题目内容

It is easy to lose patience with science today． The questions are pressing: How dangerous is air pollution? What about low-level radiation? When will that horrible earthquake strike California? And why can't we predict weather better? But the evidence is often described as "uncertain", forcing scientists to base their points of view almost as much on intuition（直觉）as on science．

When historians and philosophers of science listen to these questions, some conclude that science may not be able to solve all these problems any time soon． The unknowns can grow into riddles that are impossible to solve． Because of the unstable and changing state of the earth's atmosphere, for example, scientists have struggled for centuries to predict the weather with precision（精确） but failed．

The case is different for scientists of astronomy． For example, they think that the gravitational force of a nearby space vehicle, though tiny, is able to change the path of a much larger planet if the vehicle spends enough time close to it． With the aid of Newton's laws of gravitational attraction, ground controllers can predict the path of a planetary probe （探测仪）-or satellite-with incredible accuracy． They do this by calculating the gravitational force from each of the passing planets until the probe speeds beyond the edge of the solar system．A much more difficult task is to calculate what happens when two or three times of such force pull on the probe at the same time． Such procedures can, of course, be very difficult, but for experiments, they are effective．

This range of questions-from simple problems to those impossibly complex-has resulted in nicknames for various fields of study: "soft" sciences and " hard " sciences．“Soft” sciences admit a great degree of uncertainty． Academicians tend to judge fields such as sociology, psychology, and political science as “soft” because they are assumed to be understandable, of unnecessary mathematical accuracy, and concerned with everyday affairs such as interpersonal relationships． However, "hard" sciences, such as astronomy and chemistry, are said to offer precise answers． Precise definitions for "hard" sciences vary, but the characteristics of "hard" sciences include: producing testable predictions; performing controlled experiments; relying on quantifiable data and mathematical models; a high degree of accuracy and objectivity; and generally applying a pure form of the scientific method

1.We can learn from the passage that ．

A．a large planet is able to change the size of a tiny planet

B．ground controllers can affect the gravitational force of planets

C．calculating the probe speeds beyond the solar system is possible

D．predicting the weather is more difficult than predicting the path of a satellite

2.According to the author, "soft" sciences ．

A．allow for certain inaccuracy

B．focus on personal relationships

C．are based on controlled experiments

D．are rooted in data and mathematical models

3.What might be the best title for the passage?

A． Science, a Long History?

C． Science, Accurate or Not?

B． Science and Its Functions

D． Science and Its Application

4.What is the author's attitude towards science in this passage?

A． Objective． B． Sceptical．

C． Disapproval． D． Optimistic

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Most people who enjoy travelling believe that travel ______ not only our bodies but also our minds.

A. benefited B. would benefit

C. has benefited D. benefits

In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty．This was Stephen Hawking．I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree．

But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73．Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn’t merely survive．He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship．

Stephen received his “death sentence” in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study．Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University．He was said to be a “lazy” undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first class degree, an “entry ticket” to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement．Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well．But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began．In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32．

The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected — for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits．Stephen’s revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum(量子) theory has still not been tested．However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory(弦理论) has been to confirm and build on his idea．He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top ten living theoretical physicists．

1.What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking?

A．His brilliant research．

B．His bestselling books．

C．His serious disease．

D．His defeating hardship．

2.What made Stephen Hawking start his research career at Cambridge?

A．His death sentence．

B．His “lazy” attitude．

C．His above average talent and ability．

D．His rich experience．

3.It can be inferred that Stephen Hawking was born ________．

A．in the early 1940s

B．in the late 1940s

C．in the early 1930s

D．in the late 1930s

4.What can we learn from the text?

A．Hawking’s theory was proved years ago．

B．Hawking was not as successful as Newton．

C．String theory built on Hawking’s idea．

D．Hawking’s theory has had little influence on others．

5.Which of the following is Not True according the passage?

A．He achieved one success after another in his career despite his disease．

B．He couldn’t walk when the author first met him at Cambridge．

C．He not only survived his disease but contributed greatly to science．

D．He is among the greatest scientists to improve the knowledge of gravity．

You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.

It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.

Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.

Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.

So what has led to this huge change?

Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.

“The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.

The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.

Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations.”This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”

1.The underlined word “cornerstone” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to “ ”.

A. growth B. balance C. basis D. purpose

2. What has changed Millennials’ view of the American Dream according to the passage?

A. A lack of confidence in themselves

B. Fierce competition in the job market

C. Their dissatisfaction with the government

D. The discouraging economy and unemployment

3.Dan Kadlec thinks Millennials’ new definition of the American Dream is ______.

A. beautiful B. understandable

C. worrying D. positive

4.What can be the best title for this passage?

A. Redefinition of American Dream

B. Meaning of American Dream

C. Value of Achieving American Dream

D. History of Changing American Dream

A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months．

The system，called driver Alert，aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20%—40% that are caused by tiredness．Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue．

Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband．The device，worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey．After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel(方向盘)．A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response．

Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time．Usually，a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond，but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds，it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy．

In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds，showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest．If the driver’s response continues to slow down，the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warms that the driver must stop as soon as possible．

The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing．If these tests，scheduled for six months’ time，are successful，the markers will bring the product to market within about a year．

【小题】According to the text，Driver Alert ______．

A．aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents

B．has gone through testing at laboratories

C．aims to prevent drivers from sleeping

D．has been on sale for 12 months

【小题】How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert？

A．By sounding a warning

B．By touching the wristband

C．By checking the driving time

D．By pressing the steering wheel

【小题】We can learn from the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______．

A．About 400 milliseconds

B．below 500 milliseconds

C．over 500 milliseconds

D．about 400 minutes

【小题】When the driver gets sleepy while driving，Driver Alert ______．

A．moves more regularly

B．stops working properly

C．opens the window for the driver

D．sounds more frequently and loudly

Don't phone me between 10:00 and 11:30 tomorrow morning． I a meeting then．

A． had B． have

C． was having D． will be having

Studies show that people who have a glass of wine per day do better than _____ who don’t．

A．that B．the one

C．ones D．those

— Can I look at the menu before I make an order?

— Of course. ___________, madam.

A. Take your time B. Don’t mention it

C. Never mind D. Help yourself

The police were seeking more information to find out________ killed the rich merchant.

A. who it was that

B. who was it that

C. it was who

D. who was it

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