7．It took 100years，but finally，scientists proved Albert Einstein's theory that gravitational waves exist．
The waves were predicted as part of Einstein's general theory of relativity nearly 100years ago．It was the theory of the physics behind the workings of our world and the universe．
The idea was that the waves are like ripples in space，caused by some of the violent and energetic processes in the universe．For example，two black holes crashing into each other．
Now a group of scientists，including ones from Caltech，MIT and the LIGO Scientific，Collaboration finally found the gravitational waves．
David Reitze is the executive director of the LIGO observatory at Caltech．
"We have detected gravitational waves．We did it!"
What are these gravitational waves？
Well，imagine throwing a rock into a pond．When the rock hits the flat surface of the water，it creates ripples or waves．Space-time is like the surface of the water．So that means gravitational waves are like the ripples moving out from where the rock hits the water．
It might be hard to understand，but those gravitational waves expand and contract space and time as they move through space．And when they get to the Earth，the waves pass through，and they contract and expand the planet as the waves go by．
It was Einstein who said these gravitational waves should be observable．
But these are not huge waves．They are very，very small，which is why it took so long to find them．You cannot see them with your eyes．They are smaller than the size of an atom．
How did the scientists find them？
They used a giant scientific tool called LIGO，which stands for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory．The billion-dollar LIGO project is two L-shaped observatories．One is in Louisiana and the other in Washington state．
For years，scientists have been watching two black holes in another faraway galaxy．The two were spinning around each other，moving closer and closer together．When they finally crashed into each other，it was with such power and force that gravitational waves rang throughout the universe，like a giant bell．
Those waves，traveling at the speed of light，finally reached the Earth，some l.3billion years later．They are the same waves that the scientists announced this past week．
So，what does this discovery mean？
Our understanding of the heavens changed dramatically．
32．What are gravitational waves about？A
A．About the workings of the universe．
B．About how black holes form．
C．About how the universe began．
D．About how the ripples form on the surface of water．
33．The underlined sentence"two black holes crashing into each other"is intended to expressB．
A．how the universe begins to exist
B．how gravitational waves form
C．how new black holes appear
D．how the earth is affected
34．Why are gravitational waves difficult to detect？A
A．Because they are too small．
B．Because they are far away．
C．Because they seldom occur．
D．Because they have disappeared．
35．With the discovery of gravitational waves，we'llC．
A．create a new world
B．make full use of gravitational waves
C．view the universe in a new way
D．a(chǎn)void being hit by black holes．
分析 本文報(bào)道了最近發(fā)現(xiàn)的引力波．文章詳細(xì)介紹了引力波的產(chǎn)生，引力波發(fā)現(xiàn)的意義和引力波的尋找過(guò)程．
解答 32．A．細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章"The idea was that the waves are like ripples in space，caused by some of the violent and energetic processes in the universe"可知，引力波是宇宙的一些劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)．故選A．
33．B．推理預(yù)測(cè)題．前文講到引力波是由宇宙中的劇烈運(yùn)動(dòng)所產(chǎn)生的．則緊接著舉的劃線部分黑洞的例子，也是在證實(shí)這一觀點(diǎn)．故選B．
34．A．細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章"They are very，very small，which is why it took so long to find them．"可知，引力波非常小，以至于這么久才發(fā)現(xiàn)它．故選A．
35．C．細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章"So，what does this discovery mean？Our understanding of the heavens changed dramatically"可知，引力波的發(fā)現(xiàn)讓我們對(duì)宇宙的思考又發(fā)生了變化．故選C．
點(diǎn)評(píng) 本文為新聞報(bào)道類閱讀．新聞報(bào)道類在英語(yǔ)閱讀理解中是一種特點(diǎn)十分鮮明的題材．因?yàn)槲恼峦尸F(xiàn)出"倒金字塔"的特征，此類題的英語(yǔ)閱讀理解技巧是重點(diǎn)看導(dǎo)語(yǔ)．導(dǎo)語(yǔ)位于新聞報(bào)道的首段，高度概括新聞事實(shí)，通過(guò)它點(diǎn)出新聞的主題，其次尋找關(guān)鍵詞，理解題意，做出解答．
