交网教育 六级讲义（二）
graced(感恩祈祷) the altars(圣坛) of the Greek gods. In Olympia, there was an altar dedicated to Hera, goddess of birth and marriage. [3]At the start of the Olympic Games, the Greeks would ignite a cauldron(大锅炉) of flames upon Hera's altar. They lit the flame using a hollow disc or mirror called a skaphia, focused the sun's rays into a single point to light the flame. The flame would burn throughout the Games as a sign of purity, reason, and peace.
The Greeks stopped holding their Olympic Games after about a thousand years, and the
torch relays and lighting of the flame also stopped. [4]The Olympic Games did not reemerge until 1896, when the first modern Games were held in Athens. The torch relay took a bit longer to reemerge.
The Birth of the Modern Torch Relay
The flame was reintroduced to the Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. A cauldron was lit, but there was no torch relay.
The first Olympic torch relay was at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games. Carl Diem, a German history professor and Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the Games introduced the relay as a way of [5]reconnecting the modern Olympics with the Games' historical roots. The flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, just as it had been centuries before. Then it was carried to Berlin, Germany, for the start of the Olympics. The torch relay was not introduced to the Winter Olympics until the 1952 Games. It was lit that year not in Olympia, Greece, but in Norway, which was chosen because [6]it was the birthplace of skiing. But since the 1964 Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria, every Olympic Games—Winter and Summer—has begun with a torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, followed by a torch relay to the Olympic stadium. The Flame The torch must stay lit the entire length of its journey. It must survive wind, rain, sleet, snow, and a variety of climates (desert, mountain, ocean).
For fuel, early torches burned everything from gunpowder to olive oil. These substances weren't always the most efficient fuel sources, and they were sometimes dangerous. In the 1956 games, the final torch in the relay was lit by magnesium (镁) and aluminum.
The first liquid fuels were introduced at the 1972 Munich games. Torches since that time
have carried liquid fuels—they are [7]stored under pressure as a liquid, but burn as a gas to produce a flame. Liquid fuel is safe for the runner and can be stored in a lightweight box.
The Lighting of the Olympic Torch
The Olympic torch is lit several months before the start of the actual games. The flame
begins its journey at the site of the original Olympic Games—Olympia, Greece. It is lit, just as it was in ancient times, at the Temple of Hera.
An actress dressed as a ceremonial priestess (女祭司), in the robes of the ancient Greeks,
lights the torch via the same technique used in the original Games. She uses a parabolic mirror(反射镜) to focus light rays from the sun. The parabolic mirror has a curved shape. When it is held toward the sun, it focuses the rays to a single point. [8]The energy from the sun creates a great
11
交网教育 六级讲义（二）
deal of heat. The priestess holds a torch in the center of the parabolic mirror, and the heat ignites the fuel in the torch, sparking a flame. If the sun is not shining on the day of the lighting ceremony, the priestess can light the torch with a flame that was lit on a sunny day before the ceremony.
The flame is carried in a fire pot to an altar in the ancient Olympic stadium, where it is
used to light the first runner's torch. For the Winter Games, the relay actually begins at the monument to Pierre de Coubertin (the man who founded the modern Olympic games in 1896), which is located near the stadium.
Then, the relay begins.
The Torch Relay
The Olympic Torch Relay begins with the torch lighting in Olympia, Greece. From there, the journey to the host city varies from year to year. The Olympic Games Organizing Committee (OCOG) determines the route, as well as the theme, modes of transportation for the torch, and the stops that it will take along its way to the Opening Ceremony.
The torch is generally carried from one country to another on a plane. Once it arrives in a city, it usually spends one day being carried from torchbearer to torchbearer on foot. It may also be transported from place to place by car, boat, bicycle, motorcycle, dog sled, horse, or virtually any other type of conveyance.
During certain parts of the relay, the torch must be housed in a special container. For a trip across the Great Barrier Reef before the 2000 Olympic Games, a special torch was designed to burn underwater. [9]On airplanes, where open flames are not allowed, the flame is typically stored in an enclosed lamp, much like a Miner's lamp. At night, it is kept in a special cauldron until the relay begins once again the following day.
As in any relay race, each runner carries the torch for only one short part of its trip. As a runner completes a part, he lights the torch of the next person in the relay. It is considered a great privilege to be chosen as a torchbearer. Athletes, actors, musicians, sports figures, and politicians have all carried the flame. In 1996, boxing legend Muhammed Ali lit the Olympic cauldron to mark the start of the Games in Atlanta.
Almost anyone can carry a torch, provided that he is at least 14 years old and is able to
carry it for at least 400 meters (437 yards). Disabled people can be (and have been) torchbearers—they can carry the torch while riding in a wheelchair. The torchbearers are chosen by the Olympic sponsors and organizers, usually because they have made a significant contribution to their community and because they personify the theme of that particular Olympics. [10]The Olympic sponsors (for example, Coca-Cola) also get to choose several torchbearers from within their organizations.
When the competition ends about two weeks later, the flame is extinguished at the
Closing Ceremony, marking the end of the Games.
1. In ancient Greek, relay races were held in honor of Zeus for he had given fire to man.
12
交网教育 六级讲义（二）
2. Before ancient Olympic Games, every city state would offer some runners as ―heralds of peace‖ who would declare a sacred truce during the Games.
3. In Olympia, there was a constantly burning flame upon Hera‘s altar, where the Olympic torches were ignited.
4. After being stopped for long, Olympic Games were held again in 1896 without the torch relay race.
5. In 1936, the relay reemerged in the Olympic Games in order to relate the modern Olympics with __n.__.
6. In 1952 Winter Olympics, the torch was lit in Norway for its _n./v-ing_.
7. Since the 1972 Munich games, fuels for the torches have been stored and burned in the forms of _n. and n._ respectively.
8. The torch was put in the center of a parabolic mirror so that its fuel could be ignited by the heat caused by _n._.
9. During the torch relay, when the torch is carried onto airplanes, it is usually kept _地点_. 10. Apart from those who have contributed a lot and who can represent the theme of a certain Olympic, torchbearers might also be chosen from _范围_.
1. In ancient Greek, relay races were held in honor of Zeus for he had given fire to man. 【定位】第1个小标题History of the Torch部分第1段第3句: To celebrate the passing of fire from Prometheus to man, the Greeks would hold relay races.
【解析】根据原文，接力赛是为了庆祝Prometheus（从Zeus那里偷来并）把火带到了人间，而不是为了纪念Zeus，故答案为N。
2. Before ancient Olympic Games, every city state would offer some runners as ―heralds of peace‖ who would declare a sacred truce during the Games.
【定位】第1个小标题History of the Torch部分第2段第4句:At the start of the Games, runners called \使者) of peace\(休战)\
【解析】原文中只提到runners作为和平使者，但并没提及来自何处，故答案为NG。 3. In Olympia, there was a constantly burning flame upon Hera‘s altar, where the Olympic torches were ignited. 【定位】第1个小标题History of the Torch部分第3段第3-4句:In Olympia, there was an altar dedicated to Hera, goddess of birth and marriage. At the start of the Olympic Games, the Greeks would ignite a cauldron of flames upon Hera's altar.
【解析】每届奥运会前，希腊人才会在Hera圣坛前点燃火焰，这与本题中的a constantly burning flame不符，故答案为N。
4. After being stopped for long, Olympic Games were held again in 1896 without the torch relay race.
【定位】第1个小标题History of the Torch部分最后两句:The Olympic Games did not reemerge until 1896, when the first modern Games were held in Athens. The torch relay took a bit longer to reemerge.
【解析】第一届现代奥运会1896年举行，但是火把接力又过了一段时间才重新出现， 即1896年奥运会没有火把接力，故答案为Y。
5. In 1936, the relay reemerged in the Olympic Games in order to relate the modern Olympics with _n._. 【定位】第2个小标题The Birth of the Modern Torch Relay部分第2段第2句:Carl Diem?
13
交网教育 六级讲义（二）
introduced the relay as a way of reconnecting the modern Olympics with the Games' historical roots.
【解析】空白处需填入名词性成分。原文中的reconnecting短语与本题中的relate短语表意相近，故答案为the Games' historical roots。
6. In 1952 Winter Olympics, the torch was lit in Norway for its _n./v-ing_. 【定位】第2个小标题The Birth of the Modern Torch Relay部分第3段第2句： It was lit that year not in Olympia, Greece, but in Norway, which was chosen because it was the birthplace of skiing.
【解析】空白处需填入名词性成分。本题中的for和原文中的because表意相同，故答案为because后的内容，但因本题题干中for后为its而不是it’s，故需把将原文中的was变为being，答案为being the birthplace of skiing。
7. Since the 1972 Munich games, fuels for the torches have been stored and burned in the forms of __n. and n.__ respectively. 【定位】第3个小标题The Flame部分最后1段第2句：Torches since that time have carried liquid fuels—they are stored under pressure as a liquid, but burn as a gas to produce a flame. 【解析】空白处需填入名词性成分。本题将store与burn两种情况进行了综合，根据空白处前面的in the forms of可知答案为liquid and gas。
8. The torch was put in the center of a parabolic mirror so that its fuel could be ignited by the heat caused by _n._. 【定位】第4个小标题The Lighting of the Olympic Torch部分第2段最后两句：The energy from the sun creates a great deal of heat. The priestess holds a torch in the center of the parabolic mirror, and the heat ignites the fuel in the torch, sparking a flame. 。
【解析】空白处需填入名词性成分。原文中creates与本题中caused by均表示施动－受动的逻辑关系，故答案为the energy from the sun。
9. During the torch relay, when the torch is carried onto airplanes, it is usually kept _地点_. 【定位】第5个小标题The Torch Relay部分第3段第3句：On airplanes, where open flames are not allowed, the flame is typically stored in an enclosed lamp 。
【解析】空白处需填入表语/状语成分，可以是形容词短语、介词短语等。原文中的stored与本题中的kept同义，故答案为in an enclosed lamp。
10. Apart from those who have contributed a lot and who can represent the theme of a certain Olympic, torchbearers might also be chosen from __范围__.
【定位】全文倒数第2段最后1句：The Olympic sponsors (for example, Coca-Cola) also get to choose several torchbearers from within their organizations.
【解析】空白处需填入表示范畴的名词性短语。因为本题题干中未提到their所指代的对象，故必须将其更换为the sponsors’，答案为(within) the sponsors’ organizations。
Test 4
Air Force One
Air Force One is a prominent symbol of the United States in general and the office of
the presidency in particular. Whenever the president travels overseas or across the country, he takes his high-tech jumbo jet with him. On September 11th, the president's plane showed that it was much more than an executive jet—it became a mobile bunker(碉堡) when all ground positions seemed vulnerable to attack.
14
交网教育 六级讲义（二）
What is Air Force One? Most people have a general idea that the president's plane is a flying office with all sorts of high-tech equipment. But there are two essential facts about Air Force One that the general public isn't aware of. ● \Force plane carrying the president of the United States. [1]As soon as the president steps aboard an Air Force plane, that plane is referred to as Air Force One by the crew and all air traffic controllers, in order to avoid confusion with any other planes in the area. If the president rides on an Army aircraft, that aircraft is Army One, and whenever he boards his specialized helicopter, that craft is Marine One. ● Today, there are actually two planes that regularly fly under this designation—nearly identical Boeing 747-200B jets. The planes themselves are designated VC-25A, with tail numbers 28000 and 29000. The two planes have [2]the same general structure as a normal Boeing 747-200B, and similar capabilities. They are almost as tall as a six-story building, and they're as long as a city block. Each has four General Electric CF6-80C2B1 jet engines, which provide 56,700 pounds of thrust a piece. The top speed is between 630 and 700 miles per hour and the ceiling maximum (how high the plane can fly) is 45,100 feet. Each plane carries 53,611 gallons of fuel and weighs 833,000 pounds fully loaded for a long-range mission. [3]With a full tank, the plane can fly half way around the world. Like a normal 747, these planes have three levels. But the inside, the plane doesn't resemble commercial 747s in the slightest. Inside Air Force One has 4,000 square feet of interior floor space. Much of it looks more like a hotel or executive office than a jetliner, except for the seatbelts on all the chairs. The lowest level of the plane mostly serves as cargo space (货舱). Most of the passenger room is on the middle level, and the upper level is largely dedicated to communications equipment. The president has onboard living quarters, with his own bedroom, bathroom, workout room and office space. Most of the furniture on the plane was hand-crafted by master carpenters. The staff meets in a large conference room, which doubles as the president's dining room. Senior staff members have their own office area, and the rest of the president's staff also has space to work and relax. [4]There is a separate area for reporters traveling with the president, and there is plenty of room for the flight crew to do their work. All in all, Air Force One can comfortably carry 70 passengers and 26 crew members. Floor Plan
[5]Air Force One has a certain mythic, mysterious quality, largely because it is completely off limits to most of us. Even visiting politicians and journalists aren't allowed in some parts of the plane, and the Air Force is careful to conceal specific details of the craft's layout. A number of official and unofficial sources have published general descriptions of what's inside the plane, but nobody (as far as we know) has said how these pieces fit together. Like an ordinary Boeing 747, Air Force One has three decks. The lowest deck holds luggage, food and classified equipment. The middle deck holds the bulk of the passengers. The
15