technology ban is annoying. For others who come to Green Bank for a little rest and relaxation, the town has become a refuge.”（對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)厝藖?lái)說(shuō)，這項(xiàng)技術(shù)禁令令人生厭。對(duì)于那些來(lái)綠色銀行休息和放松的人來(lái)說(shuō)，這個(gè)小鎮(zhèn)已經(jīng)變成了避難所），故選A。