托福tpo54听力lecture2 Benefits of Muon Detectors

托福tpo54听力lecture2 Benefits of Muon Detectors，那么接下来就跟着中国教育在线的小编详细了解一下吧。

Benefits of Muon Detectors托福听力原文翻译及问题答案

一、Benefits of Muon Detectors托福听力原文：

NARRATOR:Listen to part of a lecture in an archaeology class.

FEMALE PROFESSOR:A popular misconception about archaeology:Some people imagine we just go out into the field with a shovel and start digging,hoping to find something significant.

Well,while there is an element of luck involved,we have an array of high-tech tools to help us figure out where to concentrate our efforts.

One of the newer tools actually relies on particle physics.Talk about interdisciplinary!

Here's a machine that brings together two very different sciences.This machine is called a muon detector.

Muons are subatomic particles that result from cosmic rays….

OK,let me start over.Cosmic rays aren't actually"rays"—they're basically protons,zipping through outer space at close to light speed.And when they collide with the atoms in Earth's atmosphere,they break up into smaller particles—muons.

Now,these muons are still highly energized,so they can easily pass on down to the Earth's surface.In fact,they can pass through solid matter,so they can also penetrate deep into the surface.And it's this property of muons that archaeologists are taking advantage of.Let me explain.With the right kind of equipment,scientists can use muons to create a-a-a kind of picture of the structures they're studying.

Let's say we're studying a Mayan pyramid in Central America,and we're interested in finding out if there are burial chambers or other rooms inside.Well,a muon detector will show a greater number of muons passing through the less dense areas inside the pyramid. 

Yes,Andrew?

MALE STUDENT:Um,I'm not sure I get how this muon detector works exactly…FEMALE PROFESSOR:Well,muons lose energy as they pass through dense material,like the stone walls of a Mayan pyramid.So,more muons,and more energetic muons,will be passing through empty spaces.The muon detector can differentiate the areas where more muons are passing through—the empty spaces—as well as where there are fewer muons—the walls and dense areas.

These empty spaces will show up as darker.So we wind up with a-a kind of picture of the pyramid,and its internal structure.

MALE STUDENT:A picture?FEMALE PROFESSOR:Sort of like an x-ray image.MALE STUDENT:OK,so if we see darker areas inside the pyramid,we assume it's an empty space with more muons.

FEMALE PROFESSOR:Exactly.With this technology,we can see what's inside a structure before we dig.So we know exactly where to explore,and we can minimize the damage excavation can cause—

even a little damage could result in our losing vital information forever.

Now,muon detectors have been around for some time,but they've been improved upon since archaeologists started using them.

In 1967,a physicist placed a muon detector beneath the base of one of the Egyptian pyramids at Giza.And he was looking for burial chambers.Now,it happened that the muon detector found none,but he did demonstrate that the technique worked.

Unfortunately,the machine he used was so big that many archaeologists doubted muon detection could be practical.How could they get a massive piece of equipment into,say,uh,the jungles of Belize?

Then there was the issue of range.

The machine used in 1967 could only scan for muons directly above it,not from the sides,so it actually had to be put underneath the pyramid so it could look up.That meant,if you wanted to find out what was inside an ancient structure,you'd first have to bury the detector beneath it.There's been a lot of work on these machines since then,and these problems have been solved by and large.That's not to say the technology is perfect.It-it would be nice,for example,to have a system that didn't take six months to produce an image.I suppose that's better than the year it took for the 1967 study to get results,

but still….Well,there's good reason to believe that with better equipment,we're going to see muon detectors used much more frequently.They're already being used in other areas of science—uh,for example Japanese scientists studying the interiors of volcanoes—and there are plenty of archaeologists who would love to use this technology.

二、Benefits of Muon Detectors托福听力中文翻译：

旁白：在考古学课上听讲座的一部分。

女教授：关于考古学的一个普遍误解：有些人认为我们只是拿着铲子到田野里去挖掘，希望能找到有意义的东西。

嗯，虽然有运气的因素，但我们有一系列高科技工具来帮助我们找到集中精力的地方。

其中一个较新的工具实际上依赖于粒子物理学。谈论跨学科！

这是一台汇集了两门截然不同的科学的机器。这台机器被称为μ介子探测器。

μ子是宇宙射线产生的亚原子粒子…。

好的，让我重新开始。宇宙射线实际上并不是“射线”——它们基本上是质子，以接近光速的速度穿过外层空间。当它们与地球大气中的原子碰撞时，会分裂成更小的粒子μ子。

现在，这些μ介子仍然是高能量的，所以它们可以很容易地传递到地球表面。事实上，它们可以穿过固体物质，因此也可以深入地表。考古学家正在利用μ介子的这种特性。让我解释一下。有了合适的设备，科学家们可以使用μ介子来创建一种他们正在研究的结构的图片。

比方说，我们正在研究中美洲的一座玛雅金字塔，我们想知道里面是否有墓室或其他房间。嗯，μ介子探测器将显示更多的μ介子穿过金字塔内密度较小的区域；

是的，安德鲁？

男学生：嗯，我不知道这个μ子探测器到底是怎么工作的……女教授：嗯，μ子通过致密物质时会损失能量，比如玛雅金字塔的石墙。因此，更多的μ介子和更多的能量μ介子将通过空空间。μ介子探测器可以区分穿过空空间的μ介子较多的区域，以及墙壁和密集区域μ介子较少的区域。

这些空白将显示为较暗。所以我们最终得到了一张金字塔的图片，以及它的内部结构。

男学生：一张照片？女教授：有点像x射线图像。男学生：好的，如果我们看到金字塔内部较暗的区域，我们假设它是一个有更多μ介子的空白空间。

女教授：没错。利用这项技术，我们可以在挖掘之前看到结构内部的内容。因此，我们知道确切的勘探地点，我们可以将挖掘可能造成的损害降至最低-

哪怕是一点点损害都可能导致我们永远失去重要信息。

现在，μ介子探测器已经存在了一段时间，但自从考古学家开始使用以来，它们已经得到了改进。

1967年，一位物理学家在吉萨的一座埃及金字塔底部放置了一个μ介子探测器。他在寻找墓室。现在，碰巧μ介子探测器什么也没发现，但他确实证明了这项技术有效。

不幸的是，他使用的机器太大了，以至于许多考古学家怀疑μ介子探测是否可行。他们怎么能把一件巨大的设备运到伯利兹的丛林里呢？

然后是射程问题。

1967年使用的这台机器只能在其正上方扫描μ介子，而不能从侧面扫描，因此它实际上必须放在金字塔的下面，这样才能向上看。这意味着，如果你想找出古建筑内部的东西，你首先必须把探测器埋在它下面。从那时起，这些机器上已经做了很多工作，这些问题基本上已经得到了解决。这并不是说技术是完美的。例如，如果有一个不需要六个月就能生成图像的系统，那就太好了。我想这比1967年的研究结果要好，

但仍然…。嗯，有充分的理由相信，随着设备的改进，我们将看到μ介子探测器的使用更加频繁。它们已经被用于其他科学领域，例如研究火山内部的日本科学家，还有很多考古学家喜欢使用这项技术。

三、Benefits of Muon Detectors托福听力问题：

Q1:1.What is the lecture mainly about?

A.Misconceptions about muon detectors

B.An investigation of an Egyptian pyramid using a muon detector

C.The collaboration between physicists and archaeologists in the development of the muon detector

D.Benefits that muon detectors can provide to archaeologists

Q2:2.What aspect of muons is most useful to archaeologists?

A.Their ability to carry information from outer space

B.Their ability to break down cosmic rays into smaller particles

C.Their ability to pass through solid matter

D.Their ability to change the color of some surfaces

Q3:3.According to the professor,what information can a muon detector provide about an ancient structure?

A.The internal temperature of the structure

B.The location of rooms within the structure

C.The age of the structure

D.The materials used to build the structure

Q4:4.Why does the professor discuss damage to archaeological sites?

A.To indicate a benefit of using muon detectors in archaeological research

B.To describe an accident with a muon detector during a pyramid excavation

C.To explain how muon detectors are useful in reconstructing damaged sites

D.To explain why muon detectors were not often used in the past

Q5:5.In what ways are modern muon detectors different from muon detectors used in 1967?[Click on 3 answers]

A.Modern detectors are less expensive.

B.Modern detectors use less energy.

C.Modern detectors are not as large.

D.Modern detectors take less time to produce an image.

E.Modern detectors can scan in more than one direction.

Q6:6.What is the professor's opinion about the newer muon detectors?

A.She appreciates the help they provide despite the time they take to produce images.

B.She fears that many archaeologists will be unwilling to learn to use them.

C.She feels that they have greater potential in areas of science other than archaeology.

D.They provide more accurate information about the age of objects than older detectors did.

四、Benefits of Muon Detectors托福听力答案：

A1:正确答案：D

A2:正确答案：C

A3:正确答案：B

A4:正确答案：A

A5:正确答案：CDE

A6:正确答案：A