学位英语

Difficult to Have Hard Discoveries

If there is one thing scientists have to hear, it is that the game is over. Raised on the belief of an endless voyage of discovery, they recoil (畏缩) from the suggestion that most of the best things have already been located. If they have, today's scientists can hope to contribute no more

than a few grace notes to the symphony of science.

A book to be published in Britain this week, The End of Science, argues persuasively that this is the case. Its author, John Horgan, is a senior writer for Scientific American magazine,who has interviewed many of today's leading scientists and science philosophers. The shock of realizing that science might be over came to him, he says, when he was talking to Oxford mathematician and physicist Sir Roger Penrose.

The End of Science provoked a wave of denunciation ( 谴责 ) in the United States last year. "The reaction has been one of complete shock and disbelief," Mr. Horgan says.

The real question is whether any remaining unsolved problems, of which there are plenty, lend themselves to universal solutions. If they do not, then the focus of scientific discqvery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s -- the genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造说), and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards proving the Big Bang -- genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce. More scientists are now alive, spending more money on research, than ever. Yet most of the great discoveries of the 19th and 20th centuries were made before the appearance of state sponsorship, when the scientific enterprise was a fraction of its present size.

Were the scientists who made these discoveries brighter than today's? That seems unlikely.A far more reasonable explanation is that fundamental science has already entered a period of diminished returns. "Look, don't get me wrong," says Mr. Horgan. "There are lots of important things still to study, and applied science and engineering can go on for ever. I hope we get a cure for cancer, and for mental disease, though there are few real signs of progress. "

The sentence "most of the best things have already been located" could mean_______

A.

most of the best things have already been changed.

B. most of the best things remain to be changed.

C. there have never been so many best things waiting to be discovered.

D. most secrets of the world have already been discovered.

参考答案:D 系统解析:【题 干】“大多数好东西已经被发现了”可能意味着——。

A.大多数好东西已经改变了

B.大多数好东西等着被改变

C.从来没有过这么多的好东西等着被开发

D.世界的大多数秘密已经被发现了

【解 析】语意题。对于科学家而言“世界上最好的东西已经被发现了”，即世界上大部分尚不为人知的神秘都已经被发现了。故答案为D。

37

John Horgan_______

A.

has published a book entitled The End of Science.

II. has been working as an editor of Scientific American.

III. has been working many years as a literary critic.

IV. is working as a science writer.

B. land II

C. Ionly

D. land IV

E. I, Iland IV

参考答案:C 系统解析:【题干】John Horgan_______。

1.出版了一本名叫《科学的终结》的书

Ⅱ.是《美国科学》杂志的编辑

Ⅲ.做了多年的文学评论家

Ⅳ.是个科普作家

A.I和Ⅱ B.I C.I和Ⅳ D.I、Ⅱ和Ⅳ

【解 析】细节题。文章第二段提到了John Horgan是《科学的终结》的作者，同时也是《美国科学》杂志的一名资深撰稿人。所以，I和Ⅳ是对的。故答案为C。

38

There have not been many genuine scientific revolutions in the past few decades because____

A.

there have been decreased returns in the research of fundamental science.

B. there are too many important things for scientists to study.

C. applied science and engineering take up too much time and energy.

D. today's scientists are not as intelligent as those in the past.

参考答案:C 系统解析:【题 干】在过去几十年里没有那么多真正的科学革新，因为_____。

A.在基础科学的研究中回报日减

B.有太多重要的事情有待于科学家去研究

C.应用科学和工程花费了太多的时间和精力

D.如今的科学家没有过去那么智慧

【解 析】细节题。答案在文中最后一段的前三句：是因为当初做出这些发现的科

学家们更聪明一些吗，显然不是。一个更为合理的解释是：基础科学已经进入到回报日减的时期。故答案为A。原文中的diminish与A选项中的decrease是同义改写，表示“减少”。

39

The term "the Big Bang" probably refers to_____

A.

the genetic code theory.

B. a geological theory.

C. a theory of the origin of the universe.

D. the origin and the power of atomic energy.

参考答案:C 系统解析:【题 干】术语“大爆炸”可能指的是 。

A.基因密码理论 B.地理理论

C.宇宙起源理论 D.原子能起源和能量理论

【解 析】推理题。由于big ban9回到原文定位到倒数第二段，A、B、 C与D在文中被并列提到(genetic code理论、板块构造理论、微波辐射理论)，因此不是解释关系，故通过排除法可知宇宙大爆炸理论是关于宇宙起源的一种理论，故答案为C。

40

The best title of this passage can be______

A.

Great Scientific Discoveries Will Never Be Possible.

B. The Harsh Challenge Has to Be Met by Modern Scientists.

C. The State Sponsorship and Scientific Enterprise Are All in Vain.

D. The Chance for Great Scientific Discoveries Becomes Scarce.

参考答案:D 系统解析:【题 干】文章最好的题目是______。

A.伟大的科学探索将永远不可能了

B.现代科学家不得不面对的严峻挑战

C.国家赞助与科技企业都是徒劳的

D.伟大科学发现的几率很稀少

【解 析】主旨题。通读文章可以看出作者在探讨近年来存在的伟大的科学发现越来越少的现象以及原因等。故答案为D。

根据材料，回答41-45问题。

（责任编辑：pgl）