C
I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement--- jobs, research papers, awards --- was viewed through the lens of gender(性别)politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus right brain, or nature versus nurture(培育, I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.
Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I don’t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.
Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don’t dismiss those concerns. Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.
72. Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?
She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields.
She is not good at telling stories of the kind.
She finds space research more important.
She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination.
73. From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute the author’s failures to ______.
her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist
the very fact that she is a woman
her involvement in gender politics
the burden she bears in a male-dominated society
74. Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?
Her students’ performance has brought back her confidence.
Her female students can do just as well as male students.
More female students are pursuing science than before.
Female students no longer have to bother about gender issues.
75. What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?
A. Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation.
Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.
Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career.
Women can balance a career in science and having a family.
Without proper planning, tourism can cause problems. For example, too many tourists can crowd public places that are also enjoyed by the inhabitants(居民) of a country. If tourists create too much traffic, the inhabitants become angry and unhappy. They begin to dislike tourists and to treat them impolitely. They forget how much tourism can help the country’s economy. It is important to think about the people of a destination(目的地) country and how tourism affects them. Tourism should help a country keep the customs and beauty that attract tourists. Tourism should also advance health and happiness of local inhabitants.
Too much tourism can be a problem. If tourism grows too quickly, people must leave other jobs to work in the tourism industry. This means that other parts of the country’s economy can suffer.
On the other hand, if there is not enough tourism, people can lose jobs. Businesses can also lose money. It costs a great deal of money to build large hotels, airports, first-class roads, and other support facilities(设施) needed by tourist attractions. For example, a major international-class tourist hotel can cost as much as 50 thousand dollars per room to build. If this room is not used most of the time, the owners of the hotel lose money.
Building a hotel is just a beginning. There must be many support facilities as well, including roads to get to the hotel, electricity, sewers(阴沟) to handle waste, and water. All of these support facilities cost money. If they are not used because there are not enough tourists, jobs and money are lost.Which of the following has most probably been discussed in the paragraph that goes before the passage?
| A.It is not important to develop tourism. |
| B.Building roads and hotels is important. |
| C.Support facilities are highly necessary. |
| D.Planning is of great importance to tourism. |
Too much tourism can cause all these problems except _____.
| A.a bad effect on other industries |
| B.a change of the customs of the country |
| C.air and water pollution |
| D.pressure on traffic |
Not enough tourism can lead to _____.
| A.the fact that some people may be out of work |
| B.an increase in tourist attractions |
| C.the higher cost of support facilities |
| D.a rise in price and a fall in pay |
The word “handle” in the last paragraph most probably means _____.
| A.carry away | B.pick up | C.get in | D.take down |
A special laboratory at the University of Chicago is busy only at night. It is a dream laboratory where researchers are at work studying dreamers. Their findings have discovered that everyone dreams from three to seven times a night, although in ordinary life a person may remember none or only one of his dreams.
While the subjects—usually students—sleep, special machines record their brain waves and eye movements as well as the body movements that signal the end of a dream. Surprisingly, all subjects sleep soundly.
Observers report that a person usually fidgets(烦躁不安) before a dream. Once the dream has started, his body relaxes and his eyes become more active, as if the curtain had gone up on a show. As soon as the machine shows that the dream is over, a buzzer wakens the sleeper. He sits up, records his dream, and goes back to sleep—perhaps to dream some more.
Researchers have found that if the dreamer is wakened immediately after his dream, he can usually recall the entire dream. If he is allowed to sleep even five more minutes, his memory of the dream will have disappeared.According to the passage, researchers at the University of Chicago are studying ____.
| A.contents of dreams | B.dreamers while they dream |
| C.the meaning of dreams | D.the progress of sleeping |
Their finding has discovered that _____.
| A.everyone dreams every night |
| B.dreams are easily remembered |
| C.dreams are likely to be frightening |
| D.One person dreams only one dream a night |
The machines being used in the experiment record _____.
| A.the depth of sleep |
| B.the subjects’ brain waves and eye movements |
| C.how many dreams a person has |
| D.what a sleeper dreams during his sleep |
A person would be most likely to remember the dream that _____.
| A.was of most interest to him |
| B.occurred immediately after he went to sleep |
| C.occurred just before he woke up |
| D.was the longest one to him |
A fried of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a naughty street boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, Mister?” he asked..
Paul nodded, “My brother gave it to me for Christmas.” The boy was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you anything? I wish…” He hesitated(犹豫).
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said made Paul think all the way.
“I wish ,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.”
Paul looked at the boy in surprise, adding, “Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?”
“Yes, I’d love that.” After a short ride, the boy turned and said, “Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?”
Paul smiled, He thought he knew what the boy wanted. But Paul was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a while Paul heard him coming back, but he didn’t come fast. He was carrying his little crippled(伤残) brother. He pointed to the car and said, “There it is, Buddy, just like I told you up stairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas. And some day I’m going to give one just like it and then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying tell you about. ”
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.
That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what “It is more blessed to give” means.The naughty street boy wished to _____________ .
| A.have a brother like Paul’s |
| B.get a present from his brother |
| C.become a brother like Paul’s |
| D.take a ride in his automobile |
When the boy asked for a ride home, Paul thought the boy wanted to ______________.
| A.play a trick on him |
| B.own a car like Paul’s |
| C.pick up someone important to him. |
| D.show off by riding home in a car |
What did the boy want to show to his crippled brother?
| A.His pride. | B.His bravery. | C.His love. | D.His generosity. |
What would be the best title for text?
| A.A brother like that |
| B.A Christmas present |
| C.A boy’s crippled brother |
| D.An unforgettable Christmas |
(Originally created) The last sentence “It is more blessed to give” in this story means following EXCEPT____.
| A.It is better to help than to get helped. |
| B.The more help you give to others, the happier you will feel. |
| C.To help other people is a way to make a person to become a true man. |
| D.To give away all your wealth, otherwise, you won’t be blessed by God. |
Whether you admit or not, music is rooted in our daily life, weaving its beauty and emotion through our thoughts, activities and memories. So if you’re interested in music theory, music appreciation, Beethoven, Mozart, artists and performers, we hope you’ll spend some time here and learn from those music articles of note for all ages and tastes.
When I first started studying the history of music, I did not realize what I was getting into. I had thought that music history was somewhat of an unimportant pursuit(追求). In fact, I only took my history of classical music class because I needed the credits(学分). I did not realize how really attractive music history was. You see, in our culture many of us do not really learn to understand music. When I began to learn about the history of Western music, however, it changed all that for me.
When most of us think about the history of music, we think of the history of rock music, we assume that the history is simple because the music is simple. In fact, neither is the case, The history of music, whether you’re talking about classical music, rock music, jazz music, or any other kind, is never simple.
Even when the class was over, I would not stop learning about the history of music. It had attracted my interest, and I wanted more.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A.To advise readers to learn about music. |
| B.To show he has a good knowledge of music. |
| C.To ask readers to share their experience. |
| D.To prove that music has a long history. |
Why did the author take the history of classical music class?
| A.He was very interested in classical music. |
| B.Classical music would bring him fame. |
| C.Classical music was very important to him. |
| D.He wanted to get the points from the course. |
The underlined word “assume” in the third paragraph probably means “____________ ”.
| A.see | B.mean | C.think | D.wonder |
What did the author do after the class was over?
| A.He became tired of music history. |
| B.He kept on learning about music history. |
| C.He found music was difficult to learn. |
| D.He began to take part in music activities. |
(Originally created) What can we infer about the author according to the passage?
| A.He didn’t like music at the beginning. |
| B.He prefers history to music. |
| C.He doesn’t study hard at school. |
| D.The students in his school need some credits in other subjects besides the credits in their majors before they graduate from their college. |
I found out one time that doing a favor for someone could get you into a lot of trouble. I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me whispered something, but I didn’t understand. So I leaned over her way and found out that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that hers was out of ink and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, so I took it out of my pocket and put it on her desk..
Later, after the test papers had been turned in, the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed(解散). As soon as we were alone she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she talked about how important it was to stand on your own two feet and be responsible (负责任) for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about honesty and emphasized(强调) the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really cheating(欺骗) themselves. She made me promise that I would think seriously(认真地) about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could leave. I walked out of the room wondering why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to talk to the girl next to me, it looked as if I was copying answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to explain about the pen, but all she could say was it seemed very very strange to her that I hadn’t talked of anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. Even if I tried to explain that I was just doing the girl a favor by letting her use my pen, I am sure she continued(继续) to believe that I had cheated on the test.The story took place(发生) exactly ____ .
| A.in the teacher’s office | B.in an exam room |
| C.in the school | D.in the language lab |
The girl wanted to borrow a pen, because ____ .
| A.she had not brought a pen with her |
| B.she had lost her own on her way to school |
| C.there was something wrong with her own |
| D.her own had been taken away by someone |
The teacher saw all this, so she asked the boy ____ .
| A.to go on writing his paper | B.to stop whispering |
| C.to leave the room immediately | D.to stay behind after the exam |
The thing(s) emphasized in her talk was(were) ____ .
| A.honesty | B.sense of duty | C.seriousness | D.all of the above |
The boy knew everything ____ .
| A.the moment he was asked to stay behind |
| B.when the teacher started talking about honesty |
| C.only some time later |
| D.when he was walking out of the room |