UNIT4Scientists who changed the world
Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
Many of the world's most successful people were once failures.Here are the stories of a few of them.
Abraham Lincoln(1809-1865)
Abraham Lincoln was one of America's greatest leaders,taking the country through the Civil War(from 1861 to 1865).However,his life was never easy.He started numerous businesses that failed,he went bankrupt twice,and was defeated in 26 campaigns for public office.He later said,“My great concern is not whether you have failed,but whether you are content with your failure.”
Vincent Van Gogh(1853-1890)
Van Gogh is one of the most famous and influential painters in the history of Western Art.He's renowned for paintings such as The Starry Night,The Potato Eaters and Sunflowers.However,during his lifetime,Van Gogh sold only one painting for a very small amount of money.Despite this,he carried on painting,something even going without food so he could complete his collection of over 800 known works.
Albert Einstein(1879-1955)
Albert Einstein won the Noble Prize in Physics in 1921.However,he wasn't always considered a “genius”.He didn't speak until he was four,and couldn't read until he was seven.His teachers and parents thought he was slow,so he was expelled from school and couldn't get into the Zurich Polytechnic School.He later famously said,“Success is failure in progress.”
Stephen King(born 1947)
Stephen King is one of the best selling authors of all time,but his first book,Carrie,was rejected by about 30 publishers.Eventually,Stephen threw it in the bin,but his wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it,which he did and succeeded this time!
1.Which statement is TRUE about Abraham Lincoln
A.He led the American War of Independence.
B.He never succeeded in his business.
C.He was full of courage and perseverance.
D.He is the greatest president of the United States.
2.Who became famous all over the world after his death
A.Abraham Lincoln. B.Vincent Van Gogh.
C.Albert Einstein. D.Stephen King.
3.What was the most likely reason for Albert Einstein's dropping out of school
A.He was too slow to learn.
B.He couldn't speak or read.
C.His teacher thought he was stupid.
D.He didn't obey the school rules.
4.What do these people have in common
A.They are all Americans.
B.They are known for their writings.
C.They were born in the same century.
D.They all suffered failure before they succeeded.
B
Your alarm goes off on your phone,and instead of turning it off and going on sleeping,you pick it up and stupidly say,“Hello?”
You are,to use the technical term,suffering from sleep drunkenness(醉态),those first few confused minutes people sometimes experience after waking,according to a just published paper in Neurology(神经学).For the first time,the phenomenon has been studied in a general adult population.
In telephone interviews the researchers conducted with more than 19,000 healthy individuals;about 25 percent reported experiencing some sort of sleep drunk episodes in the last year,and 12 percent said this happened to them at least once a week.
“Most of their stories were actually pretty funny,”said Stanford University School of Medicine psychiatrist(精神病学家) Maurice Ohayon.One man picked up his alarm clock and mistook it for his phone,holding a two minute conversation on it.Another participant woke in the middle of the night and couldn't find the bathroom in her own home.Other common examples are that foggy feeling you get when you first wake up with a start on a Saturday before realizing it's the weekend,or when you wake up in a hotel room and can't immediately figure out where you are.
Ohayon explains that an abrupt awakening,to our poor,half asleep brains,signals an emergency—a time for action,not reason.
“For most people,and especially if this only happens to you every once in a while,it's nothing to worry about.But for people who experience sleep drunkenness once a week or more,you might as well refer to professional help to have a sound sleep.”Ohayon adds.
5.The intended readers of the passage are probably________.
A.adults who don't sleep well
B.teenagers who don't have enough sleep
C.people who suffer from sleep drunkenness
D.researchers who are fond of sleep disorder
6.What can we learn from the first three paragraphs
A.It's stupid to leave the alarm on when sleeping.
B.After waking up all people struggled for awareness.
C.There are many studies on adults' sleep patterns.
D.It's common for adults to experience sleep drunkenness.
7.What do we know about sleep drunkenness according to Paragraph 4
A.It occurs in different occasions.
B.It comes without any reason.
C.It hurts when people are sleeping.
D.It attacks those who are cloudy.
8.What will be talked about in the next paragraph
A.Something to extend your sleep time.
B.Ways to improve your sleep pattern.
C.Methods of curing sleep drunkenness.
D.Tips on how to help you sleep better.
Ⅱ.概要写作
阅读下面短文,根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
It is generally believed that scientific research should improve our quality of life.Meanwhile,there is almost universal agreement that the government should provide financial and political support for any research that is likely to result in immediate and significant benefits for the majority of people.However,when it comes to whether the government should support scientific research with no practical use,people's ideas vary.I agree with the statement that the government should distribute enough funds to any scientific research that aims to improve the well being of people,even if it is of no practical use in the short run.
Scientific research whose social benefits are immediate,predictable,and far reaching should continue to be a high priority(优先事项).For example,biotechnology research has been proven to help cure and prevent diseases;advances in medical technology make it possible to offer safer treatments;information technology enables education to be more accessible;and communication technology promotes global peace by improving mutual understanding among people and their participation in the democratic(民主的) process.
However,this is not to say that research whose benefits are less immediate or clear should be given a lower priority.It is difficult to predict what research will finally lead to the greatest contributions to society.Unwillingness to finance less practical scientific research could have a harmful effect on the efforts to explore new knowledge.This is particularly true of the computer science.For example,before the first computer was invented,public opinions went against it,as most people saw nothing practical in computer research.However,computers transformed the way human society developed and proved to be of great use in the long run,especially in terms of scientific development in fields such as the military,medicine,aviation,and education.
Therefore,never should we think that scientific research whose benefits are unknown is not worth undertaking since the purpose of any research should be to discover the truth,whatever it might be.
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参考答案:
Ⅰ.阅读理解
A
Many of the world's most successful people were once failures.Here are the stories of a few of them.
Abraham Lincoln(1809-1865)
Abraham Lincoln was one of America's greatest leaders,taking the country through the Civil War(from 1861 to 1865).However,his life was never easy.He started numerous businesses that failed,he went bankrupt twice,and was defeated in 26 campaigns for public office.He later said,“My great concern is not whether you have failed,but whether you are content with your failure.”
Vincent Van Gogh(1853-1890)
Van Gogh is one of the most famous and influential painters in the history of Western Art.He's renowned for paintings such as The Starry Night,The Potato Eaters and Sunflowers.However,during his lifetime,Van Gogh sold only one painting for a very small amount of money.Despite this,he carried on painting,something even going without food so he could complete his collection of over 800 known works.
Albert Einstein(1879-1955)
Albert Einstein won the Noble Prize in Physics in 1921.However,he wasn't always considered a “genius”.He didn't speak until he was four,and couldn't read until he was seven.His teachers and parents thought he was slow,so he was expelled from school and couldn't get into the Zurich Polytechnic School.He later famously said,“Success is failure in progress.”
Stephen King(born 1947)
Stephen King is one of the best selling authors of all time,but his first book,Carrie,was rejected by about 30 publishers.Eventually,Stephen threw it in the bin,but his wife fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it,which he did and succeeded this time!
【语篇解读】 世界上有许多人在成功之前都遭遇了失败,本文就为我们列举了几位著名人物的相关事例。
1.Which statement is TRUE about Abraham Lincoln
A.He led the American War of Independence.
B.He never succeeded in his business.
C.He was full of courage and perseverance.
D.He is the greatest president of the United States.
C [推理判断题。由Abraham Lincoln部分的最后一句“He later said,‘My great concern is not whether you have failed,but whether you are content with your failure.’”可推断出,虽然历经失败,但亚伯拉罕·林肯仍充满勇气并坚持不懈,故选C。]
2.Who became famous all over the world after his death
A.Abraham Lincoln. B.Vincent Van Gogh.
C.Albert Einstein. D.Stephen King.
B [推理判断题。由Vincent Van Gogh部分的第三句“However,during his lifetime,Van Gogh sold only one painting for a very small amount of money.”可推断出,梵·高是在去世之后才闻名于全世界的,故选B。]
3.What was the most likely reason for Albert Einstein's dropping out of school
A.He was too slow to learn.
B.He couldn't speak or read.
C.His teacher thought he was stupid.
D.He didn't obey the school rules.
C [推理判断题。由Albert Einstein部分的第四句“His teachers and parents thought he was slow,so he was expelled from school and couldn't get into the Zurich Polytechnic School.”可推断出爱因斯坦被退学,最可能的原因就是老师认为他很笨,slow在此处意为“迟钝的,笨的”,故选C。]
4.What do these people have in common
A.They are all Americans.
B.They are known for their writings.
C.They were born in the same century.
D.They all suffered failure before they succeeded.
D [推理判断题。由文章第一段“Many of the world's most successful people were once failures.Here are the stories of a few of them.”可知,这些人的共同之处是他们在成功之前都遭遇了失败,故选D。]
B
Your alarm goes off on your phone,and instead of turning it off and going on sleeping,you pick it up and stupidly say,“Hello?”
You are,to use the technical term,suffering from sleep drunkenness(醉态),those first few confused minutes people sometimes experience after waking,according to a just published paper in Neurology(神经学).For the first time,the phenomenon has been studied in a general adult population.
In telephone interviews the researchers conducted with more than 19,000 healthy individuals;about 25 percent reported experiencing some sort of sleep drunk episodes in the last year,and 12 percent said this happened to them at least once a week.
“Most of their stories were actually pretty funny,”said Stanford University School of Medicine psychiatrist(精神病学家) Maurice Ohayon.One man picked up his alarm clock and mistook it for his phone,holding a two minute conversation on it.Another participant woke in the middle of the night and couldn't find the bathroom in her own home.Other common examples are that foggy feeling you get when you first wake up with a start on a Saturday before realizing it's the weekend,or when you wake up in a hotel room and can't immediately figure out where you are.
Ohayon explains that an abrupt awakening,to our poor,half asleep brains,signals an emergency—a time for action,not reason.
“For most people,and especially if this only happens to you every once in a while,it's nothing to worry about.But for people who experience sleep drunkenness once a week or more,you might as well refer to professional help to have a sound sleep.”Ohayon adds.
【语篇解读】 这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲了人们在刚刚睡醒时,会有几分钟非常迷糊,这种现象被叫作睡醉。对于偶尔的睡醉不用担心,但是睡醉比较严重的人应该寻求专业的帮助。
5.The intended readers of the passage are probably________.
A.adults who don't sleep well
B.teenagers who don't have enough sleep
C.people who suffer from sleep drunkenness
D.researchers who are fond of sleep disorder
C [推理判断题。根据文章第二段内容可知,有些人在刚刚醒来时的几分钟会非常迷糊,研究者们对这一现象进行了研究,下文介绍了这一研究的发现。因此,本文是针对患有睡醉的人写的。]
6.What can we learn from the first three paragraphs
A.It's stupid to leave the alarm on when sleeping.
B.After waking up all people struggled for awareness.
C.There are many studies on adults' sleep patterns.
D.It's common for adults to experience sleep drunkenness.
D [推理判断题。文章前两段主要介绍了什么是“睡醉”,根据第三段中的“19,000 healthy individuals,about 25 percent reported experiencing some sort of sleep drunk episodes”可知,在那么多被调查的人中,有25%的人有过这样的经历。由此可推知,睡醉这种现象比较常见。]
7.What do we know about sleep drunkenness according to Paragraph 4
A.It occurs in different occasions.
B.It comes without any reason.
C.It hurts when people are sleeping.
D.It attacks those who are cloudy.
A [推理判断题。第四段举了几个睡醉的例子,有的人误把闹钟当作电话;有的人半夜醒来,找不到自己家的卫生间;有的人在周六早起,没有意识到这是周末;有的人在旅馆醒来,分不清自己身在何处。由此可知,睡醉会发生在不同的场合。]
8.What will be talked about in the next paragraph
A.Something to extend your sleep time.
B.Ways to improve your sleep pattern.
C.Methods of curing sleep drunkenness.
D.Tips on how to help you sleep better.
D [推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句“But for people who experience sleep drunkenness once a week or more,you might as well refer to professional help to have a sound sleep.”可知,对于大部分人来说,尤其是偶尔发生睡醉的人而言,不用担心。但是,对于一周至少经历一次睡醉的人而言,最好寻求专业的帮助来获得良好的睡眠。由此可猜测,下文应该具体给出一些有助于获得良好睡眠的建议。]
Ⅱ.概要写作
阅读下面短文,根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
It is generally believed that scientific research should improve our quality of life.Meanwhile,there is almost universal agreement that the government should provide financial and political support for any research that is likely to result in immediate and significant benefits for the majority of people.However,when it comes to whether the government should support scientific research with no practical use,people's ideas vary.I agree with the statement that the government should distribute enough funds to any scientific research that aims to improve the well being of people,even if it is of no practical use in the short run.
Scientific research whose social benefits are immediate,predictable,and far reaching should continue to be a high priority(优先事项).For example,biotechnology research has been proven to help cure and prevent diseases;advances in medical technology make it possible to offer safer treatments;information technology enables education to be more accessible;and communication technology promotes global peace by improving mutual understanding among people and their participation in the democratic(民主的) process.
However,this is not to say that research whose benefits are less immediate or clear should be given a lower priority.It is difficult to predict what research will finally lead to the greatest contributions to society.Unwillingness to finance less practical scientific research could have a harmful effect on the efforts to explore new knowledge.This is particularly true of the computer science.For example,before the first computer was invented,public opinions went against it,as most people saw nothing practical in computer research.However,computers transformed the way human society developed and proved to be of great use in the long run,especially in terms of scientific development in fields such as the military,medicine,aviation,and education.
Therefore,never should we think that scientific research whose benefits are unknown is not worth undertaking since the purpose of any research should be to discover the truth,whatever it might be.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
【参考范文】
There exists disagreement about whether the government should support scientific research without immediate benefits.It is essential to fund it for its potential contribution.It's universally accepted that scientific research with instant and significant social benefits should be given privileges.But it doesn't mean less attention to research having no immediate or obvious social benefits,for it may eventually make unexpected contributions.In short,all scientific research deserves equal attention and support considering its aim of exposing the truth.
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