10.The recent publication of autobiographies by two of Britain's great scientists,biologist Richard Dawkins and physicist Stephen Hawking,is a wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast these two remarkable men.Surprisingly,they have rather more in common than we think.
Most striking is the similarity in their backgrounds.They were born in the early 1940s to middle class families---not wealthy but comfortably off,with a strong commitment to academic excellence and public service.Both families were keen to send their boys to Oxford University---and both succeeded,Dawkins studying zoology and Hawking physics.
Neither author has a very positive view of his early university life.Hawking describes the attitude at Oxford in the 1950s and 1960s as very anti-work,"You were supposed to either be brilliant without effort or fail.Hard work was looked down upon by students and we all pretended that nothing was worth making an effort for."He estimates that he studied for no more than an hour a day as an undergraduate student (本科生).
Undergraduate life was somewhat more rewarding for Dawkins.Like Hawking,he wasn't particularly hard-working and never attended his lectures.But he found Oxford's system of weekly essay-based lessons with an academic tutor useful,"It was really only the tutorial system that educated me."
For both men,scientific life really got going as postgraduates after 1962.Dawkins,who remained at Oxford,describes brilliantly the academic competition among the postgraduate students,which he believed helped push him to develop the ideas that formed the basis of his most famous book,The Selfish Gene.This volume transformed scientific thinking about Darwinism evolution.
Hawking,on the other hand,moved to Cambridge University after graduation,where his research into the universe would eventually make him the most famous physicists since Albert Einstein.He writes movingly about the disease which progressively crippled his entire body,leaving him unable to move and only able to communicate using a computer controlled by his eyes.Although communication is slow---he can write only 3 words a minute using the machine---his illness has not affected his mind or his research on space-time and origins of the universe.
Each book is recommended individually as a personal introduction to an important scientific thinker.Read together,they provide a superb background to the academic and social climate of postwar British research.
41.Which of the following describes a similarity in Hawking's and Dawkins'backgrounds?D
A.They were both from wealthy families.
B.They studied the same subject in university.
C.They graduated from the same secondary school.
D.They both came from families that valued good education.
42.Why did Hawking study very little as an undergraduate student?B
A.He preferred doing his own research and experiments.
B.Students considered it inappropriate to study too much.
C.The materials discussed in lectures were very easy for him.
D.He was more interested in making friends with his classmates.
43.According to Dawkins,what helped him develop his most important ideas?D
A.His hard work as an undergraduate.
B.The support he received from his family.
C.The excellent tutors at Oxford University.
D.The competition from other postgraduate students.
44.What can we reasonably infer about the two scientists from the passage?D
A.Dawkins worked much harder than Hawking as an undergraduate.
B.Hawking is more respected by the scientific community.
C.They knew each other during their studies a t Oxford.
D.Hawing has experienced more physical difficulties.
45.What is the function of the last paragraph?B
A.To state which book the writer prefers.
B.To recommend the reviewed books to readers.
C.To summarize the achievements of the two scientists.
D.To suggest the order in which the books should be read.
分析 本文主要通過道金斯和霍金斯的傳記,講述了他們的相似點.
解答 DBDDB
41:D 細節(jié)題.由文章第二段第三句"Both families were keen to send their boys to Oxford University …"可知兩個家庭都非常希望把他們的兒子送進牛津大學,說明他們家庭非常重視教育.故正確答案為D.
42 B 細節(jié)題.由文章第三段第四句"Hard work was looked down upon by students and we all pretended that nothing was worth making an effort for"可知學生們都瞧不起努力學習,并且假裝一切都不值得努力.故正確答案為B.
43 D 細節(jié)題.由文章第五段第二句"Dawkins,who remained at Oxford,describes brilliantly the academic competition among the postgraduate students,which he believes helped push him to develop the ideas that formed the basis of his most famous book,The Selfish Gene."可知是研究生之間的相互競爭推動他形成重要的理論.故正確答案為D.
44 D 推斷題.由文章第六段第二句和第三句"He writes movingly about the disease which progressively crippled his entire body,leaving him unable to move and only able to communicate using a computer controlled by his eyes.Although communication is slow-he can write only 3 words a minute using the machine…"可知霍金身患疾病全身不能動,僅僅能用眼睛控制電腦進行交流,并且他的交流非常慢,一分鐘只能用機器寫三個單詞.由此可以推知霍金經(jīng)歷了更多的身體磨難,所以D項正確.其余選項在文中均未體現(xiàn),因此排除.故正確答案為D.
45 B 細節(jié)題.文章最后一段作者推薦閱讀每一本書,因為它們不但是對科學巨人的介紹,而且仔細閱讀也能讓我們了解學術和戰(zhàn)后英國研究背景.所以最后一段的作用是把這兩本書推薦給讀者.故正確答案為B.
點評 考察學生的細節(jié)理解和推理判斷能力,做細節(jié)理解題時一定要找到文章中的原句,和題干進行比較,再做出正確的選擇.在做推理判斷題不要以個人的主觀想象代替文章的事實,要根據(jù)文章事實進行合乎邏輯的推理判斷.