Science is a dominant theme in our culture. Since it touches almost every aspect of our life, educated people need at least some idea of its structure and operation. They should also have an understanding of the subculture in which scientists live and the kinds of people they are. An understanding of general characteristics of science as well as specific scientific concepts is easier to obtain if one knows something about the things that excite and frustrate the scientist.
This book is written for the intelligent student or lay (外行) person whose knowledge of science is superficial; for the person who has been presented with science as a musty storehouse of dried facts; for the person who sees the chief objective of science as the production of small devices; and for the person who views the scientists as some sort of magician.
The book can be used to supplement a course in any science, to accompany any course that attempts to give an understanding of the modern world, or independently of any course, simply to provide a better understanding of science. We hope this book will lead readers to a broader perspective on scientific attitudes and a more realistic view of what science is, who scientists are, and what they do.
It will give them an awareness and understanding of the relationship between science and our culture and an appreciation of the roles science may play in our culture. In addition, readers may learn to appreciate the relationship between scientific views and some of the values and philosophies that are widespread in our culture.
We have tried to present in this book an accurate and up-to-date picture of the scientific community and the people who populate it. That population has in recent years come to consist of more and more women. This increasing role of women in the scientific subculture is not an unique incident but, rather, part of the trend evident in all parts of society as more women enter traditionally male-dominated fields and make significant contributions.
In discussing these changes and contribution, however, we are faced with a language that is somewhat sexist, one that uses male nouns or pronouns in referring to unspecified individuals. To balance this built-in bias (倾向), we have adopted the policy of using plural nouns and pronouns whenever possible and , when absolutely necessary, alternating him and her.
This policy is far from being ideal, but it is at least an acknowledgement of the inadequacy of our language in treating half of the human race equally.
We have also tried to make the book entertaining as well as informative. Our approach is usually informal. We feel, as many other scientists do, that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. As the reader may observe, we see science as a delightful pastime rather than as a grim and dreary way to earn a living.According to the passage, ‘scientific subculture’ means __________.
| A．cultural groups that are formed by scientists. |
| B．people whose knowledge of science is very limited |
| C．the scientific community |
| D．people who make good contribution to science |
We need to know something about the structure and operation of science because_______.
| A．it is not easy to understand the things that excite and frustrate scientists. |
| B．science affects almost every aspect of our life. |
| C．scientists live in a specific subculture. |
| D．it is easier to understand general characteristics of science. |
The book mentioned in this passage is written for readers who __________.
| A．are intelligent college students and lay person who do not know much about science. |
| B．are good at producing various devices |
| C．work in a storehouse of dried facts |
| D．want to have a superficial understanding of science. |
According to this passage, ______________.
| A．English is a language full of sexual discrimination. |
| B．only in the scientific world is the role of women increasing rapidly. |
| C．women are making significant contributions to eliminating the inadequacy of our language. |
| D．male nouns or pronouns should not be used to refer to scientists. |
That little “a” with a circle curling around it that is found in E – mail addresses is most commonly referred to as the “at” symbol.
Surprisingly though, there is no official, universal name for this sign. There are dozens of strange terms to describe the "@" symbol.
Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the "@" symbol was used to represent the cost of something or how heavy something is. For instance, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples "@" $1.10 each.
With the introduction of e-mail came the popularity of the "@" symbol. The "@" symbol or the "at sign" separates a person's online user name from his mail server(服务器) address. For instance, joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to put this symbol on keyboards in other countries that have never seen or used the symbol before. As a result, there is really no official name for this symbol.
The actual origin of the symbol remains a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol came from the tired hands of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages before the invention of printing machines, every letter of a word had to be copied with great efforts by hand for each copy of a published book. The monks that performed these long, boring copying duties looked for ways to reduce the number of individual strokes (笔画) per word for common words. Although the word “at” is quite short to begin with, it was a common enough word in text and documents so that those monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten the word “at” even more. As a result, the monks changed the shape of “t” into a circle to surround “a”, thus leaving out two strokes in the spelling “t”.
45．Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A．How “at” developed into @. B．How @ came into being.
C．How monks invented @. D．How people wrote the cost of something.
46．Who knows the origin of @?
A．Nobody B．Monks C．Apple buyers D．Internet users
47．Which is NOT the reason for the monks to spell “at” as @?
A．Though “at” is short, it was used very often.
B．The monks wanted to be quicker and easier with their copying.
C．The monks wanted to invent a new word.
D．Copying work was long and boring for them.
48．According to the paragraph , which is TRUE about the symbol of @ today?
A．When you are online, you must use the @ symbol.
B．Kittly 163.com@is an email address.
C．In countries where @ is used, governments have given it an official name.
D．It is likely to find the @ symbol on computer keyboards worldwide.
Wind is the great maker of waves. There are exceptions, such as the tidal waves, sometimes produces by earthquakes under the sea. But the waves most of us know are produced by winds blowing over the sea.Now before constructing an imaginary life history of a typical wave, we need to know certain physical things about it. A wave has height, from trough (low point)to crest (high point),and it has length—the distance from this crest to that of the following wave. The period of the wave means the time it takes for succeeding crests to pass a fixed point. None of these things stays the same— for all depend upon the depth of the water and many other matters.
The water that makes up a wave does not advance with it across the sea. Each drop of water turns around in a little circle with the passing of the wave, but returns very nearly to its original position. And it is fortunate that this is so, for if the huge masses of water that make up a wave actually moved across the sea, sailing would be impossible.
If we want to find the speed of a wave, we may use the following way:
Speeding="Wavelength×Frequency"
Here, wavelength is the distance between two high points (crests), frequency means the number of cycles per second.
41.What causes waves according to the passage?
A. Earthquakes and nothing else. B. Wind and volcanos.
C. Wind and earthquakes. D. Wind and water.
42.Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. The water of a wave moves away across the sea.
B. The water of a wave remains almost in the same place.
C. The water of a wave goes with the passing of the wave.
D. The length of a wave means the distance between crest and trough.
43.The underlined word “succeeding” means__________.
A. reaching an aim B. doing well C. following after D. taking place
44.If the speed of wave 1 is 100 cm/s, and its frequency 10;and the frequency of wave 2 is 300,while its speed is twice that of wave 1.Which of the following is true?
A. The wave-lengths of the two are equal.
B. The wave-length of wave 1 is 10 times longer than that of Wave 2.
C. The wave-length of wave 2 is longer than that of wave 1.
D. The wave-length of wave 1 is longer than that of wave 2.
Five thousand years ago, people thought that illnesses were the result of evil living in human bodies. They also believed that gods and superior spirits were punishing people through diseases. The practice of magic and witchcraft (巫术) was popular among many tribes, and charms (符咒) and images of gods to drive away the evil spirits were often used.
People also started using herbal(草药的) medicine and by trial and error (反复试验，不断摸索) learned how to cure stomachaches and fevers. They had a witch doctor in the community. He would treat people with simple herbal medicine and magic. Early medicine was practiced the way north tribal Indians did hundreds of years ago and the way some tribes practice it today.
The ancient Chinese believed that the body was ruled by two forces, which they called “yin” and “yang”. The body would become ill if one force overcame the other and the balance between them was changed. Acupuncture (针刺疗法) was the way to bring back the balance between the two.
Also sand painting was an important part of Navaho medicine. The medicine man paints loosely upon the floor of an earth-covered house, where the ceremony takes place, or on a buckskin (鹿皮) or a piece of cloth, by letting the colored sands flow through his fingers with control and skill.
Ancient Mesopotamians believed that diseases come either from an evil spirit or a physical problem, such as worms. The doctor would decide from which source the illness has come from and send the patient either to a herbalist or to a witch doctor.
Egyptians had a very advanced medicine. They would sometimes rely on the god’s power to receive healing, but they also treated illnesses and operated on minor health problems like snake bites. They sucked the blood from the wound and bound the affected limb to stop the poison from spreading.
66. The practice of magic and witchcraft was popular in ancient times because ________ .
A. people could avoid being punished by gods and superior spirits by doing this.
B. people thought they could avoid getting diseases in this way.
C. people believed the evil spirits could be driven away in this way.
D. people often got diseases and this way was very effective.
67. How many places are mentioned where early medicine existed in the passage?
A. Three. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six.
68. From Paragraph 2 we can learn that ________.
A. people can cure lots of diseases by combining herbal medicine and magic.
B. herbal medicine is so effective that it can cure all kinds of diseases.
C. witch doctors treated people only with herbal medicine.
D. people tried lots of times to cure illnesses with herbal medicine.
69. Ancient Chinese people believed that ________.
A. diseases were the result of evil living in human bodies.
B. people would fall ill if the balance in human bodies was disturbed.
C. a medicine man could cure people’s diseases by sand painting.
D. diseases not only came from evil spirits but also were physical problems
70. The passage mainly tells us ________.
A. why ancient people became ill.
B. about the most advanced medicine in ancient times.
C. about the development of herbal medicine.
D. how ancient people cured their diseases.
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green －a strange world indeed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.
Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.
1. The passage is mainly about _____________.
A. color and its surprising effects. B. women being luckier than men
C. danger caused by color blindness D. color blindness
2. According to the passage, with the help of the “cones”, we can_______________.
A. tell different shapes B. see in a weak light
C. kill mosquitoes D. tell orange from yellow
3. Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
A. Women are more careful. B. There are fewer color-blind women
C. Women are fonder of driving than men. D. Women are weaker but quicker in thinking.
4. Which of the statements about the color- blind is true?
A. Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing color.
B. None of them can see deep red.
C. None of them can tell the difference between blue and green.
D. All of them see everything in shades of green.
5. We can attract and kill mosquitoes by using a _____________.
A. red light B. yellow light C. blue light D. green light
PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION ( 30 points)
Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
Young people can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.
Liu Wei, a Junior 2 student from Hefei, could not understand his teacher and was doing badly in his lessons. He became so worried about it that he started to cut his finger with a knife. Another student, 14-year-old Yan Fang from Guangzhou, was afraid of exams. She got very worried in the test, and when she looked at the exam papers, she couldn’t think of anything to write.
A recent report from Jiefang Daily says about 18% of Shanghai teenagers have mental (心理的) problems. Their troubles include being worried and very unhappy, and having problems in learning and getting on well with people. Many students who have problems won’t go for advice or help. Some think they will look stupid (愚蠢的) if they go to see a doctor. Others don’t want to talk about their secret.
Liang Yuezhu,an expert on teenagers from Beijing Anding Hospital has the following advice for teenagers.
1). Talk to your parents or teachers often.
2). Take part in group activities and play sports.
3). Go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell.
56.The students who often become worried or have trouble getting on well with others may have________.
A. mental problems B. a headache C. knives with them D. no parents
57. Liu Wei cut his finger with a knife because__________.
A. he was afraid of his teacher B. he wanted to frighten his parents
C. he was so worried about his study D. his finger was badly hurt
58. Yan Fang’s problems happened whenever _________.
A. she studied very hard B. she had exams
C. she talked with her parents D. she thought of something
59. Students who have problems won’t ask others for help because _________.
A. they won’t let others think they are stupid.
B. they don’t think doctors can help them.
C. they don’t want to tell their secret to others.
D. both A and C.
60. Liang Yuezhu’s advice tells us that__________.
A. it’s better for the students who have mental problems to join others.
B. it’s unnecessary for them to be with others.
C. only group activities and sports can help them.
D. teachers and parents can’t do anything about mental problems.
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