P1 Solving an Arctic Mystery 北极科考船

P2 蜂王(英文标题待补充)

P3 Nature works for Nature Works™  PLA新型塑料

 

朗阁讲师吴苏哲点评

 

1. 本次考试整体难度较难，再次荣登今日微博热搜榜。考生普遍认为P1和P2难，P3较为简单。其实，P1这篇旧题难度并不高，但它涉及到了大量专有名词，拖垮了部分同学的阅读速度。在考场上，考生应明确自己的目标——是把题目做对，而不是把文章逐字逐句地看懂。判断+选择的顺序题组合逐题定位找答案并不难，考生只需要关注和解题有关内容的同义替换即可，专有名词完全可以跳过，无需强行理解。

2. 整体分析：涉及历史（P1）生物（P2）和科学（P3）

3. 主要题型：本场考试考察了2篇旧题（P1，P3），1篇新题（P2）。P1依然是经典的判断（7）+填空（6）组合，这样的题型组合在今年的上半年考试的P1中出现的概率接近70%。P3则是配对（4）+填空（4）+选择（6）的“一乱两顺”组合，这样的题型组合在今年的上半年考试的P3中出现的概率约为30%。

 

P1 Solving an Arctic Mystery 北极科考船（2014.10.25旧题）

文章主旨：对北极科考船失踪事件的调查。

包含判断7，填空6

参考答案：

判断1-4：

1. TRUE

2. NOT GIVEN

3. FALSE

4. FALSE

5. NOT GIVEN

6. FALSE

7.TRUE

 

填空8-13：

8. geology

9. sonar

10. manufactured

11.water

12.engines

13.stories

 

参考原文：

TORONTO (AP) - One of two British explorer ships that disappeared in the Arctic more 160 years ago has been found, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday. The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were last seen in the late 1840s. Canada announced in 2008 that it would search for the ships led by British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin.

Harper, speaking in Ottawa, said it remains unclear which ship has been found, but images show there's enough information to confirm it's one of the pair.

 

Franklin and 128 hand-picked officers and men vanished on an expedition begun in 1845 to find the fabled Northwest Passage. Franklin's disappearance prompted one of history's largest and longest rescue searches, from 1848 to 1859, which resulted in the passage's discovery.

 

The route runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic archipelago. European explorers sought the passage as a shorter route to Asia, but found it rendered inhospitable by ice and weather.

 "This is truly a historic moment for Canada," said Harper, who was beaming, uncharacteristically. "This has been a great Canadian story and mystery and the subject of scientists, historians, writers and singers so I think we really have an important day in mapping the history of our country."

 

Harper's government began searching for Franklin's ships as it looked to assert Canada's sovereignty over the Northwest Passage, where melting Arctic ice has unlocked the very shipping route Franklin was after.

 

The original search for the ships helped open up parts of the Canadian Arctic for discovery back in the 1850s. Harper said the ship was found Sunday using a remotely operated underwater vehicle. The discovery comes shortly after a team of archeologists found a tiny fragment from the Franklin expedition. Searchers discovered an iron fitting that once helped support a boat from one of the doomed expedition's ships in the King William Island search area.

Franklin's vessels are among the most sought-after prizes in marine archaeology. Harper said the discovery would shed light on what happened to Franklin's crew.

Tantalizing traces have been found over the years, including the bodies of three crewmen discovered in the 1980s.

The bodies of two English seamen - John Hartnell, 25, and Royal Marine William Braine, 33 - were exhumed in 1986. An expedition uncovered the perfectly preserved remains of a petty officer, John Torrington, 20, in an ice-filled coffin in 1984.

Experts believe the ships were lost in 1848 after they became locked in the ice near King William Island and that the crews abandoned them in a hopeless bid to reach safety.

The search for an Arctic passage to Asia frustrated explorers for centuries, beginning with John Cabot's voyage in 1497. Eventually it became clear that a passage did exist, but was too far north for practical use. Cabot, the Italian-British explorer, died in 1498 while trying to find it and the shortcut eluded other famous explorers including Henry Hudson and Francis Drake. No sea crossing was successful until Roald Amundsen of Norway completed his trip from 1903-1906.

 

P2 蜂王 (英文标题待补充)

文章主旨: 

待补充

参考答案:

待补充

参考原文：

待补充

 

P3 Nature works for Nature Works™  PLA新型塑料（2017.10.14旧题）

文章主旨:

对一种新型塑料的特性的介绍

参考答案:

判断27-30：

27. B

28. C

29. F

30. A

填空（流程图）31-34：

31. starch

32. fermentation

33. condensation

34. polymer

单选35-38：

35. B

36. C

37. A

38. D

单选39-40：

39. A

40. C

参考原文：

A

A dozen years ago, scientists at Cargill got the idea of converting lactic acid made from corn into plastic while examining possible new uses for materials produced from corn wet milling processes. In the past, several efforts had been made to develop plastics from lactic acid, but with limited success. Achieving this technological breakthrough didn’t come easily, but in time the efforts did succeed. A fermentation and distillation process using com was designed to create a polymer suitable for a broad variety of applications.

 

B

As an agricultural based firm, Cargill had taken this product as far as it could by 1997. The company needed a partner with access to plastics markets and polymerization capabilities, and began discussions with The Dow Chemical Company. The next step was the formation of the joint venture that created Cargill Dow LLC. Cargill Dow’s product is the world’s first commercially available plastic made from annually renewable resources such as com:Nature Works™ PLA is a family of packaging polymers (carbon-based molecules) made from non-petroleum based resources.Ingeo is a family of polymers for fibers made in a similar manner.

 

C

By applying their unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars, Cargill Dow has created a more environmentally friendly material that reaches the consumer in clothes, cups, packaging and other products. While Cargill Dow is a stand-alone business, it continues to leverage the agricultural processing, manufacturing and polymer expertise of the two parent companies in order to bring the best possible products to market.

 

D

The basic raw materials for PLA are carbon dioxide and water. Growing plants, like com take these building blocks from the atmosphere and the soil. They are combined in the plant to make carbohydrates (sucrose and starch) through a process driven by photosynthesis. The process for making Nature Works PLA begins when a renewable resource such as corn is milled, separating starch from the raw material. Unrefined dextrose, in turn, is processed from the starch.

 

E

Cargill Dow turns the unrefined dextrose into lactic acid using a fermentation process similar to that used by beer and wine producers. This is the same lactic acid that is used as a food additive and is found in muscle tissue in the human body. Through a special condensation process, a lactide is formed. This lactide is purified through vacuum distillation and becomes a polymer (the base for NatureWorks PLA) that is ready for use through a solvent-free melt process. Development of this new technology allows the company to “harvest” the carbon that living plants remove from the air through photosynthesis. Carbon is stored in plant starches, which can be broken down into natural plant sugars. The carbon and other elements in these natural sugars are then used to make NatureWorks PLA.

 

F

Nature Works PLA fits all disposal systems and is fully compostable in commercial composting facilities. With the proper infrastructure, products made from this polymer can be recycled back to a monomer and re-used as a polymer. Thus, at the end of its life cycle, a product made from Nature Works PLA can be broken down into its simplest parts so that no sign of it remains.

 

G

PLA is now actively competing with traditional materials in packaging and fiber applications throughout the world; based on the technology’s success and promise, Cargill Dow is quickly becoming a premier player in the polymers market. This new polymer now competes head-on with petroleum-based materials like polyester. A wide range of products that vary in molecular weight and crystallinity can be produced, and the blend of physical properties of PLA makes it suited for a broad range of fiber and packaging applications. Fiber and non-woven applications include clothing, fiberfill, blankets and wipes. Packaging applications include packaging films and food and beverage containers.

 

H

As Nature Works PLA polymers are more oil- and grease-resistant and provide a better flavor and aroma barrier than existing petroleum-based polymers, grocery retailers are increasingly using this packaging for their fresh foods. As companies begin to explore this family of polymers, more potential applications are being identified. For example, PLA possess two properties that are particularly useful for drape fabrics and window furnishings. Their resistance to ultraviolet light is particularly appealing as this reduces the amount of fading in such fabrics, and their refractive index is low, which means fabrics constructed from these polymers can be made with deep colors without requiring large amounts of dye. In addition, sportswear makers have been drawn to the product as it has an inherent ability to take moisture away from the skin and when blended with cotton and wool, the result is garments that are lighter and better at absorbing moisture.

 

I

 

PLA combines inexpensive large-scale fermentation with chemical processing to produce a value-added polymer product that improves the environment as well. The source material for PLA is a natural sugar found in plants such as com and using such renewable feedstock presents several environmental benefits. As an alternative to traditional petroleum-based polymers, the production of PLA uses 20%-50% less fossil fuel and releases a lower amount of greenhouse gasses than comparable petroleumbased plastic; carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is removed when the feedstock is grown and is returned to the earth when the polymer is degraded. Because the company is using raw materials that can be regenerated year after year, it is both cost competitive and environmentally responsible.

 

考试预测

 

1. 本场考试较难，文章选材涉及历史、生物和科学类题材，考生可在备考时关注相应高频主题词。

2. 此次考试阅读题由两篇旧题和一篇新题组成，前两篇都是旧题。考生在刷剑桥雅思的同时，也可以关注近几年的机经。

3. 下场考试的话题可能有关医学类和社会类话题。

4.重点浏览14-16年机经。

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