A radio report caught my attention the other day, as it spoke straight to my heart: Cadets(学员) at the US Naval Academy are now required to revisit and potentially revive the ancient skill of steering a ship by the stars.
By the stars – imagine that: looking up at the sky, not down at a screen, so many years after the heavens’ critical role in guiding mariners has fallen by the wayside, first replaced by radio waves, then by modern GPS. Much is gained – but something also lost – in such progress, I think.
It reminded me of my love of 18th and 19th century seafaring(航海的) tales (reading them is one of my coping mechanisms for uneventful life in the landlocked Midwest), when sailors had only celestial(天空的) maps for navigation and still miraculously managed to sail the planet’s vast oceans and even circumnavigate the globe.
Recent cybersecurity concerns have triggered renewed interest in backup navigational strategies such as stargazing, and simple hand-held technologies like the sextant(六分仪), so often mentioned in Richard Henry Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast, a tale that chronicles a mid-19th-century merchant ship’s endlessly adventurous voyage from Boston to California and back.
I wouldn’t wish the harsh conditions of that trip on modern sailors, but I am all for anything that help people find their compass bearings(方位) and travel routes without high-tech and often mindless guidance.
“Is that north or south of here?” I’ve asked motel clerks and gas station attendants about a particular address I’m seeking in my GPS-less travels.
“Well, it’s that way,” comes the most frequent reply, accompanied by a pointed finger, and I realize that north, south, east, and west are not familiar coordinates(坐标) to many people.
To be fair, I haven’t always been used to compass points either. In fact it was not until I was a young adult, lying on a float in my parents’ pool on a late summer’s visit home, and watching the sun set below the roofline, that I first realized that my childhood home faced due west. I was shocked that I’d been oblivious to this simple fact, especially since I’d begun to be schooled in geology and in compass work. But like so many, I’d grown up thinking and navigating using other coordinates, based on familiar streets, rights and lefts, and reference points such as my school, the homes of friends, the nearest playground, and the local shopping plaza.
I’ve going since become accustomed to finding my bearings on travels in unfamiliar territory by the sun’s position. And now I’d love to sit in on a class at the academy to learn to navigate by the moon and stars. It’s a skill I’ll probably never need to draw upon. Yet it feels good to know how it would connect me, in a new and profound way, to the historical trace of human experience on this planet.
As for modern sailors, it might just bring them safely home one day, if all else fails.
46. What kind of role do 18
th and 19
th century seafaring tales play in the author’s life?
A.Enriching his dull inland life. |
B.Triggering his concern for cyber security. |
C.Arousing his interest in modern navigational strategies. |
D.Strengthening his resolve to revive an ancient skill. |
47. The author mentions his experience of seeking an address in paragraph 6 and 7 to illustrate ________.
A.the importance of modern technology such as GPS in travels |
B.that it’s essential to learn geography and compass work well at school |
C.that many people don’t navigate in terms of coordinates such as north and south |
D.the convenience of navigating based on familiar streets, rights and lefts and reference points |
48. The underlined phrase “oblivious to” in paragraph 8 is closest in meaning to __________.
A.obvious to | B.familiar with | C.unconcerned about | D.unaware of |
49. Why does the author plan to learn to navigate by the moon and stars?
A.Because he expects to experience the harsh conditions on the voyage in the past. |
B.Because he is required to revisit this ancient skill as a cadet at the U.S. Naval Academy. |
C.Because the skill can make him feel connected to the historical heritage of human beings. |
D.Because the skill can bring sailors home, safe and sound, if modern technology fails. |