The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before: changes for the better, changes for the worse; changes that brought a lot of benefits(益处) to human beings, changes that put man in danger. Many things caused the changes, but, in my opinion, the most important was the progress in science.
Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened our views. It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure(结构)of matter and of the universe; it has brought us a better understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous development. Technology —the application(应用)of science —has made big advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life.
The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century will result in even greater advantages to human beings: in pure science — a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning; in applied science — a more reasonable sharing of material benefits, and better protection of the environment.
Sadly, however, there is another side to the picture. The creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind. The application of science and technology to the development and production of weapons(武器)of mass destruction has created a real danger to the continued existence of the human race on this planet. We have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons, Although their actual use has so far occurred only in the Second World War, the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for use was so large that if the weapons had actually been used, the result could have been the ruin of the human race, as well as of many kinds of animals.
William Shakespeare said, "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn (纱线), good and ill具together. " The above brief review of the application of only one part of human activities – science—seems to prove what Shakespeare said. But does it have to be so? Must the ill always go together with the good? Are we biologically programmed for war?
73.From the fourth paragraph, we can infer that________.
A. a great many nuclear weapons were actually used for war
B. a large number of nuclear weapons should have been used for war
C. the author is doubtful about the ruin of human beings by nuclear weapons
D. the author is anxious about the huge number of nuclear weapons on the earth
74.The underlined word "mingled" in the last paragraph most probably means________.
A. simple B. mixed C. sad D. happy
75.What do you think the author is most likely to suggest if he continues to write?
A. Further application of science to war.
B. More reading of William Shakespeare.
C. Proper use of science in the new century.
D. Effective ways to separate the good from the ill.
C
Hobbs was an orphan(孤儿). He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work made him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.
One day a lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will(遗嘱),” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that,” said the young man.
49.Hobbs wanted to borrow money to _______.
A. study abroad B. work abroad C. pay off the debts D. learn to paint pictures
50.What does the underlined word “dumbfounded” (in Paragraph 2) probably mean?
A. surprised. B. frightened. C. satisfied. D. excited.
51.With the money he got, at first Hobbs _______.
A. planned to have a happy life for a few days
B. decided to give up his work in the factory
C. was to give a dinner to his friends
D. had no idea what to do
52.Hobbs was asked to _______.
A. tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it
B. tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money
C. buy some pictures
D. read his uncle’s will
B
It is natural that children are curious about the world around them. For example, they want to know how their hearts beat. They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty.
As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things. When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers. They become interested in the physical world around them: the plants, the animals, the sky. Later, they become interested in the things that people have made: wheels, bicycles, cars. And when they are adults, their curiosity continues. Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career (生涯、职业) in science.
Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world.Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies. Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences. A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e. g. physics, chemistry .
These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world.For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run. They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute. Your heart is a pump (泵) that pumps blood to all parts of the body. The blood carries oxygen and nutrition. When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them. The muscles need oxygen, too . So your brain sends a signal to the heart. The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen. Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles. It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute.
Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions. If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks. When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks. Rain falls into cracks. The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers. The rivers carry the salt into the ocean. But then we ask , “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year.” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question.
We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious.
45.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A.People are curious in the same way.
B.People in different countries are interested in different things.
C.Men and women are curious about different things.
D.People of different ages are interested in different things
46.Scientists who work with the biological sciences study____.
A.the earth , the oceans and the sky B.man-made things
C.plants and animals D.ocean water
47.When you run, your muscles need ____.
A.more nutrition and oxygen B.more signals C.more salt D.water
48.A rock cracks _____.
A.in wet regions B.in dry regions
C.at very high or very low temperatures D.when salty water falls in
第三部分阅读理解(共两节,满分50分)
第一节:阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
A
People have strange ideas about food. For example, tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition(营养) and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous(有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples”.
President Thomas Jefferson, however, know that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored guests about the fact.
41.After you read the passage, which of the following do you think is true?
A. Americans never ate tomatoes after they began to plant them.
B. Americans didn’t eat tomatoes before 19th century.
C. Even now Americans don’t eat tomatoes.
D. In the 18th century Americans ate a lot of tomatoes.
42.Jefferson learned that tomatoes were good to eat ____.
A. while he was in Paris B. when he was a little boy
C. because his parents told him so D. from books
43.From the passage we know all the honored guests invited by Jefferson were____.
A. people from other countries B. from France
C. people of his own country D. men only
44.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT TRUE?
A. Some of the guests knew the soup that was served at the President’s party was made of tomatoes
B. All of the guests thought the soup which was prepared by the President’s cook was nice.
C. President Thomas Jefferson knew that tomatoes were good to eat and not poisonous at all.
D. All of the guests didn’t know that their president would serve his honored guests poison apples.
E
A century ago in the United States, when an individual brought suit against a company, public opinion tended to protect that company. But perhaps this phenomenon was most striking in the case of the railroads. Nearly half of all negligence cases decided through 1896 involved railroads. And the railroads usually won.
Most of the cases were decided in sate courts, when the railroads had the climate of the times on their sides. Government supported the railroad industry; the progress railroads represented was not to be slowed down by requiring them often to pay damages to those unlucky enough to be hurt working for them.
Court decisions always went against railroad workers. A Mr. Farwell, an engineer, lost his right hand when a switchman’s negligence ran his engine off the track. The court reasoned that since Farwell had taken the job of an engineer voluntarily at good pay, he had accepted the risk. Therefore the accident, though avoidable had the switchmen acted carefully, was a “pure accident”. In effect a railroad could never be held responsible for injury to one employee caused by the mistake of another.
In one case where a Pennsylvania Railroad worker had started a fire at a warehouse and the fire had spread several blocks, causing widespread damage, a jury found the company responsible for all the damage. But the court overturned the jury’s decision because it argued that the railroad’s negligence was the immediate cause of damage only to the nearest buildings. Beyond them the connection was too remote to consider.
As the century wore on, public sentiment began to turn against the railroads—against their economic and political power and high fares as well as against their callousness toward individuals.
72. Which of the following is NOT true in Farwell’s case?
A. Farwell was injured because he negligently ran his engine off the track.
B. Farwell would not have been injured if the switchman had been more careful.
C. The court argued that the victim had accepted the risk since he had willingly taken his job.
D. The court decided that the railroad should not be held responsible.
73. What must have happened after the fire case was settled in court?
A. The railroad compensated for the damage to the immediate buildings.
B. The railroad compensated for all the damage by the fire.
C. The railroad paid nothing for the damaged building.
D. The railroad worker paid for the property damage himself.
74. The following aroused public resentment EXCEPT _____.
A. political power B. high fares C. economic loss D. indifference
75. What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Railroad oppressing individuals in the US.
B. History of the US railroads.
C. Railroad workers’ working rights.
D. Law cases concerning the railroads.
D
What's your earliest childhood memory? Can you remember the first time you heard thunder or watched a television program? Adults seldom recall events much earlier than the year or so before entering school, just as children younger than three or four rarely retain any memory of specific, personal experiences.
A variety of explanations have been proposed by psychologists for this "childhood amnesia"( 记忆缺失,健忘).One argues that the hippocampus, the region of the brain which is responsible for forming memories, does not mature(成熟)until about the age of two. But the most popular theory maintains (主张)that, since adults do not think like children, they cannot access childhood memories. Adults think in words, and their life memories are like stories. But when they search through their mental files for early childhood memories to add to this verbal life story, they don't find any that fit the pattern. It's like trying to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary.
Now psychologist Annette Simms offers a new explanation for childhood amnesia. She argues that there simply aren't any early childhood memories to recall. According to Dr. Simms, children need to learn to use someone else's spoken description of their personal experiences in order to turn their own short-term, quickly forgotten impressions of these experiences into long-term memories. In other words, children have to talk about their experiences and hear others talk about them - Mother talking about the afternoon spent looking for crabs(蟹) at the beach or Dad asking them about their day at Ocean Park. Without this verbal reinforcement, says Dr. Simms, children cannot form permanent memories of their personal experiences.
69. According to the passage, it is widely believed that_________.
A. it is impossible for an adult to recall his(or her) childhood experiences
B. adults virtually have no access to their childhood memories
C. adults think in words while children think in images
D. adults and children have different brain structures
70. "Trying to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary" is stated in the passage to show that_______.
A. Chinese and English are totally different languages
B. it is unlikely to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary
C. adults and children have different memory patterns
D. memories are in some way connected with languages
71. According to Annette Simms,_______________.
A. verbal reinforcement is necessary for children to have permanent memories
B. there does not exist such things as childhood memories
C. children's brains are mature enough to form permanent memories
D. children are generally inexperienced and unable to remember things they don't understand