英语四级听力-短对话 211

 

Passage One

26.

A. They were possibly caused by man.

B. They were mostly caused by volcanoes².

C. They were certainly caused by nature.

D. We know nothing about their causes.

27.

A. Afraid.

B. Excited.

C. Curious.

D. Indifferent³.

28.

A. Copper⁴ and iron.

B. Copper and tin.

C. Iron and tin.

D. Copper and zinc⁵.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passage One

[26]We don't know how the first fire was made. Early fires on the earth were certainly caused by nature, not by man. Some were caused by lightning in a storm; others, perhaps by one hot material which came out of a volcano¹. Quite possibly, at times, the heat of the sun set light to some dry grass or leaves. [27]At first, man, like other animals, was probably afraid of fire. He saw that fire could destroy a forest; he knew that fire could hurt his body. So great was the power of fire that he feared it and worshipped it. Gradually, however, with his better powers of thinking, he overcame his fear. Probably he overcame most of his fear when he discovered how to make fire for himself. Throughout the ages he has learned⁷ more about fire, how to control it, and how to use it in many ways. Now fire is no longer a master or a god, it is a servant. Again, at some early date, man found how fire could be used to make certain metals from rocks. [28]Some time later, he found out how to make the metal which we now call bronze. This is a mixture of copper and tin. Bronze was a very useful metal. It was hard and tough, but he could shape it by hammering (probably with heavy stones). He could make a tool with a sharp edge for cutting. It isn't so easy to get iron from its ore⁶ and this metal was probably not discovered until very much later.

答案解析：

Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.

26. What do we know about early fires on the earth?

[C]解析：短文开头即说：“第一堆火是怎样生起来的，我们无从知道。地球上早期的火肯定是由大自然而非由人引燃的。”C正确。段落开头处... certainly caused by... not by... 的鲜明的对比关系与语义上的强调特色，应能使我们准确答题。

27. What was probably man's response to the first fire?

[A]解析：短文说，最初，人类和其他动物一样很可能也怕火。A正确。At first引导的语义强调之处出题，四个选项都为表示心理活动的形容词，听到什么选什么。

28. What is bronze made of?

[B]解析：短文提到：“过了一些时候，人类知道了如何制造我们现在称之为青铜的东西。青铜是铜和锡的合金。”B正确。具体的物质名词选项，表明本题问细节而非大意。选项是由几个关键词的不同组合构成的，听到相关内容做好标记则必然得到正确答案。听到什么选什么。

1 volcano   

n.火山

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning.火山一早突然爆发了。
• It is most risky to go and examine an active volcano.去探察活火山是非常危险的。

2 volcanoes   

n.火山( volcano的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Volcanoes and geysers erupt. 火山和间歇喷泉均能喷发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has been able to tell us more about active volcanoes than any man alive. 他现在比任何人都能更多地向我们讲述有关活火山的情况。 来自《用法词典》

3 indifferent   

adj.冷漠的，不关心的，不积极的；一般的

参考例句：

• Her English is indifferent.她的英文很一般。
• His manner was cold and indifferent.他的态度既冷淡又无动于衷。

4 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

5 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

6 ore   

n.矿，矿石，矿砂

参考例句：

• How many tons of ore can this machine crush in an hour?这机器每小时可以破碎多少吨矿石？
• They refined gold out of the ore.他们从矿石中提炼出黄金。

7 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。