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
30
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.
The word "nosedived"( Line 3, Para. 1 )most probably means "______"
选项
A、dropped
B、rose up
C、steadied
D、changed
答案
A
解析
可以根据上下文的意思来推断该词的意思。由because Edison announced that he was working on the incandescent lamp,可知是因为爱迪生发明了白炽灯才使煤气股票的价格发生变化,而其后又说英国议会派人调查此事,可知煤气股票的价格是下降了,所以选A)。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/rUy7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
WeddingCustomsaroundtheWorldWeddingCeremoniesAweddingiscelebratedwithsomekindofceremonyalmosteverywhere
LudwigvanBeethovenwasoneofthe【B1】______composerswhoeverlived.Hethoughtpeoplethatcouldbe【B2】______whentheywrotem
ShouldAKidBeGuidedtoTellaWhiteLie?It’smyfamily’straditiontoexchangegirlsonChristmasEve.Beforewedidso,
Inmanycountries,authorityisseldomquestioned,eitherbecauseitishighlyrespected,orbecauseitisfeared.Sometimes,to
A、Fathersalsogiveawashtotheirchildren.B、Womenandmenequallysharehousework.C、Wivesarenolongersubmissiveandobed
A、Itispleasant.B、Itisconstant.C、Itisalwayswindy.D、Itischangeable.D女士问男士:“你们这儿一直是这么冷这么大风吗?”男士说:“我们这儿有个说法——如果你不喜欢这样的天
Manystudentsfindtheexperienceofattendinguniversitylecturestobeaconfusingandfrustratingexperience.Thelecturersp
A、Underapieceofstone.B、Underthewindow.C、Inthekitchen.D、Neartheliving-room.A本题考查考生对细节的理解。“我”将钥匙放在门边的一块石头下,而朋友却从一个开着
随机试题
她说在伦敦她干活的家里,她觉得就像个奴隶。
证券公司应当在代销合同签署后()个工作日内,向证券公司住所地证监会派出机构报备金融产品说明书、宣传推介材料和拟向客户提供的其他l文件、资料。
授信集中是指商业银行资本金、总资产或总体风险水平过于集中在某一类组合中,该类组合有()。
银行对合作单位准人审查的内容不包括()
“三权分立”体现文艺复兴时期的人文主义精神。
下列关于抵押合同形式的表述,正确的是()。
Thepublisher’stechniquesforbookpromotionhavebecomeincreasinglysophisticatedinalladvancedcountries.Thetypicaltrav
Abig【C1】______ofthecriticismofcomputergameshas【C2】______thecontentofthegamesbeingplayed.Whenthenarrativesofthe
A.supplementedB.directC.expectationD.latterE.predominantlyF.outbreakG.laterH.sharplyI.abundanceJ.again
Whatdiscoveryindicatesthatthebehaviorsofhumanbeingsdecoratingthemselvesstartedearlierthanwaspreviouslythought?
最新回复
(
0
)