Reinventing the Table
An earth scientist has rejigged the periodic table1 to make chemistry simpler to teach to students. 1 But Bruce Railsback from the University of Georgia3 says he is the first to create a table that breaks with tradition and shows the ions of each element rather than just the elements themselves.
“I got tired of breaking my arms trying to explain the periodic table to earth students,”he says, criss-crossing his hands in the air and pointing to different bits of a traditional table. 2 But he has added contour lines to charge density, helping to explain which ions react with which.
“Geochemists just want an intuitive sense of what’s going on with the elements,” says Albert Galy from the University of Cambridge4. 3 4 He explains that sulphur, for example, shows up in three different spots — one for sulphide, which is found in minerals, one for sulphite, and one for sulphate, which is found in sea salt, for instance. He has also included symbols to show which ions arc nutrients, and which are common in soil or water. 5
詞匯: rejig /r i:dVi^/ n.調(diào)整，重新安排 ion /5aiEn/ n.離子 criss-cross /`krIsEkrCs/ v.交叉 proton /5prEutCn/ n.質(zhì)子 geochemist n.地球化學(xué)家 sulphur /5sQlfE/ n.硫磺 sulphide /5sQlfaid/ n.硫化物 sulphite /5sQlfait/ n.亞硫酸鹽 sulphate /5sQlfeit/ n.硫酸鹽 nutrient /5nju:triEnt/ n.滋養(yǎng)物注釋：
1. the periodic table：元素周期表
2. Mendeleev：門捷列夫
3. the University of Georgia：喬治亞大學(xué)
4. the University of Cambridge：劍橋大學(xué)練習(xí)：
A There have been many attempts to redesign the periodic table since Dmitri Mendeleev drew it up in 1871. B Railsback has still ordered the elements according to the number of protons they have. C “I imagine this would be good for undergraduates.” D Railsback has listed some elements more than once. E And the size of element’s symbol reflects how much of it is found in the Earth’s crust. F The traditional periodic table was well drawn.
答案與題解：
1. A 文章是講重新發(fā)明周期表。第一段講了一位地學(xué)科學(xué)家已經(jīng)調(diào)整元素周期表，使得教學(xué)生化學(xué)時(shí)更容易些。接著是第二段。第一句是空白，需要填入。接下來的一句話是這么說的：喬治亞大學(xué)的 Bruce Railsback說他是第一個(gè)創(chuàng)造性地創(chuàng)作了這樣一個(gè)表的，他突破了傳統(tǒng)，顯示了每個(gè)元素的離子而不只是元素本身。 A的
意思是：自從 1871年門捷列夫畫出元素周期表以來，許多人試圖重新設(shè)計(jì)周期表。“第一個(gè)”這個(gè)信息很重要。按照從一般到具體的行文規(guī)律，前一句話應(yīng)當(dāng)是一般性的描述。 A符合這個(gè)條件。
2. B 第三段的第一句話是這么說的：“在給地學(xué)學(xué)生們解將元素周期表時(shí)我的手臂都要累壞了，”他說時(shí)在空中來回移動他的兩只手，指點(diǎn)傳統(tǒng)周期表中不同的元素。這一句話是講 Bruce Railsback重新制作元素周期表的原因。從主題發(fā)展來看，這句話似乎跟上文連不上，但這是一篇報(bào)道，插入了一些背景信息和其他人的評論。從第二段的昀后一句話來看 B比較合適，因?yàn)槎际侵v元素。 B說的是： Railsback仍然按照元素所有的質(zhì)子數(shù)排列元素。注意： D也是講元素。但是 B中有“仍然” (still)這個(gè)詞，它是銜接第二段的昀后一句話的。
3. C第四段是劍橋大學(xué)的 Albert Galy對 Bruce Railsback重新創(chuàng)造的元素周期表的評論。評論常常用原話。引號表明 C是原話。
4. D 第五段需填入主題句。主題句常常是概括性的。從第五段提供的信息來看，“硫磺” (sulphur)這個(gè)元素在三個(gè)地方出現(xiàn)，因此 D是正確的。 D說的是：有些元素 Railsback列了一次以上。
5. E 第六段的第一句講到了符號。 E也是講符號，其他的選項(xiàng)都沒有講，因此應(yīng)選 E。