本帖最后由 °惯性想象 于 2018/1/11 16:09 编辑
怀特兄弟这篇SWT在许多版本的机经里都有出现，澳大利亚语言学院Jeffrey老师在最近的一次PTE的考试中遇到了Wright Brothers 怀特兄弟这道题，发现真题跟各个版本的机经都有出入，为了给大家一个还原度最高的版本，Jeffrey老师在考后立即记录了题目中的关键词，并且通过反反复复的回忆，然后试图寻找原文，终于还原最接近真实考试的机经。
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Jeffrey老师要提醒大家，市面上现有的机经中的两个版本和考到的内容都有所偏差，这道题在各个机经的版本中都不同，也没有一个比较详细的回忆。大家在参考机经的同时需要慎重。
根据当时手写的便条，可以肯定的信息是以下几条：
1. 文章是三段式
2. 第一段肯定提到了一位叫Otto Lilienthal的德国人
3. 第一段中还提到了怀特兄弟的父亲送的Toy Helicopter
4. 第二段中提到了飞机的具体构造（应该是三个部分）
5. 第三段说怀特兄弟开始不太成功，后来才出了名
以下是通过回忆还原的内容
Always working on different mechanical projects and keeping up with scientific research, the Wright brothers closely followed the research of German glider king Otto Lilienthal. When Lilienthal died in a glider crash, the brothers were very depressed. But their father, Milton Wright, brought back a small model helicopter for his boys. It is made of cork, bamboo and paper, and powered by a rubber band to twirl its blades. Fascinated by the toy and its mechanics, Wilbur and Orville would develop a lifelong love of aeronautics and flying and decided to start their own experiments with flight.
Wilbur and Orville set to work trying to figure out how to design wings for flight. They observed that birds angled their wings for balance and control, and tried to emulate this, developing a concept called “wing warping.” When they added a moveable rudder, the Wright brothers found they had the magic formula-on December 17, 1903, they succeeded in flying the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven, heavier than air plane. Wilbur flew their plane for 59 seconds, at 852 feet, an extraordinary achievement.
The Wright brothers soon found that their success was not appreciated by all. Many in the press, as well as fellow flight experts, were reluctant to believe the brothers' claims at all. In France Wilbur found a much more receptive audience. He made many public flights, and gave rides to officials, journalists and statesmen. The Wrights became huge celebrities there, hosted by royals and heads of state, and constantly featured in the press. The Wrights began to sell their airplanes in Europe, before returning to the United States in 1909. The brothers became wealthy businessmen, filling contracts for airplanes in Europe and the United States.
文章大致还原出来了以后，我们一起来看看这道SWD应该怎么做吧！这道题的信息量相对比较大，而且有较多和航空有关的词汇，会有一定的难度。
给大家整理一下全文的几个主要信息点：
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第一段的主要内容是怀特兄弟研究飞机的契机（a lifelong love of aeronautics and flying），这个契机一共有两个部分，一个是German glider king Otto Lilienthal，另一个是他们的父亲送的一个小玩具（a toy helicopter）。
第二段的主要内容是说怀特兄弟研究出的飞机的构架（How to how to design wings for flight），主要是说通过模仿鸟类的翅膀而做的机翼（birds angled their wings for balance and control … emulate this）。
第三段的主要内容是说怀特兄弟的成名史，一开始并没有被承认（their success was not appreciated by all），是到法国之后才被认可（found a much more receptive audience），最后才成为名人。
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根据这三个部分的内容，我们可以整理一下最终的答案：
Inspired by the famous German aviator Lilienthal and the toy helicopter from their father, the Wright brothers developed a lifelong love of aeronautics and decided to start their own experiments with flight, and they have successfully emulated the angled wings of birds for balance and control by adding a removable rudder, but their success were not appreciated by all until they made a few successful public flights in France became huge celebrities there. （73 Words）
这个答案有点长，不过大多数来自原文，实际考试的时候使用会比较轻松。目标79的同学可以考虑进行一定程度的精简，比如：
The famous German aviator Lilienthal and the toy helicopter inspired the Wright brothers to develop a lifelong passion in aeronautics, and by adding a removable rudder their design of wings emulated the angled wings of birds for balance and control, yet they would not be huge celebrities without a few successful public flights. （53 Words）
常用词汇积累
Aeronautics n. 航空学
Angled adj.有斜角的
Blade n. 叶片，刀片
Celebrity n. 名人
Constantly adj. 经常地
Emulate v. 模仿
Extraordinary adj. 不同寻常的
Fascinated adj. 入迷的
Helicopter n. 直升机
Journalist n. 记者
Lifelong adj. 一辈子的
Mechanical adj. 机械的
Moveable adj. 可以移动的
Receptive adj. 感受的
Reluctant adj. 不情愿的
Warping n. 机翼翘起的部分
写在后面
Jeffrey老师在把记忆中的几个句子进行检索之后，发现没有能够完整对应的内容。同时考试的时候也觉得文章稍微有些被改动的痕迹，因此Jeffrey老师判断是PTE肯定根据原文的内容进行了一定程度的修改。这个也一定程度反映了PTE的出题正在变得更加严谨。
在之后的搜索中，Jeffrey老师根据记忆尽力还原了题目中的内容。虽然和实际考试应该还是有出入，尤其是中间的一段，但应该比现有的版本精确很多，仅供大家参考。另外如果有考到的同学也欢迎给我们留言补全题目中的内容。 |
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