高中英语第二册课本朗读12-work

　　Mr Cavor’s Flying Machine
When I first met Mr Cavor, he was about to finish building the machine in which he planned to travel to the moon．As it had neither wings nor an engine，I was amazed¹ and asked him how his machine could fly．The secret lay in a new material which he had developed．Applied² in his machine, it would cut off the earth’s power, which science calls gravity³, to keep things on the ground．If Mr Cavor’s machine would be free from the pull of gravity, nothing would keep it from flying off into the sky．
I still could not understand how it would work，so I asked him to explain it to me．Cavor said that for many years he had been doing research into materials that could block all kinds of energy in the form of waves. “Energy,” he said, “such as light or heat，X-rays，electricity or gravity, exists in the form of waves that act on bodies at a distance.” Almost all materials block some form of energy．Glass，for example，blocks heat，but it lets light pass through, so that it is useful as a fire screen．Metals，on the other hand，block light，but electrical energy and heat pass through them very well．So far，it sounded like a class of basic physics, and I had no difficulty⁴ understanding him．
“Gravity passes through all known⁵ materials.” he said. “You can use screens of various sorts to cut off the light or heat，or electrical influence of the sun．You can screen things with sheets of metal from radioactivity⁶, but nothing will cut off the gravity of the earth．Yet why there should be nothing is hard to say.” Cavor did not see why such a material，which he called Cavorite，should not exist．He argued that such a material was possible and，under certain conditions，could be made．
He explained it to me as follows.” Everybody knows that the air has weight and that it presses on everything on the surface of the earth，no less than fourteen and a half pounds to the square inch．But over a sheet of Cavorite this is not the case，because it blocks the gravity from the earth below it．The next step would be to build a machine in which to apply that great discovery.” Cavor was proud to show me the first model．
“It’s like this,” he said. “Nothing above a layer of Cavorite weighs anything，and everything above it goes up into the air．The material itself moves up too and We are going up with it.” “Like Jules Verne’s thing in A Trip to the Moon,” I said，but Cavor did not read any fiction．
“Imagine a ball,” he explained, “large enough to hold two people and their luggage．It will be made of steel and thick glass，and on the outside，Cavorite．As soon as the Cavorite cools down，it is no longer affected⁷ by gravity, and off you fly.” “But then what is to prevent the machine from traveling in a straight line into space for ever?” I asked. “That’s a practical⁸ problem for which I will still need to find a solution,” Cavor said, “but don’t worry, I already have the beginning of an idea.”

1 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 gravity   

n.重力，引力，地心引力

参考例句：

• An apple falls down because of gravity.由于重力的关系，苹果往下掉。
• The stone rolled down the mountain by gravity.这块石头由于重力作用而滚下山。

4 difficulty   

n.困难，费劲；难事，难题；麻烦，困境

参考例句：

• If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
• A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。

5 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

6 radioactivity   

n.放射现象，放射性

参考例句：

• Radioactivity is a special quality of radium.放射性是镭的一种特性。
• The soil contains 30 times the acceptable level of radioactivity.这片土壤受到了高于标准30倍的辐射。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 practical   

adj.实际的，实践的；实用的，应用的；有实际经验的

参考例句：

• He is a practical person.他是位很讲实际的人。
• Your invention is clever,but not practical.你的发明很巧，但不实用。