Question

Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England on 8th January, 1942. He went to school in St. Albans—a small city near London. Although he did well，he was never top of his class. After leaving school, Hawking went first to Oxford University where he studied physics，and then he went to Cambridge University where he studied cosmology （宇宙学）. As he himself admitted he wasn't very serious about studying. He was a very lazy student, and did very little work. However, he still achieved extremely good marks.

Hawking first noticed something was wrong with him at the age of 20. He started to bump into things, and often fell over for no reason. When he visited his family at Christmas time, his father was so worried that he was sent to hospital for a test. Finally, the result came back. Hawking had motor neurone disease（运动神经元病），an incurable illness which causes the muscles of the body to waste away. Doctors said he would die before he was 23.

At first, Hawking became extremely depressed（忧郁的）. After a while, though, he began to see his life in a different way. As he later wrote, “Before my illness had been diagnosed（诊断），there had not seemed to be anything worth doing. But shortly after I came out of hospital. I suddenly realized that there were a lot of worthwhile things I could do.” Hawking married, found a job at Cambridge University, where he still works today, and had three children. He also went to do some of the most important scientific research ever carried out.

His story shows that nobody, however bad their situation is, should lose hope. “Life is not fair,” he once said, “ You just have to do the best you can in your own situation.”

1.As a university student, Stephen Hawking ________.

A. worked extremely hard

B. studied maths and chemistry

C. was lazy and did very little work

D. only achieved average marks

2.Hawking first noticed something was wrong with him when________.

A. he visited his family at Christmas time one year

B. he was 20

C. his father made him see a doctor

D. he was sent to hospital for a test

3.In the passage the underlined word “incurable” means“________”.

A. untreatable B. uncommon

C. complicated D. unknown

4.What might be the best title of this passage?

A. A lazy boy B. Life is Fair

C. Motor Neurone Disease D. Professor Stephen Hawking

Answer 1