A. To find out her reaction to a paper he recently submitted
B. To point out a factual error in an article the class was assigned to read
C. To ask about the suitability of a topic he wants to write about
D. To ask about the difference between chinampas and hydroponics
我的笔记 编辑笔记
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NARRATOR:Listen to part of a conversation between a student and the professor of his history of technology class.
MALE STUDENT:Would it be OK to focus on something related to agriculture?
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Sure, farming technology is fine, as long as it's premodern.But this isn't a long paper, so you're gonna need to pick a specific area of premodern agriculture, like, um, irrigation... or food crops of ancient Greece...
MALE STUDENT:I'm actually interested in hydroponics.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:[Unsure, without enthusiasm]Hydroponics... growing plants in water instead of soil...
MALE STUDENT:Well, not in pure water-in water that has the proper mix of nutrients.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:O-OK, but... is it a premodern technology?I mean, hydroponics isn't really my specialty, but from the research I've read, we're talking the nineteenth century... maybe the seventeenth century, if you really stretch it.
MALE STUDENT:[Not trying to say “gotcha”]Oh? But the Aztec civilization back in the thirteenth century in... basically where Mexico City is today...An article I read said the Aztecs were using hydroponics in something they called... I've got the word right here... um...[A bit hesitantly] Chinampas.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Chinampas-the so-called floating gardens...
MALE STUDENT:Exactly! So, yeah, the chinampas... The article said, very clearly, these floating gardens are proof that the Aztecs invented hydroponic farming.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Well, chinampas are artificial islands, built up in shallow lakes-islands made from packed earth and weeds, and, uh, material from the bottom of the lake.They may have appeared to be floating in the water, but in fact they reach all the way to the bottom of the lake.So the primary growing medium-what the plants draw nutrients from-is actually soil, not water.
MALE STUDENT:So the article was wrong about that. Too bad. It seemed like a great topic, but I guess...
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Wait a minute. Uh, just because chinampas were not technically hydroponic... doesn't mean this couldn't be an appropriate topic for your paper.Chinampas were still a great premodern technological achievement.I mean, they enabled the Aztecs to grow plenty of food... in an area without much available farmland.
MALE STUDENT:But I wonder why the author wrote that chinampas were hydroponic?
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Well, it's pretty common for writers to generalize-say, use a term like "hydroponics" to describe other types of agriculture.Personally, I'd never say "hydroponic" except for plants growing in liquid.The crops on chinampas definitely benefitted from the water surrounding them, [doubt, questioning] but hydroponic?
MALE STUDENT:OK, so I'll go with chinampas, but leave out the "hydroponics" part...
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Actually, there's an important lesson here: we should pay attention to what happened in history, but also how historical events are presented.Why, for example, would writers use a word like "hydroponics" so casually?
MALE STUDENT:I guess 'cuz it's a popular topic people wanna read about?
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Or... to help modern-day readers understand something historical, maybe these writers think a familiar frame of reference is needed.
MALE STUDENT:Well, that article was in a popular magazine, not a scholarly journal for historians.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:OK, but historians sometimes do the same thing.
MALE STUDENT:So I guess then that all historians might not describe chinampas in quite the same way either.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Good point. Why not look into that too? ... and include it along with your description and analysis.
旁白：听一段学生和科技历史课教授的对话。
学生：可以专注于和农业有关的东西吗？
教授：当然，农业科技是可以的，只要是现代以前的科技就行。但这不是一篇长论文，所以你要选定一个现代以前农业的特定领域，像是灌溉技术，或古希腊的粮食作物。
学生：事实上我对水培法很感兴趣。
教授：水培法，在水里种植，而不是在土里。
学生：不是在纯水中，是在适当混合了营养素的水中。
教授：好吧，但这是一项现代以前的科技吗？我是指，水培法不是我的专长，但从我读过的研究来看，我们涉及的是19世纪，如果你真的延伸开来，也许到17世纪。
学生：噢？但在13世纪，阿芝克特文化……差不多是现在的墨西哥市所在地......我读到过一篇文章，说阿芝克特人把水培法用在...我找到那个词了...奇昂帕。
教授：奇昂帕，所谓的漂浮花园。
学生：正确。对，奇昂帕，文章说这些漂浮花园就是阿芝克特人发明水培法耕种的证据。
教授：奇昂帕是建在浅湖中的人造岛，由密集的泥土和芦苇，以及湖底物质组成。这些小岛看起来是漂浮于水面的，但事实上它们都直通湖底。那么，主要的生长介质，即植物营养素的来源，是泥土，而不是水。
学生：所以文章说的是错的？这可太糟了，这看起来是个很好的课题，但我想……
教授：等一下，即使奇昂帕不是严格意义上的水培产物，也不代表这对你的论文来说不是一个合适的课题。奇昂帕仍然是现代以前的科技上的一大成就。我是说，这些奇昂帕使得阿芝克特人能种植大量食物，在农田不足的地方。
学生：我不明白为什么文章作者说奇昂帕是水培产物。
教授：这很常见，作家经常会这样概括，用一个术语，像水培法，来描述其它农业类型。个人来说，我不会用水培这个词，除非这些植物长在水里。奇昂帕上的植物肯定能从周围水域受益，但……水培……
学生：好。我会继续研究奇昂帕，但除去水培法的内容。
教授：事实上，这是非常重要的一课：我们应该注意在历史上都发生了什么事情，但也要注意，历史事件是怎样呈现的。比如，为什么作家会随便运用“水培法”这样的词？
学生：我猜是因为这是个很流行的话题，人们都想看？
教授：或者是为了帮助现代读者理解历史事件，也许这些作家认为人们需要一个熟悉的参考系。
学生：文章是一本流行杂志里的，不是历史学家的学术期刊。
教授：好吧，但历史学家有时候也会做同样的事。
学生：我猜，也许不是所有的历史学家都以同样的方式描述奇昂帕的。
教授：说得好。为何不研究一下这个呢？并将其纳入你的描述和分析内容。
题型分析：主旨题
原文定位：
Student: Would it be okay to focus on something related to agriculture?
Professor: Sure, farming technology is fine, as long as it’s pre-modern. But this isn’t a long paper, so are you going to need to pick a specific area of pre-modern agriculture, like irrigation or food crops of ancient Greece.
Student: I am actually interested in hydroponics.
Professor: Hydroponics. Growing plants in water instead of soil.
选项分析： 文章一开始就明确了文中接下来说的事情是关于选题之类的寻求教授意见。然后讲解了farming technology 和 pre-modern agriculture. 此处考察带有一点点推测，okay 是英语中最常用的词，要求学生结合语境推断is it okay是是否合适的意思
C选项即为对话核心名词的完美诠释，是对全文主旨最准确的概括
如果对题目有疑问，欢迎来提出你的问题，热心的小伙伴会帮你解答。