＊板主代為張貼戴爾美語練功坊-雅思閱讀測驗試題(6/20)資料,如下所示:
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戴爾美語練功坊 雅思閱讀測驗試題(6/20)
The Development of Submarines
The Development of Submarines
A Efforts to build underwater boats began in Europe over 500
years ago. Although the technology was not advanced enough to
create a successful submarine, several attempts were made with
varying degrees of success. In 1578, English scientist William Bourne
wrote of the possible use of ballast tanks (hollow tanks that can be
filled with seawater) to enable a submersible boat to descend and rise
to the surface, though he never built one himself. In 1620, Cornelis
Drebbel, a Dutch inventor, created several prototype submersibles
resembling two wooden rowboats, one atop the other and bound
with leather for a watertight skin. These were propelled by oars that
emerged from the hull through watertight openings. Drebbel tested
his crafts several times below the Thames River in London, England.
Historians consider Drebbel's tests the first practical use of a
maneuverable submarine.
B For the next two centuries, scientists and inventors in America,
England, France, Germany and Italy attempted to create a true
submersible warship with little success. In 1776, American inventor
David Bushnell designed the Turtle for use against the British ships
that were blockading New York. The Turtle was an egg-shaped craft,
slightly larger than an adult man, constructed of wood and designed
to briefly submerge under an anchored enemy ship. Its one-man
crew could propel the craft by vigorously cranking a hand-turned
propeller. The boat's weapon was an explosive charge that could
be screwed into the underside of the target ship's wooden hull.
However, the one and only attempt to use Bushnell's craft failed
when its pilot discovered that the British ships had copper-plated hulls.
C In 1800, American inventor Robert Fulton built a 6.4-meter
submarine named the Nautilus, which was similar in shape to the
modern submarine. Fulton introduced two important innovations:
rudders for vertical and horizontal control and compressed air as an
underwater supply of oxygen. When submerged, the Nautilus was
powered by a hand-operated, four-blade propeller. On the surface,
the boat was propelled by means of sails attached to a folding mast.
D During the latter half of the 19th century, many attempts
were made to develop an adequate means of submarine propulsion.
Inventors experimented with compressed air, steam, and electricity as
power sources. In 1898, American inventor John Philip Holland used
a dual-propulsion system to develop the first practical submarine with
an efficient source of power. His submarine was equipped with
gasoline engine for surface cruising and an electric motor for
underwater power. In 1900, the U.S. government purchased the
16.2-meter submarine and named it the USS Holland.
E At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, submarine technology
had evolved to the point that the United States, the United Kingdom,
Germany and Russia had all developed diesel-powered submarines
that could operate on electrical batteries underwater. The German
U-boat was the most advanced. With an average of only 30
submarines at sea at any one time, the Germany U-boat service put a
stranglehold on wartime shipping and merchant supply lines, and
nearly brought the United Kingdom to its knees in four years of conflict.
F During World War II, Germany continued to develop superior
U-boats. The Germans invented the snorkel, a retractable tube that
could be extended above the surface of the water to capture air and
to release exhaust while the submarine continues to operate unseen
18 meters below the surface. They also created streamlined hull
designs and larger electric batteries to enable their submarines to
travel at much higher speeds and for longer distances. After
Germany surrendered in 1945, both the U.S. and Soviet navies
benefited from Germany's advanced submarine technology.
Postwar diesel-electric submarines made the most of these
innovations and underwater maneuverability and speed increased.
G The nuclear age began in the 1950's and it led to the
development of nuclear reactor power in submarines to increase
range and capability. The first nuclear-powered submarine, the
USS Nautilus, was developed by the Americans and launched in 1954.
In a trial run conducted in 1955, the Nautilus sailed totally submerged
for an incredible distance of 2170 km in 84 hours. Its underwater
cruising speed was more than 20 knots, and since the sub was
nuclear-powered, it no longer needed to periodically surface for air
or for refueling.
H During the 1990's, the U.S. Navy began allowing some of its
submarines to be used for scientific missions. In 1995, for example,
the U.S. Navy allowed civilian scientists to conduct missions below
the polar ice caps aboard Sturgeon-class attack submarines.
The agreement provided for one mission a year for five years.
Access to this underwater region had been restricted for years due to
the harshness of the environment, the distance from support stations,
and the danger of other military submarines lurking in the area.
The submarines used for these scientific expeditions were specially
suited for Arctic missions, and provided a rare opportunity for
scientists to explore and map the Arctic Ocean floor, measure ice
thickness, and collect water samples. These missions set the stage
for cooperation between the Navy and the scientific community on
future expeditions.
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the
reading passage?
In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet write
True