科技英语-阅读理解

1. Psychiatrists ( 精神病专家) who work with older parents say that maturity can be an asset in child rearing - older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, declining energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents biggest, and often unspoken, fear. Having late-life children, says an economics professor, often means parents, particularly fathers, end up retiring much later. For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream. Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But hes also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but hes learned that young at heart doesnt mean young. Lately hes been taking afternoon naps (午睡) to keep up his energy. My body is aging, says Metcalf. You cant get away from that. Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. They worry theyll be mistaken for grandparents, or that theyll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school, says Joann Galst, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: that they wont be alive long enough to support and protect their child, she says.Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of fertility (受孕) treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband. Randy, had twins. We both wanted children, says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years, a sense of family. Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. The dads are older, more mature, says Dr. Silber, and more ready to focus on parenting. 1Why do psychiatrists regard maturity as an asset in child rearing? C A、Older parents can better balance their resources against childrens demands. B、Older parents are usually more experienced in bringing up their children. C、Older parents are often better prepared financially. D、Older parents can take better care of their children. 2What does the author mean by saying For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream ? A A、They have to go on working beyond their retirement age. B、They cant get full pension unless they work some extra years. C、They cant obtain the retirement benefits they have dreamed of. D、They are reluctant to retire when they reach their retirement age. 3The author gives the example of Henry Metcalf to show that _. C A、many people are young in spirit despite their advanced age. B、taking afternoon naps is a good way to maintain energy. C、older parents tend to be concerned about their aging bodies. D、older parents should exercise more to keep up with their athletic children. 4Whats the biggest fear of older parents according to New York psychologist Joan Galst? D A、Being laughed at by other people. B、Slowing down of their pace of life. C、Being mistaken for grandparents. D、Approaching of death. 5What do we learn about Marilyn and Randy Nolen? BA、They thought they were an example of successful fertility treatment. B、Not until they had the twins did they feel they had formed a family. C、They believed that children born of older parents would be smarter. D、Not until they reached middle age did they think of having children. 2、Many people would agree that, although our age exceeds all previous ages in knowledge, there has been no corresponding increase in wisdom. But agreement ceases as soon as we attempt to define wisdom and consider means of promoting it. There are several factors that contribute to wisdom. Of course I should put first a sense of proportion; the capacity to take account of all the important factors in a problem and to attach to each its due weight. This has become more difficult than it used to be owing to the extent and complexity of the special knowledge required of various kinds of technicians. Suppose, for example, that you are engaged in research in scientific medicine. The work is difficult and is likely to absorb the whole of your mind. You have not time to consider the effect which your discoveries or inventions may have outside the field of medicine. You succeed (let us say), as modern medicine has succeeded, in enormously lowering the infant death-rate, not only in Europe and America, but also in Asia and Africa. This has the entirely unintended result of making the food supply inadequate and lowering the standard of life in the parts of the world that have the greatest populations. To take an even more dramatic example, which is in everybodys mind at the present time; you study the makeup of the atom from a disinterested desire for knowledge, and by chance place in the hands of a powerful mad man the means of destroying the human race. Therefore with every increase of knowledge and skill, wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such increase augments (增加) our capacity for realizing our purposes, and therefore augments our capacity for evil, if our purposes are unwise. B1Disagreement arises when people try to decide _. A、how much more wisdom we have now than before B、what wisdom is and how to develop it C、if there is a great increase of wisdom in our age D、Whether wisdom can be developed or not D2According to the author, wisdom is the ability to _. A、carefully consider the bad effects of any kind of research work B、give each important problem some careful consideration C、acquire a great deal of complex and special knowledge D、give suitable consideration to all the possible elements in a problem B3Lowering the infant death-rate may _. A、prove to be helpful everywhere in the world B、give rise to an increase in population in Europe C、cause food shortages in Asia and Africa D、raise the living standard of the people in Africa A4The author uses the examples in the passage to illustrate his point that _. A、its extremely difficult to consider all the important elements in a problem B、success in medical research has its negative effects C、 scientists may unknowingly cause destruction to the human race. D、its unwise to be totally absorbed in research in scientific medicine C5What is the main idea of the passage? A、It is unwise to place the results of scientific research in the hands of a power B、The more knowledge one has, the wiser one becomes. C、Any increase of knowledge could lead to disastrous results without the guidance D、wisdom increases in proportion to ones age. 3、The current energy security system was created in response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo to ensure coordination among the industrialized countries in the event of a disruption in supply, encourage collaboration on energy policies, and deter any future use of an oil weapon by exporters. Its key elements are the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), whose members are the industrialized countries; strategic stockpiles of oil, including the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves; continued monitoring and analysis of energy markets and policies; and energy conservation and coordinated emergency sharing of supplies in the event of a disruption. The emergency system was set up to offset major disruptions that threatened the global economy and stability, not to manage prices and the commodity cycle. Since the systems inception in the 1970s, a coordinated emergency drawdown of strategic stockpiles has occurred only twice: on the eve of the Gulf War in 1991 and in the autumn of 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. Experience has shown that to maintain energy security countries must abide by several principles. The first and most familiar is what Churchill urged more than 90 years ago: diversification of supply. Multiplying ones supply sources reduces the impact of a disruption in supply from one source by providing alternatives, serving the interests of both consumers and producers, for whom stable markets are a prime concern. But diversification is not enough. A second principle is resilience, a security margin in the energy supply system that provides a buffer against shocks and facilitates recovery after disruptions. Resilience can come from many factors, including sufficient spare production capacity, strategic reserves, backup supplies of equipment, adequate storage capacity along the supply chain, and the stockpiling of critical parts for electric power production and distribution, as well as carefully conceived plans for responding to disruptions that may affect large regions. Hence the third principle: recognizing the reality of integration. There is only one oil market, a complex and worldwide system that moves and consumes about 86 million barrels of oil every day. For all consumers, security resides in the stability of this market. Secession is not an option. A fourth principle is the importance of information. High-quality information underpins well-functioning markets. On an international level, the IEA has led the way in improving the flow of information about world markets and energy prospects. That work is being complemented by the new International Energy Forum, which will seek to integrate information from producers and consumers. Information is no less crucial in a crisis, when consumer panics can be instigated by a mixture of actual disruptions, rumors, and fear. In such situations, governments and the private sector should collaborate to counter panics with high-quality, timely information. As important as these principles are, the past several years have highlighted the need to expand the concept of energy security in two critical dimensions: the recognition of globalization of the energy security system, which can be achieved especially by engaging China and India, and the acknowledgement of the fact that the entire energy supply chain needs to be protected. 1.The energy security system was established for the following long-term purpose EXCEPT _A_. A、protecting profits of industrialized countries during Arab oil embargo B、making effective coordination among those industrialized countries C、promoting cooperation in making policies about energy D、 preventing oil exporters from using oil as a weapon against other countries 2Which of the following statements about International Energy Agency is NOT true? B A、Its headquarter is located in Paris. B、Its members include developed and developing countries. C、 It monitors and analyzes the energy market and policies. D、It makes great efforts to save energy and deal with oil disruption. 3The first and foremost thing that both consumers and producers are concerned about is _B_. A、various supply sources B、stable energy markets C、the largest profits D、 reasonable prices 4Integration, the third principle to maintain energy security, means to _C_. A、recognize the reality of energy shortage B、guarantee the stability of energy marketC、realize the unity of the worldwide market D、protect ones independent interests 5The main purpose of this passage is to _C_. A、convince readers that energy security is important B、introduce the major energy organizations of U.S. C、 inform readers what the energy security system is like D、 present principles for ensuring energy security4、A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin deep. Ones physical assets and liabilities dont count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best. Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not so beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, that physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs, they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted. Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties(虔诚) while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group college students, or teachers or corporate personnel mangersa piece of paper relating an individuals accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted. Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Sappho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good. In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the subject, explains: In terms of their careers, the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making it easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. On another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire(追求) to managerial positions do not g et on as well as women who may be less attractive. B1According to the passage, people often wrongly believe that in pursuing a career as a manager _. A、 a persons property or debts do not matter much B、a persons outward appearance is not a critical qualification C、women should always dress fashionably D、women should not only be attractive but also high minded D2The result of research carried out by social scientists show that _. A、people do not realize the importance of looking ones best B、women in pursuit of managerial jobs are not likely to be paid well C、good looking women aspire to managerial positions D、attractive people generally have an advantage over those who are not B3Experiments by scientists have shown that when people evaluate individuals on certain attributes _. A、they observe the principle that beauty is only skin deep B、they do not usually act according to the views they support C、they give ordinary looking persons the lowest ratings D、they tend to base their judgment on the individuals accomplishments C4Good looks cut both ways for women(Line 1, Para.5) means that _. A、attractive women have tremendous potential impact on public jobs B、good looking women always get the best of everything C、being attractive is not always an advantage for women D、attractive women do not do as well as unattractive women in managerial positions A5It can be inferred from the passage that in the business world _. A、 handsome men are not affected as much by their looks as attractive women are B、physically attractive women who are in the public eye usually do quite well C、physically attractive men and women who are in the public eye usually get along quite well D、good looks are important for women as they are for men5、The Internet seems to have just arrived, so how can we possibly imagine what will replace it? In truth, early versions of the Net have been around since the 1960s and 70s, but only after the mid-1990s did it begin to have a serious public impact. Since 1994, the population of users has grown from about 13 million to more than 300 million around the world. What will the Internet be like 20 years from now? Like the rest of infrastructure, the Internet will eventually seem to disappear by becoming widespread. Most access will probably be via high-speed, low-power radio links. Most handheld, fixed and mobile appliances will be Internet enabled. This trend is already discernible in the form of Internet-enabled cell phones and personal digital assistants. Like the servants of centuries past, our household helpers will chatter with one another and with the outside help. So many appliances, vehicles and buildings will be online by 2020 that it seems likely there will be more things on the Internet than people. Internet-enabled cars and airplanes are coming online, and smart houses are being built every day. Eventually, programmable devices will become so cheap that we will embed them in the cardboard boxes into which we put other things for storage or shipping. These passive computers will be activated as they pass sensors and will be able to both emit and absorb information. Such innovations will facilitate increasingly automatic manufacturing, inventory control, shipping and distribution. Checkout at the grocery store will be fully automatic, as will payment via your digital wallet. The advent of programmable, mini-scale machines will extend the Internet to things with the size of molecules that can be injected under the skin, leading to Internet-enabled people. Such devices, together with Interne