Thegreatestscientificbreakthro-优题课

C
Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they take effect. But in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax more than doubled—to $1. 01 per pack—smokers have jammed telephone “quit lines” across the country seeking to kick the habit.
This is not a surprise to public health advocates（拥护者） They’ve studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive. Nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.
The only wonder is that so many states insist on closing their ears to the message. Tobacco taxes improve public health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted. Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.
In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings cost ＄10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday. In Charleston, S. C., where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation, the price was $4. 78.
The influence is obvious.
In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys—13.8%, far below the national average. By comparison, 26% of high school students smoke in Kentucky, other low-tax states have similarly depressing teen-smoking records.
Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden of the tax falls on low-income Americans “who choose to smoke.”
That’s true. But there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting hooked in the first place. As for today’s adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.
49. The text is mainly about ________.
A. the price of cigarettes B. the rate of teen smoking
C. the effect of tobacco tax increase D. the differences in tobacco tax rate
50. The underlined word "deter” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ________.
A. discourageB. remove C. benefit D. free
51. Rogers’ attitude towards the low-income smokers might be that of ________.
A. tolerance B. unconcern C. doubt D. sympathy
52. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The new tax will be beneficial in the long run.
B. Low-income Americans are more likely to fall ill.
C. Future generations will be hooked on smoking.
D. Adults will depend more on their families.

B
In a recent class I was asked “What is a short story?” My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought an illumination (启示) to the reader, sudden and golden like sunlight cracking through heavy cloud. I went on to say that in my opinion a “real” short story was closer to poetry than to the novel.
Here are some definitions of the short story. My favorite is Benet’s: “something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime”. One writer said: “the theme of a novel won’t fit into the framework of a short story; it’s like trying to squeeze (压缩) a large painting done on a wall into a miniature. And as in a miniature painting, the details need to be sharp.”
The short story is an example of one aspect of human nature. Short stories usually “say something”, often a character undergoes some event, often a small thing, but something similar to a life experience, even a life-moment for some readers. A short story is an account, rarely over 10,000 words or below 500 words— more commonly 1,500-5,000 words— a single-sitting read, but with enough time and weight to move the reader.
Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote: “Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you’re done. Short stories are more difficult— they have to be perfect, complete in themselves.”
45. The underlined word “undergoes” in the third paragraph probably means ________.
A. discovers B. experiences C. discusses D. appreciates
46. Which statement of the following is true?
A. The ideal short story should be at most 10,000 words in length.
B. The ideal short story should be below 500 words in length
C. The ideal short story should be around 1,500 words in length
D. The ideal short story should be over 5,000words in length
47. What’s the difference between novels and short stories?
A. Novels are too long for us to read.
B. Short stories are too short for us to read.
C. Novels are more details than short stories.
D. Short stories are more perfect and difficult than novels.
48. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How Do You Write a Short Story? B. Is a Short Story Similar to Poetry?
C. What Exactly Is a Short Story? D. Are Short Stories Perfect and Complete?

第二部分阅读理解（共分两节,满分45分）
阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Have you ever heard the story of the four-minute miles? Many years ago, people believed that it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it wrong in 1954.
What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through. What happens when someone, who doesn’t know how to swim, falls in deep waters? They drown. If an animal who has not learnt swimming could escape by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal doesn’t.
Have you ever wondered why the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard? You might have thought it is to increase the typing speed. Most people never question it. But the fact is that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when typewriter parts would jam (堵塞) if the operator typed too fast.
These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to create and to destroy. A belief delivers command to your nervous system.
I used a snake in my workshops for children to show them how unrealistic some of their beliefs are. Students of a school in India, said snakes are smooth and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types of poisonous snakes exist in India.
Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which ones you need to change.
41. In author’s opinion, if a person in deep water doesn’t know how to swim, he will drown because ______.
A. he is afraid of water. B. he hasn’t learnt to swim before.
C. he believes he will drown. D. he don’t want to live in the world.
42. The author thinks that the letters organized in a particular order on your keyboard in order to ________.
A. save more space B. satisfy the operator
C. increase one’s typing speed D. reduce one’s typing speed
43. The author’s experiment shows that ________.
A. snakes can be caught easily B. snakes are dry and clean
C. snakes are smooth and poisonous D. snakes in India aren’t poisonous
44. The main idea of this passage should be that ________.
A. beliefs are very powerful. B. beliefs make us seem stupid
C. changing your beliefs now is necessary D. people should always believe in themselves.

D
Both warm-blooded and cold-blooded desert animals have ways to escape the desert heat. Warm-blooded desert animals, such as rats and mice, rest during the day, often staying in cool underground burrows. At night they search for food. Animals that are out during the day, such as cold-blooded lizards and snakes, are active only for short periods. As their body temperature rises, these reptiles move into the shade in order to cool down. In the early evening, when the sun grows weaker, the reptiles become more active and begin their search for food again.
Getting enough water to survive is a major problem for all desert animals. Some desert animals, such as the kangaroo rat and the related jerboa, get water only from the food that they eat. Because these animals eat mainly dry seeds, they must survive on a tiny amount of water.
Most deserts have only a small number of frogs and toads because these animals must be near water to survive. Yet even these creatures have adapted to desert conditions. When small amounts of water collect in temporary streams, the desert-living frogs and toads become active. After a rainfall, they lay their eggs. The eggs grow into tadpoles in a few days and into adults in just four weeks. When the puddles dry up, the adult frogs or toads dig into the ground. Their metabolism(新陈代谢) slows, and they stay beneath the ground until the next rain, which may be as good as a year away. Until then, their bodily activities continue at a reduced rate.
The camel---often called the ship of the desert---is one of the most successful desert animals. Camels can go for long periods without water, but eventually they must drink. When water becomes available to them after a long drought, they may drink 95 liters of water or more. When water is not available, what helps camels survive the desert heat is the fat stored in their humps. A camel’s hump contains about 12 kilograms of fat. Fat is rich in hydrogen. As the fat is digested, hydrogen from the fat combines with oxygen in the air that the camel breathes. The result is H2O, or water. Each kilogram of fat that a camel digests produces about a liter of water.
71. Desert animals are usually more active at night because ______.
A. it is cooler at night B.it is easier to find water
C.they like the dark D. they are less likely to be attacked at night
72. Which of the following desert animals can get water only from the food?
A. The camel. B. The kangaroo rat. C. The frog.D. The toad
73. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. All the desert animals rest during the day.
B. All the desert animals don’t rest during the day.
C. Cold-blooded desert animals don’t rest during the day.
D. None of the cold-blooded desert animals go out during the day.
74. The title for this passage could probably be ________.
A. Hot Deserts B. Desert Animals
C. How Desert Animals Get Water D. Ways To Escape the Desert Heat
75. The underlined word “burrows” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _________.
A. holes B. caves C. rooms D. Openings

C
What do consumers really want? That’s a question market researchers would love to answer. But since people don’t always say what they think, marketers would need direct access to consumers’ thoughts to get the truth.
Now, in a way, that is possible. At the “Mind of the Market” laboratory at Harvard Business School, researchers are looking inside shoppers’ skulls to develop more effective advertisements and marketing styles. Using imaging techniques that measure blood flow to various parts of the brain, the Harvard team hopes to predict how consumers will react to particular products and to discover the most effective ways to present information. Stephen Kosslyn, a professor of psychology at Harvard, and business school professor Gerald Zaltman, oversee the lab. “The goal is not to influence people’s preferences,” says Kosslyn, “just to speak to their actual desires."
The group’s findings, though still preliminary (初步的), could change how firms develop and market new products. The Harvard group use position emission tomography (PET) scans to monitor the brain activity. These PET scans, along with other imaging techniques, enable researchers to see which parts of the brain are active during specific tasks(such as remembering a word).Correlations (相互关系) have been found between blood flow to specific areas and future behavior. Because of this, Harvard researchers believe the scans can also predict future purchasing patterns. According to an unpublished paper the group produced, “It is possible to use these techniques to predict not only whether people will remember and have specific emotional reactions to certain materials, but also whether they tend to want those materials months later.”
The Harvard group is now moving into the next stage of experiments. They will explore how people remember advertisements as part of an effort to predict how they will react to a product after having seen an ad. The researchers believe that once key areas of the brain are identified, scans on about two dozen volunteers will be enough to draw conclusions about the reactions of specific sections of the population. Large corporations-including Coca Cola, Eastman Kodak, General Motors, and Hallmark-have already signed up to fund further investigations.
For their financial support, these firms gain access to the experiments but cannot control them．If Kosslyn and Zahman and their team really can read the mind of the market, then consumers may find it even harder to get those advertising jingles-out of heir heads.
66. Which of the following statements can be the best title for this passage?
A. Reading the Mind of the Market.
B. Influencing the Customers’ Choice.
C. Influencing the Style of Advertising.
D. Experimenting with the Way to Foretell
67. Why do the Harvard researchers use scientific technology in the experiments?
A. Because they want to find a better way to persuade people into purchasing patterns in the future in the different market.
B. Because they don’t trust the findings already done by other researchers.
C. Because they want to see how particular products can influence consumers and find out the most effective ways to advertise.
D.Because they think the marketing strategies can actually be changed after the experiments.
68. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. People sometimes hide their true feelings when questioned by the marketing surveyors.
B. Stephen Kosslyn and Gerald Zaltman are in charge of the experiment and think ill of the study.
C. Harvard researchers have found some relation between people’s brain and future behavior.
D. Many large companies finance the Harvard group’s further investigations.
69. What does “to speak to” in the 2nd paragraph mean?
A. To communicate with. B. To say to. C. To talk to. D. To respond to.
70. The last sentence of the passage implies that ___________.
A. it is very likely that customers will buy unnecessary things just depending on the ads in the future.
B. in fact, the real purpose of Harvard group’s research is to attract more consumers into the market.
C. Coca Cola or the General Motors can exploit the findings of the experiments in their own marketing.
D. Consumers may find it more difficult to get out of the advertising jungle and it may cause them headaches.