首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
It is difficult to believe that, only eighty years ago, the idea of the domestic electric light was held in contempt by all the
It is difficult to believe that, only eighty years ago, the idea of the domestic electric light was held in contempt by all the
admin
2010-10-14
28
问题
It is difficult to believe that, only eighty years ago, the idea of the domestic electric light was held in contempt by all the "experts" -- with the exception of a 31-year-old American inventor named Tomas Alva Edison. When the price of gas stocks nosedived in 1878 because Edison announced that he was working on the incandescent(发白热光的)lamp, the British Parliament set up a committee to look into the matter. The distinguished witnesses reported, to the relief of the gas companies, that Edison’s ideas were "good enough for our transatlantic friends, but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men."
The scientific idea being ridiculed is not some wild dream like everlasting motion, but the humble little electric light bulb, which three generations of men have taken for granted, except when it burns out and leaves them in the dark. Yet although in this matter Edison saw far beyond his contemporaries, he too in later life was guilty of the same shortsightedness that caused trouble to Preece and Co. , for be opposed the introduction of alternating current.
The most famous, and perhaps the most instructive, failure in predicting the future has occurred in the fields of aero- and astronautics. At the beginning of the twentieth century, scientists were almost unanimous(无异议的)in declaring that heavier-than-air flight was impossible, and anyone who attempted to build aero planes was a fool. The great American astronomer, Simon Newcomb, wrote a celebrated essay which concluded:
"The demonstration that no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery and known forms of force can be united in a practical machine by which men shall fly long distances through the air, seems to the writer as complete as it is possible for the demonstration of any physical fact to be."
A few years after the first aero planes had started to fly, another astronomer, William H. Pickering, wrote: "The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic and carrying innumerable passengers in a way equivalent to our modern steamships... It seems safe to say that such ideas must be wholly visionary, and even if a machine could get across with one or two passengers, the expense would be too great for any but the capitalist who could own his own yacht(快艇)."
Of the many lessons to be drawn from these examples is this. Anything that is theoretically possible will be achieved in practice, no matter what the technical difficulties, if it is desired greatly enough.
From William H. Pickering’s quotation, we can conclude he thought the use of aero planes was ______.
选项
A、incorrect
B、vague
C、imaginative
D、impracticable
答案
D
解析
由题干William H.Picketing可定位到第五段:文中的visionary指“幻想的”,和impracticable的意思一致,所以选D)。incorrect“错误的”;vague“含糊的”;imaginative“富于想象力的”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/fUy7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Wefeel____________(是……的时候)thatthegovernmentdidsomethingtochecktheinflation.
Knowledgemaybeacquiredthroughconversation,watchingtelevisionortraveling,butthedeepestandmost【B1】______wayisthrou
Lastyear’seconomyshouldhavewontheOscarforthebestpicture.Growthingrossdomesticproductwas4.1percents;profits
Wefindthatbrightchildrenarerarelyheldbackbymixed-abilityteaching.Onthe【B1】______,boththeirknowledgeandexperien
A、Hethinksthestudentsarequitefair.B、Hethinksthenewteacherisgood.C、Reactionstothenewteacheraredifferent.D、Th
EducationiscompulsoryandfreeforeverychildintheUnitedStates.Mostchildrenstartschoolbytheageofsix.Theyattend
EducationiscompulsoryandfreeforeverychildintheUnitedStates.Mostchildrenstartschoolbytheageofsix.Theyattend
WhyMoneyDoesn’tBuyHappinessWhatdotheexpertssay?Allinall,itwasprobablyamistaketolookfortheanswerto
Traditionally,theBritishRoyalFamilydoesnotget【B1】______inpolitics.Itsroleisseenas【B2】______anditsmembersareexpe
随机试题
十八大以来的五年,是党和国家发展进程中极不平凡的五年。我们全面推进中国特色大国外交形成新的外交布局,为我国发展营造了良好外部条件。新的外交布局的内容是()。
链霉素在碱性溶液中可发生
沉细数脉的主病,常为()
根据我国法律的有关规定,涉外合同纠纷的双方当事人可以通过协议选择处理合同争议所适用的法律,但当事人选择的法律不能适用于以下哪一事项:
企业合并后,原企业债权债务的转移()。
在任何情况下,资产=负债+所有者权益。()
再接再励()
在寒冷的冬天,可以看到户外的人不断呼出“白气”,这属于下列哪一种现象?()
传递关系指的是对任意的元素A、B、C来说,若元素A与元素B有某关系并且元素B与元素C有该关系,则元素A与元素C也有该关系,反传递关系指,的是若元素A与元素B有某种关系并且元素B与元素C有该关系,但元素A与元素C。没有该关系。根据上述定义,下列关系
坚持党的基本路线,必须紧紧围绕经济建设这一中心。以经济建设为中心的确定,是我党在新时期实现的最根本的拨乱反正。在社会主义初级阶段必须坚持党的基本路线不动摇,是因为()
最新回复
(
0
)