2019年雅思阅读模拟练习题1

2019年雅思阅读模拟练习题1 This reading test contains 10 questions. You should spend about 20 minuteson this task. To make it more authentic, download the test and do it with pen andpaper. Read the passage below and answer 10 questions. Early Clocks Humans have been trying, in various ways, to keep track of the passing oftime for around 6000 years. This means, of course, that for the very longstretch of human history before this time, people didnt have ways to divide theday other than the rising and the setting of the sun. It is thought that theancient Sumerians may have been the first true time-keepers, but this is notclear as archaeological evidence is not sufficient. There is evidence, however,that the ancient Egyptians incorporated time-keeping as an aspect of their dailylife over five thousand years ago. The earliest type of clock, and the one which was used in ancient Egypt,was the sundial. As the name suggests, the sundial uses the sun to show thetime. There were many different types of such clocks in use at that time, but itis one type, the obelisk, which has become most closely linked with ancientEgypt. An obelisk is a tall, narrow stone tower, built outside, which would casta shadow on the ground in different places during different times of the day. Astime progressed, obelisks became more complex, and markings around the base ofthe tower could indicate further time divisions. Two centuries after obelisks were first used the Egyptians had expandedupon the idea and created more complex sundials. Sundials as we think of themtoday are flat stone objects with a long, narrow bar, called a gnomon, attachedat the centre of the face, or surface of the stone. The sun would shine downon the gnomon and its shadow would fall on the face, indicating the time ofday. Water clocks were among the first clocks which didnt depend on the sun orstars to keep time. The oldest one known dates back to 1500 BC, and water clocksor clepsydras became popular in amongst the Greeks and Arabs a thousand yearslater. The Clepsydra (Greek for “water thief”) consisted of a reservoir forholding water, and a mechanism by which water would and steadily flow or dripinto the reservoir. The rising level of the water would indicate how much timehad passed since the dripping began. The earliest water clocks were not very accurate, but as with the sundial,as time passed, water clocks became more mechanised and complex and they wereincreasingly outfitted with gadgets some rang bells or gongs, some showed themovement of the planets, and some opened little windows to display statues orfigures. Just before the turn of the century, the Greeks built what is calledthe “tower of winds”, a complex water clock showing time, seasons, winddirection, and much more. Around this time, water clock making took root inChina, and after a thousand years of development, another famous clock, theeponymous Su Sung clock tower, was built. This tower clock was over 30 feet talland contained a variety of mechanisms not only for telling time accurately, butfor following the position of the stars and planets. The history of the development of clocks continued in Europe, and startinga few hundred years after the building of the Su Sung, clocks were developedthat kept time due to other natural phenomenon, mostly related to natural motion the pulling of gravity, the swinging of pendulums, and finally, the releasedtension of coiled springs, a mechanism which, for the first time, allowedportable watches to become a reality. Questions Label the diagram below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Classify the following features according to the type of clock： A) Sundials B) Water Clocks C) Other kinds of clocks Write the correct letter, A, B or C in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet. 7) Developed in Europe after the Su Sung 8) Served purpose