Question

As a boy, Charles Robert Darwin collected anything that caught his interest: insects, coins and interesting stones. He was not very clever, but Darwin was good at doing the things that interested him.

     His father was a doctor, so Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. But Charles found the lectures boring. Then his father sent him to Cambridge University to study to be a priest. While at Cambridge, Darwin’s interest in zoology and geography grew. Later he got a letter from Robert FitzRoy who was planning to make a voyage around the world on a ship, the Beagle. He wanted a naturalist to join the ship, and Darwin was recommended(推荐). That voyage was the start of Darwin’s great life.

     As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. After he was home, he set to work, getting his collection in order. His first great work The Zoology of the Beagle was well received, but he was slow to make public his ideas on the origin of life.

     Later Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, produced a paper together. Darwin’s great book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (《物种起源》) appeared. It attracted a storm. People thought that Darwin was saying they were descended from monkeys. What a shameful idea! Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.

    Afterwards, he published another great work, The Descent of Man. His health grew worse, but he still worked. “When I have to give up observation, I shall die,” he said. He was still working on 17, April, 1882. He was dead two days later.

1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Charles Darwin’s ideas

B. Charles Darwin’s works

C. Father of modern biology: Charles Darwin

D. The greatest scientist: Charles Darwin

2.Darwin’s father sent him to Edinburgh to _____.

A. make him like natural history

B. make him become a doctor

C. let him change his hobbies

D. have him give up his collection

3.According to the passage, Charles Darwin’s whole life was changed by _____.

A. his study at Cambridge University

B. his collection of coins

C. the naturalists at Cambridge

D. the voyage of the Beagle

4.We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. Darwin announced his ideas on the origin of life as soon as he finished his voyage

B. Wallace agreed with Darwin’s opinions and wrote The Descent of Man with him

C. Darwin wrote two great books and a paper during his lifetime

D. churchmen were strongly against Darwin’s ideas at that time

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文叙述了现代生物学之父：查尔斯·达尔文 的一生。父亲将他送到爱丁堡学医，他却烦透了那些讲座。随后他父亲决定送他去剑桥大学学习，将来当一名牧师。可是一封来自罗伯特·菲茨洛伊船长的信改变了他的一生。菲茨洛伊计划驾驶“贝格尔号”海船做一次环球航行，他想要一位博物学家加盟，有人推荐了达尔文。此次航海成为查尔斯终生伟业的起点。跟随着贝格尔号做环球航行，达尔文开始思考地球上生命的演变。他的巨著《物种起源》问世掀起了轩然大波。

1.标题归纳题。根据Later Darwin and Wallace, another naturalist who had the same opinions as Darwin, 本片短文主要介绍达尔文这位伟大的生物学家，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据Darwin was sent to Edinburgh to study medicine, and was planned to follow a medical career. 父亲送他去爱丁堡去学医，让他以后从医，故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据As the Beagle sailed around the world, Darwin began to wonder how life had developed on earth. He began to observe everything. 达尔文一生的改变是由于他的环球之旅开始的，故选D。 

4.细节理解题。根据Although most scientists agreed that Darwin was right, the Church was still so strong that Darwin never received any honors for his work.尽管很多科学家都认为达尔文是对的，晒是教会人员却不这样认为，故选D。

考点：人物传记类短文阅读。