阅读理解 Cambridge University closed down in the summer of 1665 when the plague broke out. Newton, a student there, went home to Lincolnshire. He stayed home for two years while the disease ran its course in the area around London. The 23-year-old Newton spent that time studying and laying the foundations for his greatest work, the Principia. One day he sat thinking in his garden, when anapple fell. Then he realized that the direction the apple fell, along with every other object on this round earth, was always toward Earth's center. It wasn't just that the apple fell, but that it tried to go to Earth's center. That was Newton's eureka moment. He realized that Earth had drawn the apple to it. He realized that every object in the universe draws every other object—probably in proportion to its mass. Newton didn't publish his Principia until 20 years later. But he formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation (LUG) there in his Lincolnshire garden. He showed us that was true of planets and moons as well.
Now enters a surprising character. The person who popularized the apple story was none other than the well-known French writer and philosopher Voltaire. Due to his outspoken views, in 1726 he was forcibly exiled to England where he spent the next three years. Newton died in 1727 so Voltaire would have been familiar with the many discoveries made by him. Voltaire was also acquainted with Newton's niece, Catherine Barton. Newton was a bachelor and she had agreed to manage his London home; therefore she would have been familiar with the apple story, which she related to Voltaire.
Voltaire sided with Newton in Newton's bitter fights with Leibnitz. In Candide, Voltaire ridiculed Leibnitz. The character Dr. Pangloss, who went about insisting that we live in the "best of all possible worlds", was Voltaire's version of Leibnitz.
We might chalk Voltaire's apple story up to "partisan license". But if you've ever done anything creative, you'll recognize the plausibility of the apple story. You'll remember your own moment when some small and commonplace event revealed a great truth to you. That's the way creativity works.
单选题 11.According to Paragraph 1, which of the following is true of Newton's Principia?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。从第一段第二句至第四句可以知道，牛顿趁着瘟疫肆虐、学校放假的时候在家里学习。第二句中的a student there表明他当时还是剑桥大学的学生，第四句中的laying the foundations表明那段时间他待在家里的学习为Principia奠定了基础，因此C项是正确的说法。
单选题 12.We learn from Paragraph 2 that when Voltaire was in England, _____.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推理判断题。根据原文第二段第三句中的1726年和第四句中的1727年这两个年份所发生的事，可以推断，牛顿去世的时候，伏尔泰正在英国，他经历了牛顿去世这件事，因此D项是正确的说法。
单选题 13.From Paragraph 3, we can infer that Dr. Pangloss is _____.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】推理判断题。从第三段第二句中的In Candide、最后一句中的character和version等词，再结合伏尔泰本身的作家身份，可以推断潘格洛斯博士是伏尔泰所写的书Candide中的一个角色，借以讽刺莱布尼兹，由此可见，B项为本题答案。
单选题 14.According to the author, the apple story is _____.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】观点态度题。最后一段第二句开头的But表明这一句才是作者对苹果故事的看法，句中的plausibility表明作者认为这个故事合理，因此D项为本题答案。
单选题 15.The most appropriate title for this text could be _____.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】主旨大意题。本文一共有四段，基本都是围绕着牛顿和苹果落地的故事，第二段和第三段虽然提及了伏尔泰，但目的是说苹果落地的故事因为伏尔泰而家喻户晓，所以总的来说，本文讲的是牛顿与苹果的故事，因此D项最能概括主题。