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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
第三部分：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和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Imagine that the genome（基因组）is a book. The book consists of 23 chapters with thousands of stories made up of paragraphs, words and letters on different levels. There are one billion words in the book, which makes it longer than 5,000 volumes the size of this book. Or as long as 800 Bibles. If I read the genome out to you at the rate of one word per second for 8 hours a day, it would take me a country. If I wrote out the human genome, one letter per millimeter, my text would be as long as the River Danube. This is an enormous document, a huge volume, a cook book of great length, and it all fits inside the extremely small nucleus（核）of a tiny cell that fits easily upon the head of a pin.
The idea of the genome as a book is not, strictly1 speaking, even a metaphor（比喻）. It is true to a great extent. A book is a piece of digital information, written in one-directional form and defined by a code that translates a small alphabet of signs into a large dictionary of meanings through the order of their groupings. So is a genome. The only complication is that all English books read from left to right, while some parts of the genome read from left to right, and some from right to left, though never both at the same time.
While English books are written in words of different lengths using 26 letters, genomes are written entirely2 in three-letter words, using only four letters. And instead of being written on flat pages, they are written on long chains of DNA3 molecules（分子）. The genome is a very clever book because in the right conditions it can both photocopy4 itself and read itself.
56. How to human genomes read according to the passage?
A. Only from left to right.
B. Only from right to left.
C. From both directions at the same time.
D. From one direction at a time.
57. We can learn from the passage that the human genome _____.
A. is as long as the River Danube
B. can be easily placed on the head of a pin
C. is coded with an alphabet of four letters
D. is smart enough to read and take photos of itself
58. It can be concluded that the passage is mainly written for _____.
A. specialists in the field
B. general readers
C. natural scientists
D. readers with academic background
59. The real purpose of the author’s comparison of the genome to a book is _____.
A. to focus on the differences between the two
B. to lay emphasis on the similarities between the two
C. to simplify the concept of the human genome
D. to give an exact description of the human genome
B
E-mail has brought the art of letter writing back to life, but some experts think the resulting spread of bad English does more harm than good.
Email is a form of communication that is changing, for the worse, the way we write and use language, say some communication researchers. It is also changing the way we interact and build relationships. These are a few of the recently recognized features（特征）of e-mail, say experts, that should cause individuals and organizations to rethink the way they use e-mail.
“E-mail has increased the spread of careless writing habits, ” says Naomi Baron5, a professor of linguistics6 at American University. She says the poor spelling, grammar, punctuation7 and sentence structure of e-mails reflect a growing unconcern to the way we write.
Baron argues that we should not forgive and forget the poor writing often shown in e-mails.
“The more we use e-mail and its tasteless writing the more it becomes the normal way of writing. ” the professor says.
Others say that despite its poor prose（无聊的议论）, e-mail has finished what several generations of English teachers couldn’t : It has made writing fashionable again.
“E-mail is a critical（重要的）new communication technology, ” says Lancashire, a university of Tornoto professor of English. “ it fills the gap between spoken language and the formal methods of writing that existed before e-mail. It is the purest form of written speech.”
Lancashire says e-mail has the mysterious ability to get people who are usually scared（惊吓）by writing to get their thoughts flowing easily onto a blank screen. He says this is because of e-mail’s close similarity to speech. “ it’s like a circle of four or five people around a campfire, ” he says.
Still, he accepts that this new-found freedom to express themselves often gets people into trouble. “Almost every day I get e-mails that are apologies of previous e-mails, ” he reports.
In the US, the number of e-mails sent in a day exceeds the number of letters mailed in a year. But more people are recognizing the content of a typical e-mail message that is not often exact.
60. From what Baron, a professor of linguistics, says in the third paragraph we can find that _____.
A. careless people use more e-mail than careful people.
B. E-mail requires people to change their native language.
C. Professors in universities don’t need to use e-mail.
D. People communicate in e-mail full of mistakes.
61. In Lancashire’s opinion, e-mail is a wonderful technology for people because ____.
A. it can be used by everyone all over the world.
B. it is the fastest way for people to communicate.
C. people can express themselves in a free way.
D. people can save a lot of paper to write on.
62. This passage shows us that ____.
A. people should stop using e-mail to communicate
B. Americans only use e-mail to communicate
C. experts hold different opinions about e-mail
D. e-mail makes people lose interest in English
63. The underlined word “exceed” in the passage means ____.
A. be greater than
B. be faster than
C. be shorter than
D. be smaller than
C
Moon landing. The computer chip. Genetic8 engineering. The artificial heart. The achievements of U. S. scientists are known and admired throughout the world. But whether American highest position in research and technology will continue into the 21st century is far from certain. 32 years after the Russians sent up Sputnik setting off a hot race to produce more and better U.S. physicists9, the scientific pipeline10 is drying up. The reason for this crisis（危机）: American science education is in disorder11.
In an Educational Testing Service study of five countries and four Canadian provinces, American 13-year-olds graded last in maths and nearly last in science.
How did America, birthplace of Thomas Edison and Wright brothers, come to such a dangerous situation? One reason is lack of enough financial support for science education. After Sputnik, funding（基金）for the National Science Foundation, the leading U.S. founder12 of scientific research, shot up from $18 million to $130 million. By 1982 financing for NSF’s education had fallen rapidly to zero.
To be sure, changeable funding is only one reason why U.S. scientists are becoming a scarce commodity（稀有商品）. The image of scientists is less lustrous13 than it was in the ’50s and ’60s, when men and women in lab coats were seen as national heroes. Today, the county’s brightest desire is to be bankers and lawyers, not chemists and rocket designers.
64. America is losing its highest position in research and technology because ____.
A. American students are flowing to Canada
B. the scientific pipeline is drying up
C. Thomas Edison and Wright brothers had died
D. the lack of financial support and lower social position of scientists
65. From the passage, we can know that the computer chip, genetic engineering are ____.
A. examples of American scientific achievements
B. names of modern technology
C. seen everywhere throughout the world
D. obtained by Russia
66. The word “lustrous” in the last paragraph can be replaced by ____.
A. important B. shining C. smart D. shocking
67. The main idea of the passage is that _____.
A. America’s leading position in scientific research is in danger
B. America needs more funding in scientific research
C. The National Science Foundation needs financial support
D. American students are not fond of science
D
Imagine a worker who never gets tired. This employee needs no lunch hours or holidays. Working 24 hours a day is no problem. Best of all, he or she is both accurate and efficient. There are few mistakes and tasks are finished quickly.
Any manufacturer would want a worker like this in a factory. Many more products could be made and sold if workers never stopped. That’s why there are more and more robots at work today.
Robots do a wide variety of tasks. They weld, drill, and paint new cars. They locate underwater pollution sites. Robots handle poisons. Most of their work is too dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant for people to do. By doing the dirty work, a robot is a worker’s helper, or aide.
Few robots look anything like people. They are machines. Like other pieces of machinery14, they come in different shapes and sizes. The way they are built depends on the jobs they do. Most have a single arm that can lift things. Most are built to handle tools.
Each robot has a computer inside it. The computer tells it what to do. Skilled technicians enter directions into this computer. They are trained for this job.
They years ahead may well be the era of robots. People are using them more and more. Already robots have explored active volcanoes and the ocean floor. Modern robots can maneuver15 in space. With their skillful movements, they can service satellites that can not be reached by humans. Some new uses will include harvesting crops and working in open pit mines. Robots can help us to live better and learn more about our world.
68. What mentioned in this passage is really ____.
A. a hard-working worker B. a day-dreamer
C. a robot D. a manufacturer
69. Why do we regard the years ahead as the era of robots? Because ____.
A. no human beings will live on the Earth
B. robots will dominate the Earth
C. robots will do more and more jobs, which are very dangerous, difficult or unpleasant for people
D. human beings needn’t do anything which robots can do instead
70. The word maneuver ( Para. 6 ) means ______.
A. to keep still
B. to walk carefully
C. to move skillfully
D. to do everything perfectly16
71. The best title for the passage is _____.
A. An Unbelievable Story B. What a Machine!
C. What a Worker! D. Robot—the Last Creature in the World
E
The science of physics today is as current as the morning newspaper. Indeed, as a result of new advances in physics and their rapid application to inventions designed to satisfy man’s wants, the worlds itself has been changing rapidly. Space technology, industrial technology, and the technology of the home, the farm, the office, the bank, and the department store have all been revolutionized.
Clearly, every grown-up today would understand the world he lives in much better if he knew something about physics. Whether it be Congress（美国国会）voting huge sums of money for new warships17, space exploration, or atomic energy; the office staff learning to use a new computer; Son Bobby wanting to know about going to the moon; or the housewife learning to operate a new electric stove, physics seems to be everywhere.
Teachers in thousands of schoolrooms in America are trying to communicate some of the excitement and importance of these new developments to their students. They know that some of their eager students will someday be scientists and will themselves then contribute（贡献）to the development of new knowledge or its application to new things.
But in any case, they can be sure that if they bring a knowledge of science (any science) to their students in meaningful and stimulating18 ways, they have contributed much to helping19 each one live a more meaningful life.
72. The application of new advances in physics to inventions _____.
A. may solve all the problems in teaching
B. can help people understand the meaning of life
C. is intended to meet people’s needs
D. makes people understand the voting rules of the Congress
73. According to the passage, many American teachers are making efforts to do all of the following EXCEPT _____.
A. stimulating their students’ curiosity in physics
B. making their students understand the importance of physics
C. giving their students the information of new advances in science
D. creating excitement about physical education among their students
74. The word “themselves” in the third paragraph refers to _____.
A. some of the eager students
B. the students in the classroom
C. the teachers giving lessons
D. all the scientists in physics
75. The first two paragraphs of the passage mainly tell us about _____.
A. new advances in physics
B. the use of physics in our life
C. the science of physics
D. modern developments in science
收听单词发音 |
1
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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2
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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3
DNA
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| (缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸 | |
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4
photocopy
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| n.影印本；v.影印 | |
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5
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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6
linguistics
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| n.语言学 | |
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7
punctuation
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| n.标点符号，标点法 | |
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8
genetic
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| adj.遗传的，遗传学的 | |
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9
physicists
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| 物理学家( physicist的名词复数 ) | |
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10
pipeline
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| n.管道，管线 | |
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11
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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12
Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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13
lustrous
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| adj.有光泽的；光辉的 | |
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14
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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15
maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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16
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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17
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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18
stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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19
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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