Experienced baseball fielders can tell how far a ball is going to travel just by listening to the crack of the bat. If they didn't, they wouldn't stand a chance of catching it, claims a physicist in New York.
“When a baseball is hit straight at an outfielder, he cannot quickly judge the angle of the scent and the distance the ball will travel, ” says Robert Adair, a physicist at Yale University. If he relied purely upon visual information, the fielder would have to wait for about one-and-a-half seconds before he could tell accurately if the pitcher hit the ball long or short. By this time the ball may have traveled too far for him to reach it in time.
To stand a fighting chance of catching it, according to Adair, fielders must listen to the sound the ball hitting the bat to judge how far it will travel. There is anecdotal evidence to support this, he says. A former centre fielder told Adair: “If I heard a crack I ran out, if I heard a clunk, I ran in.”
To test his hypothesis, Adair calculated how quickly a fielder could change direction if he had misjudged whether the ball was going long or short. The difference between the “crack” and “clunk” can be explained by how well the batter has hit the ball, and could mean a difference in running distance of as much as 30 meters, he told delegates at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of American in Chicago last week.
Scientists already knew that to hit a ball long the batter must strike it somewhere near the vibrational node of the bat, known as the sweet spot. Balls hit on the sweet spot generate fewer energy-sapping vibrations in the bat, allowing greater energy transfer to the ball. Conversely, mishit balls make the bat vibrate strongly and so do not travel as far.
Adair is quick to point out that this only applies to wooden bats, which are used in major league baseball. Aluminum bats, on the other hand, tend to produce a fairly uniform “ping” sound regardless of where you hit them.
1.According to Robert Adair, why can’t an outfielder rely purely on visual information?
2.From paragraph 3 we can infer that a “crack” may mean ( ) .
3.If the bat vibrates very little, ( ) .
4.Adair points out that his theory can’t be applied to aluminum bats because ( ) .
5.Which of the following statements best summarizes the main idea of this passage?
问题1选项
A.Because it may take longer time for him to exert judgment.
B.Because the ball may change directions during flight.
C.Because the ball may be hit either long or short.
D.Because light travels faster than sound.
问题2选项
A.a long ball
B.a short ball
C.a good ball
D.a mishit ball
问题3选项
A.the fielder is unable to catch the sound
B.the ball will travel to a short distance
C.the ball may receive greater energy
D.the fielder should quickly run in
问题4选项
A.the "ping” sound is too vague for a fielder to catch
B.with the aluminum bats the batter always hits the ball stronger
C.they don’t produce different sounds of “crack” and “clunk”
D.the sounds they produce may interfere with the fielders judgment
问题5选项
A.Hitting the ball to produce different sounds is not an easy matter.
B.The sound of the bat may give fielders more chances to catch the ball.
C.Aluminum bats are inferior to the wooden ones.
D.The study of Robert Adair shocks the Acoustical Society of America.
第1题:A
第2题:A
第3题:C
第4题:C
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to Robert Adair, why can’t an outfielder rely purely on visual information? 根据Robert Adair的说法，为什么外场员不能完全依靠视觉信息？
A. Because it may take longer time for him to exert judgment. A. 因为他可能需要更长的时间来施加判断。
B. Because the ball may change directions during flight. B. 因为球在飞行过程中可能会改变方向。
C. Because the ball may be hit either long or short. C. 因为球可能被打得很长或很短。
D. Because light travels faster than sound. D. 因为光的传播速度比声音快。
【答案】A
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据关键词“rely purely on visual information”定位到第二段最后两句“如果守场员纯粹依靠视觉信息，他必须等待大约1.5秒，才能准确地判断投手击球的时间是长还是短。这时，球可能已经飞得太远了，他无法及时到达。”由此可知，等待大约1.5秒意味着他可能需要更长的时间来施加判断，故A选项符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
B、D选项均没有提及，属于无中生有；
C选项定位到第二段倒数第二句“如果他纯粹依靠视觉信息，那么外场手必须等待大约1.5秒才能准确地判断投手的击球是长还是短（if the pitcher hit the ball long or short）”，而不是说“外场员不能完全依靠视觉信息是因为球可能被打得很长或很短”，属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
From paragraph 3 we can infer that a “crack” may mean ____. 从第三段我们可以推断，“crack”可能意味着____。
A. a long ball A. 一个长球
B. a short ball B. 一个短球
C. a good ball C. 一个好球
D. a mishit ball D. 一个错误的球
【答案】A
【考查点】语义推断题
【解题思路】第三段讲“根据Adair的说法，为了有机会抓住它，外场手必须听球击中球棒的声音来判断它会飞多远。他说，有轶事证据支持这一点，一位前中外场手告诉Adair：‘如果我听到一声crack，我就跑出去，如果我听到一声clunk，我就跑进去。’”由此可知，外场手通过球棒的声音来判断投手的击球是长还是短，如果外场手向外跑，说明球飞得远，所以击球手击出的是一记长球，故A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项是“clunk”的情况，属于张冠李戴；
C、D选项定位到第四段第二句“他上周在芝加哥举行的美国声学学会会议上告诉代表们，他可以通过击球手击球的好坏来解释‘crack’”和‘clunk’之间的区别，这可能意味着30米的奔跑距离的差异。”这里是说通过击球手击球的好坏（how well the batter has bit the ball）来解释‘crack’”和‘clunk’之间的区别，与本题无关，属于出处错位。
第3题:
【选项释义】
If the bat vibrates very little, ____. 如果球棒的振动更少，_____。
A. the fielder is unable to catch the sound A. 外场手无法捕捉到这个声音
B. the ball will travel to a short distance B. 球会飞到很短的距离上
C. the ball may receive greater energy C. 球可能得到更大的能量
D. the fielder should quickly run in D. 外场手应迅速跑入
【答案】C
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据关键词“the bat vibrates very little”定位到倒数第二段的第二句“击中最佳击球点的球在球棒中产生的消耗能量的振动更少，从而将更多的能量传递给球（allowing greater energy transfer to the ball.）。”由此可知，击中球的最佳位置时，球棒产生的耗能振动更少，从而使球获得更大的能量传递，故选项C正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“外场手无法捕捉到这个声音”没有提及，属于无中生有；
结合倒数第二段第一句“科学家们已经知道，要想把球打得长，击球手必须把球打在球拍振动节点附近，也就是所谓的最佳击球点附近”可知，如果球棒的振动更少，说明击中的是最佳击球点，球打得长，而不是“很短的距离”，相应地，外场手应迅速跑出，故B、D选项均属于反向干扰。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Adair points out that his theory can’t be applied to aluminum bats because ____. Adair指出，他的理论不能适用于铝制球棒，因为____。
A. the “ping” sound is too vague for a fielder to catch A. “乒乒乓乓”的声音太模糊了，外场手无法捕捉到
B. with the aluminum bats the batter always hits the ball stronger B. 使用铝制球棒时，击球者总是打得更有力
C. they don’t produce different sounds of “crack” and “clunk” C. 它们不会产生“啪”和“咯”的不同声音
D. the sounds they produce may interfere with the fielders judgment D. 它们产生的声音可能会干扰击球手的判断
【答案】C
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据关键词“aluminum bats”定位到最后一段最后一句“铝棒无论你在哪里击打，都会发出相当均匀的‘砰’的一声。”也就是说，铝棒不会像木棒击打的那样发出不同的声音，故选项C符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following statements best summarizes the main idea of this passage? 下列哪个陈述最好地概括了这篇文章的主要思想？
A. Hitting the ball to produce different sounds is not an easy matter. A. 击球产生不同的声音并不是一件容易的事。
B. The sound of the bat may give fielders more chances to catch the ball. B. 球棒的声音可以给外场手更多的机会来接球。
C. Aluminum bats are inferior to the wooden ones. C. 铝制球棒比木制球棒要差。
D. The study of Robert Adair shocks the Acoustical Society of America. D. Robert Adair的研究震撼了美国声学学会。
【答案】B
【考查点】主旨大意题
【解题思路】文章首段开宗明义，指出“有经验的棒球手只要听球棒的声音就能知道球会跑多远”，并以此来接球；在接下来的段落中作者介绍了耶鲁大学的物理学家Robert Adair的假设以及相关的结论，指出“要想把球打得长，击球手必须把球打在木制球棒振动节点附近，也就是所谓的最佳击球点附近”。综上可知，作者主要讲述了防守队员如何根据球击在木质球棒上的声音来判断球的飞行距离，从而使得外场手有更多的机会去接球，故选项B更能概括全文主题。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项均不符合文章内容，属于曲解原文。
