首页
登录
职称英语
It is difficult to believe that, only eighty years ago, the idea of the dome
It is difficult to believe that, only eighty years ago, the idea of the dome
游客
2023-07-21
61
管理
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. [br] 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://tihaiku.com/zcyy/2857328.html
相关试题推荐
Mostpeopledon’tenjoyfacingthedifficultsituationsthatsometimesoccur
Mostpeopledon’tenjoyfacingthedifficultsituationsthatsometimesoccur
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
Somepeoplebelievethatyouhavetobeaspecialkindofpersontosellap
随机试题
ReadthearticlebelowaboutCrashingCarstoTextforHelp.Choosethecorrect
[originaltext]M:Hello,Mary.It’sJohn.I’vegotsomethingtotellyouaboutt
Ifthere’sonefoodthat’sdevelopedanundeservedreputationovertheyears
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteanessaycommentingonthe
Theworldisgoingthroughthebiggestwaveofmergersandacquisitions(收购)
奥美拉唑治疗消化性溃疡的作用机制是()A. B.阻断促胃液素受体而减少胃酸
【答辩题目解析】 1.物理教学中,学生了解物理学史有什么作用? 【参考答案】 物理学史是研究物理学发展历史的科学,它不仅真实记载描述了物
下列抽样方法中,属于随机抽样方法的有( )。A.任意抽样 B.整群抽样 C
下列预算编制方法中,可能导致无效费用开支项目无法得到有效控制的是()。A.增量预
医师未取得处方权开具药品处方的,由县级以上卫生行政部门责令暂停执业活动的时间为A
最新回复
(
0
)