新编四级听力练习 第225期

Passage One
[26]We don't know how the first fire was made. Early fires on the earth were certainly caused by nature, not by man. Some were caused by lightning in a storm; others, perhaps by one hot material which came out of a volcano. Quite possibly, at times, the heat of the sun set light to some dry grass or leaves. [27]At first, man, like other animals, was probably afraid of fire. He saw that fire could destroy a forest; he knew that fire could hurt his body. So great was the power of fire that he feared it and worshipped it. Gradually, however, with his better powers of thinking, he overcame his fear. Probably he overcame most of his fear when he discovered how to make fire for himself. Throughout the ages he has learned more about fire, how to control it, and how to use it in many ways. Now fire is no longer a master or a god, it is a servant. Again, at some early date, man found how fire could be used to make certain metals from rocks. [28]Some time later, he found out how to make the metal which we now call bronze. This is a mixture of copper and tin. Bronze was a very useful metal. It was hard and tough, but he could shape it by hammering (probably with heavy stones). He could make a tool with a sharp edge for cutting. It isn't so easy to get iron from its ore and this metal was probably not discovered until very much later.

答案解析：
Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.
26. What do we know about early fires on the earth?
[C]解析：短文开头即说：“第一堆火是怎样生起来的，我们无从知道。地球上早期的火肯定是由大自然而非由人引燃的。”C正确。段落开头处... certainly caused by... not by... 的鲜明的对比关系与语义上的强调特色，应能使我们准确答题。
27. What was probably man's response to the first fire?
[A]解析：短文说，最初，人类和其他动物一样很可能也怕火。A正确。At first引导的语义强调之处出题，四个选项都为表示心理活动的形容词，听到什么选什么。
28. What is bronze made of?
[B]解析：短文提到：“过了一些时候，人类知道了如何制造我们现在称之为青铜的东西。青铜是铜和锡的合金。”B正确。具体的物质名词选项，表明本题问细节而非大意。选项是由几个关键词的不同组合构成的，听到相关内容做好标记则必然得到正确答案。听到什么选什么。