Nearly two thousand years have passed since a census decreed by Caesar Augustus become part of the greatest story ever told. Many things have changed in the intervening years. The hotel industry worries more about overbuilding than overcrowding, and if they had to meet an unexpected influx, few inns would have a manager to accommodate the weary guests. Now it is the census taker that does the traveling in the fond hope that a highly mobile population will stay long enough to get a good sampling. Methods of gathering, recording, and evaluating information have presumably been improved a great deal. And where then it was the modest purpose of Rome to obtain a simple head count as an adequate basis for levying taxes, now batteries of complicated statistical series furnished by governmental agencies and private organizations are eagerly scanned and interpreted by sages and seers to get a clue to future events. The Bible does not tell us how the Roman census takers made out, and as regards our more immediate concern, the reliability of present day economic forecasting, there are considerable differences of opinion. They were aired at the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the American Statistical Association. There was the thought that business forecasting might well be on its way from an art to a science, and some speakers talked about newfangled computers and high-falutin mathematical system in terms of excitement and endearment which we, at least in our younger years when these things mattered, would have associated more readily with the description of a fair maiden. But others pointed to the deplorable record of highly esteemed forecasts and forecasters with a batting average below that of the Mets, and the President-elect of the Association cautioned that “high powered statistical methods are usually in order where the facts are crude and inadequate, the exact contrary of what crude and inadequate statisticians assume.” We left his birthday party somewhere between hope and despair and with the conviction, not really newly acquired, that proper statistical methods applied to ascertainable facts have their merits in economic forecasting as long as neither forecaster nor public is deluded into mistaking the delineation of probabilities and trends for a prediction of certainties of mathematical exactitude.

Taxation in Roman days apparently was based on

[A]. wealth. [B]. mobility. [C]. population. [D]. census takers.

The American Statistical Association

[A]. is converting statistical study from an art to a science.

[B]. has an excellent record in business forecasting.

[C]. is neither hopeful nor pessimistic.

[D]. speaks with mathematical exactitude.

The message the author wishes the reader to get is

[A]. statisticians have not advanced since the days of the Roman.

[B]. statistics is not as yet a science.

[C]. statisticians love their machine.

[D].computer is hopeful.

The “greatest story ever told” referred to in the passage is the story of

[A]. Christmas. [B]. The Mets.

[C]. Moses. [D]. Roman Census Takers.

Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri(MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.
“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density(密度)”,said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope(放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”
Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanreal systems (M/NEMS). Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe.
“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”
His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor(半导体). Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.
“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶体结构) of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”
Together with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery. In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.
【小题1】Which of the following is true of Jae Kwon?

A.He teaches chemistry at MU.
B.He developed a chemical battery.
C.He is working on a nuclear energy source.
D.He made a breakthrough in computer engineering.
【小题2】 Jae Kwon gave examples in Paragraph 4_________.
A.to show chemical batteries are widely applied.
B.to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used.
C.to describe a nuclear-powered system.
D.to introduce various energy sources.
【小题3】Liquid semiconductor is used to _________.
A.get rid of the radioactive wasteB.test the power of nuclear batteries.
C.decrease the size of nuclear batteriesD.reduce the damage to lattice structure.
【小题4】According to Jae Kwon, his nuclear battery _______.
A.uses a solid semiconductorB.will soon replace the present ones.
C.could be extremely thinD.has passed the final test.
【小题5】The text is most probably a ________.
A.science news reportB.book review
C.newspaper adD.science fiction story

.
Damage to Ozone layer Gets Worse
In the middle of winter, when snow is falling in many parts of the United States, scientists have sounded a warning to people who plan to spend many hours in the sun this summer. The warning is: The sun’s summertime rays are more dangerous than once thought.
A team of scientists from 80 nations recently reported to the United Nations that a layer of ozone (臭氧层) in the atmosphere, which protects humans from harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation(紫外线辐射), will be thinner over the United States this summer. The thinner layer allows more ultraviolet rays from the sun to reach Earth. The extra amount of ultraviolet radiation could cause an increase in the number of cases of skin cancer.
Scientists first became concerned about the ozone layer in the mid-1980s when a hole was discovered in the layer above Antarctica during the winter. The hole was caused by chemicals used in refrigerators and air conditioners. When these chemicals are sent out into the atmosphere, they produce gases that destroy the ozone.
Concern about the protective ozone layer rose more recently when data(数据) from satellites and ground stations showed that ozone levels were dropping over areas other than Antarctica. Low ozone levels were recorded in the spring and summer over the United States and over other populated areas in the world.
Although many countries have already begun stopping the use of ozone destroying chemicals, the new findings are expected to advance the timetable for a total ban(禁止) of the chemicals.
59.   The scientists have observed the ozone layer_____.
A.  since 1980             B.  since last winter      
C.  for about 20 years       D.  for about one year
60. The ozone layer in the atmosphere can _____.
A.  do a lot of good to human beings in many ways.
B.  protect humans from diseases caused by bad weather.
C.  do a lot of harm to human beings in the summer-time.
D.  protect humans from harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation.
61. Scientists first found that there was a hole in the ozone layer_____.
A.  above Arctic during the winter in the mid-1980s
B.  above Antarctica during the winter in the mid-1980s
C.  over somewhere in the north of the equator in 1980
D.  over the U.S.A in the summertime in the mid-1980s
62.   The damage to the ozone layer was caused by_____.
A.  the changeable weather
B.  ozone-destroying chemicals
C.  chemicals from refrigerators
D.  chemicals from air conditioners

Plants are very important living things. Life could not go on if there were no plants. This is because plants can make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals and man cannot make food from air, water and sunlight. Animals get their food by eating plants and other animals. Therefore animals and man need plants in order to live. This is why we find that there are so many plants around us.
If you look carefully at the plants around you, you will find that there are two kinds of plants: flowering plants and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants can make seed. The seeds are protected by the fruits. Some fruits have one seed, some have two, three or four, and some have many seeds. But a few fruits have no seeds at all. An example of a fruit without seeds is the banana fruit. Most non-flowering plants do not grow from seeds. They grow from spores (胚芽). Spores are very small. Some spores are so small and light that they can float in the air. We may say that spores are quite the same as seeds. When these spores are all on wet and shady places, they usually grow into new plants.
【小题1】The main idea of the first paragraph is that ______.

A.plants are important for life
B.plants cannot grow without air
C.there are many plants in the world
D.we can’t live without water
【小题2】plants can make food from _______.
A.flower, water and airB.water, sunlight and air
C.air, water and soilD.air, sun and light
【小题3】What can we infer from the passage?
A.Of all living things animals are most important.
B.Spores are seeds.
C.All fruits of flowering plants have seeds.
D.Without plants, man will die out
【小题4】This passage may be taken from ______.
A.a medicine bookB.a novel
C.a science magazineD.an experiment report

Often we take for granted the many household items we use every day. It is difficult to imagine there was a time in the past when these inventions did not exist. Actually, several of the most common inventions have been with us for quite some time. Inventions like toothbrush, contact lenses(隐形眼镜), and credit cards came into use long ago.
The first toothbrush was introduced in China in the late 1400s but it was only 300 years later that this simple tool came into common use in Europe. By the nineteenth century, a variety of paste and powder cleaners were available throughout Europe as dental(牙齿的) care became more widespread. The first tube of toothpaste hit the market in Great Britain in 1891.
There is evidence to show that the first contact lenses were actually suggested by an astronomer, Sir John Herschel, in 1827. However, SirJohn Herschel was never able to create a working model of his idea. It was not until 1887 that a Swiss doctor from Zurich, Dr. Eugen Frick, came up with a workable process for producing precision (精密)lenses. Dr. Frick designed a new method for producing contact lenses,and the Zeiss factory in Germany  began to produce contact lenses.
Credit cards have also been available for many years. They have been in use in the United States since the 1920s. At first, these cards were only used to buy gas in the quickly growing automobile service industry. Then, in the 1950s, Diners Club introduced the first general-purpose credit card. Today, credit cards such as Master Card, Visa, and American Express are commonly used by travelers around the world.
While it may be true that some of the greatest inventions and discoveries in history came about by chance, the majority of inventions that simplify our lives today came about through careful research and patient study. Of course, it still holds true that even with all the comforts of modern technology, inventors continue to search for ways of helping all of us get out of doing those necessary but tedious (乏味的) tasks which we still face. As the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
【小题1】From the second paragraph we can learn that _____.

A.toothbrushes came into common use in Europe in the 17th century
B.people could enjoy a variety of paste and powder cleaners in the 18th century
C.more and more people paid attention to dental care throughout Europe in the 19th century
D.the English could use different kinds of tubes of toothpaste in the early 19th century
【小题2】All of the following made a contribution to the invention and use of contact lenses EXCEPT _______.
A.Diners ClubB.Sir John Herschel
C.Dr Eugen FrickD.the Zeiss factory
【小题3】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the fourth paragraph?
A. Credit cards have a history of about two hundred years.
B. Three kinds of credit cards are being used in the USA.
C. The use of credit cards is closely related to the economic development.
D. American Express is only used by American travelers now.
【小题4】The last paragraph mainly tells us that ______.
A.the greatest inventions came about by chance
B.inventions came about through careful research and patient study
C.inventors still continue to make inventions
D.necessity is the mother of invention

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网