📖 原文
(1) The word laser was coined as an acronym for Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Ordinary light, from the Sun or a light bulb, is emitted (2) spontaneously, when atoms or molecules get rid of excess energy by themselves, (3) without any outside intervention. Stimulated emission is different because it occurs (4) when an atom or molecule holding onto excess energy has been stimulated to emit it as (5) light. (6) (7) Albert Einstein was the first to suggest the existence of stimulated emission in a paper (8) published in 1917. However, for many years physicists thought that atoms and (9) molecules always were much more likely to emit light spontaneously and that (10) stimulated emission thus always would be much weaker. It was not until after the (11) Second World War that physicists began trying to make stimulated emission dominate. (12) They sought ways by which one atom or molecule could stimulate many others to emit (13) light, amplifying it to much higher powers. (14) The first to succeed was Charles H. Townes, then at Columbia University in New (15) York. Instead of working with light, however, he worked with microwaves, which have a much longer wavelength, and built a device he called a "maser", for Microwave (17) Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Although he thought of the key (18) idea in 1951, the first maser was not completed until a couple of years later. Before (19) long, many other physicists were building masers and trying to discover how to (20) produce stimulated emission at even shorter wavelengths. (21) The key concepts emerged about 1957. Townes and Arthur Schawlow, then at Bell (22) Telephone Laboratories, wrote a long paper outlining the conditions needed to amplify (23) stimulated emission of visible light waves. At about the same time, similar ideas (24) crystallized in the mind of Gordon Gould, then a 37-year-old graduate student at (25) Columbia, who wrote them down in a series of notebooks. Townes and Schawlow (26) published their ideas in a scientific journal, Physical Review Letters, but Gould filed a (27) patent application. Three decades later, people still argue about who deserves the credit (28) for the concept of the laser.
❓ 试题解析
问题 1： The word “coined” in line 1 could best be replaced by
A. created
B. mentioned
C. understood
D. discovered
✅ 正确答案： A）created
📝 解析： “The word laser was coined as an acronym” — coined = 创造（新词）。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：coin = invent = create。
问题 2： The word “intervention” in line 4 can best be replaced by
A. need
B. device
C. influence
D. source
✅ 正确答案： C）influence
📝 解析： “without any outside intervention” — intervention = 干预/影响。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：intervention = interference = influence。
问题 3： The word “it” in line 5 refers to
A. light bulb
B. energy
C. molecule
D. atom
✅ 正确答案： B）energy
📝 解析： “an atom or molecule holding onto excess energy has been stimulated to emit it as light” — it 指 energy。
💡 解题技巧： 代词题找及物动词 emit 的宾语。
问题 4： Which of the following statements best describes a laser?
A. A device for stimulating atoms and molecules to emit light
B. An atom in a high-energy state
C. A technique for destroying atoms or molecules
D. An instrument for measuring light waves
✅ 正确答案： A）A device for stimulating atoms and molecules to emit light
📝 解析： 激光是“受激辐射光放大”，通过刺激原子/分子发光。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题结合首段定义。
问题 5： Why was Towne's early work with stimulated emission done with microwaves?
A. He was not concerned with light amplification.
B. It was easier to work with longer wavelengths.
C. His partner Schawlow had already begun work on the laser.
D. The laser had already been developed.
✅ 正确答案： B）It was easier to work with longer wavelengths.
📝 解析： 文中说“Instead of working with light, however, he worked with microwaves, which have a much longer wavelength” — 但未明说 easier，需结合上下文：微波波长更长，当时技术更可行。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题结合波长对比。
问题 6： In his research at Columbia University, Charles Townes worked with all of the following EXCEPT
A. stimulated emission
B. microwaves
C. light amplification
D. a maser
✅ 正确答案： C）light amplification
📝 解析： Townes 研究的是 maser（微波），而不是光放大（laser）。
💡 解题技巧： “EXCEPT”题区分 maser 与 laser。
问题 7： In approximately what year was the first maser built?
A. 1917
B. 1951
C. 1953
D. 1957
✅ 正确答案： C）1953
📝 解析： “Although he thought of the key idea in 1951, the first maser was not completed until a couple of years later” — 1951 + a couple of years = 约1953年。
💡 解题技巧： 推理题结合时间计算。
问题 8： The word “emerged” in line 20 is closest in meaning to
A. increased
B. concluded
C. succeeded
D. appeared
✅ 正确答案： D）appeared
📝 解析： “The key concepts emerged about 1957” — emerged = 出现。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：emerge = appear = come out。
问题 9： The word “outlining” in line 21 is closest in meaning to
A. assigning
B. studying
C. checking
D. summarizing
✅ 正确答案： D）summarizing
📝 解析： “wrote a long paper outlining the conditions” — outlining = 概述/总结要点。
💡 解题技巧： 词汇题：outline = summarize = give main points。
问题 10： Why do people still argue about who deserves the credit for the concept of the laser?
A. The researchers' notebooks were lost.
B. Several people were developing the idea at the same time.
C. No one claimed credit for the development until recently.
D. The work is still incomplete.
✅ 正确答案： B）Several people were developing the idea at the same time.
📝 解析： Townes 和 Schawlow 发表文章，Gould 同时申请专利，多人同时独立发展。
💡 解题技巧： 因果细节题定位“similar ideas crystallized in the mind of Gordon Gould”。
🌐 中文翻译
激光（laser）这个词是“Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation”（受激辐射光放大）的首字母缩略词。来自太阳或灯泡的普通光是在原子或分子自行释放多余能量时自发发射的，不需要任何外部干预。受激辐射则不同，因为它发生在一个拥有多余能量的原子或分子受到刺激而将其以光的形式发射出来时。 阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦在1917年发表的一篇论文中首次提出了受激辐射的存在。然而，多年来物理学家一直认为原子和分子总是更可能自发发光，因此受激辐射总是弱得多。直到第二次世界大战后，物理学家才开始试图使受激辐射占主导地位。他们寻找一种方法，使一个原子或分子能够刺激许多其他原子或分子发光，将其放大到更高的功率。 第一个成功的是查尔斯·H·汤斯，当时在纽约哥伦比亚大学。然而，他没有研究光，而是研究了波长长得多的微波，并建造了一个他称之为“maser”的装置，意为“受激辐射微波放大”。尽管他在1951年就想到了这个关键想法，但第一台 maser 直到几年后才完成。不久之后，许多其他物理学家开始建造 maser，并试图发现如何在更短的波长上产生受激辐射。 关键概念出现在1957年左右。当时在贝尔电话实验室的汤斯和阿瑟·肖洛写了一篇长论文，总结了放大可见光波受激辐射所需的条件。大约在同一时间，类似的想法在哥伦比亚了大学当时37岁的研究生戈登·古尔德的脑海中 crystallized，他将其写在一系列笔记本中。汤斯和肖洛在科学期刊《物理评论快报》上发表他们的想法，而古尔德则申请了专利。三十年后，人们仍在争论谁应该获得激光概念的 credit。
🏷️ 标签：#托福阅读 #真题解析 #备考资料
