题目内容
Discoveries in science and technology are thought by “untaught minds” to come in blinding flashes or as the result of dramatic accidents. Sir Alexander Fleming did not ,as legend would have it ,look at the mold on a piece of cheese and get the idea for penicillin there and then. He experimented with antibacterial substances for nine years before he made his discovery. Inventions and innovations(创新)almost always come out of laborious trial and error. Innovation is like soccer; even the best players miss the goal and have their shots blocked much more frequently than they score.
The point is that the players who score most are the ones who take the most shots at the goal-and so it goes with innovation in any field of activity. The prime difference between innovators and others is one of approach. Everybody gets ideas, but innovators work consciously on theirs, and they follow them through until they prove practicable or otherwise. What ordinary people see as fanciful abstractions, professional innovators see as solid possibilities.
“Creative thinking may mean simply the realization that there’s no particular virtue in doing things the way they have always been done.” wrote Rudolph Flesch, a language authority. This accounts for our reaction to seemingly simple innovations like plastic garbage bags and suitcases on wheels that make life more convenient: “How come nobody thought of that before?”
The creative approach begins with the proposition that nothing is as it appears. Innovators will not accept that there is only one way to do anything. Faced with getting from A to B, the average person will automatically set out on the best – known and apparently simplest route. The innovator will search for alternate courses, which may prove easier in the long run and are bound to be more interesting and challenging even if they lead to dead ends.
Highly creative individuals really do march to a different drummer.
1.What does the author probably mean by “untaught mind” in the first paragraph?
A.A person ignorant of the hard work involved in experimentation.
B.A citizen of a society that restricts personal creativity.
C.A person who has had no education.
D.An individual who often comes up with new ideas by accident.
2.According to the author, what distinguishes innovators from noninnovators?
A.The variety of ideas they have B.The intelligence they possess.
C.The way they deal with problems. D.The way they present their findings.
3.In the first sentence of paragraph 2, “…the players who score most are the ones who take the most shots at the goal …” is most similar to the meaning of ______.
A.He laughs best who laughs last. B.Never too old to learn.
C.Time and tide wait for no man. D.No pain, no gain.
4.The phrase “march to a different drummer” (the last line of the passage) suggests that highly creative individuals are ______.
A.working hard at following their goals
B.unwilling to follow common ways of doing things
C.devoted to the progress of science
D.concerned about the advance of society
DCDB
Every year thousands of tourists visit Pompeii, Italy. They see the sight that Pompeii is famous for—its stadium and theaters, its shops and restaurants. The tourists do not, however, see Pompeii’s people. No one has lived in Pompeii for almost 2,ooo years.
Once Pompeii was a busy city of 22,000 people. It lay at the foot of Mt Vesuvius, a grass-covered volcano. Mt Vesuvius had not erupted for centuries, so the people of Pompeii felt safe. But they were not. In August of the year 79 AD, Mt Vesuvius erupted. The entire top of the mountain exploded, and a huge black cloud rose into the air. Soon stones and hot ashes began to fall on Pompeii. When the eruption ended two days later, Pompeii was buried under 20 feet of stones and ashes. Almost all of its people were dead.
For centuries, Pompeii lay buried under stones and ashes. Then in the year 1861, an Italian scientist named Ginseppe began to uncover Pompeii. Slowly, carefully, Ginseppe and his men dug. The city almost looked the same as it had looked in 79 AD. There were streets and fountains, houses and shops. There was a stadium with 20,000 seats. Perhaps the most important of all, there were everyday objects, which tell us a great deal about the people who lived in Pompeii. Many glasses and jars had some dark blue color in the bottom, so we know that the people of Pompeii liked wine. They liked bread too; metal bread pans were in every bakery. In one bakery there were 81 round, flat loaves of bread—a type of bread that is still sold in Italy today. Tiny boxes filled with a dark, shiny powder tell us that women liked to wear eye-makeup.
Ginseppe has died, but his work continues. One-fourth has not been uncovered yet. Scientists are still digging, still making discoveries that draw the tourists to Pompeii.
【小题1】Why do large number of people come to Pompeii each year?
A.To visit the volcano. | B.To shop and eat there. |
C.To watch sports and plays. | D.To see how Pompeiians lived. |
A.Because Ginseppe and his men dug it slowly and carefully. |
B.Because the city was buried alive and remained untouched. |
C.Because scientists successfully rebuilt the city with everyday objects. |
D.Because nobody had lived in the city ever since the volcano erupted. |
A. They lived more or less the same as Italians now do.
B. They liked women wearing all kinds of makeup.
C. They enjoyed a lazy life with drinking and eating.
D. They went back to Pompeii after the eruption in 79 AD.
–How do you like Albert Einstein?
--________.
A.I like him very much |
B.He invented “theory of relativity” |
C.He is great and creative |
D.His discoveries have affected our life |