Pulling-Strings-to-Build-Pyramids

READINGPASSAGE1Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1-13,whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.Nooneknowsexactlyhowthepyramidswerebuilt.MarcusChownreckonstheanswercouldbe'hangingintheair'.ThepyramidsofEgyptwerebuiltmorethanthreethousandyearsago,andnooneknowshow.Theconventionalpictureisthattensofthousandsofslavesdraggedstonesonsledges（第1题答案）.Butthereisnoevidencetobackthisup.NowaCaliforniansoftwareconsultantcalledMaureenClemmonshassuggestedthatkitesmighthavebeeninvolved.WhileperusingabookonthemonumentsofEgypt,shenoticedahieroglyphthatshowedarowofmenstandinginoddpostures（第2题答案）.Theywereholdingwhatlookedlikeropesthatled,viasomekindofmechanicalsystem,toagiantbirdinthesky.Shewonderedifperhapsthebirdwasactuallyagiantkite,andthemenwereusingittoliftaheavyobject.PullingStringstoBuildPyramidsIntrigued,ClemmonscontactedMortezaGharib,aeronauticsprofessorattheCaliforniaInstituteofTechnology.Hewasfascinatedbytheidea.'ComingfromIran,IhaveakeeninterestinMiddleEasternscience,'hesays.HetoowaspuzzledbythepicturethathadsparkedClemmons'sinterest.Theobjectintheskyapparentlyhadwingsfartooshortandwideforabird.‘Thepossibilitycertainlyexistedthatitwasakite,'hesays.AndsinceheneededasummerprojectforhisstudentEmilioGraff,investigatingthepossibilityofusingkitesasheavyliftersseemedlikeagoodidea.GharibandGraffsetthemselvesthetaskofraisinga4.5-metrestonecolumn圆柱fromhorizontal水平的tovertical,usingnosourceofenergyexceptthewind.（第4题答案）Theirinitiacalculationsandscale-modelwind-tunnelexperimentsconvincedthemtheywouldn'tneedastrongwindtoliftthe33.5-tonnecolumn.Evenamodestforce,ifsustained,overalongtime,woulddo.（第5题答案）Thekeywastouseapulleysystemthatwouldmagnifytheappliedforce.Sotheyriggedupatent-shapedscaffolddirectlyabovethetipofthehorizontalcolumn,withpulleyssuspendedfromthescaffold'sapex.Theideawasthatasoneendofthecolumnrose,thebasewouldrollacrossthegroundonatrolley.Earlierthisyear,theteamputClemmons'sunlikelytheorytothetest,usinga40-squaremetrerectangularnylonsail.Thekiteliftedthecolumncleanofftheground.'Wewereabsolutelystunned,'Gharibsays.'Theinstantthesailopenedintothewind,ahugeforcewasgeneratedandthecolumnwasraisedtotheverticalinamere40seconds.Thewindwasblowingatagentle16to20kilometresanhour,littlemorethanhalfwhattheythoughtwouldbeneeded.Whattheyhadfailedtoreckonwithwaswhathappenedwhenthekitewasopened.'Therewasahugeinitialforce—fivetimeslargerthanthesteadystateforce,'Gharibsays.Thisjerkmeantthatkitescouldlifthugeweights,Gharibrealised.Evena300-tonnecolumncouldhavebeenliftedtotheverticalwith40orsomenandfourorfivesails.（第7题答案）SoClemmonswasright:thepyramidbuilderscouldhaveusedkitestoliftmassivestonesintoplace.'Whethertheyactuallydidisanothermatter,'Gharibsays.Therearenopicturesshowingtheconstructionofthepyramids,sothereisnowaytotellwhatreallyhappened.'Theevidenceforusingkitestomovelargestonesisnobetterorworsethantheevidenceforthebruteforcemethod,'Gharibsays.Indeed,theexperimentshaveleftmanyspecialistsunconvinced.'Theevidenceforkite-liftingisnon-existent,'saysWillekeWendrich,anassociateprofessorofEgyptologyattheUniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles.Othersfeelthereismoreofacaseforthetheory.Harnessing利用thewindwouldnothavebeenaproblemforaccomplishedsailorsliketheEgyptians.Andtheyareknowntohaveusedwoodenpulleys,whichcouldhavebeenmadestrongenoughtobeartheweightofmassiveblocksofstone.Inaddition,thereissomephysicalevidencethattheancientEgyptianswereinterestedinflight.Awoodenartefact手工艺品foundonthesteppyramidatSaqqaralooksuncannily不寻常地likeamodernglider.Althoughitdatesfromseveralhundredyearsafterthebuildingofthepyramids,itssophisticationsuggeststhattheEgyptiansmighthavebeendevelopingideasofflightforalongtime.Andotherancientcivilisationscertainlyknewaboutkites;asearlyas1250BC,theChinesewereusingthemtodelivermessagesanddump丢弃flamingdebris碎片;残骸ontheirfoes敌人.（第8-13题答案）Theexperimentsmightevenhavepracticalusesnowadays.Thereareplentyofplacesaroundtheglobewherepeoplehavenoaccesstoheavymachinery,butdoknowhowtodealwithwind,sailingandbasicmechanicalprinciples.GharibhasalreadybeencontactedbyacivilengineerinNicaragua,whowantstoputupbuildingswithadoberoofs（粘土屋顶)supportedbyconcretearches（拱形结构）onasitethatheavyequipmentcan'treach.Hisideaistobuildthearcheshorizontally,thenliftthemintoplaceusingkites.'We'vegivenhimsomedesignhints,'saysGharib.'We'rejustwaitingforhimtoreportback.'Sowhethertheywereactuallyusedtobuildthepyramidsornot,itseemsthatkitesmaymakesensibleconstructiontoolsinthe21stcenturyAD.Questions1-7DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassageI?Inboxes1-7onyouranswersheet,writeTRUEifthestatementagreeswiththeinformationFALSEifthestatementcontradictstheinformationNOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationonthis1Itisgenerallybelievedthatlargenumbersofpeoplewereneededtobuildthepyramids.TRUE2ClemmonsfoundastrangehieroglyphonthewallofanEgyptianmonument.FALSE3Gharibhadpreviouslydoneexperimentsonbirdflight.NOTGIVEN4GharibandGrafftestedtheirtheorybeforeapplyingit.TRUE5Thesuccessoftheactualexperimentwasduetothehighspeedofthewind.FALSE6Theyfoundthat,asthekiteflewhigher,