Question

Have you ever wondered?

（1）Why do airplanes take longer to fly west than east?

It can take five hours to go west-east from New York (NY) to London but seven hours to travel east-west from London to NY. The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet(喷射) stream. The jet stream is a very high altitude wind which always blows from the west to the east across the Atlantic. The planes moving at a constant air speed thus go faster in the west-east direction when the air moving with the wind than in the opposite direction.

（2）What would happen if the gravity on Earth was suddenly turned off?

Supposing we could magically turn off gravity. Would buildings and other structures float away? What happened would depend on how strongly the things were attached to the Earth. The Earth is moving at quite a speed moving at over a thousand miles per hour. If you turn something round your head on a string, it goes around in a circle until you let go of the string. Then it flies off in a straight line. “Switching off” gravity would be like letting go of the string. Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things would fly off into space.

1.What information can we get from the first passage?

A. It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.

B. Planes go slower when they are moving with the wind.

C. It takes more time to fly from NY to London than from London to NY.

D. The jet stream always blows from the east to the west across the Atlantic.

2.The word “shoot” underlined in the 2nd paragraph probably means“________”.

A. send for    B. move quickly    C. come out    D. grow quickly

3.It can be inferred that without gravity ________.

A. buildings and other structures would float away

B. trees and buildings would not so easily fly off

C. something around your head would not float away

D. everything outside buildings would fly off into space

4.Where can we most probably read this text?

A. In a research paper.    B. In a short story.

C. In a travel magazine.    D. In a students’ book.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.B

4.D

【解析】本篇是说明文，介绍了航天飞机从东往西比从西往东飞行花的时间久的原因和地球引力消失后将要发生的事情。

1.A 细节理解题。根据第一段中“The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet(喷射) stream.”以及上一句可知，影响航天飞机飞行速度的快慢的原因是喷射气流现象。故选A。

2.B 词义猜测题。根据“Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line. People in buildings would suddenly shoot upwards at a great speed until they hit the ceiling. Most things would fly off into space.”可知，失去地球引力后，地球表面的大多数事物（没有依附于地球的）和人都将要快速离开地面。故选B项，move quickly意为“快速移动”。

3.B 推理判断题。根据第二段中“Things not attached to the Earth would fly off in a straight line.”可推断出，失去地球引力后，树木和建筑物这类的依附于地球的事物是不会轻易漂浮，故选B。

4.D 推理判断题。本文介绍了一些基础的科普知识，很可能选自学生的课本，不可能来自专业性较强的研究论文，趣味性的短篇故事或者旅行杂志。

【名师点睛】

文章细节的理解可以细化为：（1）一一对应型。答案与题目在表达形式和意义上直接吻合，一一对应，一目了然。属于浅层次的阅读试题，分数比例较少。（2）语言转述型。这是一类间接事实细节题，答案与题目在意义上充分运用了词义之间的转述关系，即正确选项是原文有关词语和句子的另类表达。属于中档难度题，分数比例较大。（3）语意理解型。这是一类深层事实细节理解题，答案与题目之间存在着一定的逻辑联系，这种联系需要建立在事实的基础上通过上、下文来进行判断、分析、归纳和整合，才能得出正确答案。属于较高难度的事实细节题。（4）是非辨别型。这是一类综合事实细节题，出题形式常常是“三正一误”(三项正确，只有一项不符合原文内容)或“三误一正”（三项错误，只有一项符合原文内容)。（5）事实排序型。这是一类运用多项事实进行排序的事实细节题，要求根据动作发生的先后顺序、时间顺序或者句子之间的逻辑关系，找出时间发生，发展的正确顺序。例如：本文的第1小题：

答案是A. It is the jet stream that affects how fast airplanes fly.

【解题剖析】此题属于细节理解中的（1）一一对应型。答案与题目在表达形式和意义上直接吻合。

【答案定位】根据The reason for the difference is an atmospheric phenomenon known as the jet(喷射) stream.可知，喷射气流会影响飞机飞行快慢。