单选题 {{B}}Part A{{/B}} There are three reading passages in this part. Each passage
is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there
are four choices marked A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice and
mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the
center.
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 discovery is already narrowing. Since the triumphs of the 1960s--the
genetic code, plate tectonics (板块构造税), 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."
单选题
The sentence "most of the best things have already been located" could mean ______ .
单选题
John Horgan ______ . Ⅰ. 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
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段“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．”本周在英国出版的《科学的末日》一书的作者约翰·霍根是《科学的美国》杂志的一名资深撰稿人，他采访了许多当今最主要的科学家和自然科学哲学家。可见，约翰·霍根出版了书籍《科学的末日》，是《科学的美国》杂志的撰稿人，写的是有关科学的文章。所以Ⅰ和Ⅳ说法正确。约翰·霍根是《科学的美国》的撰稿人而不是编辑，Ⅰ的内容不对；Ⅲ的内容文章没有提到。
单选题
There have not been many genuine scientific revolutions in the past few decades because
单选题
The term "the Big Bang" probably refers to ______ .
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第四段“Since the triumphs of the 1960s—the genetic code，plate tectonics，and the microwave background radiation that went a long way towards proving the Big Bang—genuine scientific revolutions have been scarce．”从20世纪60年代取得成功以来——基因密码、板块构造说以及成功地证明大爆炸理论的微波背景辐射，真正的科学革命已经稀少了。可见，“the Big Bang”是“宇宙大爆炸”，它是有关宇宙起源的理论，C项符合题意。
单选题
The best title of this passage can be ______ .