Question

【题目】You can’t make a call or send a text on your mobile phone in the US town of Green Bank, West Virginia. Wireless Internet is outlawed, as is Bluetooth. As you approach the tiny town on a two-lane road that snakes through the mountains, your mobile phone signal drops out, and your radio stops working. The rusted pay phone on the north side of town is the only way for a visitor to reach the rest of the world. It’s a pre-modern place by design, lacking of the latest technologies that define life today.

The reason for the town’s empty airwaves is apparent the moment you arrive. It’s the Robert C. Byrd telescope, also known as the GBT, a shiny white, 147-metre-tall satellite dish. It’s the largest of its kind in the world and one of nine in Green Bank, all of them government owned and operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

You don’t look through these kinds of telescopes. They’re radio telescopes, so instead of looking for distant stars, they listen for them. There’s a long line of astronomers all over the world who want to use the telescope which is so sensitive that it could hear a single snowflake hitting the ground 1,000 miles away.

Such a sensitive listening tool needs total technological silence to operate, so in 1958 the US government created a National Radio Quiet Zone, a 33,000 km2 area covering Green Bank where, to this day, electronic and radio signals are forbidden every hour of every day.

People who live within a 15km of the Green Bank telescope are allowed to use landline telephones, wired Internet and cable televisions, but microwave ovens, wireless Internet and radios are forbidden. You can have a mobile phone, but you won’t get a signal.

Because of how much its way of life varies from the rest of America, Green Bank seems to be a somewhat isolated (隔绝), even alien place. For locals, the technology ban is annoying. For others who come to Green Bank for a little rest and relaxation, the town has become a refuge.

【1】What do we know about the town of Green Bank from Paragraph 1?

A. It’s located at the base of a large mountain.

B. It is geographically and technologically isolated.

C. Its telecommunications are affected by its geography.

D. Many people live in the town and its surrounding areas.

【2】How does the GBT work?

A. It traps light waves in its huge dish.

B. It stops all electronic and radio signals.

C. It receives pictures from space satellites.

D. It listens for and receives noises from space.

【3】What equipment are locals of the Green Bank allowed to use?

A. Cable TV, wired Internet and radio.

B. Landline phones, wired Internet and cable TV.

C. Public phones, wireless Internet and mobile phones.

D. Landline phones, microwave ovens and cable internet.

【4】What does the underlined word “refuge” in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A. A place of escape. B. A source of confusion.

C. An area of interest. D. A sign of danger.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】B

【4】A

【解析】这是一篇说明文。讲述了人们不能在美国西弗吉尼亚的绿色银行所在的小镇打手机或者发短信，在这里无线联网是非法的。

【1】细节理解题。根据第一段“As you approach the tiny town on a two-lane road that snakes through the mountains, your mobile phone signal drops out, and your radio stops working”（当你在一条双车道公路上接近这个小镇时，你的手机信号会弱下来，你的收音机就会停止工作）可知，它在地理上和技术上都是孤立的。故选B。

【2】细节理解题。根据第三段“They’re radio telescopes, so instead of looking for distant stars, they listen for them. There’s a long line of astronomers all over the world who want to use the telescope which is so sensitive that it could hear a single snowflake hitting the ground 1,000 miles away”可知，它监听并接收来自太空的噪音。故选D。

【3】细节理解题。根据第四段“People who live within a 15km of the Green Bank telescope are allowed to use landline telephones, wired Internet and cable televisions, but microwave ovens, wireless Internet and radios are forbidden”可知，绿色银行允许使用固定电话，有线互联网和有线电视。故选B。

【4】词义猜测题。根据最后一段“For locals, the technology ban is annoying. For others who come to Green Bank for a little rest and relaxation, the town has become a refuge.”（对当地人来说，这项技术禁令令人生厌。对于那些来绿色银行休息和放松的人来说，这个小镇已经变成了避难所），故选A。