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 (相对于) 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.Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?
| A．She feels unhappy working in male-dominated fields. |
| B．She is fed up with the issue of gender discrimination. |
| C．She is not good at telling stories of the kind. |
| D．She finds space research more important |
From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would owe the author’s failures to _____.
| A．the very fact that she is a woman |
| B．her involvement in gender politics |
| C．her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist |
| D．the burden she bears in a male-dominated society |
Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?
| A．Female students no longer have to bother about gender issues. |
| B．Her students’ performance has brought back her confidence. |
| C．Her female students can do just as well as male students. |
| D．More female students are pursuing science than before. |
What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?
| A．Women students needn’t have the concerns of her generation. |
| B．Women have more barriers on their way to academic success. |
| C．Women can balance a career in science and having a family. |
| D．Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career. |
阅读下面短文，并根据短文后的要求答题（请注意问题后的字数要求）。
Scientists believe that conditions on Mars around 3.8 billion years ago were very similar to those of the early earth, when primitive organisms were spreading through our oceans. At that time, Mars would have been much warmer and wetter than it is today, with an atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide, just like that of the earth at the time. Under these conditions, it is highly probable that life may have arisen on Mars as well.
But, even if life did not arise naturally on Mars, it does not mean that it could not have existed there. According to Professor Paul Davies of the University of Adelaide, Australia, life forms could have been transferred between the earth and Mars in wreckage (broke pieces) created by the impact of comet(彗星) and small planets on the surface of the two planets.
Even today, about 500 tons of material from Mars lands on earth every year. It is mainly in the form of the dust but occasionally a larger chunk(厚片，大块) strikes the earth. In 1911, a piece of Martian rock crashed in Egypt, killing a dog. According to Professor Davies, it is in these chunks of rock, which were much larger and more frequent in the past that life forms could have been transported from planet to planet.
“But how could these life forms have survived their journey through space?” says Paul Davies, “The difficulty in believing this theory is that a bacterium on its own in space has to struggle itself not only against cold but also against deadly cosmic (宇宙的) radiation. But wrapped in a rock the situation is different. A rock ten meters across would shield life inside it from a lot of radiation and the temperature might only be minus 10 or 20 degrees, the sort of thing we have on earth.”Where do some scientists suppose life probably come from? (3’) (No more than 6 words)
____________________________________________________________________________What does Professor Paul Davies believe? (3’) (No more than 6 words)
____________________________________________________________________________Why could life survive when transferred from one planet to another? (3’) (No more than 12 words)
____________________________________________________________________________According to Professor Paul Davies, how did the wreckage come into being? (3’) (No more than 10 words)
____________________________________________________________________________List at least two differences about Mars between the past and now. (3’) (No more than 16 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penage. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight, immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back..
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey.The author expected the train trip to be_________.
| A．adventurous | B．dull | C．exciting | D．pleasant |
What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?
| A．The mountains along the way. |
| B．The friendly country people. |
| C．The crowds of people in the streets. |
| D．The simple lunch served on the train. |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word “relish” in the second paragraph?
| A．choose | B．enjoy | C．prepare for | D．carry on |
Where was the writer going?
| A．Butterworth. | B．The Causeway. | C．Johore Baru. | D．Singapore. |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Comfort in traveling by train. |
| B．Pleasure of living in the country. |
| C．Reading gives people delight. |
| D．Smiles brighten people up. |
Protecting Copyright
Having finished her homework, Ma Li wants some music. As usual, she starts her computer and goes to Baidu.com to download music files. But this time she is surprised when an announcement about protecting songs’ copyright bursts onto the screen. The age of free music and movie downloads may have come to an end as Web companies like Baidu are accused of pirating copyright. Lawsuits have been filed against four websites offering free downloads. In September 2005, a Beijing court ordered Baidu to pay recording company Shanghai Push compensation for their losses. Baidu was also told to block the links to the pirated music on the website. This caused a heated discussion on Interact file sharing.
“Baidu’s defeat in the lawsuit shows it is not right to get copyrighted songs without paying. Down loaders may face lawsuits or fines,” said an official.
Like many teens, Huang Ruoru, an 18-year-old girl from Puning in Guangdong Province, doesn’t think that getting music from websites is wrong. She always shares her favourite songs downloaded from Baidu with her friends. When told about the lawsuit, she began to feel a little guilty about obtaining others’ work without paying.
However, other teenagers have different ideas. Wang Yafei, a Senior 2 girl from Jinan, Shandong Province pointed out that file sharing is a good way to promote pop singers. “If I download a song and really like it, I will buy the CD,” she said. “So what the recording companies really should concentrate on is improving their music, rather than pursuingfile-sharers.”Which of the following best describes the passage?
| A．Downloading material can be illegal. |
| B．Music on the Internet is of better quality. |
| C．It’s good to get free music on the Internet. |
| D．Baidu is a popular web company. |
The four web companies were put to court because ________.
| A．they got copyrighted songs without paying |
| B．they make copyrighted files for free downloads |
| C．they downloaded copyrighted music for people |
| D．they offer free music on line |
How do some of the teenagers feel while downloading free music after the lawsuit?
| A．A bit guilty. | B．A little sad. |
| C．Extremely angry. | D．Awfully sorry. |
What’s the advantage of file sharing for recording companies?
| A．Getting more money from web companies. |
| B．Making pop singers more popular. |
| C．Helping to improve the music. |
| D．Enabling people to download favorite songs. |
It can be inferred from the text that _________.
| A．Web companies are still ignoring the copyright laws. |
| B．Teenagers haven’t got money to buy CDs. |
| C．Teenagers are probably still downloading free music. |
| D．Teenagers prefer CDs with copyright to pirated music. |
Judging from recent surveys, most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic（流行病） of sleepiness in the nation．“I can’t think of a single study that hasn’t found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,” says Dr．David．Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest．
The beginning of our sleep-deficit（lack）crises can be traced back to the invention of the light bulb a century ago．From diary entries and our personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night．“The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark．” By the 1950s and 1960s, the sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and 8 hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock．“People cheat in their sleep, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it,” says Dr．David．“They think they’re okay because they can get by on 6.5 hours, when they really need 7.5, 8 or even more to feel ideally energetic. ”
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researches say, is the complexity of the day．Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community increase, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on their programs．“In our society, you’re considered dynamic if you say you need only 5．5 hours’ sleep．If you’ve got to get 8．5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition．”
To determine the consequences of sleep-deficit, researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier．“We’ve found that if you’re in sleep deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr．David．“Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate．”What is the main topic of the passage?
| A．The history of people’s sleeping patterns． |
| B．The epidemic of sleepiness in the modern times． |
| C．Research on the causes and consequences of sleep-deficit． |
| D．The minimum of our sleeping hours． |
Which of the following is Dr．David’s opinion?
| A．People’s metal power suffers if they are lacking in sleep． |
| B．Some people can remain energetic with only 6．5 hours’ sleep a night． |
| C．If they get 8．5 hours’ sleep, people will be full of drive and ambition． |
| D．People who think they are sleeping enough are better off than those who don't． |
People in the 18th and 19th centuries slept about 9．5 hours a night because _______．
| A．they had no electricity |
| B．they knew what was best for their health |
| C．they were forced by their parents to do so |
| D．they were not so dynamic and ambitious as modern people are |
The major cause of sleep-deficit of modern people is _______．
| A．the endless TV programs in the evenings and the internet |
| B．the heavy work load of the day |
| C．the sufficient energy modern people usually have |
| D．loud noises in the modern cities |
What does the word “subjects” in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Person or thing that is being discussed or described． |
| B．Branch of knowledge studied in a school． |
| C．Person or thing being treated in a certain way or being experimented on． |
| D．Any member of a State apart from the supreme ruler． |
Today, when there are many top graduates looking for top jobs, graduates can differentiate(区别) themselves by obtaining a double major or even a double degree. Increasingly, employers are looking for individuals who are not only competent and intelligent, but who have different skill sets and who are knowledgeable in many areas. Part of the appeal to employers is that your extra work demonstrates a willingness to take on difficult tasks. Additionally, if your majors overlap (重叠), you are able to show potential employers that you have both breadth and depth of knowledge.
By studying for a double major, although you will be studying for only one degree, you will be focusing on two related and integrated subjects that complement (补充) each other. Classes overlap between the majors, meaning fewer classes are required than with a double degree, so it is easier to finish within four years.
In contrast, with the more rigorous (严格的) double degree, you will be studying for two different degrees in two completely different areas of study. Although pursuing such a course of study allows students to complete two wholly separate degrees in less time than if they were to earn them separately, many strong students still find it incredibly difficult to complete in four or five years.
If you are committed to a double major/degree, it is wise to do a little bit of planning. Some students try to find two courses of studies that are related, while others seek to round out their academic studies by choosing two completely unrelated fields.
For double majors, common pairings include: (i) economics and a foreign language; (ii) political science or government and journalism; (iii) economics and psychology.
For double degrees, common pairings include: (i) engineering and a business program such as finance or accounting; (ii) engineering and economics.What do employers think of the graduates with different skill sets and knowledge in many areas?
| A．They should be given top jobs. |
| B．They are willing to take difficult tasks. |
| C．They are better than those who are competent and intelligent. |
| D．They must have attained a double major or even a double degree. |
According to the passage, the underlined word “breadth” most probably means_________.
| A．quality | B．amount | C．quantity | D．width |
To obtain a double major, you _________.
| A．should complete two wholly separate degrees |
| B．need to focus on two related and integrated subjects |
| C．need to spend more time than obtaining a double degree |
| D．have to take courses in two completely different areas of study |
If you are devoted to a double major or degree, you should _________.
| A．find two subjects with overlapping classes |
| B．learn about what your potential employers want |
| C．decide what to learn with your intentions considered |
| D．try to decide on some common pairings as soon as possible |
Which statement is CORRECT according to the passage?
| A．Economics is a major while engineering is a degree. |
| B．Every college student should take a double major or degree. |
| C．Earning a double degree is more difficult than obtaining a double major. |
| D．Some students choose two completely unrelated fields to show their ability in academic study. |