单选题 It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology. It is, in its way, an illuminating piece of news. It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment to be told by any of us how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps. Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of how huge the questions are, and how far they are from being answered. Because of this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction. There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered, sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness; to be sure, there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention.

单选题 The author claims that good science ______.

A. defies prediction
B. should study the unknown
C. should discover scientific truth
D. should offer choices rather than prescribe

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】这是一道细节题。题干中的信号词为good science，出自于第一段第一句话中。文章第一段指出：难以预测科学的结果如何，如果是有用的科学，要预测它是不可能的。这说明，A“无法预测”与作者的观点符合。与B有关的信息是该段的第二句话，文中是说“如果将要被发现的其实是新事物，那么从定义上来说，它们就是原先未知的”，这与有用的科学没有关系，所以B不对；文中没有提到C和D。

单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that scientists of the 18th century ______.

A. thought that they knew a great deal and could solve most problems of science
B. were afraid of facing up to the realities of scientific research
C. knew that they were ignorant and wanted to know more about nature
D. did more harm than good in promoting man's understanding of nature

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】这是一道推论题。题干中的信号词是the 18th century，出自第二段第三句话中。文章第二段指出：如果我们之中的任何一个人告诉18世纪启蒙时期的最开化者我们知道的是多么少，告诉他们前面的道路是多么渺茫，他们可能会感到惊讶；正是这种突然面对自己的无知程度和范围代表了20世纪的科学对人类智慧作出的最重大贡献。由此可知，18世纪的科学家认为他们了解的东西多。A说“认为他们了解的东西很多，能够解决大多数科学难题”，这与文章的意思符合。文中没有提到B和D；C与文章的意思相反。

单选题 Which of the following is NOT mentioned about scientists in earlier times?

A. They invented false theories to explain things they didn't understand.
B. They falsely claimed to know all about nature.
C. They did not believe in results from scientific observation.
D. They paid little attention to the problems they didn't understand.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】这是一道细节题。文章第二段指出：以前，我们要么装作知道事情的来龙去脉，要么对问题置之不理，要么干脆编造故事来弥补我们的无知。这说明，A、B和D都是提到的有关早期科学家的说法。只有C“他们不相信源于科学观察的结果”，文中没有提到。

单选题 What is the author's attitude towards science?

A. He is depressed because of the ignorance of scientists.
B. He is doubtful because of the enormous difficulties in scientific research.
C. He is confident though he is aware of the enormous difficulties in scientific research.
D. He is delighted because of the illuminating scientific findings.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】这是一道态度题。文章第二段指出：我觉得完全有把握的唯一可靠的科学事实就是，我们对自然界了解太少，我把这看作是过去几百年生物学领域的重大发现；就其本质而言，这是一个具有启发意义的信息。最后一段指出：我们正在起步，我们应该对此感到某种满足：在我们有限的范围内，如果我们坚持做下去，如果我们专心致志，我们应该能够找到所有问题的答案。这说明，作者对科学的前景持乐观态度。C说“他有信心，尽管知道在科学研究中存在许多困难”，这与作者的态度相符。A和B与作者的态度相反；与D有关的信息是第二段的第二句话，文中是说“就其本质而言，这是一个具有启发意义的信息”，并没有说他感到高兴，所以D不对。

单选题 The author believes that ______.

A. man can find solutions sooner or later to whatever questions concerning nature he can think up
B. man can not solve all the problems he can think up because of the limits of human intellect
C. sooner or later man can think up all the questions concerning nature and answer them
D. questions concerning consciousness are outside the scope of scientific research

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】这是一道细节题。文章最后一段指出：我们正在起步，我们应该对此感到某种满足；在我们有限的范围内，如果我们坚持做下去，如果我们专心致志，我们应该能够找到所有问题的答案。这说明，作者认为，只要我们坚持，我们迟早会解决所有问题。A说“人类迟早会找到有关自然界他能想到的任何问题的答案”，这与作者的观点符合。B与作者的观点相反；C不准确；文中没有提到D。