中大网校

第二十三篇： the only way is up

1 think of a modern city现代城市and the first image影像 that come to mind想到 is the skyline天际线. it is full of great buildings,楼 pointing like fingers to heaven. 天空it is true that some cities don't permit允许 buildings to go above超过 a certain height. but these are cities concerned with关注the past. the first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.摩天大楼

2 when people gather聚集 together in cities, they create创造 a demand需求 for land.土地 since cities are places where money is made, that demand需求 can be met. 遇见and the best way to make money out of city land is to put as many people as possible in a space that covers 覆盖the smallest amount of ground. that means building建筑 upwards.向上

3 the technology技术 existed 存在to do this as early as the 19th century. but the height高度 of buildings was limited限制的 by one important factor. they had to be small enough for people on the top floors to climb stairs.楼梯people could not be expected to期望 climb a mountain at the end of their journey 旅行to work, or home.

4 elisha otis, a us inventor, 发明家was the man who brought us the lift电梯-or elevator,升降机as he preferred to call it. however, most of the technology技术 is very old. lifts work using the same pulley滑轮 system the egyptians埃及人 used to create建造 the pyramids.金子塔what otis did was attach 附属the system to a steam 蒸汽engine发动机 and develop the elevator brake, 刹车which stops the lift falling下降if the cords 绳索that hold it up are broken.断裂

it was this that did the most to gain增加public公众的 confidence信任in the new invention. in fact, he spent a number of years exhibiting展览 lifts at fairgrounds,游乐场 giving people the chance to try them out before selling the idea to architects 建筑师and builders.

5　a lift would not be a very good theme park 主题公园attraction吸引力 now. going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. 烦人的yet psychologists 心理学家and others who study human behavior行为find lifts fascinating. 吸引人的the reason is simple. scientists have always studied animals in zoos. the nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing观察 them in lifts.

6　"it breaks all the usual通常的conventions 惯例about the bubble泡沫 of personal space 私人空间we carry around with 随身携带us -- and you just can't choose to move away," 离开says workplace工作场所psychologist, 心理学家gary fitzgibbon. being trapped陷入in this setting can create造成 different types of tensions,紧张 he says.

some people are scared of 害怕 them. others use them as an opportunity to get close to the boss. some stand close to the door. others hide in the corners.角落里 most people try and shrink 缩小into the background. 背景but some behave表现 in a way that makes others notice them. there are a few people who just stand in a corner taking notes.记笔记

7　don't worry about them. they are probably from a university.

1. "...these are cities concerned with the past" in the first paragraph refer to cities that

a) are worried about their past.

b) have a glorious past to be proud of.

c) want to maintain their traditional image.

d) are very interested in their own history.

解析：

1 think of a modern city现代城市and the first image影像 that come to mind想到 is the skyline天际线. it is full of great buildings,楼 pointing like fingers to heaven. 天空it is true that some cities don't permit允许 buildings to go above超过 a certain height. but these are cities concerned with关心the past. the first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.摩天大楼

2. the difficulty in constructing tall buildings in the 19th century lies in

a) the shortage of money.

b) the lack of a device to carry people upward.

c) backward technology.

d) mountains taking up land space.

解析：

3. when otis came up with the idea of a lift,

a) he sold it to the architects and builders immediately

b) the egyptians used it to build the pyramids.

c) it was accepted favorably by the public.

d) most people had doubt about its safety.

解析：4 elisha otis, a us inventor, 发明家was the man who brought us the lift电梯-or elevator,升降机as he preferred to call it. however, most of the technology技术 is very old. lifts work using the same pulley滑轮 system the egyptians埃及人 used to create建造 the pyramids.金子塔 what otis did was attach 附属the system to a steam 蒸汽engine发动机 and develop the elevator brake, 刹车which stops the lift falling下降if the cords 绳索that hold it up are broken.断裂 it was this that did the most to gain增加public公众的 confidence信任in the new invention. in fact, he spent a number of years exhibiting展览 lifts at fairgrounds,游乐场 giving people the chance to try them out before selling the idea to architects 建筑师and builders.

4. which of the following best describes the experience of going in a lift now?

a) fascinating.

b) uninteresting.

c) frightening.

d) exciting.

解析：5 a lift would not be a very good theme park 主题公园attraction吸引力 now. going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. 烦人的yet psychologists 心理学家and others who study human behavior行为find lifts fascinating. 吸引人的the reason is simple. scientists have always studied animals in zoos. the nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing观察 them in lifts.

5. psychologists find the lift a good place where they can study human behaviour because

a) here humans behave the way animals do. b) people in a lift are all scared.

c) here some people take notes. d) in a lift the bubble of personal space breaks.

解析：5　a lift would not be a very good theme park 主题公园attraction吸引力 now. going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. 烦人的yet psychologists 心理学家and others who study human behavior行为find lifts fascinating. 吸引人的the reason is simple. scientists have always studied animals in zoos. the nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing观察 them in lifts.