单选题 {{B}}Passage Three{{/B}}

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 informantion, 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. Indeed, 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 and 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 from being answered. Be- cause 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 call 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 Accrding to the author, really good science ______.

A、 will bring about surprising and disturbing results
B、 will produce results which cannot be foreseen
C、 will help people to make the right choice in advance
D、 would surprise the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】根据第1段第1句“It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out if it is really good science it is impossible to predict”(很难预知科学的结果将会怎样，如果是好的科学，那么它将很难预知)。选项B与原文意思相符。

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、 did no more than good in promoting man's understanding of nature
C、 knew that they were ignorant and wanted to know more about nature
D、 were afraid of facing up to the realities of scientific research

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】从第2段“It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century...be told...how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead”可以看出18世纪的科学家自以为了解很多，所以听说现代人类觉得无知迷茫会觉得惊奇。

单选题 Which of the following statements is not true of scientists in earlier times?

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

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】第2段说：In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps．在早期，我们会假装懂得事情怎样运作，或忽略这些问题，或编造一些故事来填补空白。所以只有选项C“他们不相信科学观察的结果”在文中没有提到。

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

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

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】从文中作者说的“Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers” “I feel totally confident...we are profoundly ignorant about nature”等处可以看出作者持比较乐观的态度。

单选题 The author believes that ______.

A、 man can find solutions 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 arid answer them
D、 questions concerning consciousness are outside the scope of scientific research

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】作者在最后一段说：Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers．在我们的能力范围内，我们应该能够找到自己的方法来得到答案。所以选项c“作者相信迟早人类会明白关于自然的一切问题并可以作答”正确。