Scientific Progress
Most scientific progress is the result of careful consideration of work that has already been done. The wonderful world which lies before us today has been put up by hardworking men with clear heads and inventive mind, and these who follow them along life’s road will improve on their efforts. It is sometimes necessary to question and even to disbelieve some of the statements made by experts. Action or experiment can often end an argument or achieve a breakthrough.
When men were wondering whether it was possible to reach India by sailing westwards from Europe, and whether there was any land on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Christopher Columbus decides to act. He gathered some men, invited them to go on board his three ships, and set out across the dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He was successful in finding land, but it was not India. The result of his action was that the arguments came to the end.
Any young man who wishes to do research must be courageous enough to question old beliefs and do some original thinking about them. Although we seem to know so much, there are many things we don’t know. Even when we pull an atom to pieces, we do not really know what the pieces are, we often do not reach the reality behind what we discover, and the more we learn, the better we realize our ignorance.
【小题1】Christopher Columbus decided to set out his trip because he wants to ________

Scientific Progress

Most scientific progress is the result of careful consideration of work that has already been done. The wonderful world which lies before us today has been put up by hardworking men with clear heads and inventive mind, and these who follow them along life’s road will improve on their efforts. It is sometimes necessary to question and even to disbelieve some of the statements made by experts. Action or experiment can often end an argument or achieve a breakthrough.

When men were wondering whether it was possible to reach India by sailing westwards from Europe, and whether there was any land on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Christopher Columbus decides to act. He gathered some men, invited them to go on board his three ships, and set out across the dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He was successful in finding land, but it was not India. The result of his action was that the arguments came to the end.

Any young man who wishes to do research must be courageous enough to question old beliefs and do some original thinking about them. Although we seem to know so much, there are many things we don’t know. Even when we pull an atom to pieces, we do not really know what the pieces are, we often do not reach the reality behind what we discover, and the more we learn, the better we realize our ignorance.

1.Christopher Columbus decided to set out his trip because he wants to ________

A.travel round the world

B.bring words into action

C.discover the truth with action

D.bring the argument to an end

2.According to the passage, the more we learn _______

A．the more ignorance we will become

B. the more brilliant we are

C. the more confident we are of ourselves

D. the more we know about our ignorance

3.Our present wonderful world has been built up by _______

A. men who do not believe in others but themselves

B. those who work hard and dare to break way from old ideas

C. those who can make improvements on other people’s work

D. men who work extremely hard in following their teachers

4.Columbus succeeded in finding out that_______

A. the Atlantic was dangerous to get across  

B. India was to the west of the Atlantic

C. There was land on the other side of the Atlantic

D. it was possible sail to India by crossing the Atlantic

The scientists claimed( 声称) to _______ a jet plane that uses atomic energy as propelling _____, but they can’t produce an atom of evidence to prove it.

　 A. design; power　 　　　　　　　　　　　　B. have designed; power　

C. design; force　 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. have designed; strength

阅读下列短文，从所给的四个选项中，选出最佳答案

　Scientists had long dreamt of splitting the atom(原子) and let out some of its huge quantity of energy．They didn't find out how to do it until the 1940s．

　Uranium is one of the matters whose atoms can be split fairly easily．A small particle(粒子) is added to an atom of uranium, which then breaks into two smaller atoms．The change has other results．It makes the uranium very hot．It also produces two or there free particles of the kind first added．These free particles move around, splitting other uranium atoms, and so begins a “chain reaction”(链式反应), which produces more heat and more free particles．Both the heat and the chain reaction are important．

　A gas or a liquid is sent into the reactor（反应堆）to collect and carry away the heat．It is used to boil water, and the steam so produced drives the machinery which produces electricity．The chain reaction allows the process(过程) to continue．The reaction, which could be very rapid, is slowed down by a certain matter, which surrounds the fuel．

　Today, many people are wondering how long the world's store of coal and oil will last．Both these fuels, like uranium, are producers of heat energy．Is atomic energy the answer to the world's energy problem?

(1) Which of the following words can take the place of the underlined word“splitting”?

[　　]

A．joining　　　　B．choosing

C．breaking　　　D．heating

(2) What will never happen when a small particle is added to an atom of uranium?

[　　]

A．Two more atoms will appear

B．The atom will split in two and let out energy．

C．More free particles will be produced．

D．The uranium will become very hot．

(3) “Chain reaction”means______．

[　　]

A．free particles produced in the reaction will split other atoms, which in turn will produce more free particles

B．free particles will split more atoms after splitting some atoms

C．atoms split by free particles will continue to split

D．reaction can go on and on with the help of a chain of particles

(4) Which of the following orders shows rightly how a nuclear (原子能的) power plant works?

[　　]

a．Heat is made to boil water．

b．The machinery produces electricity

c．The chain reaction produces heat．

d．Heat is collected and carried away by a gas or a liquid．

e．Steam so produced drives the machinery．

A．d-c-e-b-a　　　B．c-d-a-e-b

C．b-d-e-a-c　　　D．c-a-d-b-e

(5) What fact does this passage lead you to believe?

[　　]

A．Many people wonder whether the world's store of coal and oil will last long．

B．Coal, oil and uranium are fuels, which can produce heat．

C．The world's store of coal and oil will last a very long time．

D．Atomic energy has given people hope to solve the world's energy problem．

　　Atoms are building materials of all matter, because by putting together atoms in different ways, all elements and compounds can be formed．

　　An element is a substance or a kind of thing that has only one type of atom． Pure oxygen has only oxygen atoms． Elements are substances which cannot be broken down chemically into any simpler substances．

　　All the atoms of an element have the same atomic number． You will remember that the atomic number is the number of protons (= very very small pieces of matter that carry positive or Å electricity) in the nucleus or centre of an atom, and this number determines or decides the nature of the element． Each oxygen atom has eight protons in its nucleus, while each aluminum has thirteen． We call these substances elements because all their atoms are of the same type;they all have the same number of protons in the nucleus．

　　The element is made up of chemical units which have two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds or connections． A chemical unit is the smallest unit of a substance which shows all the chemical nature of the substance． Chemical units of elements are called molecules． The number of atoms in a molecule depends on the element．

　　At room temperature, some elements are gases (in a gas, there are larger spaces between the (molecules )． In the Noble Gases, each molecule has only one atom, because the atoms of these elements do not form chemical bonds with each other． In other gases, however, the molecules each have two atoms held together by chemical bonds． For example, nitrogen, chlorine, fluorine, oxygen, and hydrogen are all gases whose molecules have two atoms each．

　　The chemical symbol or sign of an element stands for one atom of the element． The formula of the element, however, stands for one molecule of the element．

　　Most elements are solid at room temperature． Some of these elements are made up of single atoms placed closely together within the solid, e．g． copper, iron, and nickel．

　　Other solid elements are made up of molecules with two or more atoms each． Iodine is a solid whose molecules have two atoms each(I2 ), but phosphorus has molecules made up of four atoms (P4 ), while the molecules of sulphur may have up to eight atoms each ( S8 )． In each of these elements, the molecules are put so closely together that the result is a solid substance．

　　Bromine and mercury are two elements which are liquids at room temperature． Bromine, like its neighbours chlorine and iodine in the periodic ( = of period ) table, has molecules made up of two atoms each． In these liquid elements, the molecules are close together, but not so crowded;they can pass lightly by one another．

1．All elements are made up of　　　　 ．

A．atoms B． matter C． building materials D． molecules

2Pure elements can ______．

A．never be broken away in any way

B．not be broken into smaller parts in any simpler way

C．seldom be made up of only one atom

D．have only oxygen atoms

3．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The nature of atoms decides the nature of an element they are in．

B．The number of atoms decides the nature of an element they are in．

C．The nature of protons inside an atom decides the nature of the atom．

D．The number of protons inside an atom decides the number of the atom．

4． The symbol of aluminum is ______ and its atom number is ______

A．Al, 8 B．Alu, 9 C．Al, 13 D．Alu, 14

5． The molecule is ________of a substance．

A．a small chemical unit B．the smallest unit

C．the chemical bonds　　D．a chemical unit

6． A noble gas molecule has ________．

A．something to do with room temperature

B．no chemical bonds with each other

C．only one atom

D．has no chemical bonds with other elements

7．The formula of fluoride , sulphur , iodine and phosphorus are __________．

A 2, 4, 6, 8 B．2, 2, 4, 8

C．2, 4, 2, 8 D．2, 8, 2, 4

8． Molecules in a solid are 　　 those in a gas．

A．as closely placed as B．more closely put than

C．less closely placed than D．smaller in space than

9． It seems that elements in an ordinary lab are 　　 solids．

A．mostly B．sometimes C．seldom D．never

10． Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Bromine and mercury are always solids．

B．Molecules of liquids are less closely put than those of gases．

C．Each bromine element has the same number of atoms as that of nitrogen．

D．Liquid molecules are always more closely put than those of solids．