雅思英語閱讀短文精選
雅思的閱讀題要多練才能讓自己掌握經(jīng)驗(yàn)，下面小編給大家分享一些雅思英語閱讀短文精選，供大家參考。
雅思英語閱讀短文精選1
案例研究：新西蘭旅游網(wǎng)站
Case Study: Tourism New Zealand website
New Zealand is a small country of four million inhabitants, a long-haul flight from all the major tourist-generating markets of the world. Tourism currently makes up 9% of the country’s gross domestic product, and is the country’s largest export sector. Unlike other export sectors, which make products and then sell them overseas, tourism brings its customers to New Zealand. The product is the country itself - the people, the places and the experiences. In 1999, Tourism New Zealand launched a campaign to communicate a new brand position to the world. The campaign focused on New Zealand’s scenic beauty, exhilarating outdoor activities and authentic Maori culture, and it made New Zealand one of the strongest national brands in the world.
新西蘭是一個(gè)有著400萬居民的小國家，離世界上所有的大型游客聚集市場都需要經(jīng)歷一場長途航班。旅游業(yè)目前占這個(gè)國家國民生產(chǎn)總值的百分之九，是其最大的出口行業(yè)。與其他行業(yè)不同的是，其他行業(yè)是要制作產(chǎn)品再將其銷售到海外，而旅游業(yè)會(huì)將顧客帶到新西蘭來。產(chǎn)品就是這個(gè)國家本身——其人民、地點(diǎn)和身處其中的體驗(yàn)。在1999年，新西蘭旅游局向全世界推出了一場大型宣傳活動(dòng)，營造出一個(gè)全新的品牌地位。這場宣傳集中展示了新西蘭優(yōu)美的風(fēng)景、激動(dòng)人心的戶外項(xiàng)目和本土真正的的毛利文化，它將新西蘭塑造成世界上最強(qiáng)有力的國家品牌之一。
A key feature of the campaign was the website www.newzealand.com, which provided potential visitors to New Zealand with a single gateway to everything the destination had to offer. The heart of the website was a database of tourism services operators, both those based in New Zealand and those based abroad which offered tourism services to the country. Any tourism-related business could be listed by filling in a simple form. This meant that even the smallest bed and breakfast address or specialist activity provider could gain a web presence with access to an audience of long-haul visitors. In addition, because participating businesses were able to update the details they gave on a regular basis, the information provided remained accurate. And to maintain and improve standards, Tourism New Zealand organised a scheme whereby organisations appearing on the website underwent an independent evaluation against a set of agreed national standards of quality. As part of this, the effect of each business on the environment was considered.
這場宣傳活動(dòng)中的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵特色就是“新西蘭旅游”這個(gè)網(wǎng)站，它為未來有可能前往新西蘭的游客提供了一個(gè)入口，在這里可以找到新西蘭所能提供的一切。此網(wǎng)站的核心內(nèi)容在于一個(gè)由各路旅游服務(wù)經(jīng)營者信息所組成的數(shù)據(jù)庫，其中既有位于新西蘭本土的商家，也有駐扎海外的提供前往此國旅游服務(wù)的公司。任何與旅游相關(guān)的經(jīng)營者都可以通過填寫一張簡單的表格而獲準(zhǔn)加入。這就意味著：即使是最小型的住宿地和早餐店或特色活動(dòng)的提供者都能在此網(wǎng)站上獲得一席之地，從而接觸到所有打算遠(yuǎn)道而來的游客。此外，由于參與的商家可以定期更新自己放上去的各種信息，網(wǎng)站的信息就能始終保持準(zhǔn)確。并且為了維持并提高水準(zhǔn)，新西蘭旅游局還安排了一個(gè)這樣的方案：展示在網(wǎng)站上的所有商家都要按照一套通過決議的國家質(zhì)量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來接受一場獨(dú)立評估。其中，每個(gè)企業(yè)對于環(huán)境產(chǎn)生的影響都要受到考量。
To communicate the New Zealand experience, the site also carried features relating to famous people and places. One of the most popular was an interview with former New Zealand All Blacks rugby captain Tana Umaga. Another feature that attracted a lot of attention was an interactive journey through a number of the locations chosen for blockbuster films which had made use of New Zealand’s stunning scenery as a backdrop. As the site developed, additional features were added to help independent travellers devise their own customised itineraries. To make it easier to plan motoring holidays, the site catalogued the most popular driving routes in the country, highlighting different routes according to the season and indicating distances and times.
為了充分傳播這場經(jīng)歷，該網(wǎng)站還有一些與名人和知名地點(diǎn)有關(guān)的特色介紹。其中最受歡迎的內(nèi)容之一是對新西蘭全黑橄欖球隊(duì)前隊(duì)長Tana Umaga的采訪。另外一個(gè)吸引了大量關(guān)注的特色是一場互動(dòng)式旅程，穿過一些將新西蘭令人目瞪口呆的風(fēng)景選做背景的電影大片中曾經(jīng)出現(xiàn)過的地點(diǎn)。隨著網(wǎng)站的發(fā)展，又有一些額外特色被加進(jìn)來來幫助自助型游客通過這個(gè)規(guī)劃屬于自己的特色行程。為了幫助用戶更簡單規(guī)劃自駕行假期，網(wǎng)站還根據(jù)季節(jié)變化分類整理出了這個(gè)國家最受歡迎的多條駕車路線，并且標(biāo)注了距離和時(shí)間。
Later, a Travel Planner feature was added, which allowed visitors to click and ‘bookmark’ places or attractions they were interested in, and then view the results on a map. The Travel Planner offered suggested routes and public transport options between the chosen locations. There were also links to accommodation in the area. By registering with the website, users could save their Travel Plan and return to it later, or print it out to take on the visit. The website also had a ‘Your Words’ section where anyone could submit a blog of their New Zealand travels for possible inclusion on the website.
后來，又增加了一項(xiàng)“旅行規(guī)劃者”特色，網(wǎng)站訪問者可以點(diǎn)擊他們感興趣的地點(diǎn)或景點(diǎn)，并標(biāo)注書簽，然后在地圖上查看結(jié)果?！奥眯幸?guī)劃者”會(huì)提供往來于各個(gè)選定地點(diǎn)之間的推薦路線和公共交通方式選擇。同時(shí)還有查看當(dāng)?shù)刈∷扌畔⒌逆溄?。通過網(wǎng)站注冊，用戶就可以保存他們的旅行計(jì)劃，之后返回查看，或者把計(jì)劃打印出來隨身攜帶。網(wǎng)站上還有一個(gè)“你的語言”的版塊，任何人都可以提交自己有關(guān)新西蘭旅游的博客記錄，這些游記內(nèi)容將有可能展示在網(wǎng)站頁面上。
The Tourism New Zealand website won two Webby awards for online achievement and innovation. More importantly perhaps, the growth of tourism to New Zealand was impressive. Overall tourism expenditure increased by an average of 6.9% per year between 1999 and 2004. From Britain, visits to New Zealand grew at an average annual rate of 13% between 2002 and 2006, compared to a rate of 4% overall for British visits abroad.
新西蘭旅游局的這個(gè)網(wǎng)站因其線上成就和創(chuàng)新贏得了兩次威比獎(jiǎng)。也許更重要的是：新西蘭旅游業(yè)的增長是令人印象深刻的。總體旅游支出在1999到2004年期間平均每年增長6.9%，在2002年到2006年之間，從英國前往新西蘭的旅客增長率是13%，而英國的總體海外旅游增長率只有百分之四。
The website was set up to allow both individuals and travel organisations to create itineraries and travel packages to suit their own needs and interests. On the website, visitors can search for activities not solely by geographical location, but also by the particular nature of the activity. This is important as research shows that activities are the key driver of visitor satisfaction, contributing 74% to visitor satisfaction, while transport and accommodation account for the remaining 26%. The more activities that visitors undertake, the more satisfied they will be. It has also been found that visitors enjoy cultural activities most when they are interactive, such as visiting a marae (meeting ground) to learn about traditional Maori life. Many long-haul travellers enjoy such learning experiences, which provide them with stories to take home to their friends and family. In addition, it appears that visitors to New Zealand don’t want to be ‘one of the crowd’ and find activities that involve only a few people more special and meaningful.
這個(gè)網(wǎng)站成立的目的是為了讓個(gè)人和旅游機(jī)構(gòu)都能根據(jù)這個(gè)創(chuàng)建出適合他們自身需求和興趣的行程以及旅游套餐。在網(wǎng)站，訪問者并非僅僅能夠根據(jù)地理位置為線索來搜尋各個(gè)活動(dòng)，還可以通過活動(dòng)的特定屬性來查找。這一點(diǎn)是很重要的，因?yàn)檠芯匡@示：活動(dòng)項(xiàng)目是游客滿意度的關(guān)鍵驅(qū)動(dòng)因素，為總體游客滿意度貢獻(xiàn)了百分之七十四的比例，而交通和住宿一起才占了余下的百分之二十六。游客參與的活動(dòng)越多，他們就會(huì)越對自己的旅行感到滿意。同時(shí)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)：游客最享受的文化活動(dòng)是那些有互動(dòng)性質(zhì)的，例如參觀一處毛利會(huì)堂來了解傳統(tǒng)的毛利人生活。許多遠(yuǎn)道而來的游客都非常享受這樣的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷，這樣他們就有故事可以帶回去與朋友和家人分享。此外，來到新西蘭的游客們好像都不想成為大眾中人群中的一個(gè)，而是覺得那些只有少數(shù)幾個(gè)人參與的活動(dòng)更為特別和有意義。
It could be argued that New Zealand is not a typical destination. New Zealand is a small country with a visitor economy composed mainly of small businesses. It is generally perceived as a safe English-speaking country with a reliable transport infrastructure. Because of the long-haul flight, most visitors stay for longer (average 20 days) and want to see as much of the country as possible on what is often seen as a once-in-a-lifetime visit. However, the underlying lessons apply anywhere - the effectiveness of a strong brand, a strategy based on unique experiences and a comprehensive and user-friendly website.
可能有爭議說新西蘭并不算一個(gè)典型的旅游目的地。它是一個(gè)小國家，游客經(jīng)濟(jì)主要由小型商家組成。它被大眾普遍視為一個(gè)安全的講英語的國家，有著可靠的交通基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。由于要進(jìn)行長途飛行，大部分游客都會(huì)在此地待比較久(平均為20天)并想要盡可能地到處多看看這個(gè)國家，因?yàn)樗麄兺ǔ⒋丝醋魇恰耙簧粊硪淮蔚穆眯小?。然而，新西蘭的旅游業(yè)興旺發(fā)展背后的經(jīng)驗(yàn)卻可以應(yīng)用到任何地方——一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的品牌效應(yīng)，基于獨(dú)有經(jīng)歷的策略，和一個(gè)全面而并且關(guān)注用戶的網(wǎng)站。
雅思英語閱讀短文精選2
人工智能藝術(shù)家
電腦真的能創(chuàng)造藝術(shù)作品嗎?
The Painting Fool is one of a growing number of computer programs which, so their makers claim, possess creative talents. Classical music by an artificial composer has had audiences enraptured, and even tricked them into believing a human was behind the score. Artworks painted by a robot have sold for thousands of dollars and been hung in prestigious galleries. And software has been built which creates art that could not have been imagined by the programmer.
“繪畫愚人”是數(shù)目正在逐漸增加的——按照它們的創(chuàng)造者所宣稱的——擁有創(chuàng)作才華的電腦程序之一。由人工智能作曲家所創(chuàng)作的古典音樂曾經(jīng)令觀眾聽得入神，甚至讓他們誤以為這首樂曲是人類的杰作。由機(jī)器人繪畫的藝術(shù)作品曾經(jīng)賣出過數(shù)千美元的價(jià)格并掛在聲明卓著的畫廊中展覽。還有一些這樣的軟件，它們創(chuàng)作出來的藝術(shù)品是其編程者事先根本不曾想象過的。
Human beings are the only species to perform sophisticated creative acts regularly. If we can break this process down into computer code, where does that leave human creativity? ‘This is a question at the very core of humanity,’ says Geraint Wiggins, a computational creativity researcher at Goldsmiths, University of London. ‘It scares a lot of people. They are worried that it is taking something special away from what it means to be human.’
人類是唯一能夠常規(guī)性地完成復(fù)雜藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作行為的物種。如果我們可以將這個(gè)過程分解成為電腦編碼，那把人類創(chuàng)造力置于何地呢?“這是一個(gè)關(guān)乎人性最核心的問題”，倫敦大學(xué)金史密斯學(xué)院的一位計(jì)算機(jī)創(chuàng)造力研究學(xué)者Geraint Wiggins 這樣說。“它讓許多人感到恐懼，他們擔(dān)憂這會(huì)從人類中剝奪某些特殊的本屬于人類的東西?！?/p>
To some extent, we are all familiar with computerised art. The question is: where does the work of the artist stop and the creativity of the computer begin? Consider one of the oldest machine artists, Aaron, a robot that has had paintings exhibited in London’s Tate Modern and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Aaron can pick up a paintbrush and paint on canvas on its own. Impressive perhaps, but it is still little more than a tool to realise the programmer’s own creative ideas.
在某種程度上，我們對電腦創(chuàng)作的藝術(shù)都很熟悉。問題在于：藝術(shù)家的工作是在何處停止，而電腦的創(chuàng)造力又是從哪里開始的呢?想想最老的機(jī)器藝術(shù)家之一：Aaron，這個(gè)機(jī)器人創(chuàng)作的繪畫作品展覽在倫敦泰特現(xiàn)代美術(shù)館和舊金山現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)博物館里。Aaron可以拿起一支畫筆，自己在畫布上作畫。也許確實(shí)令人驚嘆，但它也仍然無非就是一臺用來實(shí)現(xiàn)編程者自己創(chuàng)意理念的機(jī)器罷了。
Simon Colton, the designer of the Painting Fool, is keen to make sure his creation doesn’t attract the same criticism. Unlike earlier ‘a(chǎn)rtists’ such as Aaron, the Painting Fool only needs minimal direction and can come up with its own concepts by going online for material. The software runs its own web searches and trawls through social media sites. It is now beginning to display a kind of imagination too, creating pictures from scratch. One of its original works is a series of fuzzy landscapes, depicting trees and sky. While some might say they have a mechanical look, Colton argues that such reactions arise from people’s double standards towards software-produced and human-produced art. After all, he says, consider that the Painting Fool painted the landscapes without referring to a photo. ‘If a child painted a new scene from its head, you’d say it has a certain level of imagination,’ he points out. The same should be true of a machine.’ Software bugs can also lead to unexpected results. Some of the Painting Fool’s paintings of a chair came out in black and white, thanks to a technical glitch. This gives the work an eerie, ghostlike quality. Human artists like the renowned Ellsworth Kelly are lauded for limiting their colour palette - so why should computers be any different?
“繪畫愚人”的設(shè)計(jì)者Simon Colton 非常熱切地想要確保他的產(chǎn)品不會(huì)引來同樣的批評。不像Aaron這樣的早期藝術(shù)家，“繪畫愚人”只需要極少量的指令，就能通過上網(wǎng)搜索材料而產(chǎn)生自己的創(chuàng)作理念。這個(gè)軟件啟動(dòng)其自身的網(wǎng)頁搜索功能，瀏覽各個(gè)社交媒體頁面。它現(xiàn)在也開始展示出了某種想象力，能從草稿中創(chuàng)造出完整的畫作。它的原創(chuàng)作品之一是一系列朦朧風(fēng)景畫，描繪的是樹木與天空。雖然有些人也許會(huì)說這些畫作有一種機(jī)械感，Colton卻反駁說，這樣的反應(yīng)是出于人們對待軟件創(chuàng)作和人類創(chuàng)作的藝術(shù)的雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。畢竟，他這樣說，要考慮到“繪畫愚人”是在沒有參照一張照片的情況下畫出了這些風(fēng)景?！叭绻粋€(gè)孩子從自己的頭腦中描繪出一副新的景象，你就會(huì)說這個(gè)孩子有一定的想象力水平的”，他說，“放在一臺機(jī)器上也應(yīng)當(dāng)一樣?！避浖┒匆灿锌赡軙?huì)造成意想不到的效果?！袄L畫愚人”描繪一把椅子的一些由于技術(shù)故障作品成了黑白色。這賦予了畫作一種怪誕、詭異的感覺。有一些如Ellsworth Kelly般著名的人類藝術(shù)家因?yàn)榉浅？酥频剡\(yùn)用自己調(diào)色板上的色彩而廣受傳頌——那么放在電腦身上為什么就應(yīng)當(dāng)有所不同呢?
Researchers like Colton don’t believe it is right to measure machine creativity directly to that of humans who ‘have had millennia to develop our skills’. Others, though, are fascinated by the prospect that a computer might create something as original and subtle as our best artists. So far, only one has come close. Composer David Cope invented a program called Experiments in Musical Intelligence, or EMI. Not only did EMI create compositions in Cope’s style, but also that of the most revered classical composers, including Bach, Chopin and Mozart. Audiences were moved to tears, and EMI even fooled classical music experts into thinking they were hearing genuine Bach. Not everyone was impressed however. Some, such as Wiggins, have blasted Cope’s work as pseudoscience, and condemned him for his deliberately vague explanation of how the software worked. Meanwhile, Douglas Hofstadter of Indiana University said EMI created replicas which still rely completely on the original artist’s creative impulses. When audiences found out the truth they were often outraged with Cope, and one music lover even tried to punch him. Amid such controversy, Cope destroyed EMI’s vital databases.
像Colton這樣的研究者們并不贊成將機(jī)器創(chuàng)造力直接與人類創(chuàng)造力相提并論互相比較，因?yàn)椤叭祟愐呀?jīng)有幾千年的時(shí)光來發(fā)展我們的技巧了”。另一些人則著迷于這樣的前景：一臺電腦也許能跟我們最好的藝術(shù)家相媲美，創(chuàng)作出同樣富有創(chuàng)意而精巧的作品。到目前為止，只有一個(gè)接近了這個(gè)目標(biāo)。作曲家David Cope發(fā)明了一個(gè)程序，稱作“音樂智能實(shí)驗(yàn)”，簡稱EMI。EMI不僅創(chuàng)作出了Cope風(fēng)格的樂曲，而且還仿制出了最受尊崇的古典音樂作曲家們的作品，包括巴赫、肖邦和莫扎特。觀眾感動(dòng)得淚流滿面，EMI甚至還騙過了古典音樂方面的專家，讓他們以為自己聽到的是真正的巴赫作品。然而并非所有人都對此表示了驚嘆。有一些人，例如Wiggins，就猛烈抨擊Cope 的這項(xiàng)創(chuàng)造為偽科學(xué)，還譴責(zé)他對這個(gè)程序到底如何運(yùn)行的解釋刻意含糊不清。與此同時(shí)，印第安納大學(xué)的Douglas Hofstadter認(rèn)為，EMI創(chuàng)作的這些復(fù)制品仍然要完全依賴于原創(chuàng)藝術(shù)家的創(chuàng)作靈感。在觀眾們發(fā)現(xiàn)了真相以后，他們對Cope 感到異常憤怒，有一位樂迷甚至想要打他。在這樣的一片爭議聲中，Cope銷毀了EMI的關(guān)鍵數(shù)據(jù)庫。
But why did so many people love the music, yet recoil when they discovered how it was composed? A study by computer scientist David Moffat of Glasgow Caledonian University provides a clue. He asked both expert musicians and non-experts to assess six compositions. The participants weren’t told beforehand whether the tunes were composed by humans or computers, but were asked to guess, and then rate how much they liked each one. People who thought the composer was a computer tended to dislike the piece more than those who believed it was human. This was true even among the experts, who might have been expected to be more objective in their analyses.
但是為什么會(huì)有這么多人熱愛那些音樂本身，在發(fā)現(xiàn)了它是如何被創(chuàng)作出來之后卻退縮了呢?格拉斯哥卡利多尼亞大學(xué)的計(jì)算機(jī)科學(xué)家David Moffat進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)研究提供了一條線索。他讓專業(yè)音樂家和非專業(yè)人士同時(shí)去評估六首樂曲。這些參與者并沒有被事先告知這些樂曲究竟是由人類還是電腦所創(chuàng)作的，但是被要求去進(jìn)行猜測，然后給出自己對每一首曲子喜好程度的評價(jià)。那些認(rèn)為創(chuàng)作者是電腦的人們通常會(huì)比那些認(rèn)為其創(chuàng)作者是人類的聽眾更不喜歡這支樂曲。即使是在專家們之中情況也是如此，但人們其實(shí)最開始是認(rèn)為專家的分析評估會(huì)更加客觀的。
Where does this prejudice come from? Paul Bloom of Yale University has a suggestion: he reckons part of the pleasure we get from art stems from the creative process behind the work. This can give it an ‘irresistible essence’, says Bloom. Meanwhile, experiments by Justin Kruger of New York University have shown that people’s enjoyment of an artwork increases if they think more time and effort was needed to create it. Similarly, Colton thinks that when people experience art, they wonder what the artist might have been thinking or what the artist is trying to tell them. It seems obvious, therefore, that with computers producing art, this speculation is cut short - there’s nothing to explore. But as technology becomes increasingly complex, finding those greater depths in computer art could become possible. This is precisely why Colton asks the Painting Fool to tap into online social networks for its inspiration: hopefully this way it will choose themes that will already be meaningful to us.
這種偏見到底來自哪兒?耶魯大學(xué)的Paul Bloom提出了一個(gè)見解：他認(rèn)為我們從藝術(shù)中得到的愉悅有一部分來自于作品背后的創(chuàng)作過程。這能為它賦予一種“不可抗拒的精髓感”，Bloom說。與此同時(shí)，紐約大學(xué)的Justin Kruger 所進(jìn)行的實(shí)驗(yàn)也顯示：人們?nèi)绻J(rèn)為創(chuàng)作某件藝術(shù)品需要更多的時(shí)間和精力，就會(huì)更加欣賞它。類似地，Colton 認(rèn)為當(dāng)人們?nèi)ンw驗(yàn)藝術(shù)時(shí)，他們會(huì)不禁去好奇藝術(shù)家當(dāng)時(shí)正在想什么，或者藝術(shù)家正在試圖向他們表達(dá)什么。因此，這一點(diǎn)似乎就很明顯了：當(dāng)創(chuàng)作藝術(shù)的是電腦時(shí)，這種遐思就被打斷了——因?yàn)闆]有什么可探索的。但是隨著技術(shù)變得越來越復(fù)雜，在電腦的藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作中找到那些意義深邃之處可以逐漸成為可能。正是因此，Colton才會(huì)指示“繪畫愚人”去搜索各社交媒體網(wǎng)頁來獲取靈感：希望通過這種方式，它將會(huì)選取那些對我們來說已經(jīng)具有意義的主題。
雅思英語閱讀短文精選3
Talc Powder
A Peter Brigg discovers how talc from Luzenac's Trimouns in France find its way into food and agricultural products - from chewing gum to olive oil. High in the French Pyrenees, some 1,700m above sea level, lies Trimouns, a huge deposit of hydrated magnesium silicate - talc to you and me. Talc from Trimouns, and from ten other Luzenac mines across the globe, is used in the manufacture of a vast array of everyday products extending from paper, paint and plaster to cosmetics, plastics and car tyres. And of course there is always talc's best known end use: talcum powder for babies1 bottoms. But the true versat ility of this remarkable mineral is nowhere better displayed than in its sometimes surprising use in certain niche markets in the food and agriculture industries.
B Take, for example, the chewing gum business. Every year, Talc de Luzenac France - which owns and operates the Trimouns mine and is a member of the international Luzenac Group ( art of Rio Tinto minerals ) supplies about 6,000 tones of talc to chewing gum manufacturers in Europe. "We've been selling to this sector of the market since the 1960s," says Laurent Fournier, sales manager in Luzenac's Specialties business unit in Toulouse. "Admittedly, in terms of our total annual sales of talc, the amount we supply to chewing gum manufacturers is relatively small, but we see it as a valuable niche market: one where customers place a premium on securing supplies from a reliable, high quality source. Because of this, long term allegiance to a proven suppler is very much a feature of this sector of die talc market." Switching sources - in the way that you might choose to buy, say, paperclips from Supplier A rather than from Supplier B - is not an easy option for chewing gum manufacturers." Fournier says. "The cost of reformulating is high, so when customers are using a talc grade that works, even if it's expensive, they are understandably reluctant to switch."
C But how is talc actually used in the manufacture of chewing gum? Patrick Delord, an engineer with a degre e in agronomics, who has been with Luzenac for 22 years and is now senior market development manager, Agriculture and Food, in Europe, explains that chewing gums has four main components. "The most important of them is the gum base," he says. "It's the gum base that puts the chew into chewing gum. It binds all the ingredients together, creating a soft, smooth texture. To this the manufacturer then adds sweeteners, softeners and flavourings. Our talc is used as a filler in the gum base. The amount vanes between, say, ten and 35 per cent, depending on the type of gum. Fruit flavoured chewing gum, for example, is slightly acidic and would react with the calcium carbonate that the manufacturer might otherwise use as a filler. Talc, on the other hand, makes an ideal filler because it's non-reactive chemically. In the factory, talc is also used to dust the gum base pellets and to stop the chewing gum sticking during the lamination and packing process," Delord adds.
D The chewing gum business is, however, just one example of talc's use in the food sector. For the past 20 years or so, olive oil processors in Spain have been taking advantage of talc's unique characteristics to help them boost the amount of oil they extract from crushed olives According to Patrick Delord, talc is especially useful for treating what he calls "difficult" olives. After the olives are harvested - preferably early in the morning because their taste is better if they are gathered in the cool of the day they are taken to the processing plant. There they arc crushed and then stirred for 30-45 minutes. In the old days, the resulting paste was passed through an olive press but nowadays it's more common to add water and ( K-6IH ) the mixture to separate the water and oil from the solid matter The oil and water are then allowed to settle so that the olive oil layer can be ) and bottled. "Difficult" olives are those that are more reluctant than the norm to yield up their full oil content. This may be attributable to the particular species of olive, or to its water content and the time of year the olives arc collected - at the beginning and the end of the season their water content is often either too high or too low. These olives are easy to recognize because they produce a lot of extra foam during the stirring process, a consequence of an excess of a fine solid that acts as a natural emulsifier. The oil in this emulsion is lost when the water is disposed of. Not only that, if the waste water is disposed of directly into local fields - often the case in many smaller processing operations - the emulsified oil may take some time to biodegrade and so be harmful to the environment.
E "If you add between a half and two percent of talc by weight during the stirring process, it absorbs the natural emulsifier in the olives and so boosts the amount of oil you can extract," says Delord. "In addition, talc's flat, 'platey' structure helps increase the size of the oil droplets liberated during stirring, which again improves the yield. However, because talc is chemically inert, it doesn't affect the color, taste, appearance or composition of the resulting olive oil."
F If the use of talc in olive oil processing and in chewing gum is long established, new applications in the food and agriculture industries arc also constantly being sought by Luzenac. One such promising new market is fruit crop protection, being pioneered in the US. Just like people, fruit can get sunburned. In fact, in very sunny regions up to 45 per cent of a typical crop can be affected by heat stress and sunburn However, in the case of fruit, it's not so much the ultra violet rays which harm the crop as the high surface temperature that the sun's rays create.
G To combat this, farmers normally use either chemicals or spray a continuous fine canopy of mist above the fruit frees or bushes. The trouble is, this uses a lot of water - normally a precious commodity in hot, sunny areas - and it is therefore expensive. What's more, the ground can quickly become waterlogged. "So our idea was to coat the fruit with talc to protect it from the sun," says Greg Hunter, a marketing specialist who has been with Luzenac for ten years. "But to do this, several technical challenges had first to be overcome. Talc is very hydrophobic: it doesn't like water. So in order to have a viable product we needed a wettable powder - something that would go readily into suspension so that it could be sprayed onto the fruit. It also had to break the surface tension of the cutin ( the natural waxy, waterproof layer on the fruit ) and of course it had to wash off easily when the fruit was harvested. No-one's going to want an apple that's covered in talc."
H Initial trials in the state of Washington in 2003 showed that when the product was sprayed onto Granny Smith apples, it reduced their surface temperature and lowered the incidence of sunburn by up to 60 per cent. Today the new product, known as Invelop Maximum SPF, is in its second commercial year on the US market. Apple growers are the primary target although Hunter believes grape growers represent another sector with long term potential. He is also hopeful of extending sales to overseas markets such as Australia, South America and southern Europe.
Question 27-32
Use the information in the passage to match each use of tale power with correct application from A. B or C. Write the appropriate letters A-C in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.
NB you may use any letter more than once.
A. Fruit protection
B. Chewing gum business
C. Olive oil extraction
27 Talc is used to increase the size of drops.
28 Talc is applied to reduce foaming.
29 Talc is employed as a filler of base.
30 Talc is modified and prevented sunburn.
31 Talc is added to stop stickiness.
32 Talc is used to increase production.
Questions 33-38
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than two words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33-38 on your answer sheet.
Spanish olive oil industry has been using talc in oil extraction process for about____33____years. It is useful in dealing with difficult olives which often produce high amount of____34____because of the high content of solid materials. When smaller factories release____35____, it could be____36____to the environment because it is hard to____37____and usually lakes lime as it contains emulsified oil. However, talc power added in the process is able to absorb the emulsifier oil. It improves the oil extraction production, because with aid of talc powder, size of oil____38____increased.
Question 39-40
Answer the questions below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 39-40 on your answer sheet.
39 In which process is talc used to dear the stickiness of chewing gum?
40 Which group of farmers does Invelop intend to target in a long view?
文章題目：滑石粉
篇章結(jié)構(gòu)
體裁論說文
題目滑石粉
結(jié)構(gòu)(一句話概括每段大意) A 段：滑石粉的主要用途 B 段：滑石粉在口香糖市場中的用途 C 段： 滑石粉在口香糖制作中的原理 D 段： 滑石粉在其他食品中的應(yīng)用 E 段：滑石粉在食品中的應(yīng)用原理 F 段：滑石粉在水果保護(hù)中的應(yīng)用 G 段：滑石粉對水果的保護(hù)作用原理 H 段： 水果保護(hù)作用的市場拓展
試題分析
Question 27-32
題目類型：搭配題
解題思路：可以先去定位A,B,C三個(gè)選項(xiàng)中內(nèi)容所對應(yīng)的文段，然后從27-32中的題干去搜尋相符合的，而不是一個(gè)一個(gè)題目去找，這樣會(huì)比較節(jié)省時(shí)間
題號定位詞文中對應(yīng)點(diǎn)題目解析
27 Increase，size， E 段第三句話 根據(jù)文章大意將 C 選項(xiàng)個(gè)橄欖油提取的內(nèi)容定位到 E 段，第三句話，提到滑石粉的結(jié)構(gòu)有助于增加揮發(fā)油滴的體積，故可以判斷 27 題與 C 相連
28 Foam D 段倒數(shù)第四句話 根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞定位到 D 段，原文中提到攪拌過程中會(huì)產(chǎn)生很多泡沫，后面提出因此要加上滑石粉來減少泡沫。
29 Base，fill C 段倒數(shù)第 8 行 根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞定位到 C 段原文 "our talc is used as a filler in the gum base"。故是關(guān)于口香糖行業(yè)的內(nèi)容，選 B
30 Sun，fruit G 段第四句話 根據(jù) sunburn 這個(gè)詞可以定位到 G 段，第四句表明滑石粉可以起到保護(hù)水果免受日曬的作用，故選 A
31 Sticking C 段最后一句話 根據(jù) statement 中的 "stickness" 這個(gè)詞可以定位到 C 段結(jié)尾部分，原文說滑石粉可以防止口香糖在擠壓過程中與包裝粘在一起，所以跟 statement 表述的意思是一致的
32 boost，amount E 段第一句話 文章中提到可以 "boosts the amount of oil you can extract" 跟題干上表述一直
Question 33-38
題目類型：總結(jié)題
33 spanish olive oil D 段第二句話 根據(jù) spanish olive oil 定位到 D 段，文章提到橄欖油制造利用滑石粉已經(jīng)二十年。
34 High amount of 根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞定位到 D 段，原文中提到攪拌過程中會(huì)產(chǎn)生很多泡沫，后面提出因此要加上滑石粉來減少泡沫。所以填 "foam"
35 Factory D 段倒數(shù)第二句話 根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞定位到 D 段結(jié)尾，原文提到 "waste water"
36 Environment D 段最后一句話 根據(jù)關(guān)鍵詞定位到 D 段結(jié)尾，文中提到這種乳化油分解對環(huán)境的影響是 "harmful" 的
37 同上 問 harmful 的原因。原文有明確提出，是由于 "hard to biodegrade"，難以生物降解
38 Size，increase 文章說到在橄欖油提取過程中，揮發(fā)的油滴體積會(huì)增加，"increase the size of the oil droplets"
Question 39-40
題目類型：問答題
39 Stickiness，chewing gun 題目中問到在哪一個(gè)過程中滑石粉是用于來減少口香糖粘度的，這個(gè)跟上面第 31 題比較近似，可以先定位到 C 段結(jié)尾，可看到文章中明確給出是 "during the lamination and packing process"
40 Invelop，long-term potential H 段倒數(shù)第二句 S 首先根據(jù) "invelop" 定位到 H 段，題目問哪個(gè)組織的種植者是 invelop 打算長期去關(guān)注投資的，倒數(shù)第二句給出答案是 "grape grower"
參考答案：
Version 24109 主題 滑石粉
27 C 28 29 B
30 A 31 32
33 20 34 foam 35 waste water
36 harmful 37 biodegrade 38 droplets
39 Lamination and packing 40 Grape growers
雅思英語閱讀短文精選相關(guān)文章：
4.雅思英語|超經(jīng)典的100個(gè)雅思真題里的單詞詞組
5.英語美文小短文