# The antikythera mechanism - 科目：雅思听力真题（Part 4） - 考频：中频 - 最近考试：2024.8.3Asia/2021.8.28/2021.6.19/2019.12.14 - 题目数：10 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/8c09dace-0a61-45fe-a8d7-7e9d0e291c54（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 00:00:00,620 Now turn to section four on page seven. 00:00:05,060 Section four. 00:00:07,020 You will hear a university lecturer talking to students about the world's oldest mechanical computer, which is called the Antikythera mechanism. 00:00:18,520 First, you have some time to look at questions thirty-one to forty on page seven. 00:01:14,040 Now listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty. 00:01:21,680 Today, I'm going to talk about what is sometimes described as the world's oldest mechanical computer, the Antikythera mechanism. This device was able to calculate where the sun, moon, and planets would be in the sky on any date in the past or future. It has transformed our understanding both of the world of ancient Greece and of the history of science. 00:01:46,580 The mechanism was discovered in 1900 at the bottom of the sea off the Greek island of Antikythera, hence the name by which it's now known. It was in the cargo of a ship that sank about two thousand one hundred years ago. 00:02:02,780 Divers brought various items to the surface, and they were taken to a museum for examination. 00:02:09,740 One item was assumed to be a lump of rock. However, a few months later, the object started splitting, and a museum curator realized that it was actually something man-made, covered with shells and other objects from the sea. 00:02:26,640 Further investigation revealed that it was in fact some sort of mechanism, and they decided to call it the Antikythera mechanism. 00:02:35,600 Although it was badly damaged, it had survived in three main parts and around eighty smaller fragments. The Antikythera mechanism has been studied a great deal since its discovery, and particularly in recent years when highly sophisticated equipment has been available to analyze it. 00:02:55,640 One machine called a dome can surround a sample and take photographs with the light coming from slightly different angles. 00:03:04,680 This has made far more of the inscriptions on the mechanism legible, even though they're faded and worn. 00:03:12,040 Another state-of-the-art machine, the Blade Runner, has been used to take X-rays which show parts of the mechanism that would otherwise be invisible. Despite weighing nearly eight tons, it was transported from its place of manufacture to Greece, as the Antikythera mechanism is too fragile to be moved from there. The Blade Runner was originally designed to examine engines for cracks, and it can work at an accuracy of less than a tenth of a millimeter. 00:03:41,020 It seems the device was originally about thirty-three centimeters high, seventeen centimeters wide, and nine centimeters thick. It consisted of at least thirty metal gear wheels, that is, wheels which interlocked with each other. The surfaces of the gear wheels were inscribed with the names of the months, explanations of how the different parts of the device were to be operated, and other information. 00:04:08,200 These gear wheels in turn operated small movable models of the sun, moon, and the five planets that were known to the ancient Greeks. The mechanism is thought to have been mounted in a frame for which wood was used. 00:04:28,300 So what was the Antikythera mechanism used for? It clearly had an astronomical function. 00:04:35,480 The person using the device simply rotated a handle to operate the gear wheels. These engaged with each other to move the sun, moon, and planets around the Earth to show how they would appear on whatever particular date the operator was interested in, which could be years into the future. 00:04:53,940 Bearing in mind that the ancient Greeks believed the sun and planets all revolved around the Earth, their movements are shown with remarkable accuracy. Perhaps most astonishing of all, the mechanism also showed when an eclipse was going to take place. 00:05:09,940 This was very important in the ancient world, and being able to predict this accurately would have given the user great power. 00:05:19,160 The mechanism probably also helped in planning the timing of festivals, both agricultural and religious, by acting as a kind of calendar of events. 00:05:29,780 Surprisingly, to the best of our knowledge, no device equaled the complexity of the Antikythera mechanism for at least a thousand years afterwards. The ideas seem to have survived in some form, however, particularly in the Byzantine Empire of the Eastern Mediterranean. Around the thirteenth or fourteenth century, knowledge of the technology seems to have reached Western Europe, and a large number of clocks were made, providing astronomical information as well as showing the time of day. 00:06:01,960 It's hard to believe that nothing reached the sophistication of the Antikythera mechanism for a thousand years. Yet that might well be the case, and that has implications for our understanding of how scientific knowledge progresses. 00:06:19,820 That is the end of section four. You now have half a minute to check your answers. ## 题目与答案 ### 31. The Antikythera Mechanism The world`s oldest mechanical computer Background - discovered in the sea off the Greek Island - found in the 31_____ of a sunken ship The Antikythera Mechanism The world`s oldest mechanical computer Background - discovered in the sea off the Greek Island - found in the 31_____ of a sunken ship **答案**：cargo 原文定位：It was in the cargo of a ship that sank about two thousand one hundred years ago ### 32. - divers took the discovered items to the museum - An object thought to be a block of 32_____ was sort of mechanism - divers took the discovered items to the museum - An object thought to be a block of 32_____ was sort of mechanism **答案**：rock 原文定位：One item was assumed to be a lump of rock 同义替换：「block」↔「lump」；「thought」↔「assumed」 ### 33. The Dome - can take photographs with a 33_____ coming from different angles The Dome - can take photographs with a 33_____ coming from different angles **答案**：light 原文定位：One machine called a dome can surround a sample and take photographs with the light coming from slightly different angles ### 34. - has made the 34_____ on the mechanism clearer - has made the 34_____ on the mechanism clearer **答案**：inscriptions 原文定位：This has made far more of the inscriptions on the mechanism legible 同义替换：「clearer」↔「legible」 ### 35. The Blade Runner - was initially made to check engines for 35_____ The Blade Runner - was initially made to check engines for 35_____ **答案**：cracks 原文定位：The Blade Runner was originally designed to examine engines for cracks 同义替换：「initially made」↔「originally designed」；「check」↔「examine」 ### 36. - made up of at least 30 micro gear wheels - the mechanism was set in a 36_____ frame - made up of at least 30 micro gear wheels - the mechanism was set in a 36_____ frame **答案**：wood 原文定位：The mechanism is thought to have been mounted in a frame for which wood was used 同义替换：「set in」↔「mounted in」 ### 37. Applications - the device can operate a 37_____ to control the gear wheels Applications - the device can operate a 37_____ to control the gear wheels **答案**：handle 原文定位：The person using the device simply rotated a handle to operate the gear wheels 同义替换：「operate」↔「rotate」；「control」↔「operate」 ### 38. - an 38_____ can be predicted by the mechanism - an 38_____ can be predicted by the mechanism **答案**：eclipse 原文定位：the mechanism also showed when an eclipse was going to take place 同义替换：「can be predicted」↔「was going to take place」 ### 39. - helped the timing of agricultural and religious festivals - functioned as an events 39_____ - helped the timing of agricultural and religious festivals - functioned as an events 39_____ **答案**：calendar 原文定位：The mechanism probably also helped in planning the timing of festivals;by acting as a kind of calendar of events 同义替换：「functioned」↔「acting」 ### 40. 13th to 14th Century - technology have spread in western Europe - many 40_____ were made to provide astronomical information and tell the time 13th to 14th Century - technology have spread in western Europe - many 40_____ were made to provide astronomical information and tell the time **答案**：clocks 原文定位：Around the thirteenth or fourteenth century, knowledge of the technology seems to have reached Western Europe, and a large number of clocks were made, providing astronomical information as well as showing the time of day 同义替换：「many」↔「large number」；「and」↔「as well as」 --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。