Part B

Directions

Read the following text and decide whether each of the statements is true or false. Choose T if the statement is true or F it the statement is not true. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET1.(10 points)

Copying Birds May Save Aircraft Fuel

Both Boeing and Airbus have trumpeted the efficiency of their newest aircraft. The 787 and 350 respectively . Their clever designs and lightweight composites certainly make a difference . But a group of researchers at Stanford University , led by Ilan Kroo , has suggested that airlines could take a more naturalistic approach to cutting jet-fuel use and it would not require them to buy new aircraft.

The answer, says Dr Kroo , lies with birds . Since 1914, scientists have known that birds flying in formation-a V-shape-expend less energy. The air flowing over a bird’s wings curls upwards behind the wingtips . a phenomenon known as upwash. Other birds flying in the upwash experience reduced drag, and spend less energy propelling themselves . Peter Lissaman, an aeronautics expert who was formerly at Caltech and the University of Southern California ,has suggested that a formation of 25 birds might enjoy a range increase of 71%.

When applied to aircraft, the principles are not substantially different . Dr Kroo and his team modeled what would happen if three passenger jets departing from Los Angeles, San Francisco and I as Vegas were to assemble over Utah, assume an inverted V-formation occasionally change places so all could have a turn in the most favourable positions , and proceed to London. They found that the aircraft consumed as much as 15% less fuel (coupled with a reduction in carbon-dioxide output). Nitrogen-oxide emissions during the cruising portions of the flight fell by around a quarter.

There are , of course , knots to be worked out . One consideration is safety , or at least the perception of it . Would passengers feel comfortable travelling in companion? Dr Kroo points out that the aircraft could be separated by several nautical miles , and would not be in the intimate groupings favoured by display teams like the Red Arrows , A passenger peering out of the window might not even see the other planes. Whether the separation distances involved would satisfy air-traffic-control regulations is another matter, although a working group at the International Civil Aviation Organisation has included the possibility of formation flying in a blueprint for new operational guidelines.

It remains to be seen how weather conditions affect the air flows that make formation flight more efficient. In zones of increased turbulence, the planes’ wakes will decay more quickly and the effect will diminish. Dr Kroo says this is one of the areas his team will investigate further. It might also be hard for airlines to co-ordinate the departure times and destinations of passenger aircraft in a way that would allow them to gain from formation flight. Cargo aircraft, in contrast, might be easier to reschedule, as might routine military flight.

As it happens, America’s armed forces are on the on case already. Earlier this year the country’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency announced plans to pay Boeing to investigate formation flight, though the programme has yet to begin . There are reports that some military aircraft flew in formation when they were low on fuel during the Second World War ,but Dr Lissaman says they are unsubstantiated. “My father was an RAF pilot and my cousin the skipper of a Lancaster lost over Berlin,”he adds. So he should know.

41. Findings of the Stanford University researchers will promote the sales of new Boeing and Airbus aircraft.

42. The upwash experience may save propelling energy as well as reducing resistance.

43. Formation flight is more comfortable because passengers can not see the other plans.

44. The role that weather plays in formation flight has not yet been clearly defined.

45. It has been documented that during World War Ⅱ, America’s armed forces once tried formation flight to save fuel.
 

本文围绕“编队飞行可以节省飞机燃油”这一主题展开论述。首段开门见山提出本文主题，即采用仿生方法可使飞机节省燃油。第二、三段分别介绍鸟类编队飞行的原理及其实践，证实省油的效果。第四、五段则提到一些现实操作时的难题。最后一段指出美军已经着手于这项研究，但目前尚未启动。

41.【答案】F

【解析】根据题干信号词“ Findings of the Stanford University researchers可回文定位到首段的最后一句。其中的尾部信息. it would not require them to buy new aircia需要它们购买新飞机”，说明斯坦福大学研究人员的发现不会促进飞机的销售，由此可见，本题所给的陈述与文章内容相矛盾，故该题答案是F。

42.【答案】T

【解析】根据题干信号词“ The upwash experience'可回文定位到文章第二段第四句。题干中的“ save propellingenergy”与原文中的“ spend less energy propelling themselves属同义转述，题干中的“ reducingresistance”与原文中的reduced属同义转述，由此看来本题陈述符合文章内容，故该题笞案为T.

43.【答案】F

【解析】本题涉及的信息点是，编队飞行是否更加舒适，如果是，原因是否是乘客看不到别的飞机。根据题干信号词“ Formation flight is more confortable可回文定位到文章第四段第三句。审视文章发现，本段中作者在讨论现实操作中遇到的难题及其解决方法，难题有两个:一个是安全因素，另外一个是同时飞行时乘客感到舒适么因此编队飞行更加舒适是需要解决的难题之一，并非既有事实，因此题干论述不符合原文内容，故该题答案是F。

43.【答案】T

【解析】根据题干信号词“ weather plays in formation flight可回文定位到文章第五段第句到第三句。题干中的“ weather conditions3'等同于 weather'"，“ affect”与“ play role if是同义转述，“ 1t remains恰好与“ has nobeen clearly defined是对应的，所以本是题表述正确。

43.【答案】F

【解析】根据题干信号词“ World War II”可回文定位到文章最后一段第三句，该句表明:有报道说有战机二战时由于燃料不足而编队飞行，但是还没有得到证明。题干中的“ has been documente，'与中的“ they areunsubstantiated”是矛盾的，所以本题表述错误。