Oceanography has been defined as "The application of all sciences to the study of the sea".

Before the nineteenth century, scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to furthers his work.

For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question ’What is at the bottom of the oceans?’ had to be answered with any commercial purpose was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineers had to know the depth profile (起伏形状) of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.

It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853 for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.

The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.

Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition, which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895.

1. The passage implies that the telegraph cable was built mainly         .

   A) for oceanographic studies            C) for business considerations

   B) for military purposes                D) for investigating the depths of the oceans

2. It was         that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies.

   A) the American Navy                  

B) some early intercontinental travelers

   C) those who earned a living from the sea  

D) the company which proposed to lay an undersea cable

3. The aim of voyages Maury encouraged in the 1840s was        .

A)   to make some sound experiments in the oceans

B)   to collect samples of sea plants and animals

C)    to estimate the length of cable that was to be made

D)   to measure the depths of two oceans

4. ’Defied’ in the 5th paragraph probably means         .

   A) ’doubted’        B) ’gave proof to’      C) ’challenged’       D) ’agreed to’

5. This passage is mainly about          .

   A) the beginnings of oceanography        B) the laying of the first undersea cable

   C) the investigation of ocean depths       D) the early intercontinental communications

参考答案Passage 7.       C       D      D      C       A

海洋学被定义为“各门类科学在海洋研究中的应用”。

十九世纪之前，关注海洋的科学家寥寥无几。当然，牛顿在他的著作中考虑过海洋的理论，但是他却不愿对海洋做进一步研究。

对大多数人来说，海洋是遥远的。除了早期的环球旅行者和以海洋卫生的人，其他人没有理由提出任何关于海洋的问题，更不可能去问海底有什么这样的问题。当人们提议铺设连接欧洲和美洲的海底电缆时，人们出于商业目的才不得不首次回答“海底有什么？”这个问题。工程师们必须了解线路的起伏形状，从而估计需要生产的电缆长度。

1853年，大西洋电报公司求助美国海军的Maury长官，以获取该问题的信息。19世纪40年代，Maury长官一直负责航海任务的执行，航海过程中军方携带了声纳设备，对北大西洋和太平洋的深度进行了测量。后来他的著作《The Physical Geography of the Sea》一些发现激起了人们普遍的兴趣。

连接欧美的海底电缆铺设完成了，但是直到1866年才实现了永久可靠的联通。在初期的尝试中，电缆连接一次次中断，这时电缆不得不被拉出来维修，当时人们便发现电缆表明附着着生长物，这一发现挑战了当时的科学界固有的深海没有生命的观念。

短短的几年之内，海洋学起步了。1872年Thomson负责组织了一次科学考察，这次考察历时四年，带回了数千个海洋物质样本。他们的分类和分析结果使科学家们忙碌了若干年，最终撰写除了一份五卷的报告，其中最后一卷于1895年出版。